Bally's present at Morris Park Community Association

 

Bally's and their consultants have been making the rounds of community associations in order to win over community support for the Bally's Casino, Hotel, and Entertainment center at the former Trump Links now known as Bally's Links. It was said that when Bally's took over the golf course it had expectations of building a casino on the site. 

The Bally's team led  by Chris Hewlett, who did most of the talking, was joined by consultants, former State Senator Jeff Klein and Bronx Democratic Party lawyer Stanley Schlein (who was the force behind the new Yankee Stadium). This will be a three to four Billion dollar investment in the Bronx Hewlett said. There would also be a substation of the 45th precinct on site and  improvements to the roads including a new overpass next to Lafayette Avenue to go to the casino. 

On the 15.7 acres of parkland to be used, would sit a 500 room hotel, 4,500 parking spaces, a 2,000 square foot entertainment center, 25,000 Square foot meeting room, and a casino on the bottom floor of the hotel. The value of this 15.7 acre parkland site was valued at 100 million dollars by Bally's and their consultants which would have to be voted on by the state legislature and city council to alienate the parkland. When Senator Klein was questioned about the Van Cortlandt Park Water Filtration Plant cost of 230 million dollars twenty years ago to alienate the parkland there, his answer was that the city always pays more, this is a private company. Klein also said that the Van Cortlandt Park lot was bigger than the Bally lot, which when fact checked the Van Cortlandt Park alienation was only 12 acres compared to Bally's 15.7. Residents from the Throggs Neck area agreed that the Bally's estimate was very low for the parkland. 

In the audience were about twenty members of the carpenters union, a couple spoke on how great the Bally's casino project would be, and the jobs and investment it would bring to the Bronx, however none of the union members said they live in the Bronx. Assemblyman John Zaccaro said that he wants to hear more from the community, and to continue to hear from both the community and Bally's. He also said that  he remains neutral on the proposal.  

The Bally's Team, L - R, Chris Hewlett (Bally's), Bronx Democratic Party lawyer Stanley Schlein, and former State Senator Jeff Klein. 

A listing of project benefits was presented.

A view of the proposed casino and hotel sitting next to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.

Bally's Chris Hewlett answers a question about the parking lot with a graphic of it behind him on the screen.