What did they know, and when did they know it? That was the Watergate question.

According to Supervisor Langley quoted in an April 24^th TU story by Chris Churchill, the April 16^th resolution had to be added late because the developer called only a few days prior.  “We had conversations of interest, nothing more than that, with Saratoga Casino and Raceway,….that’s what led this resolution to be put together.” 

Well I have direct knowledge from an EG Cop and second hand knowledge from an EG Planning Board member that this thing was known to them in February.  What do you make of that? 

And then you have the land purchase entity Greenbush Associates LLC changing its name from Greenbush Casino Associates LLC in February.  What do you make of that? 

Does anyone make a land purchase for several million (according to a TU story by Ken Crowe, the Village at Thompson Hill loaned the developers $3 million for the purchase) requiring significant zoning change and environmental evaluation without receiving “assurances” that these can be taken care of?  What do you make of that?

Well, I think I can assure the Town Board and the casino developers that this is not going to be as simple as getting a Final Plat Approval from the Chairman of the Planning Board without a meeting and without a Resolution as was done in January for the Thompson Way Development.  (See the commentary by Dwight Jenkins on this one.) 

The fact is that the Town Board (and I’d say Planning and Zoning at least) went secret in February, intending to slip this thing by without telling anyone.  Well this is too big a deal to rely on the likes of DeFruscio and Gilbert and the “shot callers” on the Dem side for insight.  The most experienced of you have little more than two years of municipal government experience.  And you’re up against some of the slickest snake oil salesmen and women in the business.  You got taken and have almost taken us with you, and we’re pissed.  But there’s a chance for redemption……

Enter the Comptroller of the State of New York with a hard look at the claims of the developers in the light of State financial policy.  His report, released Friday, raises some serious questions across the whole spectrum of claims by the developers of benefits to communities.  A good summary is by Casey Seiler in the Times Union at this link: 

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/213678/dinapoli-report-voices-concerns-over-gambling-expansion/

(There’s a link to the full report at the end of the story.)

Here’s an important piece of the story:

“…….However, while new casinos will attract people from out-of-state, much of the betting and revenue will come from New York residents. Such activity primarily represents substitution of spending on casino gambling for other consumer purchases or spending at other existing gaming venues, such as OTB centers.
Because of this substitution effect, estimates of employment and revenue gains from new casinos must reflect potential losses and transfers of existing consumer spending. The report found that while some net employment gain is expected, some existing jobs are likely to be lost as well. The state Division of the Budget’s (DOB) estimate of 2,900 permanent new jobs and 6,700 temporary construction jobs is a net figure that assumes certain losses of existing jobs….”

As Jack Conway pointed out on Talks, if DOB is talking about a net increase state-wide of 2,900 jobs, how does that square with the 1,700 Feathers and Rita are promising East Greenbush when there are to be 3 additional facilities and the one at Exit 15B on the Thruway is to be a destination resort. 

And here’s a good explanation of “where the money comes" from that flows through a casino.  It’s a comment on FaceBook about Mr. DiNapoli’s report.  If you do nothing else, read it and understand what it is saying.  It’s from a guy named Kyle Newcomb:
 
“Good for Dinapoli. The dynamic, though obvious, needs to be explained over and over so the promises of the casino forces are clearly seen for what they are. No new discretionary spending suddenly appears among a populace just because a casino is built. Dollar for dollar what is spent at a casino IS NOT spent elsewhere AND WORSE the multiplier effect of that spending is less - meaning, how much gets churned throughout various businesses in the economy diminishes. To believe a casino will be an economic boon you have to believe this detrimental effect will be more than overcome by tourists foregoing Connecticut, The Poconos, The Catskills and even places like Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and resorts in the Caribbean for Albany in February.”