Wait just a damn minute!

Do the people of Greater Rochester want a casino downtown?
Nobody knows. Nobody has asked.

            Would a casino
help the economy? If so, would the benefits outweigh the costs that legalized
gambling brings? Nobody knows. There’s been little chance to study it.

            Would a
casino help downtown development efforts or hurt them? Would it be compatible
with a performing arts center a block away? With the Eastman School of Music?
With the growing number of downtown housing developments? Nobody knows.

            Given the
increase in the number of casinos in the region, is a casino in Rochester
likely to succeed or fail? Nobody knows.

            Will we get
a casino downtown, whether we want it or not? Quite possibly.

            In
stunningly secret negotiations, Governor George Pataki, Rochester developer Tom
Wilmot, and representatives of the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma are crafting
a deal that would put a casino and hotel at Midtown Plaza and the Sibley
Building.

            Nobody else
is involved in the discussions. Not even the mayor of the City of Rochester.

            This is
absurd. Whatever your opinion on casinos, this is too important a proposal to
be pushed through with no public input.

            Should
downtown become one big entertainment district?

            If the
casino caused an increase in crime, who would pay for police? City taxpayers
alone? All Monroe County taxpayers?

            Are county
taxpayers willing to pay for more social services to cope with gambling
addiction and related problems?

            There are
way too many questions about this project for the public to be shut out of the
process. And it’s impossible to discuss the casino without pointing out the
obvious: one party in the project is the Wilmorite Corporation, which owes city
taxpayers about $14 million in taxes, delinquent loans, and fees on the Sibley
Building.

            This is the
same Wilmorite that had the money to expand Eastview Mall recently — a mall
that has contributed to the evaporation of retail business from downtown
Rochester. It’s perfectly legal for Wilmorite set up different entities, the
assets of each one protected from the problems of the others. But that doesn’t
mean the public should be happy about it — or that the public should be shut
out.

            Do you want a casino in downtown Rochester?
Do you want more information, and more time to learn about the issue?

            Should the
governor of New York, and the governor alone, be able to decide whether the
casino will be built?

            Although
nobody seems certain, apparently the State Legislature and the Bureau of Indian
Affairs have to approve the deal. It’s time for a strong protest — from local
citizens and from government and civic leaders. It’s time to insist that the
Rochester public have a voice in the decision.

            If you’re
concerned, speak up. Write to Pataki and to area state legislators. Write to
County Executive Maggie Brooks. Tell her to insist, on your behalf, that the
project be brought out into daylight.

            Here’s the
address list:

            County Executive Maggie Brooks, 110
County Office Building, 39 West Main Street, Rochester 14614-1476

            Governor George Pataki, Executive
Chamber, State Capitol, Albany, New York 12224.

            Senator Michael Nozzolio, 119 Fall
Street, Seneca Falls 13148.

            Senator James Alesi, 220 Packett’s
Landing, Fairport 14450.

            Senator Joseph Robach, 2300 West
Ridge Road, Rochester 14626.

            Senator George Maziarz, 350 New
Campus Drive, Brockport 14420.

            Assemblymember Joseph Errigo, 3045
East Henrietta Road, Henrietta 14467.

            Assemblymember Susan John, 840
University Avenue, Rochester 14607.

            Assemblymember Joseph Morelle, 1945
East Ridge Road, Rochester 14622.

            Assemblymember David Gantt, 74 University
Avenue, Rochester 14605.

            Assemblymember William Reilich, 2300
West Ridge Road, Rochester 14626.

            Assemblymember David Koon, 268
Fairport Village Landing, Fairport 14450.

            Assemblymember Charles Nesbitt, 121
North Main Street, Albion 14411.

This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2004.