Bronx Casino Advances To Final Round, Coney Island Voted Down

By Marina Samuel and Lauren Hartley, The City

September 30, 2025

A casino in Coney Island has folded, and The Bronx is staying in for another round.

A proposal for a major gambling facility right off the boardwalk in southern Brooklyn did not survive a key committee vote to keep it alive on Monday, while Bally’s proposal to build a casino in The Bronx moved forward. That project now advances to the final phase of the race for up to three lucrative downstate licenses to be awarded by December.

The $4 billion casino plan from Bally’s won near unanimous support from a key local advisory committee, which must sign off on each casino proposal to let them proceed to the state Gaming Facility Location Board for final approval.

A different story played out in Brooklyn. Before the community advisory committee had even sat down to vote on The Coney proposal Monday afternoon, three committee members had already declared what their vote would be: No.

Last week, City Councilmember Justin Brannan, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton — all self-appointed members of the committee — announced their opposition to the project.

A fourth committee member, Marissa Solomon, appointed by Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny, is a local resident and has long advocated against the casino. With four seemingly certain no votes, there has been little hope for The Coney, backed by Thor Equities.

The vote from the six-member committee went down 4-2 with appointees from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams the only ones to vote in favor.

“As the mayor’s office has emphasized throughout this process, we believe casinos can serve as major economic development initiatives, creating good paying jobs and delivering benefits to the city, region and local communities,” said Alex Sommer, Adams’ appointee to the committee.

People enjoy the Coney Island boardwalk on a warm fall day, Sept. 29, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

Before voting against the plan, Solomon said that Coney Island is the soul of New York City, especially for the working class.

“It’s an irreplaceable treasure and I hope that we continue to recognize what unique and valuable place that Coney Island is and that Coney Island both receives the investments that people in the community really need and that we can also protect, preserve, and grow the Coney Island amusement area and make sure Coney Island remains the people’s playground,” she said.

License for the Links?

If it’s chosen by the state to get a casino license, the development in The Bronx would transform a piece of Throgg’s Neck right next to the Whitestone Bridge.

The Bally’s plan calls for a 500,000-square-foot casino, a 500-room hotel, a 2,000-person event center, and two parking garages with space for 4,660 vehicles on the group’s golf course. The land, currently home to Bally’s Golf Links, was once owned by President Donald Trump, whose organization stands to receive $115 million if Bally’s secures a gaming license for the Bronx project.

“The question is whether the collective benefits for the Bronx — jobs, revenue, investment, and long-term economic mobility — outweigh the localized burdens, and whether those burdens can be mitigated credibly, forcibly, and transparently,” said committee chair Lisa Sorin, representing Borough President Vanessa Gibson.

“It is my judgment that support in the community exceeds operative opposition and that the benefits can outweigh harms,” Sorin said in support of the application.

It will compete alongside MGM Empire City in Yonkers and Resorts World in Queens, which both got the green light to move forward on Thursday. The approvals come after three Manhattan contenders fell short in their bid for a license. Advisory committee votes for the final two proposals — in Coney Island and near Citi Field — are set for later on Monday and Tuesday.

The five members of the community advisory committee, a special panel convened by the state’s gaming board to review and issue decisions on local proposals, voted in favor of the project. Those in support included representatives of Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez, and Assemblymember Michael Benedetto.

Bally’s Bronx Community Advisory Committee Chair Lisa Sorin speaks at a meeting in Pelham Bay about her vote in favor of the casino bid, Sept. 29, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

The only opposing vote came from District 13 Councilmember Kristy Marmorato’s representative, Danielle Volpe, who has criticized the development from the start, calling it a grab by “big-moneyed interests” that would increase crime, traffic, and instability in the neighborhood, according to her July op-ed in the Daily News.

“Every community advisory committee that has voted against casino proposals across the city has done so due to a lack of genuine community support. This proposal should be no different,” said Marmorato’s appointed committee member Danielle Volpe, in justification of her vote in opposition.

Marmorato’s opposition seemed to have been enough to kill the gaming giant’s bid in June, when the City Council rejected its land-use application, with a majority aligning with the East Bronx councilmember. But Mayor Eric Adams resurrected the application in a rare veto of the Council’s decision, with the Council also voting to lower the threshold for the passage of a home-rule resolution weeks earlier, making it easier for the state to alienate part of Ferry Point Park for Bally’s acquisition.

“The only reason we are sitting here considering it is because the mayor chose to veto that decision. That veto does not erase the opposition from both the council and the community. It only prolongs the process that should have ended with the will of the people,” said Volpe on Monday.

The plan received strong criticism from residents in Throggs Neck, who’d previously voiced their concerns in a contentious community board public hearing that voted down Bally’s zoning application, 29 to 5. The community advisory committee also received mixed reception from meeting participants, many of whom were concerned about the alienation of parkland in Ferry Point Park needed to build the 3-million square foot complex. The nearest parkland that would replace the Ferry Point Park land is in City Island, which is approximately six miles away from the original site.

“Ferry Point Park is one of the few green spaces in The Bronx. Replacing it with a casino threatens the environment and takes away recreational space we all need,” said Co-op City resident Al Quattlebaum at an Aug. 19 public meeting.

Bally’s has attempted to court the local neighborhood by pledging $625 million for jobs, funding for schools and borough-wide investments. (Each casino license applicant is required to invest at least $500 million in the community in which it plans to build.)

They have promised to spend $100 million for parkland improvements, $75 million for transportation and infrastructure upgrades, and $10 million for a new police substation in the park. The corporation also sought to win the community over by saving a beloved all-girls Catholic school from closure, known for having once taught pop legend Jennifer Lopez.

“We are happy to have completed this important process of gaining community feedback and concerns. The affirmative vote is a signal that we have been able to address many of those concerns and now we look forward to the next steps of state selection,” said Bally’s Corporation chair Soo Kim.

Developer Thor Equities similarly tried to woo the Coney Island neighborhood with $200 million in community funding, $15 million for fire, police, and emergency services funding, and 4,500 permanent jobs.

Thor made the case to turn Coney Island, famous as a summer attraction with its beaches, boardwalk, and outdoor amusement parks, into a year-round travel destination.

But that will not come to pass. The committee’s vote is binding, and a rejection there means The Coney cannot receive a casino license.

The 1.6 million square foot casino, projected to be fully operating by 2035, was predicted to generate $1.8 billion in revenue, with its three main floors of gaming hosting over 230 table games and over 4,500 slots, a hotel, convention center, entertainment venue, and over an acre of public rooftop space.

“I really believe that a neighborhood with a large population of people who are living in poverty and who are rent burdened should not be hosting a casino,” said Kouichi Shirayanagi, Coney Island resident and dad. “I don’t want gambling to be a normalized activity to the kids who are growing up in a place like this.”

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.