Bronx electeds are reacting with frustration to Monday’s City Council vote that appears to have taken Bally’s out of the running for a New York City-area casino license.
While the state is responsible for selecting the three awardees near the end of 2025, several Bronx officials say that the council’s decision prematurely kills the project — and the economic benefits and jobs that would have accompanied it.
Leading the opposition to the gaming giant’s proposal was Republican Kristy Marmorato, who represents the East Bronx neighborhood of Throggs Neck, where the $4 billion hotel, casino and entertainment complex would have been built.
Despite being in the minority party and new to her seat, council members outside the Bronx appear to have followed the tradition of member deference in land use decisions and joined Marmorato in opposition.
The council voted 29 to 9 (with several absent or abstaining) to oppose the three zoning applications required for the project, which involved privatizing a small portion of Ferry Point Park.
But every Bronx council member except Marmorato — Amanda Farías, Kevin Riley, Althea Stevens Eric Dinowitz, Oswald Feliz and Rafael Salamanca Jr., who chairs the Land Use Committee — voted to keep the project in the running. Council Member Diana Ayala, who represents the South Bronx and East Harlem, was not present for the vote.
Mayor Eric Adams helped move necessary Bally’s legislation through the process in June and also expressed disappointment with the vote.
His office is “reviewing our options in response to this vote,” said a City Hall spokesperson in a statement.
“The City Council’s disapproval of this Bronx bid pits boroughs against one another and leaves the Bronx unable to even have a shot at benefiting from the potential of new jobs and new investment in their community.
By rejecting the land use application for one casino bid while approving two others [Coney Island in Brooklyn and Metropolitan Park in Queens], the City Council is putting its finger on the scale before the state ever has a chance to consider applications.”
Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, who represents Throggs Neck, took aim at Marmorato for the decision, which he called “an embarrassment.”
“You’ve said Bally’s didn’t meet your criteria. What were those criteria? I’ve seen no public articulation, and you remained largely silent in the press throughout the process,” Benedetto said.
“This proposal would have brought thousands of good-paying, union jobs—starting at $80,000—into our community. At the very least, our Borough deserved a fair chance to compete while broader regional concerns were addressed,” he said.
Benedetto urged Adams to veto the council’s disapproval.
“From what I’ve heard, some council members were absent, others confused, and a few from outside our borough used this vote to aid a competing bid. That’s not how government should work.”
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson also said she was “incredibly disappointed” by the vote.
In posts from her personal X account on Tuesday, she said the Bally’s complex would have had an economic impact far beyond its neighborhood.
“When you think about $624M of investments that the Bronx may get, it’s worth the opportunity to allow the Bronx a chance to be in this process. Not a guarantee of a casino license but a chance to be a part of this process,” she wrote.
“Instead, the City Council’s decision has excluded the Bronx due to the same NIMBY mindset that we have witnessed time and time again.”
‘Not an easy decision’
Marmorato, as the first Republican woman to hold a Bronx elected position in decades, was elected on the heels of another land use controversy.
Former District 13 representative Marjorie Velázquez was booted from her seat in 2023 after initially opposing, but later supporting, the Bruckner Boulevard rezoning that was set to add hundreds of apartments, including some for veterans and seniors.
The district, apparently unhappy with Velázquez’s about-face, elected Marmorato that fall by about 700 votes.
In a July 16 interview, Marmorato said her opposition to the Bally’s proposal reflected the views of Throggs Neck residents.
The local community board, which plays an advisory role in land use decisions, had already voted down the project in March, where residents and board members cited concerns about public safety, loss of parkland and traffic congestion.
Even so, “This was not an easy decision,” Marmorato said.
Despite Bally’s claims that their community outreach team found upwards of 80% support for the project, Marmorato said she believes much of their polling was done outside of Throggs Neck.
Of Bally’s efforts within her district, “They just brought people out, gave them lunch, showed them what they’re doing, and that was it. There was no interaction or engagement. At least that’s what they came back to me with.”
Jobs were one area of contention. Bally’s said the project would provide 4,000 permanent positions at more than $90,000 per year on average, but Marmorato seemed to initially reject the kinds of roles that would be available.
In a video streamed from a Nov. 2024 Bronx Conservative Party meeting, she said, “You want kids to grow up to be a cocktail waitress? Because that’s what they’re offering for jobs.” She also dismissed the company’s plan for dishwashing jobs that paid $80,000 per year.
In the July 16 interview, Marmorato said she previously worked as a bartender and busser and that her comments at the meeting were based on her first conversation with Bally’s, where the company offered “no sustainable careers.”
In general, the company did not fully engage with her until the last minute, she said.
“[Hospitality] is hard work, and it is a hustle, and I get it,” she said. However, “Jobs is a small portion of this whole entire package” that was wrong for her community, she said.
But Gibson again pointedly targeted Marmorato in a July 16 post from her personal account on X, in which she said service jobs are a common launching point for successful careers.
“Shoutout to all the dishwashers and cocktail waitresses working hard on a career pathway to becoming small business owners, entrepreneurs and restaurant owners. We see you and respect the grind of economic mobility,” she said.
Missed opportunity
Beyond the East Bronx, officials are widely lamenting what they consider a missed opportunity on an enormous scale.
Council Member Kevin Riley, who chairs the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, said in a statement that he understood the community’s concerns but wanted Bally’s to remain in consideration.
“I never believed a casino alone could solve the Bronx’s systemic challenges. But when we consider over 15,000 construction jobs, 4,000 permanent positions, and $625 million in proposed community investment, we must acknowledge that opportunities of this scale are rare in our borough,” he said in a statement.
Majority Leader Amanda Farías, an East Bronx native, said in a statement she was “deeply disappointed” at Bally’s being off the table.
The project “would have transformed underutilized land into an economic anchor for our borough,” Farías said.
She too got her start as a server and bartender in the Bronx, she said.
“If those jobs helped build my foundation, imagine the doors we’re now closing on the next generation of Bronxites by rejecting careers in hospitality, entertainment, building trades, and operations that this project would have brought.
“It’s unfortunate that once again, the Bronx is left out of transformational investment that other boroughs are poised to receive — the kind of investment we may not see again for generations.”
Now that the council has joined Marmorato in voting against Bally’s, electeds say they must seek other opportunities to bring large-scale investment to the Bronx.
“If this project isn’t moving forward, then we must be even more urgent and intentional in building what comes next,” Riley said.
Marmorato said better opportunities are on the table. For instance, she said she has already helped secure 10,000 jobs and 4,000 apartments through the Metro-North rezoning and other initiatives.
“I’m creating a sustainable life for people in my district and people that live in the borough, because these jobs will go to people throughout the entire Bronx,” she said.
Amid the Bally’s fallout, Marmorato said the local community must come first when considering development opportunities.
“Stand with your people. Make sure your community’s on board. And stand with them, be their voice, and do what they put you in a position that you got elected to do.”
This story was updated at 11:30 a.m. to include Benedetto’s statement.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
