A New York appeals court has turned back an environmental challenge to next month’s opening of del Lago Resort & Casino in the state’s Finger Lakes region.
Casino Free Tyre, a citizens group that opposes the $440 million resort, sued the local government, demanding it commission an environmental impact statement. The group claimed the town had failed to comply with processes mandated by the State Environmental Quality Review Act and other environmental regulations and had acted in an “arbitrary, capricious’’ manner in issuing approvals back in 2015 to allow del Lago’s construction to proceed. Their suit was dismissed last year in state Supreme Court, and that ruling was unanimously affirmed by the Appellate Division.
“It is my sincere hope that at some point we could put an end to these costly lawsuits and finally start to focus our collective efforts on improving the economic climate of Tyre, Seneca County and the entire Finger Lakes Region,’’ said town Supervisor Ronald McGreevey.
Casino Free Tyre member Desiree Dawley said the group was “disappointed” by the ruling.
“We simply asked that our community have a voice in this process and that the law be followed,” she said. “We will continue to speak out on behalf of our community until the major problems we’ve raised have been addressed.”
del Lago is set to open February 1 as the second of four full-scale commercial casinos approved by the state in 2013. It’s expected to employ 1,800 people at full build-out and draw as many as 3 million visitors a year to the region.
