When Mike Adams, national correspondent for the Baltimore Sun, visited Niagara Falls in May 2002, two things struck him about the Niagara Falls International Airport.
The frequent traveler, in town to write about the then-hoped-for opening of the Seneca Niagara Casino and its impact on the region's economy, noted that Niagara Falls possessed the only "International" Airport he'd ever seen where you could park a few yards from the front door, for free. And the "arrivals and departures" board was starkly blank.
Eighteen months and one casino later, you still can and it still is.
For that, thank the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, the utterly useless agency that for no explainable reason controls the facility, along with plenty of other valuable property in Western New York.
Since the NFTA's attempt to give the facility -- hate to call it an airport, since that implies that airplanes take off and land there -- to a shell corporation called Cintra imploded, the agency has done pretty much what it had for the previous three decades.
Nada. Zip. Nothing.
Like most good ideas in these parts, the latest attempt to seize local control of the facility got hijacked by politicians and turned into yet another vehicle to urinate away your tax dollars -- more than $300,000, in this case.
The fiasco led to a bloodbath on the board of the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, which in turn euthanized the Niagara Airport Development Corp.
That mess returned the process to square one, another parcel firmly controlled by the NFTA. That's why Gov. George Pataki's appointment of Niagara Falls attorney James Roscetti to the NFTA's board of commissioners comes as such welcome news.
For decades, Niagara has had a place in the agency's name, but not in its policy-making process.
That's the domain of Eternal Chairman Luiz Kahl, under whose guidance the NFTA's mission has been to enrich his circle of friends and business partners, rather than serve the region's citizens.
Albany sources tell Citycide that after years of omnipotence, Kahl is finally falling from favor with state leaders. The NFTA chairman reportedly enraged Gov. George Pataki when he initially refused to turn over the property at the corner of Fourth and Niagara streets that formerly hosted the NFTA bus station and Goose's Roost Restaurant.
That parcel, currently sprouting a parking ramp, was a key element in Pataki's negotiations with Seneca Nation leaders. The NFTA also continues to squat on other prime real estate in the area, including much of Buffalo's waterfront, preventing much-needed development from proceeding.
Pataki is said to want NFTA commissioners who serve the public's needs, rather than Kahl's demands. Roscetti fits that bill. His experience as attorney for the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission gives him an extensive background in the workings of such agencies. His legal work for the Niagara Falls City School District and service on Memorial Medical Center's board of trustees underscore his ties to the day-to-day realities of life in the region.
NFTA Secretary Henry Sloma has taken plenty of criticism in these pages for not being a stronger advocate for Niagara Falls and Niagara County, but one person can only do so much, particularly on a large board.
There was no shortage of local advocates when the NFTA was born. The late Earl Brydges was Majority Leader of the state Senate that approved all appointments, and former congressman and vice-presidential candidate Bill Miller of Lockport was its first chairman.
The present state Senate should waste no time approving Pataki's latest appointment.
Roscetti gives the area a strong, knowledgeable voice. If his background gives any indication, he'll use it to do what's best for the entire region, not just Kahl's cabal of cronies.
It's sort of reassuring to know that neither humiliating electoral defeat nor a good scolding from state auditors can get the lame-duck administration of Mayor Irene Elia to change its ways.
Despite an audit showing that Herroner's heavily doctored 2004 spending plan comes up more than $2 million short on the funding end, City Administrator Al Joseph insists that everything adds up. Give Joseph credit -- at least he's still showing up for work and doing his job, unlike his soon-to-be-former boss.
A cynic might suggest that Elia's budget was little more than a desperate sham aimed at bamboozling voters.
But that's their story, and they're sticking to it. At least until the end of the month.
Outgoing Niagara County Legislator Dan Mocniak surrendered his seat without much of a fight, getting dusted in his own party's primary by political newcomer Steve D'Anna, then sitting out the autumn campaign despite holding the Conservative Party line.
Last week came further evidence that he represented the First District in much the same way.
"It was tough for a legislator from outside Niagara Falls to vote for giving money to Niagara Falls," Mocniak said, according to the Buffalo News.
That statement came after Mocniak and the rest of the city's delegation gave up on a plan to spend $300,000 per year for three years out of this year's tobacco settlement residuals on Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center's new heart center.
Forget that the center will be the only one of its kind in Niagara County, and therefore an asset to all its residents. And forget that every cent of the tobacco settlement went for projects outside the city, which netted a handful of rusty dump trucks as its end of the deal.
Instead, the money will be split among the county's five hospitals, some of which you probably didn't know existed.
Mocniak -- who, by all accounts, plays a mean polka -- was probably right. The city has always gotten the fuzzy end of the county lollipop, whichever party is in power.
Still, the legislator's abject surrender recalls the words of boxing referee Mills Lane when asked if Buster Douglass could have gotten off the canvas before being counted out, thereby losing his heavyweight title to Evander Holyfield in 1990.
"I don't know if he could have," Lane said. "But he certainly didn't try."
The 74th Firefighters Christmas Toy Fund Drive comes to a close this week, capped by Saturday's all-day telethon on your local Adelphia Cable channel.
On Friday, the night before the annual telethon, the Toy Fund is sponsoring a magic show at Niagara Falls High School featuring eight area performers, as well as music from the Niagara Experience Players. Tickets are $5 for the 7 p.m. show.
Also on Dec. 5, those with more aggressive musical tastes can take in a 7 p.m. rock show at Niagara University's Gallagher Center featuring SuperPimp, Veil, Critical Bill and Displaced. Admission is $5 or an unwrapped toy.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | December 2 2003 |