By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – The group suing state and federal officials to block the planned Seneca Casino for Buffalo is trying to bring statewide attention to its efforts. They traveled to Albany Wednesday and are now putting pressure on the State Attorney General to take a position.
The Citizens for a Better Buffalo filed a state lawsuit this week in the second half of the group's effort to stop the downtown casino. Defendants include officials all the way from the Mayor's office to the Governor. Last month a federal lawsuit was filed, naming federal officials.
The latest suit represents a church pastor and several residents who live near the proposed site. Joe Finnerty is one of the attorneys representing residents. He says they were left out of the state approval process.
"They believe that the effect the casino is going to have on them and their community has got to be analyzed and the people of not only their immediate area, but of the entire City should be heard about this project," said Finnerty.
Finnerty says the group also wants to hear from State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Finnerty says Spitzer has been pushing to collect taxes on Indian Reservations. But he has yet to take a position on the Seneca Casino in Buffalo. Finnerty says Spitzer needs to be consistent.
"I belive that he's a person who sees the big picture and wants to have a policy that works positively," said Finnerty. "It doesn't do any good to be collecting those taxes on cigarettes in the way he's doing it, if here in Buffalo we've built a nine-acre black hole downtown that is going to be engaging in business that is not taxed and is simply going to be sucking money out of the City of Buffalo."
He says, as an Attorney General, Spitzer should also be concerned with the alleged manipulation of federal statutes that were the basis of the federal lawsuit.
The state case is scheduled for an initial hearing in front of State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Makowski on April 7th. The group is seeking an injunction to halt any further work on the downtown site.