DOWNTOWN PRESS CONFERENCE AIRES
SOLIDARITY AGAINST CASINO MENACE
On Monday, October 31st, mayoral candidate Judith Einach, together with representatives of several citizen groups, held a united press conference in downtown Buffalo to affirm their determination to keep a casino out of Buffalo. A letter to Gale Norton, written by Ms. Einach, and co-signed by over fifty religious and civic leaders, was distributed during the press conference.
Text: Open Letter to Secretary Norton
Remarks:
Judith Einach, Mayoral Candidate
Joel Rose, Co-Chairperson, CACGEC
Daniel T. Warren, Upstate Citizens for Equality
Robert Heffern, Voice Buffalo
Letter from Judith Einach to Secretary Norton
Dear Secretary Norton,
As you know, the Seneca Nation plans to build a casino on land purchased for that purpose within the City of Buffalo, and the Mayor of Buffalo, Anthony M. Masiello, has stated that he believes a Seneca casino would not be detrimental to the surrounding community.
We, representing a large portion of Buffalo’s residents, are writing to state emphatically that the Mayor does not speak for us. He is demonstrably incorrect about the impact such a casino will have, and he misrepresents public sentiment in Buffalo. Because the voters have had no opportunity to express their views on the proposed project, the Mayor has no basis on which to speak of anyone’s wishes—besides the handful of well-connected developers who hope to sell land for this project. Nor has any proper review of its impact been conducted, also leaving the Mayor no basis on which to speak of a casino’s impact on anyone—except, again, those who hope to sell the land for it.
Without a formal impact study conducted specifically for Buffalo, the best way to estimate the impact of a casino is by extrapolating from what is known:
Economic Impact
In 1996, Governor Pataki’s own task force determined that casinos located within urban communities have a net negative impact on the host city’s economy; i.e., more jobs are lost at existing businesses than the casino itself generates, because money formerly spent at those businesses is instead spent at the casino—and subsequently exits the community.
Nationally, the trend is the same: research conducted at the University at Illinois concluded 2.75 other jobs are lost for every one casino job gained.
The experience of Atlantic City confirms this pattern: after the introduction of casinos there, the number of small businesses plummeted from 2100 to 150.
In the case of a Seneca casino, the land it occupies and the transactions that take place on it would be exempt from state and local taxes because of tribal sovereignty; thus land on which local property taxes were formerly paid would be removed from the tax rolls, and sales tax receipts would decline for every dollar formerly spent at a private business and now spent at the casino instead.
Local governments would incur substantial costs for infrastructure improvements (water and sewer service, highway access, etc.) and provision of emergency services (police, fire, ambulance).
Social Impact
Crime rates will rise; the experience of Atlantic City again provides confirmation, with a marked increase in all categories of crimes upon the arrival of casinos there.
Gambling addiction affects not only the gamblers themselves, but also imposes major costs on their families, their employers, and the surrounding community.
Addiction rates will rise even though there are already casinos relatively nearby—addiction rates are doubled within 10 miles of a casino, and none are yet that close to Buffalo.
Impact on the Cultural and Political Health of the City
Shutting the public out of a decision of this magnitude, denying residents an opportunity to vote on it or even offer comment in any sort of formal proceeding, is inexcusable and necessarily corrosive of local democracy.
It is unprecedented to convert part of the downtown core of an existing city to sovereign native land for the purpose of building a casino; irrevocably and permanently ceding part of our downtown to a sovereign nation obviously must affect the social fabric of the city.
None of these issues have been addressed even superficially, let alone through any substantive study of the likely impacts. Mayor Masiello therefore has no grounds whatsoever for declaring that a Seneca casino would have no detrimental effects on the City of Buffalo. We urge you to halt this project until a proper evaluation can be done.
Respectfully yours,
Judith S. Einach
mayoral candidate, City of Buffalo
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Judith Einach's Statement:
We’re all here today to say that Mayor Masiello does not speak for us when he says Buffalo wants a casino.
I’m thankful to have the co-signers of
this letter to Secretary Norton standing with me to state our opposition to a casino in Buffalo. Standing together as we do today does not imply an endorsement of my candidacy, but does signify that we’re all putting the interest of the city first and uniting on this issue despite our differences on other issues—including who should be the next mayor. Of course my own personal view is that it should be me, and I hope the many Buffalonians who oppose a casino in our city will keep in mind that I am the only candidate for mayor who is unequivocally opposed to a casino. The voters of Buffalo have had no opportunity to express their views on the casino question at the ballot box, but they can seize that opportunity for themselves on Nov. 8 by treating the mayoral election as a referendum on whether they do or do not want a casino in Buffalo.
