Mayor Sean Ryan says the Miami Street fuel depot is not a good fit for the neighborhood
Sean RyanMayor of Buffalo
Ryan says the planned fuel depot does not fit the Old First Ward and runs against more than a decade of the city's plans for the Ohio Street corridor, as the city demands that the Seneca Nation stop work at the site.
“This is not a good fit for this neighborhood, and it runs counter to the vision we have been building for this corridor for more than a decade”
Official statement
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Buffalo sues to halt the Seneca Nation's gas station on Miami Street; the Nation says the land is sovereign and outside city control
The City of Buffalo sued in New York State Supreme Court on October 7, 2026, to halt construction of a Seneca Nation fuel station and convenience store at 5 Miami Street in the Old First Ward. On October 8 it asked a federal court to vacate the Interior Department's 2023 decision placing the 3.8-acre site in restricted-fee status. The city says the land was not bought with Seneca Nation Settlement Act money and remains subject to city zoning, permits and environmental review. Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca says the site is sovereign Seneca land and that construction will continue.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
City of Buffalo press release announcing a letter from Corporation Counsel Rosa Alina Pizzi demanding that the Seneca Nation and Seneca Gaming Corporation stop work at 5 Miami Street by September 30, with statements from Mayor Sean Ryan and Council Member Mitch Nowakowski.
Reporting
About this source
Spectrum News report on the city's cease-and-desist letter and the Seneca Nation's response that the site is sovereign land.
Before the quotation
The city's release says it learned that crews had fenced off the site and begun preparing it for a 28-bay gas and diesel-fuel depot that the city has not approved, and that Corporation Counsel Rosa Alina Pizzi wrote to President J.C. Seneca that morning demanding that work stop by September 30.
After the quotation
Ryan says the city made a major public investment to turn Ohio Street from an industrial roadway into a waterfront corridor and that the city should build on that momentum. The release says the city's letter argues the property does not qualify for restricted-fee status because it was not bought with Seneca Nation Settlement Act funds.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the Seneca Nation's construction of a fuel station at 5 Miami Street on land it holds in restricted fee, without the city permits and reviews Buffalo says are required. Ryan opposes the project, saying it does not fit the neighborhood, in a release announcing the city's demand that work stop.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Seneca Nation of Indians
More from this case
Read the full caseJ. Conrad Seneca says the city acknowledged the site's restricted-fee status in writing in 2023
“Our nearly four-acre site is sovereign land and was placed in Restricted Fee status by the Department of Interior three years ago, something that the City acknowledged in writing in 2023. Despite meeting with Sean Ryan and other City officials in person in early September to open dialogue between our governments, the City instead chose to fight the Nation over our sovereign rights on our land. I have made it clear that the proposed Seneca One Stop project will move forward and that the Seneca Nation will always fight to defend our sovereignty, our treaties, and our rights to create economic opportunity on our lands in the way we best see fit for the benefit of our people.”Read statement
City of Buffalo asks a federal court to annul Interior's restricted-fee decision on 5 Miami Street
City of Buffalo
“The City of Buffalo brings this action under the Administrative Procedure Act to annul an arbitrary, capricious, and facially defective decision by the Department of the Interior”Read statement
Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca says the Nation will defend its sovereignty and keep building at the site
“While Sean Ryan continues his act, we will continue developing our land for the benefit of our people and creating local jobs, just as we have done with our other developments on our other sovereign lands within the city of Buffalo.”Read statement
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- Mayor Sean Ryan says the Miami Street fuel depot is not a good fit for the neighborhood
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The Dispute Index. "Mayor Sean Ryan says the Miami Street fuel depot is not a good fit for the neighborhood". First published: 2026-10-21. Last updated: 2026-10-21. https://disputeindex.com/events/6422-ryan-says-the-planned-fuel-depot-does-not