Kempthorn blocks casinos in Sullivan County

Mohawks vow to sue, others look to new administration

By FRITZ MAYER

WASHINGTON, DC — The Mohawks reacted angrily to the news that the casino they planned to open in Monticello has been blocked in Washington. In a statement, tribal chief Lorraine White said the language of the decision smacks of a “…paternalistic, racist approach to Indians.” She further said it was a “… prejudged position that declares that Washington cowboys know what is best for American Indians.”

The tribe found out about the decision of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne not to allow the casino to go forward in a letter from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that the tribe received on January 4. The letter from assistant secretary James Cason read, in part, that, “The proposed gaming facility can have significant negative effects on reservation life.”

Part of the reason Kempthorne denied the application was that the reservation, which straddles the Canadian and New York border, was more than 300 miles from the proposed site and would force Mohawks into unreasonable commutes to work at the casino, which would be located at the site of Monticello Gaming and Raceway on Route 17B. A statement from the tribe countered, “The tribe has a legacy of commuting to New York City for jobs where generations of countless Mohawk ironworkers built the very skyline that defines the city.”

Tribal chief Barbara Lazore said of the tribe’s 12-year quest to gain the casino, “We followed the rulebook, we satisfied every federal legal and procedural regulation, and at the 11th hour, the department of the interior issued the lamest, weakest argument to deny the application.”

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which filed a complaint against Kempthorne in October 2007 for inaction on the application, will now file a lawsuit against him for what they call “the arbitrary and capricious nature of the decision.”

The Stockbridge Munsee Tribe, which has been working to open a casino a few miles south of Monticello off Route 17 on the banks of the Neversink River, received a similar letter from the BIA blocking that casino as well.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey, who has been a strong supporter of casinos in Sullivan County, said in a statement that the plans would be revisited in the future. “It is clear,” he said, “that the next opportunity for these proposed casinos to move forward and be objectively evaluated will be under a new administration by a different secretary of the interior, who under current law has the final determination in this matter at this time.”

Jonathan Rouis, the newly elected chairman of the Sullivan County Legislature, said, “Obviously, the Sullivan County Legislature joins the residents of Sullivan County in expressing our disappointment with the decision to reject the two casinos… which would have brought millions of dollars of revenue into Sullivan County each year, and would have provided an overall economic stimulus for the area, particularly Sullivan County’s tourism industry.

However, not all of the residents are disappointed. There are a sizable number of people in the county who have long and loudly opposed the development of casinos, arguing that they would have a net-negative impact on the community.

David Colavito, a resident of Rock Hill who was active in local efforts to halt casino development, said he was pleased with the decision. He said, “This is as significant, important and positive a decision that those of us who oppose casinos could hope to get, but it would be naive to think that this thing has gone away forever. At the very least, though, it seems likely that it will be a setback of years.”

He added, “It’s now time for the forces in the community to come together and actually deliver on quality jobs and living wages for people in the county.”

Ramsay Adams, the executive director of the conservation group Catskills Mountainkeeper, echoed that sentiment, saying, “This is a great opportunity for us to leave behind the divisive battle over casinos that has divided communities for so long and look to economic development we can all get behind.”

Richard Schrader, New York legislative director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which had filed a lawsuit against the BIA over the environmental review process, said it would not be easy to have this decision overturned, and that if the applications for the casinos were resubmitted to the new administration in 2009, the projects would basically have to start from scratch, and would continue to face many environmental and legal obstacles.

He added, “The federal government’s decision protects thousands of New Yorkers from misguided projects that would have resulted in irreparable harm to the Catskills region. These casino complexes would have led to clogged roads, more pollution, and degraded the quality of life that Catskill residents have come to expect and enjoy.” He said the NRDC has been actively working with the governor’s office to come up with sustainable development projects for the Catskills.