Greene County Catholics: No dice to casino

The Catskill Casino and Entertainment Center would be located off Exit 21 of the Thruway, but the parties involved -- the St. Regis Mohawks and a Niagara Falls hazardous waste cleanup company -- would need permission from the federal government to take control of the property and make it Indian territory eligible for a casino.

Many observers suspect that permission will never be given.

Danger ahead

"We feel that casinos are destructive for families and, ultimately, detrimental to the economy, even though they promote themselves as a short- and long-term gain," said. "It seems there is an open legal question about [the group's] ability to purchase the land and have it declared reservation land for the purpose of gambling."

Like another proposed Mohawk casino in Sullivan County, the Catskill casino would need to be exempted from a state ban on casinos outside the Mohawks' ancestral homes; currently, the Turning Stone Casino Resort in Verona, run by the Oneidas, and a casino at the Iroquois nation's Akwesasne Reservation in Franklin County are the only two operated by Indian nations in the state.

Big-time difficulty

Any jobs created by having a casino would be offset by other potential problems. "A casino brings in situations that could adversely affect the people here," he said. "More bad could come out of it than good."

Rev. Jeremiah Nunan, pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Cairo and Greene County dean, added: "I think it would be better for the community [to not have it.] I like the area the way it is."

The jobs a casino would bring aren't worth the risk involved, he said, noting: "Obviously, it would bring in a lot of business and provide a lot of employment; but at the same time, it would bring in a lot of crime. Crime is usually associated with gambling, and I would rather not see it."

State involvement

"The problem is when you get into the promotion of casino gambling, and it takes it out of the recreation stage," he said. "Would the state want to say that because they can tax cigarettes and alcohol, we should be promoting super-size alcohol distribution centers on every corner?"

The federal Bureau for Indian Affairs and Gov. George Pataki would need to allow the Mohawks to take control of the land in Catskill for their casino, but "there's an open question about the Governor's legal ability to formalize Indian gaming compacts without the approval of the Legislature, thereby getting around the constitutional mandate prohibiting casinos," Mr. Barnes pointed out. "We certainly hope those questions are fully answered before we go forward. It's much harder to stop something that's in place than to have it stopped by proper legal channels prior to implementation."

Moratorium

"We would like to see a moratorium as a means to sit down with everyone in the state government to really figure out where we're going," Mr. Barnes said.

He figures there is a silent majority of Catskill residents who oppose a casino in their town.

"There is this perception that everyone in the area promotes this and views this as their economic savior," he said. "I think it's important that people who are opposed to a casino in that locality speak out, so that it's clear this is not a unanimous call."

Plus and minus

"On the one hand, people are interested and excited about it," she said. "If it comes to Greene County, it would be a positive thing because it would create jobs and an upgrade for local businesses.

"My concern would be the impact it's going to have on the low-income, unemployed, low-resource folks who might be drawn to use what little money they have in that type of environment. I'm more concerned about that part of the population than the other pieces of it."

Problems

She has seen people with addictive personalities come to Catholic Charities for help, and a casino would only give those who compulsively gamble an opportunity to do so.

"The draw of gambling is overwhelming, but people don't realize it until they're too far gone," she said.

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