State Sen. Byron Brown and Councilman Vince Anello think that all of the $9 million local share generated this year by the Seneca Niagara Casino should be spent inside the city limits.
State Sen. George Maziarz thinks some of the money should be spent elsewhere in the county, on projects such as improvements to the Niagara Falls International Airport, establishing a school of casino technology at Niagara County Community College, and bolstering the budget of the fledgling Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp.
Meanwhile, Niagara USA Chamber CEO Bobby Newman and Chairman Steve Braver have invoked the mantra of "regionalism" in arguing that the Buffalo interests should have a say in the disposition of the cash. In addition to their duties at the Chamber, both men serve on the board of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, a group of creepy rich white guys who have spent years driving the city of Buffalo into receivership.
"The compact between the State of New York and the Seneca Nation of Indians explicitly spells out that the local share shall be paid to the host municipality," Brown told the Reporter. "In my mind, that does not mean the county, it does not mean the region, it means the city of Niagara Falls."
Despite the fact he represents the district, Brown is not a voting member on the commission established to oversee the spending of the casino money. A Democrat, he lost the position to Maziarz when the choice was made by the Republican-controlled Senate. Maziarz represents most of Niagara County outside of Niagara Falls.
Brown said he wasn't happy about the situation.
"It was politics, it's as simple as that," he said. "Do I feel I should have a vote? Absolutely." Along with state Assemblywoman Francine Del Monte, who does have a vote on the commission, Brown has been staging a series of public meetings to find out what kinds of projects city residents believe should be undertaken with the money.
Anello, who will sit on the commission as a voting member should he defeat Mayor Irene Elia in the election, said he has little doubt as to how the money should be spent.
"You've got a neighborhood (surrounding the casino) that has some of the worst housing stock anywhere in the city," he said. "You've had eight homicides down there in the last year because there aren't enough police, and you've got a hospital that the administration was ready to foreclose on before Council took action. There's a stack of lawsuits at City Hall from people whose cars were damaged by the condition of the roads, and another stack from people injured after tripping on broken sidewalks.
"You don't have to go too far from the casino to see how that money should be spent." Anello said he has been in discussions with members of the city delegation to the county Legislature, including Renae Kimble and Dennis Virtuoso, to discuss strategies for defending the city's interests.
Responding to the concerns of Brown, Anello and many others in the city, Maziarz said that most, if not all, of the first year's proceeds from the casino will likely be spent in Niagara Falls, particularly in the neighborhood surrounding the casino.
"I believe, and the governor does as well, that Niagara Falls is the key to turning around all of Western New York," he said. "It's not unlikely that we'll spend every penny of the money in the city during the first year."
Still, he added, projects such as improving Niagara Falls International Airport to make it more attractive for cargo haulers, funding a training program for casino employees at NCCC and helping the NTCC promote tourism here would benefit the city, despite the fact that money would be spent outside the city limits.
The tourism group is currently funded through bed tax revenue, nearly all of which is generated by hotels in the city. This has some in the hospitality industry unhappy here.
"First they take $1 million in bed tax money from the city, and now they want us to kick in $2 million in casino revenue as well? For what? To promote fishing in Olcott, the canal boat rides in Lockport?" asked one Niagara Falls hotelier. "How do any of those things benefit the people of this city?"
To make matters worse, members of the Niagara County contingent of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership have openly discussed the possibility of merging the NTCC with its Erie County counterpart.
Newman and Braver, along with Maid of the Mist President Chris Glynn and M&T Bank Vice President Joan Aul head up the Partnership's nefarious "Niagara Initiative," a scheme whose sole purpose seems to be to grab as much money and power as possible in Niagara County and transfer it to Erie County.
Maziarz raised eyebrows recently when he traveled to Buffalo to participate in a panel discussion on the topic of casino revenue sponsored by the Partnership.
"They asked me to come and speak to them and I did," Maziarz said. "But I can tell you right now that the Buffalo Niagara Partnership isn't going to see one cent of this money."
At the event, Newman presented the results of a "study" into what Michigan has done with the proceeds from its Indian casinos. Coincidentally, he said, the money was used to promote the biomedical industry there, exactly the same type of industry now being pushed in downtown Buffalo.
What will happen to the city's share of the casino revenue, estimated at more than $200 million over the next 14 years? Much will depend on what happens during this first year.
If a precedent is set allowing the revenue to be spent throughout Niagara County, or throughout the Western New York region, you can bet the city will be getting the short end of the stick for years to come. What, after all, did Niagara Falls get out of the county's $42 million tobacco settlement windfall? And, after promising to run it as a first-class facility when they took it over 30 years ago, what have the Buffalo interests done to improve or even maintain the moribund Niagara Falls International Airport?
The answer to both questions is nothing, which is what the city could have expected had the county or Buffalo been given control of the casino money.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | November 4 2003 |