Aug. 19 marked the first official meeting of the Bally’s Community Advisory Council (CAC), where 42 of 49 members of the public spoke in support of the proposed casino complex that could become the largest private project in Bronx history.
While some at the meeting criticized Bally’s for corporate greed, the majority expressed excitement for the promise of good-paying jobs, significant community investments and better nightlife and entertainment in their home borough. Several of the speakers and audience members wore t-shirts from labor unions and local youth organizations that stand to benefit if the project is approved.
The hearing at 1200 Waters Place was scheduled for four hours but finished in two, allowing two minutes per speaker with no question-and-answer period and no presentation from Bally’s.
The gaming company’s proposal to build a $4 billion casino, hotel, and entertainment center in Ferry Point Park has provoked local tensions throughout many months in the community input phase and rezoning application process.
In order for Bally’s to move ahead to consideration by the state Gaming Facility Location Board, the CAC must approve the project with a two-thirds majority vote by Sept. 30.
Who’s on the committee?
The group consists of six members appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Governor Kathy Hochul and East Bronx representatives: Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, State Senator Nathalia Fernandez and Council Member Kristy Marmorato, who appears to stand alone among her fellow pols in opposition to Bally’s proposal.
The CAC is chaired by Lisa Sorin, president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, who was nominated by Gibson and elected chair during the group’s Aug. 8 procedural meeting.
What else has Bally’s promised, other than the massive hotel-casino-entertainment center?
The company has proposed a $625 million local benefits agreement that includes investment in local schools, community and youth organizations and road infrastructure and replacement of parkland used for the project.
The company has also promised 15,000 union construction jobs and 4,000 permanent jobs, with an emphasis on local hiring and average salaries of $96,000 per year plus benefits.
However, some remain unconvinced.
Marmorato has called the proposal “predatory development” and said most residents in the Throggs Neck neighborhood oppose it — even though Bally’s has said it has upwards of 80% support based on their own polling.
The company’s land use application, which included alienation of 16 acres of the 400-acre park, was previously rejected by Community Board 10 and by the City Council whose non-Bronx members voted 28 to 9 in deference to Marmorato to disapprove.
So how is Bally’s still in the running?
After the council vote, public outcry ensued from all the other Bronx members and Borough President Vanessa Gibson, who all said Bally’s should at least remain in consideration. They said such a major opportunity should not be hastily passed over, especially when casino projects in other boroughs (i.e., Metropolitan Park in Queens and Coney Island, Brooklyn) have been given the green light.
Mayor Eric Adams heard the outcry and vetoed the disapproval, agreeing that Bally’s should remain in the process. The council did not hold a vote to potentially override his veto, which would have required a two-thirds majority, so the proposal is moving forward. The final decision lies with the state.
‘Bring the opportunity’
Many of those in favor were optimistic about Bally’s promise of good-paying union jobs and long-term investment in the Bronx.
Two of the 42 speakers in support of Bally’s said they were 13-year-old incoming freshmen at Preston High School, the all-girls’ Catholic school that was slated to close until the compay’s philanthropic foundation stepped in with an offer to buy the property for $8.5 million and lease it back to the school for $1 per year.
The deal was finalized in April and, to some, proved Bally’s commitment to the Bronx.
“Bally’s is our future, and it will enable families to send their children to top-quality schools like Preston,” one of the students testified.
Lauren Patterson, who described himself as involved in local violence interruption, food distribution efforts and more, said the project “can only be a positive thing if it’s creating more opportunities for the people of the Bronx.”
“Hold [Bally’s] accountable for everything they promised, but at the same time, bring the opportunity,” Patterson said. “You can’t be against people doing better.”
Natalia Corridori, president of Pehlam Bay Little League, praised Bally’s planned investments in organizations that provide constructive outlets for kids.
Corridori said in 1992, her teenage brother was shot and killed by another teen. “I often wonder, what if that boy had access to sports instead of the streets?” she said. “Would my brother be alive today?”
As for concerns about an increase in crime, drug use, prostitution and gambling addiction if the casino is built, those issues are already present in the community, said Corridori. “Bally’s isn’t creating these problems. It’s offering tools to help fight them.”
‘This is just a bad idea’
Though Bally’s received widespread support at the CAC hearing, it was clear not everyone is buying the company’s promises.
Seven people spoke against the proposal, pointing at times to corporate greed and to unacceptable impacts on pollution, crime, gambling addiction, public safety and traffic congestion.
Carl Lundgren, former chair of the Bronx County Green Party, testified against the project and operates a private Facebook group called No Casino in Ferry Point, which currently has 19 members.
Lundgren said he has lived in Castle Hill since infancy and still sees many of the same houses and buildings today.
“This area has always been a stable community,” he said, and the Bally’s project “is gonna create a lot more problems than it’s gonna solve.”
“It’s already on a toxic waste dump that was never remediated when the golf course went in there,” said Lundgren. “This is just a bad idea.”
The eleventh speaker of the hearing, who said he lives in Co-op City, called the project “a betrayal to our community.”
He said the proposal “represents a sellout of our community’s needs in exchange for corporate profits.”
Some speakers had compared the Bally’s complex to the development of the Mall at Bay Plaza, but he said it was an unfit comparison. “Casinos don’t build wealth in the community — they extract it,” he said.
Throggs Neck resident Thomas Shepherd expressed frustration that the community and City Council had already opposed the project, “Yet here we are.”
Shepherd said he took a “moral issue” with it because “Casinos make their money by exploiting the Throggs Neck Houses community where I live. They exploit the desperation of poor people, and I have always been opposed to that.”
“At what point are we going to be responsive to the communities that we serve, and not the other way around?” he said.
The second CAC hearing will be held Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. in a location to be announced. The committee is also accepting comments via email at BallysNYPublicComment@nystec.com and via mail at the following address:
Bally’s Bronx Community Advisory Committee c/o NYSTEC
Attn: CAC Consultant Team
540 Broadway 3rd Floor
Albany, NY 12207
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
