Bally’s $4bn Bronx casino project looks unlikely to happen
The New York City Council voted against land-use changes which are needed for Bally’s proposed $4bn Bronx casino project, thus putting the proposal in serious doubt. BonusFinder, a casino bonus comparison site, dives into everything you need to know on the NYC casino bid – as one of the top contenders might not be a contender no more…
Lawmakers voted 29-9 against the proposal in a motion put forward by Republican Councilwoman Kristy Marmorato, a move that seemingly puts an end to Bally’s bid before the state-led licensing process.
The proposal included building its three-million-square-foot project on the former site of President Donald Trump’s Golf Links in Throggs Neck. Therefore it needed council approval to develop on an area that is city parkland.
Bally’s CEO Soo Kim says he’s “incredibly disappointed” at the news. He argued: “We had met the council members ask in terms of what exceptional community benefits they wanted.
“That ask was moving the goalposts from the prior ask, which we had met as well. It’s sort of nutty. What more can we do than meet the ask?”
Kim recognized that the land-use change was a prerequisite for the $4bn proposal and it’s now ‘highly unlikely’ that their bid could advance to the next stage.
The Bally’s Bronx project
The project included a 500-room hotel and a 500,000 square-foot casino space, which amounted to the $4bn investment from the company.
There was also a $75m commitment to improve transport around the building; including a new overpass, adding two MTA bus stops and widening nearby roads.
In addition, the proposal was linked to President Donald Trump, with the Trump Organization set to receive $115m annually from Bally’s – had their bid won the casino license.
That’s something that Kim recognized as potentially being a negative factor in their proposal. He added: “We thought that this was a good faith negotiation that we were told was achievable. Maybe this whole thing was done in bad faith.”
Opposition was led by Marmorato who managed to persuade her colleagues to vote against the proposal. Afterwards, she stated: “This is not real economic development. This is not housing, a hospital or community improvements, it’s a casino.
“Developers came to the table a little too late, with promises too vague and a process too flawed to rebuild the trust that was already lost in our community.”
However, members of the council did publicly show their support for the project. Rafeal Salamanca, a Bronx Councilman who chairs the land-use committee, argued about the economic benefits the area would have felt:
“As a Bronx kid who is raising his family in the borough, I am deeply concerned that today we will fail to allow the Bronx to tap into the potential economic development opportunities. Once again, the Bronx is being left behind.”
The main contenders who are still in the running for New York’s three new casino licenses are:
Coney Island, Freedom Plaza, Caesars Palace Times Square, Metropolitan Park, Resorts World New York City, Empire City Casino and The Avenir.
