Sullivan County Delays Five Casino Vote

Two state legislators praised the decision to postpone the vote saying the Sullivan County Legislature has not had sufficient time to consider the governor's proposal.

State Sen. John Bonacic says, "The county should not consider voting on the bill until they have reviewed it and are comfortable action on same."

State Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther adds, "It is important to protect the interest of all residents of Sullivan County. The concerns raised by the county legislature have not been answered and the legislation is not available. This legislation is too important to Sullivan County and must be reviewed."

Pataki introduced the legislation to the state legislature for approval. In announcing the proposal, the governor says, "Our plans for the Catskills would result in the creation of up to 50,000 new jobs and attract more than 30 million visitors annually to the region."

In a public hearing on the issue last month, Greg Allen, chief advisor to Pataki on gaming issues, discussed with county legislators the reasons behind the governor's new push for five casinos instead of the original plan approved by the state legislature that called for a total of three Native American casinos in the Catskills. Allen said that the state was trying to wrap up negotiations on land settlement agreements on major Indian land claims in the state that would include development of a total of five Indian gaming facilities in Sullivan County.

At the time, the state had reached agreements with the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians as well as with the Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma on long-standing land claim issues. Each tribe has proposed a casino project in Sullivan County. On Feb. 1, the governor announced a deal with the Akwesasne Mohawks on a land claim settlement involving approximately 12,000 acres in Franklin and St. Lawrence counties in upstate New York. The St. Regis Mohawks, one of three Mohawk tribes that make up the Akwesasne Mohawk tribal government, is planning to build the Mohawk Mountain Casino Resort in Sullivan County.

Allen told county lawmakers that the state believes it has a much better chance of obtaining the required approvals from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and from Congress if the state offers a package that includes all of the major pending Indian land claim litigation in New York. The state now has settlement agreements on all major land claim litigation involving the five Native American tribes hoping to build casinos in Sullivan County.

Business and organized labor in the county have pushed for the Sullivan County Legislature to back the governor's plan for five casinos, while some local residents and some other Native American Indian tribes that do not have any casino plans in Sullivan County have lobbied against the proposal.