Any regular commuter over the Whitestone Bridge might be familiar with seeing a golf course in the distance.
But that course, once featured a former New Yorker’s name who was unpopular with most New Yorkers. That is no longer the case.
It’s now Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point.
What You Need To Know
- Bally's took over the contract for the Bronx golf course at Ferry Point last year
- The officially unveiling of the new name happened Thursday
- Bally's is looking to also build a casino on the property
On Thursday, elected officials, including the mayor, came to the golf course for the official unveiling — capping off a years long battle to get the Trump organization out of the golf business in the Bronx.
“The removal of one name and putting up the Bally’s name, but it’s so much more than that,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
Bally’s paid tens of millions of dollars to take over the contract.
But the gaming company has other plans too.
“We obviously have a series of plans that we’ve been working on but it’s important for us to have this public coming out so we can meet the locals, the electeds, the community leaders and listen to what we believe is appropriate,” said Soo Kim, Bally’s chairman.
It is one of a dozen companies looking to get a casino license in New York state — a massive competition brewing behind the scenes.
The company would potentially build one right next to the golf course.
To do that, Bally’s will have to win over the local elected officials for its application to move forward.
“We have to move the Bronx forward and every time we try to do that people come up and say, ‘Oh don’t do this, don’t do that.’ And [the] Bronx stays stagnant. That’s not going to happen,” Adams said. “This is golf today. There is a process to determine who is going to be a casino operator. We want a casino in the city — I want to be clear on that.”
“For me as borough president, what is this proposal going to do not just for Throggs Neck, but for the entire borough in terms of jobs, in terms of economic development in terms of making sure there is a real presence felt in the Throggs Neck community,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.