Niagara Falls
Taxpayer ripoff at the Hotel Niagara: “Buy high, sell low” new Cuomo motto
“Buy low, sell high.” In the world of private investment, this time honored maxim – more than a century old and still used by brilliant business minds such as that of Warren Buffet – has been as good as gold. But the brilliant business minds currently controlling both New YorkRead More
Let’s Get it Moving (We’re Talking Traffic Here)
By Councilman Kenny Tompkins We have a traffic problem here in Niagara Falls near the Niagara Reservation Park. Guess what? This is a good thing. It means people are hearing about Niagara Falls. At the same time, we all know how frustrating it is to sit for hours in standstillRead More
Seneca gas prices competitive with white owned stations here
While area gas station owners and politicians voiced concerns that the Seneca Nation of Indians would undercut gas prices at the recently opened gas station near the Seneca Niagara Casino, so far it hasn’t happened. Stations owned by Native Americans and located on reservations don’t have to pay taxes, whichRead More
The Seneca Nation Gambled on the Future, and Won
In 2002, at a time when New York State and its local communities were facing financial uncertainty, the many powers that be looked for relief wherever they could find it. The one form that seemed feasible was entering into a compact with the Seneca Nation of Indians to allow ClassRead More
Grandinetti’s Buffalo fundraiser an insult to local city businesses
Why does Kristen Grandinetti even bother to live in Niagara Falls? The cat hating, Facebook addicted, formerly Catholic city councilwoman – whose bed and breakfast operation on Memorial Parkway was found to be in violation of city codes – held a major fundraiser last week, but it wasn’t in NiagaraRead More
Crowded field for three Council Seats
ess than two months until Voters decide No fewer than nine contenders will vie for three open seats on the Niagara Falls City Council this autumn, making the September primaries an “anything can happen” affair in which the job status of the two incumbents seeking re-election is anything but secure.Read More
State Parks neglects DeVeaux Carriage Barn
Historic building may soon be razed Even though the local State Parks office reaps $20 million annually from its operations in Niagara Falls State Park and $3 million a year from Niagara Greenway, it seems they can’t spare a few dollars for a new roof on the historic DeVeaux WoodsRead More
Lonesome train on a lonesome track
Dyster’s folly cost taxpayers millions What is there left to say about Mayor Paul Dyster’s new train station? That it was the biggest misuse of taxpayer money here in the last half century? Mayor Dyster and his cohort, governmental gadfly Tom DeSantis, dropped nearly $43 million into the project, whichRead More
Alan James Roscetti Receives Endorsement from Niagara County Republican Party
The Niagara County Republican Party chairman Scott Kiedrowski announced the endorsement of local Niagara Falls Attorney, Alan James Roscetti’s bid for the Niagara Falls City Court Judge race. Roscetti, R-Niagara Falls, a well-respected attorney with nearly 20 years of experience with Roscetti & DeCastro, P.C. on Main Street,Read More
Dyster repays Seneca treachery by repaving their driveway for free!
By Mike Hudson Back in March, when the Seneca Nation of Indians announced that they would end the casino revenue sharing agreement with the state, Niagara Falls and the other local municipalities where the casinos are located, it was like plunging a scalping knife into the heart of those communitiesRead More
The cold case of Russell Mort; Child abduction remains unsolved
By Mike Hudson It remains one of the darkest and most disturbing cold cases in the files of the Niagara Falls Police Dept. But despite national media exposure that has included television programs such as “Unsolved Mysteries,” The Forensic Files” and “America’s Most Wanted,” and despite herculean efforts by theRead More
Lavish new Lockport YMCA a slap in the face to city of Niagara Falls
By Mike Hudson A plan to build a $17 million YMCA in the Town of Lockport took a step forward last week with a Niagara County Industrial Development Agency vote. The IDA gave final approval for tax-exempt bonding authority for the YMCA Buffalo Niagara, which will enable the organization toRead More
Try calling Community Development; You might as well call the White House
By Mike Hudson When you try to call Niagara Falls Community Development, you are answered by a robot, who proceeds to give you a number of “options.” Option one is to go to a directory of Community Development staffers, but if you go to it you are instead hooked upRead More
DiCienzo project to benefit from $3 million state grant to IDA here?
By Mike Hudson A $3 million fund to assist new economic development projects in Niagara Falls was announced last week. State Sen. Rob Ortt and Assemblyman Angelo Morinello orchestrated the gift basket. The money was obtained through the last two state budgets, but its original source was the state’s share of theRead More
Dismissal of charges against Ortt bodes well for Maziarz defense
By Mike Hudson You read it here first. How many times in the 17-year history of the Niagara Falls Reporter have we begun articles with just those words? On May 11, we ran our last installment of what had become the saga of state Sen. Rob Ortt. State Attorney General EricRead More
Looming financial crisis debated as Dyster lives it up in Florida
By Mike Hudson Imagine for a moment, if you will, that you are selling your house. Now imagine that, at the closing, you are so lame brained that when your lawyer hands you the contract, you don’t read it or have it explained to you, and find out only laterRead More
FORMER GAZETTE PUBLISHER TO RUN FOR COUNCIL
Niagara Falls, NY – May 12, 2017 – Chris Voccio, who until this afternoon was the publisher of both the Niagara Gazette and the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, announced his candidacy for the Niagara Falls City Council. Voccio, who took the helm of the Gazette in September of 2014, announcedRead More
Three Open City Council Seats May Attract As Many As 10 Candidates
At least six contenders will vie for three open seats on the Niagara Falls City Council this autumn, and insiders say as many as eleven others are likely to announce before the July filing deadline. Charles Walker, a 20-year veteran of the Council, has decided not to seek re-election, whileRead More
Turmoil At Empire State Development Revealed In State Comptroller’s Audit
By Mike Hudson; State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s scathing audit report of the Empire State Development Corp. reveals an agency in crisis, one all but unaccountable to the people of New York or anyone else. Many here have long suspected that Empire State Development, headed up locally by former state assemblymanRead More