New York: Oneida tribe to open apartments for hourly casino workers in effort to drive employement

Due to a critical need to fill casino and hotel jobs, the Oneida Indian Nation announced Monday it will make 50 new apartments in central New York available for its hourly workers at below-market rents at The Villages at Stoney Creek. 

The $15 million apartment complex, located near the Oneida’s Turning Stone Resort Casino west of Utica in Verona, New York State, will begin taking tenants on July 1. Apartments will be available for new, full-time employees who are relocating to the area and those filling new positions where there are shortages. 

In an official statement, Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter said: “This investment in employee housing is to help fill critical, full-time, hourly positions at our resort - cooks, dealers, hotel jobs, to name a few. Upstate New York has been particularly hard hit by an employee shortage”. He also added he believes the five-building apartment complex opening throughout this summer will help attract new employees to the region.

“The Oneida people have always emphasized the importance of hospitality and warmly welcoming all to our homeland. This new investment in our workforce presents a wonderful opportunity for us to create additional jobs, bring new people to our region, and provide affordable housing for the individuals who support the success of our enterprises," Halbritter concluded.

Phase 1 of The Villages at Stoney Creek comprises 50 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments located next to Turning Stone at significantly below market rates and will be exclusively for new hourly employees relocating to the region, according to the tribe. The Oneida Indian Nation will roll out the first phase of its first-in-the-region employee housing program this summer.

The apartments are part of what the Oneida Indian Nation calls "an innovative recruitment strategy" to fill new jobs, and will only be available to new employees in full-time, hourly, non-management roles, according to a press statement.

Rents at The Villages at Stoney Creek will start at $550 a month for a one-bedroom apartment with three-bedroom apartments renting for a $750 monthly fee.