Two towns also oppose the Cuomo deal
Despite efforts by the Cayuga Indian tribe, an exclusive gaming agreement made between New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Oneida Indian Nation will soon go into effect. Last month, the Stockbridge-Munsee Community filed its own motion seeking to intervene in the case, saying it too has standing in the case.
The hotly contested deal will allow the Oneidas to place as much as 25,000 acres of land into federal trust and also will grant the tribe exclusive gaming rights in a 10-county of Central New York. In exchange, the Oneidas will share of percentage of its casino profits with the state and counties.
The agreement, originally set to start January 1, was delayed by challenges from the Cayugas, who occupy a reservation in Cayuga County and have asserted their sovereign right to launch their own gaming enterprise. Two New York towns, Vernon and Verona, also oppose the deal because it would render the trust lands untaxable.
“We knew we probably would not make January 1” for the deal to go into effect, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente told the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “We hold out hopes for April; recent indications show that may be a target.”
The Oneidas recently stated that they would not stand in the way of a Cayuga casino, saying in a statement that it was “a concession by the Oneida Nation in order to get the agreement resolved and begin a new partnership in shared prosperity for our region.”
The U.S. Department of the Interior approved the Cuomo deal in November. All that remains now is for U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn to sign off on it. But intervention by the Stockbridge-Munsee has prompted the judge to table his decision until sometime in January, according to the Auburn Citizen.
The Vernon-Verona lawsuit was rejected by the federal court and returned to state court. Vernon Town Supervisor Myron Thurston promised to “fight the fight.”
“We don’t feel it’s right and that’s what we are in court over,” he said.
