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\n\tAn Amish farmer in Tyre, N.Y., where some of the local Amish have mounted a campaign that includes appearing silently in court and stating their views in handwriting.<\/p>\n
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\n\tAn Amish farmer in Tyre, N.Y., where some of the local Amish have mounted a campaign that includes appearing silently in court and stating their views in handwriting.<\/p>\n
\tTYRE, N.Y. \u2014 Ever since they settled in this tiny farm town along the New York State Thruway more than a decade ago, the Amish have been a benign, generally welcome presence: guiding their buggies down local roads, delivering fresh produce to their neighbors and paying their taxes \u2014 though they do not vote.<\/p>\n
\tBut the possibility that a glittering casino could be built here, halfway between Syracuse and Rochester, has torn at the bonds that knit together the area\u2019s Amish and secular residents.<\/p>\n
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\n\tRELATED COVERAGE<\/p>\n
\tDevelopers are interested in opening casinos at Tioga Downs, a harness racing track west of Binghamton.22 Companies Apply to Open 4 Casinos in New York StateAPRIL 24, 2014
\n\tDavid Climans of CGL Architects Inc. helped to prepare a presentation by Tioga Downs at a meeting of the New York Gaming Facility Location Board in Albany on Monday.Gambling Developers Make Presentations in Albany as They Vie for LicensesSEPT. 8, 2014
\n\tBishop Daniel Schwartz, 43, who raises corn, cows and chickens across a two-lane highway from the proposed casino site, has objected to the plan in simple but dogmatic terms. He is talking about pulling up stakes and leaving the region if the project becomes a reality. And he and some of the hundreds of other local Amish have mounted a primitive but potent public relations campaign, appearing silently in court, traveling to state hearings, stating their views in handwriting. In hopes of thwarting the project, Bishop Schwartz himself, wiry-whiskered and rosy-cheeked, even granted what he said was his first sit-down interview.<\/p>\n
\tPhoto<\/p>\n
\tInside the farmhouse of Daniel Schwartz, an Amish bishop in Tyre. Credit Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
\n\t\u201cGambling goes against the teaching of the Bible,\u201d Bishop Schwartz said, \u201cand the fruits of gambling are all bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe town leaders, however, are having none of this. Backed by regional leaders and deeply desirous of the jobs, tourism and municipal improvements that a casino could bring, the town supervisor and others have accused the Amish of allowing themselves to be used as sympathetic props to drum up opposition, exaggerating how threatening the plan would be to their way of life, and overstating their population in Tyre \u2014 as well as their importance to it.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAs the old saying goes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts,\u201d said Ronald F. McGreevy, the supervisor, who campaigned for the casino. He insisted that there were only a few Amish families in Tyre proper, which has a population of about 950. \u201cThere is certainly not going to be a mass exodus if this comes to fruition,\u201d Mr. McGreevy said.<\/p>\n
\tClashes like the one in Tyre \u2014 perhaps the most colorful, given the cultural differences in the mix \u2014 have broken out across New York as the State Gaming Commission prepares to decide the location of up to four new casinos this fall. Expressions of local support were a requirement for each of the 16 proposals, and applicants have worked hard to demonstrate community ties: hosting job fairs, announcing business and labor partnerships, and trumpeting how residents could benefit. One bidder even promised a town new fire trucks.<\/p>\n
\tStanding in the way are opponents whose objections are often emotionally charged. Environmentalists are suing to stop a $1.5 billion project from Genting, the Malaysian casino company, over possible damage to a public forest in Tuxedo, in Orange County; leaders in Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic village in Orange County, sued over the feared impacts of two separate casinos; and opponents of a casino in East Greenbush, near Albany, accused leaders there of rigging the process by which its developer won the town\u2019s support.<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe plaintiffs all cite local officials in their complaints. But the lawsuits are also intended as a siren loud enough to be audible in the state capital.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe wanted to show the Gaming Commission that the town\u2019s show of community support was not so smooth and un-pockmarked as they might want it to look,\u201d said Rodger Friedman, a member of the group opposing the casino in Tuxedo.<\/p>\n
