State judge orders Shinnecock to halt construction work on gas station

A state Supreme Court judge in Riverhead on Monday ordered the Shinnecock Indian Nation's leaders to immediately cease all construction work at the tribe's half-finished gas station/travel plaza along Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays.

The judge’s decision granting a temporary restraining order requested by the Town of Southampton also called into question a recent federal finding that the 80-acre Shinnecock Nation property on which the travel plaza is being built enjoyed special protected status as aboriginal sovereign land. 

In an order Monday, state Supreme Court Judge Maureen Liccione in Riverhead ordered "all activities" relating to the nation’s travel plaza and gas station at Westwoods "must cease immediately." The order includes all paving and excavation on the 80-acre property, which already is cleared with a long paved road along its western edge and a steel building frame.

The Shinnecock Nation will appeal her ruling, said vice chairman Lance Gumbs, who criticized the judge's ruling as failing to understand the tribe’s status.

"She’s not looking at this as if we are a government with our own laws and regulations," he said. "She’s trying to incorporate us into the town and under town’s jurisdiction and we are not under the town’s jurisdiction. We are a sovereign nation."

Asked if the nation would stop work, Gumbs said, "No comment." 

James Burke, a lawyer for Southampton Town, said he was reviewing the decision with outside lawyers to determine next steps, including what to do if the nation fails to obey the order.

"We haven’t discussed how to enforce this as of yet," said Burke, who added he’d reached out to the town and discussed with tribal lawyers the prospect of a separate agreement by which the nation and the town can move forward. The nation has previously ignored town-issued stop-work orders. 

"We’ll have to discuss it to see if we can have a discussion with the nation, to see what we can try to agree on," said Burke, adding the town has been "more than willing" to work on a memorandum of understanding with the tribe.

Last week, the Shinnecock filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying the state Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction in the case. The tribe’s motion argued the nation and the United States are necessary parties to case, yet the town filed suit against tribal trustees individually. 

Liccione's order says tribal leaders named as defendants in the suit are prevented from "directing and supervising all activities in furtherance of a travel plaza, gas station, convenience store, petroleum storage tanks" at Westwoods, and that all activity be stopped pending an end to the town's lawsuit. 

Liccione noted the extent of the work already completed and that the nation "neither sought nor obtained the town’s permission to construct or operate a travel plaza at Westwoods." She also noted the town as "received numerous complaints from residents," including about heavy construction equipment in "very close proximity" to homes on nearby Quail Run.

Gumbs noted Liccione’s intimations in court strongly suggested a ruling in favor of the town.

"She was plainly taking the town’s side in court," he said.

Liccione’s order called into question a January finding from the U.S. Department of the Interior in December that the 80-acre Westwoods parcel has always been within the nation's aboriginal territory, with restricted-fee, sovereign status. The letter, she wrote, "does not have the game-changing consequences that the [Shinnecock] trustees are alleging."

The letter, Liccione wrote, "refers to no legal authority or legal analysis supporting the determination that Westwoods is restricted-fee land." The Shinnecock Nation has said the letter was the result of three years of work documenting its prehistoric ownership of Westwoods, records that included Southampton Town tax maps that describe it as "Indian reservation."

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.