Officials of Orange County, New York, are miffed that their region is being passed over for New York State’s fourth casino, which will be allowed in the state’s Southern Tier.
The Southern Tier is considered a distressed economic zone, but Orange County officials argue that they have their share of poverty. They have lodged a protest with the Gaming Facility Location Board, which said that it is considering a request by Governor Cuomo that it allow the state’s fourth casino in the Southern Tier.
An official of Orange County, Legislature Chairman Stephen Brescia declared last week, “Newburgh has the highest crime rate in the state, its unemployment rate is among the highest, and its poverty rate unacceptably high. To say the Newburgh region should not have an opportunity to compete for the fourth license makes no rational sense. I believe the Newburgh region should have a chance to compete.”
Another Orange County legislator, Christopher Eachus, declared, “The siting committee should do its job and evaluate on the merits whether the Binghamton area southern tier is worse off than the Newburgh region, and whether a proposal in the Binghamton area would be better than one in the Newburgh area. To do otherwise smacks of favoritism not rooted in a fair process on the merits.”
Orange County has previously tried to win a license with the support of six casino developers, many of them heavy hitters in the gaming industry. However the gaming commission has said that an Orange County casino could make it difficult for a casino in the Catskills to succeed.
