We were somewhat surprised by the Dyster regime's concession to the people who actually live on Cayuga Island in regard to its plans for "improving" Jayne Park. Since taking office 26 months ago, Dyster and his advisers have generally shown little regard for what the taxpayers of Niagara Falls think about anything.
Last May, the Niagara Falls Reporter broke the story, which concerned alleged City Planner Tom DeSantis and his unilateral decision to lay ribbons of asphalt and build a parking lot in the quiet and green neighborhood park, in order to service the hordes of people he thought might visit there to make use of the new boat launch and picnic pavilions he also wanted to build. This could be accomplished by cutting down a number of old-growth trees that were, to him, simply in the way.
No one living on Cayuga Island was ever asked about any of this. In fact, the City Council was never even made aware that DeSantis, with Dyster's approval, had already gone ahead and asked the state for $145,000 with which to begin construction.
There are no stores or any sort of commercial presence on the island. The park itself is pretty much as it has been since it was dedicated back in 1937, a place where kids could go play baseball, lovers could gaze at the beautiful sunset, or a family could have a Sunday picnic. People who live on Cayuga Island do so because they want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
They pay a premium to live there, both in real estate prices and in city taxes. And the last thing they wanted in their midst was the noisy, traffic-clogged sort of urban recreation center DeSantis proposed.
So they did what people should do in a democratic society. They circulated petitions. They organized and showed up at City Council meetings. They raised enough hell so that even the daily newspapers and television stations took notice.
As recently as two months ago, when DeSantis told the Council he was forging ahead with his plan, freshman Councilwoman Kristen Grandinetti basically accused this paper of lying about the plan for the park.
"People are getting misinformation and they are conjuring up what they think is happening," she said.
In reality, it was Grandinetti who was misinformed.
"The majority of people on that island, they don't want what whoever is recommending," said Councilman Bob Anderson, who had actually talked to the residents.
Last week, all five Council members voted to scrap the plan, much to the dismay of DeSantis. In thwarting his ambition, they performed a service for the city, and for the people of Cayuga Island in particular.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | March 16, 2010 |