CALVERTON: Not All Oppose A Casino, Riverhead could hear Shinnecocks' offer

Riverhead Town Supervisor Phil Cardinale said yesterday that a new town board composition following the election could provide an opportunity for the Shinnecock Indian Nation to present a plan to offer casino gambling at the Calverton Enterprise Park.

Mr. Cardinale said the Shinnecocks approached the town about such a proposal in 2004, but that, besides himself, only one board member, Ed Densieski, said he would be willing to hear their pitch. The others said they would not even consider hearing the idea.

John Dunleavy, who has indicated that he would be open to talking about a casino, was elected to the town board on Nov. 8. He will begin his term in January.

A call to Mr. Dunleavy was not returned by press time. Beverly Jensen, a spokeswoman for the Shinnecocks, said they would not comment about the possibility of a casino in Riverhead or about the previous overture to the town.

Mr. Cardinale said he had not discussed the idea with Mr. Dunleavy, but that if his reported statements were true, it would at least signal that a plan could be discussed "if one was in the offing."

Jon Schneider, a spokesman for Representative Tim Bishop, said Mr. Bishop's stated position that he opposed a casino at the Westwoods site in Hampton Bays had not changed. He said Mr. Bishop continued to support alternatives that would help the Shinnecocks financially without the detrimental effects of casino gambling.

One such alternative would be to place a wind farm on the reservation. But Mr. Schneider said that the Shinnecocks rejected the idea immediately.

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. said an idea for a hotel and convention center was also offered for discussion, but rejected by the Shinnecocks. He said the tribe had been approached two or three times about different ideas presented by both the congressman and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, but had said no.

"Their single focus is on a casino. I haven't detected any interest in other alternatives."

Mr. Thiele said a change in site, from Southampton to Riverhead Town, would not change his position. While he respects Riverhead's home rule authority, he said, he has also opposed casinos in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and the Catskills, as he would on Long Island.

In general, he said, he was "opposed to casinos as a tool of economic development in the State of New York" and would vote against a Shinnecocks' casino if it came up in the Legislature.

County Executive Steve Levy said through a spokesman that it would "certainly be less of an objection if a locality was in favor of it, but casinos are not going to produce the kind of high-quality jobs that will help families take root in Suffolk County." Other types of businesses at the Calverton site would do that more effectively, he said.

Although the Shinnecocks have not been recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, they were recently given federal recognition in a decision by Federal District Court Judge Thomas C. Platt.

United States Senator Charles Schumer has called upon the bureau to reject the ruling and continue with its review of the Shinnecocks' petition, which was granted active consideration in 2003. Before the Shinnecocks could qualify for gambling rights and other federal privileges, the bureau would still have to add them to its list of recognized tribes.

Mr. Schumer thinks the judge's ruling will "help grease the skids for a misplaced casino effort," according to a press release issued on Monday.

While it is also Mr. Bishop's position that the tribe cannot build a casino without the bureau's approval, Mr. Schneider said, they certainly have the "right to approach the folks in Riverhead" about the idea.

Mr. Cardinale said that, without hearing the Shinnecocks' proposal, a benefit might be a reduction in property taxes brought about by fees that the town would collect from the tribe. There might also be some overall economic benefit to the downtown area, he said.

"The negatives are the usual negatives generally associated with the development of the [Calverton Enterprise Park] site," he said, such as traffic and added pressure on the town's infrastructure. With the addition of gambling, there would be concerns about increased crime, the need for more police, and an overall change in the character of the community.

Even if a proposal came forth, "we would have to study it carefully," Mr. Cardinale said.

The site is near Exits 68 and 69 of the Long Island Expressway, and use of that access, while desirable from a business perspective, is adamantly opposed by the Long Island Pine Barrens Society.

"It would be a difficult and long issue to resolve," Mr. Cardinale said. "At this moment, it would be a long shot."

Mr. Cardinale said there were other proposals for the site, which includes the former Grumman Aerospace Plant, for both the "planned industrial park district" and the "planned recreational park district" zones into which the site is now broken down.

But there are "several thousand acres still available," he said.