Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong Sr. rejected the most recent offer by the state of New York for a new 20-year gaming compact, calling the most recent proposals “absurd and an insult to the Seneca Nation,” according to Yogonet.
After the Senecas and the office of Governor Kathy Hochul announced in June they had agreed in principle on a new compact for the Senecas, the Assembly refused to vote on a bill to authorize Hochul to finalize the deal after it came to light the compact included a new Seneca casino in Rochester.
The state Senate had already approved the deal’s finalization, but the Assembly held out under protests from Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, the city council and the Monroe County delegation.
The new offer from the state, which does not provide for a new casino, was quickly rejected by the tribe.
“While the state’s negotiators offered and agreed to an important provision to a new agreement, the state Assembly refused to move forward with required legislation to allow the governor to sign an agreement after it met approval by the Seneca People and the Department of the Interior,” Armstrong said in a video message to the Seneca people.
The Senecas’ current 20-year compact expires December 9.
