Here is an update regarding the Islandia Casino issue

CONCERNED CITIZENS OF SUFFOLK COUNTY (CCSC))
                                   UPDATE

 November 18, 2016

 I am an active member of our coalition, an attorney and the appointed legal liaison between our retained attorneys and the coalition.  In speaking with people in our communities, there appears to the misconception that either the VLT gaming room is a “done deal”, or that since we filed a lawsuit, we are finished so why do we need a fundraiser. Others are telling me that in Westbury and Medford Delaware went away without a court battle, so why are we having so much difficulty making them go away?

 The answer to the last question is simple: the local governments in Westbury and Medford did not support the casino plan in their neighborhoods. The Mayor of Islandia, however, is in total support of Delaware North and OTB’s scheme.

 After forming the not-for-profit organization, many avenues of attack and strategies to prevent the operation of the video lottery gaming facility at the Marriott Hotel by the Village of Islandia, Delaware North and Suffolk County OTB have been put in action. In order to continue our work to accomplish the mission, additional funds over and above those already received (and spent), need to be raised.

 Here are some of the things we are doing:

 1.  Attorneys Paul Sabatino, II and Anton Borovina, experts in the field of land use and government policy, were retained to file a petition in State Supreme Court to challenge the legality of the Accessory Use Permit issued by the Village of Islandia to Delaware North allowing it to contract with Suffolk County OTB to operate a 1000 VLTs in the Islandia Marriott Hotel. Several legal theories were advanced in the petition which we believe requires the Court to cancel the permit, and an extensive Memorandum of Law was prepared and filed with the petition. The attorneys for Delaware North opposed the petition and filed their own Memorandum of Law, and we filed reply affidavits and legal briefs.  The case was assigned to Justice William Ford in the Supreme Court, Riverhead. The case will next appear on the Court’s calendar on November 17, 2016.

 We are confident that Justice Ford will agree with our contentions and vacate the permit. But, the vacating of the permit does not prevent Delaware North from reapplying to the Village of Islandia and correctly go through the process. So, we have embarked on other strategies to make the opening of the casino not possible.

 2.  We provided a copy of our petition and Memorandum, of Law to the court handling OTB’s pending bankruptcy petition, and notified Judge Carla Craig of our position. As a result, Judge Craig delayed the confirmation of the bankruptcy plan and requested that OTB’s attorneys fully inform her of the status of our State Supreme Court case. We believe that this is an indication from the bankruptcy court that the decision to allow OTB to emerge from bankruptcy and continue to exist in Suffolk County is partly contingent on whether OTB will be able to operate in the Islandia Marriott.

 We sent a letter directly to Judge Craig asking that she not permit OTB to continue to pursue its predatory gambling scheme at the expense of all of us. We made a request of our friends and neighbors to also send Judge Craig letters objecting to the opening of this gaming facility to demonstrate the overwhelming opposition to this kind of business in our neighborhood.  If you have not already done so, please write to Judge Craig. If you need a sample of a letter to send to her, please contact me (irez@optonline.net).

 3.  We contacted the State Gambling Commission to obtain copies of the operating permit/license that OTB needs to obtain in order to operate the Islandia facility. When we receive the documents we requested under the Freedom of Information Law, they will be reviewed to determine whether proper disclosures and procedures were followed. If not, the State Gambling Commission is required to close down the VLT casino!

 4.  Replacing and electing Trustees in Islandia who are responsive to the voice of the people is an essential component of the overall plan to defeat the opening of this predatory gambling facility. Three trustee positions are up for election in March 2017. We are putting together a plan to elect qualified people to replace Mayor Dorman and his rubber stamp puppets who go along with anything he puts before them without concern for the effect his actions and expenditures have on the people he supposedly represents.

 5.  We contacted many leading elected officials in Suffolk County and made it clear that if they do not support our efforts to keep this casino from operating, they would not get our support in their re-election effort. Mike Fitzpatrick, our elected State Assembly Member is a strong supporter and advisor to our efforts. Hopefully, more elected officials will come on board when they see that the opposition to the Islandia casino is real and that we are not going away.

 6.  We are looking into a publicity campaign to educate and alert the public of the dangers that the casino possesses to all of us. But, this kind of campaign is expensive. The dinner scheduled for December 6, 2016, at the Wind Watch Golf and Country Club is designed to do just that, educate and raise funds necessary to keep our efforts alive. Several guest speakers, including the National Director of Stop Predatory Gambling, will talk about the dishonesty, exploitation, addiction and lower standard of living that commercial gambling spreads.

 New Jersey voters as recently as several weeks ago, rejected the government’s efforts to open additional casinos in New Jersey. At the same time, Gov. Christie announced that his state will take control of Atlantic City because of its inability to be solvent. There can be no more evidence of the government’s two-faced policy of forcing us to have gambling casinos, then using public funds to bail out these failed businesses.  Even the President-elect was forced to file for bankruptcy four times when he owned Atlantic City casinos.

 All of these efforts take time, effort and  energy from all of us. It also requires money to fund the various initiatives we are pursuing to defeat this quality of life destroying a government-sponsored business.

 The road to justice is often twisted and bumpy, so please do not think that just because we have the facts and law on our side that this will be an easy victory. We are literally fighting City Hall and Big Business. Your continued financial support is vital to our ability to keep the pressure on to stop our government’s predatory gambling schemes in our communities. Our opponents are banking on us losing interest and money so they can sneak through their evil plan to line their pockets at our expense.

 Remember, YOU DON’T HAVE TO PLAY TO PAY!

 Thank you for your continued support.

 IRA BEZACK
 iraz@optonline.net