Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday gave new life to a gambling company’s bid to build a casino in the Bronx, overriding the City Council’s rejection of a zoning change critical to the $4 billion project.
His move may help President Trump: If the company, Bally’s, were to win approval, it would pay $115 million to the Trump Organization, the former operator of the site. Mr. Adams, however, cited a different objective, saying in a statement that by vetoing the Council’s rejection of Bally’s land-use application, he was creating an even playing field for all the contenders seeking casino licenses in the New York City area.
The City Council now has 10 days to override the mayor’s veto with a two-thirds majority vote.
Mara Davis, a City Council spokeswoman, said in a statement that “the mayor’s words have no credibility” and that “the Council will consider its next steps on this land-use application.”
The Council, following a tradition of abiding by local members’ wishes on land-use matters, voted overwhelmingly against the necessary zoning change earlier this month. Kristy Marmorato, the Republican city councilwoman whose district includes the proposed Bronx site, has described the plan as a “predatory development,” though the bid has won support from other Bronx elected officials. She had no immediate comment on Wednesday.
By the end of this year, New York State is poised to award up to three full-scale casino licenses in New York City and its environs, and the competition is fierce. There are bids to put casinos on Manhattan’s West Side and East Side, as well as a Jay-Z-backed proposal for Times Square; there is a Queens proposal from the New York Mets owner Steven A. Cohen, another bid for Coney Island, and bids from two existing slot-machine venues at racetracks in Queens and Yonkers.
Mr. Adams, the former chair of the State Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, is an ardent supporter of bringing gambling to New York City.
“A casino in New York City would bring good-paying union jobs and an economic boost to the surrounding community, which is why I have long advocated for a fair process with as many competitive bids as possible,” he said Wednesday.
But the Bally’s bid to put a casino at the site, a former Trump golf course near the Whitestone Bridge, also stands to benefit the president’s family business, the Trump Organization. When Bally’s acquired control of the golf course in 2023, it promised to pay Mr. Trump’s company $115 million should it win a casino license.
Mr. Adams, in turn, has taken pains to ally himself with the president as part of his ultimately successful effort to get Mr. Trump’s Justice Department to abandon the criminal indictment against him.
The mayor’s action on Wednesday was the second time he has sought to aid the Bally’s bid. In June, he helped win Council passage of a separate message in support of the proposal.
Frank Carone, a close associate of the mayor’s who is working on his re-election campaign, has also done work for Bally’s, according to NY1. Mr. Carone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement accompanying his veto, Mr. Adams said there was no favoritism at play.
“To make myself abundantly clear, this is not an endorsement or expression of support giving a leg up to any casino bid over the others as the City Council has tried to do, but an action I feel is necessary to best ensure a fair and competitive process,” Mr. Adams said. “May the best applications win.”
A spokesman for Bally’s had no immediate comment. Nor did a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization.
The Bally’s proposal calls for building a casino, a “world-class 500-room upscale hotel,” restaurants and meeting spaces adjacent to the existing golf course.
Dana Rubinstein covers New York City politics and government for The Times.
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