Catskill Casino Coalition and Sullivan County leaders hail thousands of jobs and millions in revenue from planned Stockbridge-Munsee casino
Racetracks launch last-minute effort to derail it with phony polls and distortions, county manager says
Albany – Feb. 2, 2011 – The Catskill Casino Coalition and key Sullivan County officials testified today about the substantial and long-lasting benefits of building the Stockbridge-Munsee casino within the county, including thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in related tax revenue and a revitalization of the tourism industry.
The coalition and leading county officials said that environmental assessments had been thorough, that there would be no adverse impact on the New York City watershed area, and that the casino issue had been thoroughly reviewed at multiple levels. Todd Diorio, president of the Catskill Casino Coalition and of the Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trades Council, testified personally before the New York Assembly’s Standing Committee on Racing and Wagering. Due to the inclement weather, Sullivan County officials provided testimony in written form to the committee Wednesday morning (02/02/11).
“There has been a last second push by the racing industry to block this project,” said Sullivan County Manager David P. Fanslau. “They have put together phony polls, labeled this project as a ‘midnight under the table deal.’ Clearly their motivation is competition. Well, competition is what made this country great. This project would not hurt the harness tracks, it will help them.”
Diorio said members of the construction trades are hurting and the jobs situation is critical: “Currently the unemployment levels of our members are at horrific levels. Sullivan County’s unemployment rate is around 10 percent. Currently almost 50 percent of the 10,000 tradesmen and women affiliated with the Council are unemployed and unemployment levels in 2010 were in the 30-35 percent range.”
Diorio also linked the decisions regarding the casino to New York’s overall economic development efforts, including the failed effort last fall to land a Macy’s warehouse in neighboring Orange County.
“This State must become more business friendly,” Diorio said. “We have been unsuccessful at creating jobs or even maintaining jobs and are failing to grow our economy. Just recently the Hudson Valley lost a huge opportunity when Macy’s chose West Virginia over the Empire State, over New York, for a 1.2 million square-foot warehouse. There have been many attempts to legalize gaming, all so far unsuccessful, and many attempts to have an Indian Casino built, and also so far unsuccessful. We have never been so close. All it will take is political willpower instead of constant roadblocks. The working men and women of our state need opportunity. Ten years from now we can’t be asking ourselves …. what if a casino got built in Sullivan County?”
“We need jobs, we need jobs and we need jobs,” said Allan Scott, President of the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, which seeks to market the county and increase the number of jobs. In written testimony, he said, “The Stockbridge project is an opportunity not only to create thousands of jobs, but to re-energize a once vital industry, tourism, in an economically impoverished county. Sullivan County was once a renowned tourist destination. The Stockbridge project would be a world-class facility that would, with other world-class facilities like Bethel Woods, help our green tourism industry thrive again.”
Fanslau, in written testimony for the county and the Town of Thompson, the site of the casino, noted the precarious nature of the state’s economy: “Let me first say that we are at a critical point in our State’s history. It is a fact that New York State is ranked as the most unfriendly to business. Ladies and Gentlemen, we need jobs, we need jobs, and we need jobs! “
Fanslau said that at stake is the rebuilding of an entire industry. “We are looking to reestablish and rebuild our tourism industry,” he said. “That is the key. By rebuilding our hotel and resort industry we can rebuild our middle class. Rebuilding our middle class must be the focus for all elected officials throughout this state. The casino gaming is a vital part of rebuilding our tourism industry, because it will allow the resorts first to be built and second compete in the market place with our neighboring states. Hundreds of millions of dollars leaves this state every year to our neighbors in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Canada. We are surrounded.”
Scott, Fanslau and Diorio said the economic impact of the planned casino would be huge:
- Total estimated construction costs of more than $560 million.
- The casino is projected to create more than 2,000 construction jobs and 5,000 permanent jobs when the facility opens.
- It is expected that 80 percent of the employees would come from the immediate Sullivan, Orange, Ulster and Delaware County areas.
- The casino payroll would be approximately $171 million dollars per year.
- The multiplier or ripple effect of these jobs in the New York State economy would support another 1,820 jobs and a payroll of $111 million dollars.
- The casino would be the largest employer in the Catskills.
They also noted the exhaustive reviews thus far:
- A full Environmental Assessment and a full Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
- An administrative record more than 2,500 pages long.
- The Tribe has already done significant work on the property with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) oversight and signoff. The Tribe has cleaned up the site, formerly an auto junkyard and mining operation, to remove solid waste, thousands of tires and old auto parts that were polluting the adjacent Neversink River; it has also closed the mining operation.
Fanslau also noted that the effort to stop the Stockbridge-Munsee casino is especially ironic given past agreements. “The arguments of the racetracks should not be used as a sword to stop much needed economic development and job growth. It should not be used to stop the one project that can restore job security to thousands of local residents. Some of the individuals who are shouting foul now, were the same individuals who cheered the passage of the three casino bill in 2001, the Mohawk casino bill in 2005 and actually pushed for 5 casinos. Monticello raceway has the opportunity to establish its own Indian casino. It worked towards this for over 15 years when it first brought the New York Oneida tribe to Sullivan County. It is not denied this opportunity because the Stockbridge project is moving forward.”
Diorio also cited the racing industry’s opposition, and questioned the rationale for Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow’s opposition. Pretlow is chairman of the Racing panel. “With all due respect, there has been a last second push by the racing industry to block this project,” Diorio said. “This project would not hurt the harness tracks, it will help them. By building this project, hundreds of millions of dollars will be invested in our region and there will be a positive spin off to the racetrack. The racing industry did not raise an objection when the bill authorizing three Indian casinos was introduced and passed in 2001. The racing industry did not raise an objection when the Assembly passed a bill authorizing a Mohawk casino at the Kutsher’s hotel.
“We are also not convinced that it’s the entire Racing Industry that is not in favor of this project. It’s relevant that Assemblyman Pretlow is leading this change and using his position as Chairman of Racing and Wagering to now attempt to kill the project. We must also ask the questions: Is he looking out for the interest of the State or just his district as we are all aware includes Yonkers Raceway. It should also be noted for the record that over 1/3 of his total political contributions in 2009 and 2010 have come from those affiliated with Yonkers Raceway or other tracks. Again, it should be noted that he voted on several occasions to support casinos in Sullivan County.”
For more information:
Douglas Cunningham
Focus Media, Inc.
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