While city Planning Director Tom DeSantis and Mayor Paul Dyster continue to cling to their quirky vision of a downtown developed to their whim and whimsy, at least one developer seems to be taking a damn-the-torpedoes, full-speed-ahead approach with its own shadowy plans.
Not surprisingly, that developer is the Maid of the Mist Corp., wholly owned by the Glynn family here. The operation is controlled by James Glynn -- who recently wangled a 40-year, no-bid contract from the state Parks Commission to operate his boat tours there -- and is run by his son Chris Glynn, who has acted as an unpaid "adviser" to both the city and the state on tourism issues.
Don Glynn, the influential columnist at the city's daily paper and James Glynn's brother, is the de facto public relations arm of the operation, assuring that no critical reporting about the family or its business appears on the pages of the woeful Niagara Gazette.
Earlier this month, the Glynns paid a reported $750,000 for the landmark Koshian mansion at 305 Buffalo Ave. Before the sale was even registered, the magnificent structure was razed, leaving only the ornate wrought-iron gate out front as evidence it had even existed in the first place.
Dyster, whose fierce dedication to historic preservation is well known, emitted not a peep about the wanton destruction.
Likewise, City Historian Tom Yots, who has attempted to halt development in nearly every corner of the city in order to preserve our heritage, was silent on the wholesale slaughter of the historic homestead.
The imposing mansion, which would have celebrated its centennial next year, fell to the wrecker's ball in record time.
"I drive past it on my way to work," one neighbor said. "It was there in the morning when I left, and when I came home it was gone. I didn't even see any equipment moving in or out. It was like it just disappeared."
It could not be determined at press time whether a demolition permit had been issued or the necessary environmental review process had been completed prior to tear-down, which took place before the county clerk's office even had a chance to register the sale of the property.
Construction of the iconic 3,295 square-foot mansion began in 1909 and was completed in 1910. For decades it was the home of the late state Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline Koshian, who stepped down from the bench due to debilitating illness in 2001, following 36 years of distinguished service.
A pioneering woman who was elected just six years after Birdie Amsterdam of New York City became the first woman to successfully run for the state Supreme Court, Koshian bravely endured her medical condition without complaint, retiring from the bench only when her illness virtually kept her from leaving her grand Buffalo Avenue home.
"Judge Koshian's wisdom and elegance have enhanced the image of the judiciary in Western New York," Justice Vincent Doyle said at the time of her retirement. "We are losing a fine judge who is admired and respected for her knowledge of the law, fairness and commitment to excellence. She will be greatly missed and not easily replaced."
So notable were her achievements that there has even been talk of naming the city's new municipal court building in her honor.
Knocking her home into the ground was a smart financial move for the Glynns, who will now have to pay taxes only on the $16,600 value of the naked land, rather than on the $122,000 the property was assessed at with the magnificent mansion intact.
The Glynns have never been ones to pay city property taxes enthusiastically, and are said to be seeking a substantial tax break from the county's corrupt Industrial Development Agency to help finance another recent acquisition, the Comfort Inn at the Pointe.
Sources told the Reporter over the weekend that the Glynns plan to use the Koshian property for a new headquarters building for the Maid of the Mist, which would conflict with the quiet neighborhood's current residential zoning.
But since Chris Glynn actually sat in on the interview process that led to the hiring of City Administrator Donna Owens and Economic Development Director Peter Kay, and since the Glynn family is believed to have contributed heavily to the shadowy Building a Better Niagara Falls Fund that has largely subsidized their exorbitant salaries, there probably won't be too much fuss about getting some sort of dispensation or variance from City Hall.
It is no coincidence that DeSantis' proposed 80-foot height restriction for new buildings going up along the city's downtown waterfront happens to conform to the height of the Comfort Inn, which will belong to the Glynns once the $11 million deal closes in January, and it can be assumed that the new Maid of the Mist headquarters will also be stunted in height.
Currently, the company is housed in four suites it owns in the neighboring Parkway Condominiums complex, a building so tall it could not have been built under DeSantis' onerous new restrictions.
In addition to the Parkway, the United Office Building, the Hotel Niagara and the One Niagara Center could not have been built had DeSantis' daft restriction been in place.
Numerous developers and hoteliers interviewed by the Reporter have agreed that the 80-foot height restriction will put an end to the possibility of any first-rate hotel chain wanting to build downtown -- not that any have been banging on the door to begin with. Likewise, the possibilities of new condominium or office building development appear remote if the restriction is allowed to become law.
Downtown Business Association Chairman Dan Vecchies, who has been involved in numerous projects in the tourist district over the years, has been outspoken about the DeSantis plan.
"One very interesting thing to me is that there has never been any indication from the city planner that anyone has ever spoken to even one hotel developer to get their opinion," he said. "Doesn't it make logical sense to at least survey your potential prospect as to what they feel would encourage them to invest in Niagara Falls?"
Vecchies pointed out that DeSantis' 20-year tenure as city planner has coincided nearly exactly with the precipitous decline of the city, particularly the downtown. He points to Niagara Falls, Ont., where a 60-story hotel looks down on our city, and to the downtown Seneca Nation -- where two similar structures are in the planning stages and a 30-story hotel complex has already been built -- in calling the Dyster-backed DeSantis plan "absurd."
Sadly, it appears that City Hall isn't interested in business so much as it is interested in one business -- the Glynn family's Maid of the Mist. To be sure, the Glynns' monopoly on the $60 million-a-year boat ride gives them ample cash with which to subsidize politicians and political appointees, a practice that -- in Niagara Falls -- seems as old and permanent as the mighty falls themselves.
The fabled Koshian mansion was but a bug on the windshield of their overarching ambition.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | December 16 2008 |