What could be wrong with bringing 1000 new jobs to a city that desperately needs them? What’s wrong is that along with adding 1000 new jobs, we’ll lose 2-3000 existing jobs. How do we know that? Based on what’s happened elsewhere and on what Pataki’s commission itself predicted will happen to jobs in Buffalo if a casino opens here. Everyone will see the new casino jobs get filled; what they won’t see are the thousands of other jobs, scattered about the city, that vanish, as restaurants, bars, nightclubs and theaters lose business or close entirely because entertainment dollars that used to be spent there, feeding our local economy, are now going to the casino instead.
About 150 million of our dollars, dollars from the pockets of local residents, will be spent in the casino every year. Of that, maybe 1/4 will come back in wages and revenue-sharing with local government. The rest, in excess of $100 million every single year, leaves the area entirely. It pays off wealthy out-of-town investors who will lend the Senecas the money they need to build the casinos, and it buys government officials. The casino industry contributes mightily to the campaigns of the many susceptible state legislators, governors and members of Congress. It is known as the industry that most corrupts our government and our democracy.
What’s also wrong is that in exchange for the “privilege” of losing more jobs than we gain, we give away a portion of downtown Buffalo to a foreign nation. The land targeted for a casino becomes Seneca land forever. Our laws don’t apply there, laws that include worker protections and benefits, the city will collect no taxes on this land, and we NEVER get it back.
The casino compact covers 14 years; after that, the Senecas may choose to continue operating a casino on it, or they may not. After 14 years, should they continue to operate a casino, revenuesharing with the city stops. Should they decide to close the casino, they will be able to do whatever they want on that land because it stays theirs forever.
This whole deal is a sucker’s bet. We’re guaranteed to lose, and lose big. We’ve got to stop it, and when I’m mayor, I WILL stop it.
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Joel Rose's Statement:
We are all here today because we are opposed to putting a gambling casino in the heart of our historic Cobblestone District. I want to direct my remarks today, however, to certain public officials who are not here.
First, to Mayor Anthony Masiello: Mayor Masiello, you have wondered aloud why certain people always want to hold Buffalo back. I suggest to you, sir, that it is you who is trying to sell off our City to the highest bidder, and in so doing, to drag it into the cesspool of poverty, crime, prostitution, and corruption that other gambling cities have become. We mean to hold you back in that ill-conceived effort, Mr. Mayor, not the City.
You have said that you can respect opposition based on a moral argument, but you have no patience for opposition based on any other grounds. So, you have no patience for those who object to pulling money out of Buffalo by the truckload? You have no patience for those who are concerned about the bankruptcy, broken homes, and suicides that would inevitably result from your casino? Mr. Mayor, I’m sorry you have no patience for our concerns about the full range of problems your casino would visit upon this community. For our part, we are speaking truth to power, and we do not need your approval.
Next, to Governor George Pataki: Governor, where do you get the authority to ignore the explicit ban against casino gambling enshrined in our state constitution? Did you not take an oath to uphold that very document? One of your fellow gambling promoters said recently that you were merely exploiting a loophole in the constitution. Is that true? What loophole would that be? The constitution is very clear on this point, and you have evidently just chosen to ignore it. Perhaps someday you can explain that to your grandchildren.
While we’re on the subject of explaining, Mr. Governor, what happened to all that prosperity you promised Niagara Falls when you announced the Compact? Your own economists knew it wouldn’t happen. Did you have your fingers crossed?
Finally, to Interior Secretary Gale Norton: Madame Secretary, you knew this was going to be a bad deal for our community when you allowed the Compact to go into effect only by not explicitly disapproving it. You let us all down then, but you have another chance to set things right: you can disapprove the transfer of sovereignty on the land designated for a casino.
Here in New York, our highest law says that we don’t have to have a casino just because a few shortsighted public officials say we do. It would require a constitutional amendment, which would require a vote of all the people. Madame Secretary, IGRA stipulates that you may approve Indian gambling only to the extent that it is otherwise permitted in the State. The Governor’s claim that Indian casino gambling is permitted here, despite our constitution, is based on IGRA itself. Can you really support that claim? If so, where in IGRA does it say that? Please, this time, do the right thing. Don’t turn your back while our constitution is trampled once again.
