NIAGARA FALLS — Local businessman Frank Parlato Jr. will hold a public forum at 7 p. m. Monday in One Niagara, the former downtown Occidental office building, to rally support for a formal protest against the tax-free status of the Seneca Nation of Indians.

The Seneca Gaming Corp. owns the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, a $450 million tourist attraction that has raked in millions of dollars since it opened nearly six years ago.

“It is time for the people of Niagara Falls to demand equality with the Senecas and end the unfair advantage they have over all other business owners,” Parlato said Friday. “If we don’t act now, it’s only a matter of time before they capture the whole city.”

Parlato said he anticipates getting enough support to take the protest to state officials in Albany.