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Even by the often-surreal standards of Niagara Falls and New York State, this is getting ridiculous.
As of the day this newspaper hits the streets, it's been 411 days since Mayor Irene Elia raised her fists high above her head (at least as high as she can get them) and proclaimed, "This is the day that the Lord has made!"
Herroner was referring, of course, to the long-awaited arrival of casino gambling in Niagara Falls. While the idea that The Almighty is some sort of slot junkie may be debatable, the June 2001 announcement that Gov. George Pataki had reached an accord with Seneca Nation President Cyrus Schindler seemingly turned gambling here from hope into inevitability.
Not quite, as it turns out.
The latest in a long line of "there's going to be a press conference at the end of the week" rumors spread through the city early last week. At least the Seneca council met last week to get things rolling, just in case the state finally gets around to signing off on the deal.
State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, though, continues to labor under the delusion that his "what-I-say-goes" crap works as well with leaders of a sovereign nation as it does on the cowering wastes of office space in the State Legislature and governor's mansion.
Silver wants to make sure his pet unions are guaranteed jurisdiction over construction and operation of any Seneca casino. Schindler and other Seneca leaders justly ask, "Who the hell is this Silver guy, anyway?"
Shelly's political breath-holding and the craven response of Pataki, et al., has been widely discussed in these pages and points up the complete ineffectiveness of New York's version of democracy. But until the governor decides to get up on his hind legs and challenge the decree of a man elected by a tiny fraction of the state's voters, we're just going to have to keep waiting.
Seneca leaders may have given Pataki a route with which he's far more comfortable -- appeasing Silver -- last week when they formed corporations to oversee the construction and operation of the proposed casino. The corporations would deal with any labor negotiations, thereby preserving Seneca sovereignty, as well as the most-favored-union status bestowed on generous organizations by Albany.
Any additional delay also gives our favorite parasites in city and county government additional time to issue plaintive wails for a bigger cut of the casino take.
These are the same people who spend federal money earmarked for a Red Cross building on paving a street, since they're too inept to fund such necessities out of their own budget, despite tax rates that steadily drive businesses out of the city.
And who managed to turn Niagara County's share of the tobacco settlement into less than half of what it could have been, then blow it all shortly before raising taxes by 20 percent (doling out free boob jobs to any employee who wants one all the while).
Giving either government any more money is like paying a guy in advance for a job knowing full well that he's just going to blow it on crack, then not show up to do the work.
The real benefit from a casino will come from development around it designed to attract gamblers and non-gamblers alike. Provided, of course, the state and locals don't find a way to screw that up, too.
Unfortunately, that could be the safest bet of all.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 6 2002 |