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Daniel T. Warren's Statement:
The people of Erie County and the State of New York was not properly and truly represented in the negotiation of the MOU and tribal-state compact between the Seneca Nation and the State nor in the authorizing legislation and should be given a voice in this matter.
The authorizing legislation passed in October of 2001 was combined with 26 other bills that included children's health care, preschool special education and other social programs not addressed in the 2001 State budget as well as aid for Manhattan from the devastation it suffered from the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and creating economic development zones throughout the state.
In fact at least one State Legislator David Townsend said in effect that although he would have voted against this authorizing legislation if it was presented alone he was compelled to vote for it because to not to do so may have risked the necessary aid to Manhattan and other worthwhile programs. The bill that included the authorizing legislation was placed on our legislators desks less than 24 hours before they voted on it precluding any meaningful discussion or debate on this particular topic by them. This legislation is currently being challenged in court and is pending before the United States Supreme Court. There is also a bill pending in Congress that will prohibit commercial gambling on Indian land in states that do not allow commercial gambling by non-Indians (S.1518 by Senator Voinovich) and there will undoubtedly be future legal challenges to this casino and the land it is to be situated on.
Even if you support the casino it is a bad deal. The compact is only valid for 14 years from its effective date with a single automatic renewal for a term of 7 additional years. The compensation to be received by the state and host communities is based on the net drop of any gambling device that the Senecas have exclusivity to offer which currently is slot machines. Since the compact defines slot machines and video lottery terminals differently the Senecas may unilaterally elect to eliminate the slot machines and the State and host communities’ right to a share of any revenue will be effectively ended. That although the compact is good for approximately another 18 years the land that will be taken into trust will be permanently and irrevocably lost. Regardless of how the Senecas want to use the land we will have no control over zoning, land use, health and safety regulations and real property taxation.
For all the reasons stated here today this is a bad deal and should be permitted to die. If the people of this state desire commercial gambling they can do so without making these bad deals. They can amend the State Constitution to allow it and let the communities decide by way of zoning laws where they may be located and the free market should decide its existence. It is competition in a free market with all playing by the same rules that will lead to economic revival not the granting of monopolies or exclusive privileges and franchises.
Robert Heffern's Statement:
VOICE-Buffalo is an organization of twenty-five diverse congregations and religious communities who have been working together for ten years to advocate for justice and to improve the quality of life in our region. Unfortunately, we have seen that the decision to allow the Seneca Nation to build a casino in Buffalo was not decided in an open way in consultation with the citizens of Western New York. In fact, the whole history of the Seneca-owned casino in the Buffalo area is that the actual citizens who will have to live with it have been disregarded at every turn. Because a casino will do irreparable harm to our region, VOICE-Buffalo calls upon Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton to protect the citizens and businesses in Buffalo by stopping its construction.
From a moral perspective, casinos – as well as other gaming venues – tear down the fabric of our society. We already have a tremendous problem with teen-age gambling. Casinos send a confusing message to our young people. In school we tell them that they need to work hard and get an education so that they can get a good job and support themselves. But then we build casinos and run lotteries and tell them that hard work is for suckers – all they really need is a dollar and a dream. Casinos also create problem gamblers whose families end up in divorce and bankruptcy. And casinos suck away the retirement funds of our elderly citizens who work for years to earn them. So what’s the deal here? We have our own government attacking its citizens. And for what? The cut coming back to Buffalo will not be nearly enough to repair the social damage caused by the addictions that a casino will create!
Further, from a financial perspective, VOICE-Buffalo knows that a casino will not benefit our local economy. In Niagara Falls the casino has yet to benefit other local businesses. Instead, it’s put a strain on the restaurants and hotels there. This casino is sure to hurt the businesses on Chippawa Street. And it’s stated purpose is to take money out of our local economy. To send it to a few rich Seneca leaders, their out of state consultants and financial lenders, and to Albany, where only a small percentage will return to Buffalo. It’s like going into a hospital needing a blood transfusion, watching a nurse put a needle into your arm, and then instead of being given blood, watching as the little blood you have is sucked out of your body! It’s like a vampire bat Halloween nightmare! And again, it’s brought to us by the very people we elect to keep us safe and healthy!
So VOICE-Buffalo demands a second look at this unsafe decision! We demand that at long last a public official consider the true welfare of our citizens of our region. Secretary Norton, protect us! Call a halt to this terrible decision!
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Casino Opponents Will Be In Front of Zoo on Sunday, October 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and in downtown Buffalo Monday during the lunch hours
