OBSERVER File Photo A dispute between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Seneca Nation is leaving a section of I-90 in disrepair. P-J photo by Sharon Turano

New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted publicly this week he is in a battle with the Seneca Nation of Indians. His main ammunition: the horrible stretch of the New York State Thruway that runs from the Silver Creek exit and another three miles east.

Cuomo made the statement during a press conference with the media in Niagara County on Tuesday after an outing with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, according to The Buffalo News.

“If you talk to the local governments that need the revenues desperately, what they would say to you is, ‘Don’t give the Senecas an excuse where New York is in violation, and give them that excuse not to pay the money that they owe the local governments,”’ Cuomo said in The News.

At issue is a revenue-sharing agreement dispute between the Seneca Nation and the state. Salamanca, Niagara Falls and Buffalo were to get a share of $255 million that Cuomo and state leaders note has not been paid by the Nation since 2017.

Earlier this month, area Republican leaders including U.S. Rep. Tom Reed and Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello called on the governor to fix the portion of the road due to safety concerns at a press conference near the highway.

“Regardless of what the dispute is between the Seneca Nation and the governor’s office, this is a safety issue, and it needs to be addressed,” Borrello said on Aug. 1.

“…The Seneca Nation has been good partners with Chautauqua County and good partners with our local communities. There’s no reason why this can’t be resolved. It’s in the best interest of everyone.”

Reed was more outspoken. “This is a state responsibility; it has federal resources dedicated to it,” Reed said in the press conference. “… It’s the powers that be in Albany that have decided to play politics rather than release those monies into the infrastructure.”