New York Governor Kathy Hochul's administration has filed two federal lawsuits seeking to strip the Seneca Nation of sovereign control over land in Buffalo and on Grand Island, escalating a dispute over a tribal gas station and dispensary. Filed on Friday, 6 November, in the US District Court for the Western District of New York, the suits name the US Department of the Interior as defendant.

One challenges the restricted-fee status granted in 2023 to two Buffalo parcels at 5 Miami Street and 124 Chicago Street, where the Seneca Nation is building a Seneca One Stop with a fuel station, convenience store and cannabis dispensary, reported to be worth more than $10 million. The second challenges a February 2026 decision covering 207 acres on Grand Island, near Long Road and Bedell Road, which the Nation acquired in December 2025 for $1 from a commercial developer.

Restricted-fee status places land under tribal sovereignty, shielding it from state and local tax, zoning and building codes. The state argues the parcels were never eligible under the Seneca Nation Settlement Act of 1990, saying the settlement funds for land purchases were largely spent decades ago, with all but $5 million used to acquire casinos in Buffalo and Niagara Falls and the rest restricted to tribal member housing.

The Seneca Nation maintains the purchases were lawful, citing wire transfers from an account designated for Settlement Act funds. Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan had already sued in state court to halt construction at the Miami Street site, but a judge twice refused to block the work, most recently on 26 October. If the state wins, the parcels return to local tax rolls and zoning control; if the Nation wins, they stay sovereign and tax-exempt. The full story is reported by the New York Post.