\tEconomic issues are at the heart of the appeal of the $425 million Tyre project, called Lago, in an allusion to the nearby Finger Lakes: With thousands of slot machines, a 1,700-seat theater and a 207-room hotel, promising \u201cthe high energy and excitement of Las Vegas,\u201d its backers say it could pour millions of dollars of revenue into a town so small it has no post office.<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe Buy-In
\n\tArticles in this series are examining the ramifications of New York State\u2019s embrace of casino gambling.<\/p>\n
\tAlbany Doubling Down as Casino Boom Fades<\/p>\n
\tA Rich Plan in New York\u2019s Casino Race Is No Sure Thing for Cuomo<\/p>\n
\tIn Pursuit of Casinos, It\u2019s Worst Foot Forward
\n\tToday, the busiest commercial spot in Tyre is a truck stop off the Thruway. A municipal court shares space with a dog kennel. And the upkeep on the one-room hall used for civic events is partly paid for with barbecue fund-raisers and redemption of the deposits on recyclable cans.<\/p>\n
\tThe closest thing to a residential hub is a small cluster of homes along a creek that feeds the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, at the marshy northern shores of Cayuga Lake \u2014 a protected federal area that town officials say pays very little into the town\u2019s coffers.<\/p>\n
\tThe casino legislation was promoted by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo as a way to help the upstate economy, and Mr. McGreevy said Lago would pay for better water, new Internet service and lower taxes, and would help stave off the need to consider dissolving the town altogether.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cTyre deserves a chance to survive,\u201d said Mr. McGreevy, a retired lawn-mower salesman whose town office is a converted bedroom in his home.<\/p>\n
\tThe casino\u2019s developer promises Lago will create 1,800 permanent jobs, or nearly twice the town\u2019s current population. Regional supporters include the Seneca County Board of Supervisors; a collection of labor unions, arts organizations and business leaders; and Tyre\u2019s town board, which voted unanimously in favor of the casino plan in June.<\/p>\n
\tBut the townspeople themselves are divided. Earlier this year, a small group of residents formed Casino Free Tyre to try to block the project.<\/p>\n
\tDefeated twice in court, the group has presented a vigorous opposition, in Albany, in protests at the casino site and in petitions blasting the town board for \u201cselling out to a casino developer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe group contends that Tyre was chosen for a casino on a bet that the Amish, who do not vote, and its rural residents would put up little fight. Indeed, Casino Free Tyre styles itself as a defender of the Amish and others who have farmed in the area for generations, and has collected sympathetic statements from Amish leaders in nearby counties and communities.<\/p>\n
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\tLake Ontario
\n\t481
\n\t481
\n\tNEW YORK
\n\t414
\n\t414
\n\tNEW YORK STATE THRUWAY
\n\t90
\n\tSyracuse
\n\tTyre
\n\t81
\n\tProposed casino site
\n\tCANADA
\n\tCayuga
\n\tLake
\n\tArea of detail
\n\tSeneca
\n\tLake
\n\tAlbany
\n\tPA.
\n\t10 MILES
\n\tNew York City
\n\t\u201cWe as leaders of our Old Order Amish group humbly ask youce not to let a casino be build\u201d in the area, reads one handwritten letter, signed by six Amish men representing two church districts, roughly equivalent to parishes.<\/p>\n
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\n\tJames Dawley, one of the founders of Casino Free Tyre, said he worried the casino might drive away the Amish and the quiet spirituality and wholesomeness they project.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey add a level of protection from, I guess you would say, what is a worldly influence to our town,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are a protective barrier because of their faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBut casino supporters say the objections of the Amish themselves have been exaggerated in an effort to turn the sect\u2019s piety, and its power as a symbol of old-time simplicity, into a kind of cudgel to be wielded against the casino project on behalf of other people who were simply against development.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey are being used, for lack of a better term,\u201d Mr. McGreevy said, \u201cby this small anti-casino group, saying if we do this, this casino is going to be the end of life as we know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMr. McGreevy said the group\u2019s distortions included overstating the Amish population in Tyre, which he put at only four families, with perhaps six or seven members in each.<\/p>\n
\tSupporters also contend that the moral arguments against casinos, which once carried more of a stigma, have lost force as much of the country has legalized gambling in pursuit of budget relief.<\/p>\n
\tApprised of Mr. McGreevy\u2019s remarks, the Amish bishop in Tyre, Bishop Schwartz, took the unusual step of agreeing to an interview.<\/p>\n
