We all forget that the land where many homes are located is land of the Shinnecock Nation—land that was taking illegally from them and divided and given to the settlers by the King of England. Several parcels of the land were also stolen or taken illegally from the Shinnecock families.
The Shinnecock Nation should build the casino to improve its quality of life. I have stated many times that the revenues of the casino will help the school districts and lower the property taxes, which are too high in the Town of Southampton. There will be no traffic problems once the casino is built, since the access will be from Sunrise Highway and the property where the casino is proposed to be built is west of the Shinnecock Canal.
Many of you are aware that New York State is building gaming casinos in the racetrack locations, and a casino will be built in the Monticello area to help New York State provide jobs and generate some revenue for the state. Therefore, there should be no opposition among the elected members of the Town Board and Assembly to the Shinnecock Nation's plans to build a casino to improve its quality of life. Let's not forget that the land where our homes are built belongs to them, and we are just the guests on their land.
CESAR A. MALAGA
West Babylon