Seneca Gaming says don’t worry about gas station: but should we believe them?

With New York having the highest state gasoline taxes in America at 49.3 cents per gallon, Seneca state tax free gas stations can easily wipe out the competition. in 2002, Albany gave Seneca a 50 acre, sovereign territory in the middle of over taxed Niagara Falls and forgot to protect its own constituents. Now we may see the results as Seneca gradually takes over business after business.

We reported exclusively last week that the Seneca Gaming Corporation had solicited proposals through an RFP process for the planning and design of an upscale convenience store and gas station on two adjacent lots next to its casino parking ramp on Niagara St. in downtown Niagara Falls.

In the RFP, a copy of which has been obtained by the Reporter, the Gaming Corporation says its intent is to seek a qualified firm to plan and design an upscale store and gas station for the site at 621 Niagara St. and the adjacent lot at 765 Niagara St.
But apparently, residents and small business owners who fear being overwhelmed by the possibility of tax-free competition should not be concerned because, according to Jim Wise, senior vice president of marketing for Seneca Gaming, the nine-page RFP issued last May 21 with a return date of June 15 was just an effort to get some facts.

In answer to a question by a television reporter last week after our story was published, Wise said: “We just wanted some information from an expert. We put out an RFP and now, unfortunately, two and two have become 16 and everyone is running around saying well, ‘when is the first gas pump going to show up?’ It’s just extremely frivolous and premature. We’re trying to gain some facts.” Wise went on to say “we look at all sorts of retail concepts. We don’t know anything about them. We just want somebody to explain to us what’s going on.”

Don’t know anything about retail concepts? Wise must think the public lives in a cave. There’s a hotel, full-service spa, a 400-seat buffet undergoing a full makeover, eight professional meeting rooms, a 120-seat Italian fine dining restaurant, steakhouse, and much, much more on the casino grounds. And there are more than a few gas stations and convenience stores on the Seneca Nation’s Cattaraugus Reservation.

I tried to follow up with Wise the morning after he made his comments to the television reporter, but when I identified myself I was told he was on vacation and was unavailable.

If he was hoping to put residents at ease with his comments, it hasn’t worked. The Reporter interviewed several residents and business operators and they are all concerned about the potential of a casino gas station and convenience store coming to town.
Paul Poulos, the owner and operator of the Star Food Mart on Main St., has been in business for 50 years and says if Seneca Gaming opens a tax-free gas station and store on its property it will effect everyone in the city. “There used to be 27 gas stations from Cedar Ave. to Portage and now there are five,” Poulos said. “The city is going down hill. I welcome any business that’s on a level playing field.”

The operator of the Citgo gas station at 700 Main St. has a similar reaction. “I think a lot of stores would close down if this happens,” said Aman Singh. What has the casino done for this city? They haven’t paid a dime since 2009.”

“I don’t understand how local businesses can compete against them if they don’t pay taxes,” said Ashiq Ali who owns Valero Gas on Ferry Ave. The manager of the Coastal Express Mart on 19th St.. Moe Ahmed, said “They will crush local competitors not having to pay taxes. How will we all compete?”

Aman Singh says his Main Street Citgo gas station and convenience store will be crushed by Seneca having an unlevel playing field.

Faisel Haruna, the owner operator of Irene’s Mini Market on 24th St., said if the casino opens a tax-free gas station and convenience store “it will kill my store and many others.”

Debbie Candella of Niagara Falls said “I just don’t \believe they should be doing this. They owe us millions. It will be bad for small business people.” And Laurie Nuzum, also of Niagara Falls, said “it will hurt other businesses and people who live here.”
Not one person interviewed by the Reporter thought anything positive could come from the opening of a tax-free gas station and convenience store in downtown Niagara Falls and fear that if it happens it could be the end for the small businesses in the immediate area.

We reported last week about elected officials who recalled that when the gaming compact was negotiated back in 2002, Seneca leaders said they would never open a smoke shop or gas station on their property. But times have changed and the Senecas and the state are locked in a bitter battle over gaming rights that has caused the Nation to withhold payments of gaming revenue to the state since 2009.

The Seneca Nation maintains that under the 2002 compact, it has exclusive gambling rights in the 14 counties in Western New York and has withheld payments to the state from its casinos in Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Salamanca in protest over the video lottery terminals at Batavia Downs, Buffalo Raceway, and Finger Lakes Gaming and Raceway.

The City of Niagara Falls is owed about $60 million in casino revenues and the shortfall is creating serious budgetary problems across the board. The gaming dispute is currently in arbitration and some observers see the gas station plan as a possible trump card in that ongoing dispute. Seneca Gaming has declined to respond to our requests for comment on their plans and at this point, we don’t know how many responses they received for their gas station/convenience store project through the RFP process. Make no mistake the RFP’s that were issued were very detailed in describing the project down to staffing and job titles.
There has been little comment from the area’s elected state officials over the possibility of a tax-free gas station coming to the casino site although John Destino, who is running a GOP primary against State Sen. George Maziarz, told the Reporter that small businesses would definitely take a big hit if Seneca Gaming were to follow through on the plan.

Meanwhile, on another front, the state and the Seneca Nation are squabbling quite seriously, or so it seems, over planned construction work on the Southern Tier Expressway with the state balking at paying additional fees to begin the work. The state had hoped to start the work this week on the 11.5 mile segment of the expressway that crosses the Senecas’ Allegany Territory. It is another part of the escalating tension between the Seneca Nation and the state that at its core is the fight over lucrative gaming rights with the Cuomo Administration eyeing statewide gambling as a way to bring in new revenue.

For now, the biggest casualty in the ongoing gaming battle is the City of Niagara Falls and now the prospect of tax-free gas has been introduced and cannot be shrugged off because Seneca Gaming says not too worry, we’re just looking for a little information. The local media and our state representative must press hard for answers about what’s next for the beleaguered residents and businesses of Niagara Falls.