2.01.08
No casino for Shinnecocks, but yes to other things
The federal court decision that barred the Shinnecock Indian Nation from building a casino should not be interpreted by the Town of Southampton as a license to prohibit any activity on the Hampton Bays parcel, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bianco made the ruling during a conference in Central Islip to address the language that will be incorporated into his judgment on the lawsuit, which was decided in October.
The Town of Southampton sued the Shinnecocks in 2003 to stop them from building a casino on an 80-acre tract of land known as Westwoods. The tribe claimed that sovereignty made them immune from town zoning regulations, but Bianco disagreed and issued an injunction stopping the casino.
But, in their proposed draft of the judgment, the town's attorneys wanted the judge's injunction to apply to any use of the land that did not comply with town zoning laws and other regulations.
Tribe trustees said that could prohibit them -- under the punishment of a federal contempt order -- from doing things they have done for "generations" there, including gathering firewood and holding tribal ceremonies, such as their annual Fourth of July picnic.
The Shinnecocks' attorney, Christopher Lunding of Manhattan, said his clients don't want to worry "about being held in contempt if they held a wedding."
But the town's attorney, Michael Cohen of Jericho, called the tribe's interpretation of the town's proposal "absolutely ridiculous." In court he said the town's intent is not to prohibit common tribal activities on the land, but rather to have a judgment that would prevent the Shinnecocks from developing a major project on the site other than a casino.
"I'm not aware of any basis whatsoever for the tribe to feel that the activities in which they previously engaged in Westwoods are any more or less suggestible to prosecution today that they were before," Cohen said later. "What are they worried about? It's making an issue where, really, none exists."
Tribal trustee Randy King called the town proposal "spiteful."
"We've been a better steward to the land than they have," said King. "This trial was about gaming at Westwoods and the town overreached."
Despite the town's assurances, Bianco said with such a broadly-defined judgment, nothing would keep the town from bringing the tribe to federal court every time it perceived a zoning violation of any sort. Bianco said the court should not act as "the ultimate zoning board," and rather that the town should handle any violations through the usual channels.
"Why should that come before me when this case was about a casino?" he said.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bianco made the ruling during a conference in Central Islip to address the language that will be incorporated into his judgment on the lawsuit, which was decided in October.
The Town of Southampton sued the Shinnecocks in 2003 to stop them from building a casino on an 80-acre tract of land known as Westwoods. The tribe claimed that sovereignty made them immune from town zoning regulations, but Bianco disagreed and issued an injunction stopping the casino.
But, in their proposed draft of the judgment, the town's attorneys wanted the judge's injunction to apply to any use of the land that did not comply with town zoning laws and other regulations.
Tribe trustees said that could prohibit them -- under the punishment of a federal contempt order -- from doing things they have done for "generations" there, including gathering firewood and holding tribal ceremonies, such as their annual Fourth of July picnic.
The Shinnecocks' attorney, Christopher Lunding of Manhattan, said his clients don't want to worry "about being held in contempt if they held a wedding."
But the town's attorney, Michael Cohen of Jericho, called the tribe's interpretation of the town's proposal "absolutely ridiculous." In court he said the town's intent is not to prohibit common tribal activities on the land, but rather to have a judgment that would prevent the Shinnecocks from developing a major project on the site other than a casino.
"I'm not aware of any basis whatsoever for the tribe to feel that the activities in which they previously engaged in Westwoods are any more or less suggestible to prosecution today that they were before," Cohen said later. "What are they worried about? It's making an issue where, really, none exists."
Tribal trustee Randy King called the town proposal "spiteful."
"We've been a better steward to the land than they have," said King. "This trial was about gaming at Westwoods and the town overreached."
Despite the town's assurances, Bianco said with such a broadly-defined judgment, nothing would keep the town from bringing the tribe to federal court every time it perceived a zoning violation of any sort. Bianco said the court should not act as "the ultimate zoning board," and rather that the town should handle any violations through the usual channels.
"Why should that come before me when this case was about a casino?" he said.
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