Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan is calling the city's dispute with the Seneca Nation over land in the Old First Ward a "run-of-the-mill" property dispute. This comes after construction work began on a new Seneca One Stop gas station on the Miami Street parcel, and the city's legal department sending a cease-and-desist to the Senecas.
"It's a property dispute, and we often have property disputes about who can do what with property in the city of Buffalo," Ryan told reporters Wednesday. "So, not unlike other disputes, owners assert they have a right to do things with or without the city's input, and if you reach a disagreement on this, then you avail yourself to an outside person or perhaps a court of law."
But the Seneca Nation is standing by their assertion that the land was given restricted fee status, making it a form of sovereign land which eliminates taxation and most local and state land-use regulations.
“The Seneca Nation will fight against any aggressive acts by New York’s Executive Chamber and any local governments that oppose our sovereign nation’s ability to create economic development to benefit our people and create jobs for the local community," Seneca President J. Conrad Seneca said earlier this week. "The Seneca Nation will always defend our sovereignty, our treaties, and our rights to create economic opportunity on our lands."
Ryan said city officials are still looking into the ownership of the parcel on Miami Street.
"We're researching now. Our belief that it was acquired by a corporation associated with the Seneca Nation, so we believe that that is the current ownership," he said. "But that ownership doesn't make it sovereign land by itself."
The Senecas provided a February 2023 determination letter from the U.S. Interior Department, which has jurisdiction over ceding lands to Native nations if requested. It said local, county and state leaders were notified within a 30-day window and raised no objections to change the status of the Miami Street parcel. It also determined the Seneca Nation followed the 1990 Seneca Settlement Act, using funds from that federal law, and that the parcel was in proximity to the former Buffalo Creek Reservation.
"We have reviewed the Nation's request and have determined that the requirements of the Settlement Act have been met. You should proceed to record the deed to the Miami Street Parcels as 'restricted fee,'" read the conclusion of the memo from the Interior Department.
"I haven't seen that letter," Ryan said of the letter which was widely published by local media. "I missed the news."
A major facet of the Seneca Settlement Act, a federal law, was to make it easier for the Seneca Nation to purchase back former lands and outlines a framework to return those to fuller Seneca control. But the mayor was dismissive that this was applicable.
The City of Buffalo's own property tax records indicate that since 2024, the city has coded the Miami Street parcel as an "Indian Res" and has not assessed, charged or collected taxes on the Seneca-owned property after the Interior Department's determination went into affect.
Ryan said there is no timeline on the next course of action the city will take, but that much of it is in the hands of lawyers. Construction crews meanwhile are continuing to do work on the site.
"Maybe the city's right, maybe the city is wrong, maybe the Seneca Nation's right," he said. "There is no deadline, so we ask for a response, and so we're hoping still to get a response. As we're waiting for that, we're still doing our research to figure out exactly what our rights are in this situation."
President JC Seneca released a message following Ryan's comments, saying Senecas and allies will be holding a press conference at the Miami Street parcel and hold a "peaceful march" around Niagara Square Thursday afternoon.
