Hornblower Pitched Cuomo on Maid

Terry MacRae, CEO of Hornblower Cruises and Events. Modern boats, sunset cruises, timed tickets, and other amenities will be new features to boat tours below the Falls, thanks to MacRae. That, and an extra $300 million in Ontario residents’ pockets.

It’s hard to ignore $100 million (above), but that’s what Governor Andrew Cuomo did to help James V. Glynn of the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co.

Any way you look at it, it is shocking.

The Niagara Falls Reporter has learned that Hornblower Cruises and Events CEO Terry MacRae and his aides had discussions with members of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s staff late last spring to offer the people of New York more money for the boat lease at the base of the falls on the New York side.

MacRae says he put it on the table in clear language that he would pay a comparable rent to what he had just agreed to pay in Ontario for the right to operate the boat tours presently operated by James V. Glynn, owner of the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co.

“We had discussions that we initiated,” he said of talks with the governor’s office and State Parks.

Just how much more did Hornblower offer than the deal Cuomo made with Glynn two weeks ago?

“New York left $100 million on the table,” MacRae said, estimating a probable minimum.

Did anyone from the governor’s office contact you after you told them you would offer what amounts to $100 million more to the state than what the Maid of the Mist is paying?

“No,” he said.

Now consider the magnitude of this hubris.

A successful, first-class, boat-tour operator goes to the governor and offers the people $100 million more for a public lease in a public park, and somehow he is ignored and the lease is given to a politically-favored businessman with a strong lobbying team for $100 million less.

Where else can you go where $100 million is ignored?

This is a text book example of why government in New York does not work.

And it is not like Hornblower doesn’t have the credentials to back up its offer.

“We have lots of operations in New York,” said MacRae, the man who heads the company that runs the Statue of Liberty Tours in New York and offers dinner cruises in Manhattan. “Our operations in New York are much bigger than the Glynn’s (Maid of the Mist) operation in New York.”

MacRae also pointed out that Hornblower is an American company.

“We are not a Canadian company,” MacRae said, referring to the idea that their winning the right to operate the boat tours in Ontario was due to some hometown advantage. “We won a Canadian contract. Our interests lie in what’s best for New York.”

When the governor appeared in Niagara Falls to announce the sweetheart deal for Glynn, MacRae said he made no contact with his company and, for that matter, did not explain clearly to the public the true nature of the Glynn deal, other than to say it is an approximately $105 million deal.

The Memorandum of Understanding with the state and Glynn mentioned in the governor's press release has not been made public. The governor’s press office has not responded to requests for comments.

“Nobody is helping getting out information,” MacRae said.

MacRae is calling for a public and transparent revelation of the terms of the Memorandum because the public is entitled to it and he would like a chance at improving on it.

“(It) is fair to say we want to see the details and we always said we want a public and transparent bidding process,” MacRae said. “We want to convince this state that they are missing the boat. They should look at what their options are instead of getting locked into a deal for political purposes. Keeping Maid of the Mist, that has been underpaying their rent all these years, is (not the State’s) best strategy. I think they are underestimating what options they have available to them.”

After Glynn lost the Canadian lease, it was anticipated that New York would put the lease up for bid. After all, Glynn would no longer be the sole source for the boat tours, so why not try to get the best price?

Instead it was decided that NYPA and State Parks would gift Glynn new docks and fuel pumps. And while it has been said that Glynn will contribute to the cost of the docks to the tune of $32 million, the discount in his rent more than exceeds the $32 million he will be investing in the docks.

In other words, the public will pay for the docks. Glynn will merely front the money and get it and more back in reduced rents.
“I am baffled. I don’t understand why they made this choice,” MacRae said.

Did you hire a lobbyist?

“No, we did not,” MacRae said. “Our discussions were with the governor’s office. We told them that there is a great opportunity for New York State to take advantage of.”

We asked MacRae if he was familiar with the Glynn’s Albany lobbyist, Pat Lynch.

“I think there is more muscle behind the deal than her, frankly,” he replied. “We are trying to get a handle on that.”
Please take note: MacRae did not hire a lobbyist. That tells a great story in itself.

Hornblower went about it the straight-forward way. They contacted the state directly and told them that there was an honest and reasonable possibility that the public might be better served with his proposal.

Hornblower’s proposal was based on what is good for the public and what is good for Hornblower, but not what is good for any particular elected official.

It seems Glynn went about it in the New York style. He hired a lobbyist or several who explained in closed-door meetings why the deal was better for certain politicians and for Glynn, but not, of course, the public.

The whole thing (awarding the deal to Glynn at the expense of the public while keeping the terms of the deal secret) “seems inconsistent with what the State of New York stands for,” MacRae said.

It would be fairer to say that it is exactly consistent with the bad governance the state of New York actually is famous for.