\tAsked for the number of Amish he ministers to, Bishop Schwartz said his community included six families with 44 people living in Tyre, but extended to a total of nearly 350 residents in the two districts included in his area.<\/p>\n
\tHe said Tyre had been a nice spot for his family \u2014 he and his wife have six children, ages 13 to 23 \u2014 because of its rich, flat land, its wildlife, and \u201cgood neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHis people work long, hard days, he said, waking at 5 a.m. to tend their crops and livestock, largely avoiding politics or public life. \u201cWe try to stay out of the way and try not to be a burden, to the government, to the town,\u201d he said. \u201cWe enjoy the countryside, and that\u2019s going to be it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBut Bishop Schwartz said he decided to speak out because of his profound worries about what a casino could bring: traffic, noise, bright lights and threats to what he called \u201cthe moral of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cPeople that are spending this money in the casino are not going to have money to make payments to pay their taxes and to eat, and that\u2019s going to make people \u2014 they\u2019re going to get desperate for money,\u201d Bishop Schwartz said.<\/p>\n
\tHis people are pacifists, he said. \u201cAnd we don\u2019t look forward to having thieves in the middle of the night or people come knocking at the door,\u201d Bishop Schwartz said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know if those things will happen or not, but that\u2019s kind of a big concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBishop Schwartz disputed the idea that the Amish were being manipulated by the casino\u2019s other adversaries. \u201cWe don\u2019t feel that way; we don\u2019t feel that they are using us,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to head this off for their own good, if you will, and us too. We really appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe tense debate has cast a pall over some public functions in Tyre, as each side has accused the other of shameful tactics. At a town board meeting in May, as several Amish people looked on, one supporter of the casino, Michael Davis, turned to them and asked why they had chosen this issue to break their long abstention from civic involvement.<\/p>\n
\tPhoto<\/p>\n
\tAn anti-casino sign. Credit Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
\n\t\u201cExcuse me, Amish, I think you\u2019re wonderful neighbors, and I think you\u2019re great people,\u201d said Mr. Davis, president of the Finger Lakes Building and Trades Council, which could benefit from the construction jobs that a casino would bring. \u201cBut I heard how you can\u2019t come to these things \u2014 and yet you\u2019re here. I heard how you can\u2019t go to court \u2014 and yet you were there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMr. Davis, who owns a farm nearby, added later that he felt the casino\u2019s potential effect on the town\u2019s rural character had been overstated.<\/p>\n
\tBut Mr. McGreevey acknowledged that the heated debate already had one impact. \u201cWe\u2019ve got friends and neighbors now who don\u2019t speak,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tThere have been attempts at peacemaking. Thomas C. Wilmot Sr., the chairman of Wilmorite, a company based in Rochester that is spearheading the Lago project, said he had offered to meet with Bishop Schwartz and allow the Amish to do business at the casino, in an area called Savor New York, where farmers, artisans and merchants could sell their wares, just off the gambling floor.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019ve allocated the space at no charge,\u201d Mr. Wilmot said.<\/p>\n
\tBut Bishop Schwartz seemed unmoved. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so,\u201d he said, with a small laugh.<\/p>\n
\tThe Amish stopped attending town board meetings after Mr. Davis\u2019s speech. But a group of them traveled to a public hearing on the Tyre casino proposal in Ithaca last month \u2014 raising questions, again, about how they had gotten there.<\/p>\n
\tBishop Schwartz said they had paid their own way, and that the questions had prompted him to write another letter expressing his opposition. But he said he was already mulling the possibility that Lago would be approved.<\/p>\n
\tWould that constitute enough of a threat for the Amish to pack up and go?<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe don\u2019t know,\u201d Bishop Schwartz said. But he added, \u201cCan\u2019t imagine living so close to a casino.\u201d<\/p>\n
No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An Amish farmer in Tyre, N.Y., where some of the local Amish have mounted a campaign that includes appearing silently in court and stating their views in handwriting. TYRE, N.Y. \u2014 Ever since they settled in this tiny farm town…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8095\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}