BUFFALO, N.Y. — Lawmakers in the state Assembly failed to debate and vote on an authorization bill that would allow Governor Hochul to sign a new gaming compact with the Seneca Nation.
The Senate version of the bill passed with only one negative vote, Rochester area lawmaker Jeremy Cooney.
The Assembly was unable to move the bill out of the way and means committee because word started circulating Saturday that one of the provisions of the new gaming compact is that the Seneca Nation will be able to build a casino in Monroe County.
Sources have told 2 On Your Side the location of a new casino could be downtown Rochester or Henrietta.
Neither the Seneca Nation nor state officials have confirmed, nor released, any details of the new compact deal that was announced on June 7.
One of the points of contention for lawmakers is the sense that they were left out of the negotiating process, and weren't informed that Monroe County could be a future home for a Seneca casino.
"I did not feel comfortable voting for a piece of legislation that really didn't have a lot of details behind it," said Senator Jeremy Cooney. "Let's see the agreement and then make a decision to support it through a vote or not."
Senator Cooney said, to his knowledge, no one in the leadership conference was briefed on the details by the Governor's staff.
Governor Hochul recused herself from the negotiations due to her husband's affiliation with Delaware North.
"They have cited that there is some sort of non-disclosure agreement that prevented them from getting more information," Cooney said.
2 On Your Side questioned Governor Hochul's office about the NDA, but the office has not confirmed NDAs were signed by the negotiators.
Hochul spoke very briefly on the compact during her visit to Buffalo on Monday.
"My team is very involved and I know they're waiting for support from the legislature at the time to get this completed," Hochul said. "Anything else is premature at this time."
It was a secret who was even negotiating the deal on behalf of the state until 2 On Your Side pressed the state for details.
The negotiators include Elizabeth Fine, Kathryn Garcia, Neysa Alsina, David Perino, and Robert Williams.
Elizabeth Fine is currently counsel to the Governor, and previously served as general counsel of Empire State Development for eight years.
Kathryn Garcia is the current director of New York State Operations after spending much of her career in New York City administration jobs.
Neysa Alsina serves as a deputy secretary and special advisor in the executive chamber. Alsina's current focus is on gaming and cannabis-related issues.
David Perino is a longstanding Albany player, currently a senior counsel for Governor Hochul. Perino is a holdover from the Cuomo administration as well and served as special counsel for the state's legislative bill drafting commission for 16 years.
Perhaps the person with the most gaming experience on the state's negotiating team is Robert Williams. Williams first served as a council on the state's subcommittee on racing, gaming, and wagering in 1993. Williams eventually worked for the state's racing and wagering board for 15 years. Williams is another Cuomo holdover and has served in the executive chamber since 2017.
It's unclear if these are the only members of the state's negotiating team as it's the only names the state provided after 2 On Your Side asked repeatedly for them.
"We would have assumed that throughout that negotiation with the Seneca Nation and the state of New York, we may have been brought up to speed or kept in the loop," Senator Cooney said. "The fact that they've already reached some sort of conceptual agreement, and now they're asking for kind of a blank check if you will, it is really just not something I feel comfortable going back to the voters to let them know that we perhaps don't have all the information that we should have."
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans took was very clear about his dissatisfaction with the Rochester delegation and his administration being left out of the loop on a potential casino coming to Rochester proper.
In a statement provided to WGRZ, Mayor Evans said in part: "We have heard lots of chatter about the possibility of a casino license being granted in the Rochester area. It should be noted that neither City leadership nor members of our New York State delegation has been involved in any conversations related to this possibility. Any conversation of this magnitude that does not include local stakeholders is unacceptable."
Additionally, members of the Monroe County Legislature
Majority Leader Crystal People-Stokes expressed frustration that her Assembly bill giving the Governor authorization has stalled for now.
"Quite frankly, we should have given [the Governor] the authority to do the negotiations, prior to them agreeing to anything that would potentially become public," Peoples-Stokes said. "So it makes our job more difficult."
Peoples-Stokes says the assembly will be returning but didn't have a specific date for when they'll be called back to vote on her bill.
The Majority Leader also doesn't share the concern the Rochester delegation has regarding being left out of the negotiating process.
"I wasn't a part of the original negotiation, I was in the assembly," Peoples-Stokes said. "Quite frankly, if we get 150 people involved in every single detail of it, then we may not get it done by December."
While a deal between the Seneca Nation and the state was previously announced, the kerfuffle that has developed in the legislature could put the alleged terms of the compact deal in question.