Interior Department could overrule vote
The community of Henrietta, New York, has joined Saratoga Springs in closing the door on plans for a local casino.
By a 4-0 vote last Wednesday, the Henrietta Town Board approved a resolution opposing a casino in the town. Recently the Seneca Nation of Indians spent $2.75 million to buy 32 acres of vacant land for a casino development.
“I was elected to represent my community. I have heard their voice loud and clear,” said board member Janet Zinck after the vote. Zinck said she received hundreds of emails and phone calls from residents who don’t want a casino.
“The input was pretty clear,” agreed board member Ken Breese. “This community doesn’t want it.”
After the vote, Seneca spokesman Phil Pantano would not say if the tribe will continue to pursue a casino in the town. “Time will tell,” he told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. But Seneca Gaming issued a statement saying the board acted “prematurely.”
“The first step in developing a project is to engage the community… and to discuss the projects benefits with the Henrietta community,” the statement said.
Kevin W. Seneca, chairman of Seneca Gaming, refused an invitation to appear before the board. “Under the circumstances, we feel there is little benefit to make the presentation at this point,” he said.
According to Henrietta Town Supervisor Jack Moore, the tribe is still welcome to make its case for a casino in the future. Both Moore and Henrietta Town Attorney Daniel Mastrella have said the town’s vote alone cannot stop the development of a tribal casino. A 1988 federal law gives the U.S. Secretary of the Interior the final say on a casino after consultation with the tribe, state and local officials, and the governor.
According to the law, the casino would have to be “in the best interest of the Indian tribe and its members, and would not be detrimental to the community.”
“All we can do is advise,” said Moore. “The reason that we are going to do this resolution tonight is to say that we don’t want gaming here in Henrietta.”
Meanwhile, Michael Kane, director of Western Regional Off-Track Betting in Batavia, New York, says a Rochester real estate developer accused of illegal lobbying asked him to drop the complaint against him.
Kane says prominent developer David Flaum asked him to withdraw the OTB’s ethics complaint about his activities on behalf of the Seneca Nation of Indians. Flaus was retained by the Senecas in 2013 to help locate and develop a casino project in the town of Henrietta. The OTB says his actions constitute lobbying, which he cannot legally do without registering as a lobbyist with the state. They also say the tribe’s promise of a “success fee” for Flaum would violate state law.
Western OTB opposes the casino, which would provide direct competition to its operations at Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack and Batavia Downs Gaming.
Kane says he refused to withdraw the complaint, which is under review by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, located in Albany.
Seneca Gaming Corp. spokesman Paul Pantano told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle the Senecas “have made no determination” about withdrawing from Henrietta because of the complaints. “Our sense if that the greater Rochester area wants to have this project go forward,” Pantano said.
