"I'm not happy with it," she said, "but I don't think we have a
choice."
You can choose to fight for it. But consumption dependent gas chamber
material Americans can't put up the fight. They just let people push
them around and ***** them in the *****.
***** AMERICA.
In Falls, The House Trumps Homes
Dec 14, 2005
Patricia Van Egmond's Fifth Street home has been in her family since
1937. It breaks her heart to imagine a bulldozer knocking it down to
make room so a casino can expand. Van Egmond, 71, opposes a
controversial plan by New York State to force property owners to sell
26 acres of Niagara Falls land for use by the Seneca Nation of Indians.
The land - including homes, a hotel, restaurants and a
multimillion-dollar water park - would be purchased by the state and
turned over to the Senecas.
The Senecas plan to tear it all down and build at least one new hotel,
parking facilities and other amenities for their Seneca Niagara Casino.
One hotel owner, facing the state's threat, sold his hotel to the
Senecas last week.
The state casino agreement with the Seneca Nation has different
provisions for Buffalo, so most people dismiss the idea of a similar
situation occurring as the Senecas build a casino in the Cobblestone
District.
But in Niagara Falls, the state said it intends to use eminent-domain
powers to obtain property for the Senecas. Eminent domain refers to the
constitutional power of government to force people to sell their
property for use in projects that benefit the public.
According to several experts, the Niagara Falls case is extremely rare
- possibly the first time in the United States that a government has
used eminent domain to obtain land for a Native American casino.
"The original intent of eminent domain was to help government get land
for bridges, roads and other projects that benefit the public," said
Adrian T. Moore, vice president of the Reason Public Policy Institute
in Los Angeles.
"Now, government is taking private lands to give them to a sovereign
nation to expand a casino," he said. "Casinos are notorious money
machines. It's hard for me to believe they can't buy the land without
the government's help."
The affected property owners have until Dec. 20 to file appeals if they
want to fight eminent domain and try to keep their property.
Von Egmond does not want to lose her well-maintained two-family home.
For her, the place brims with memories. She and her late husband,
Gerald, raised three daughters and a son there. In recent years, family
members have gathered at the home every Sunday for dinner.
She questions whether a casino provides any benefit to the public. She
has spoken to an attorney and expects to file an appeal.
But Von Egmond seems resigned to the likelihood that the home will wind
up as part of the casino project. She has heard that legal fees for
fighting the government could be $10,000 or more.
"I'm not happy with it," she said, "but I don't think we have a
choice."
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