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Editor's note: State Sen. George Maziarz has been a vocal supporter of privatization at Niagara Falls International Airport and of the proposed 99-year lease between the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and Cintra to accomplish that end. During a wide-ranging discussion with Reporter Publisher Bruce Battaglia, the senator addressed the issue.
Q. In regard to the airport, you've supported the deal, but there still seems to be a question as to which Cintra we're dealing with.
A. I know which one we're dealing with. LaFalce apparently doesn't. And to be honest with you, that's very disappointing that he came out wheeling like he did before he knew which one we're dealing with. We're not dealing with the one that owns Aero Mexico, which is owned by the Mexican government. We're dealing with the one that actually owns nine airports, two of which are in Mexico. They've got huge holdings up in Canada, too. They've got that Highway 407, which is amazing conceptually, because they own it. That would be like a private owner owning the New York State Thruway.
Q. Given the company's South American interests, the international location of the airport here and the fact that the United States government is advising and supplying the Colombian military in the drug war they're fighting there, it becomes pretty easy to conjure up any number of scenarios, some of which aren't all that improbable ...
A. First off, I'm not so sure (Cintra) is operating in Colombia. I believe it was Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain and Canada, with most of their interests being in Canada. Now, I've got to say, it was very unfair of John (LaFalce). I don't know what his issue is. He was invited to come in.
You need to get a little bit of history. The airport, obviously, has been almost non-functioning. In 1996, John Prozelarik came to me. Luis Kahl was appointed that year as well to chair the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. I went to Luis Kahl on the day of his confirmation hearings in the New York State Senate and I said, 'Luis, I want to do something with the Niagara Falls airport.' He talked to me about Carborundum, what he had done here in Niagara Falls, how he loved Niagara Falls. He spoke to the Chamber of Commerce within a month and told them the airport was going to be his focus.
We initiated the task force meetings out at Niagara County Community College. We opened every meeting to the public and invited every public official, including John LaFalce. We had the FAA there, the NFTA obviously, and ironically enough, it was the FAA that gave us the privatization option. We went forward from there. I insisted the state, not the NFTA, hire an airport consultant. Frankly, I haven't been happy with the record of the NFTA in Niagara County over the past 30 years.
We hired Frasca and Associates out of New York City, who had handled the privatization of the Stewart Airport. We put it out to bid and got two bidders. One was the IDA and one was Cintra. It's not rocket science. Cintra's got this huge investment in Canada, they paid over $1 billion U.S. for this road, in cash, up front, to the Canadian government. They've got to get equipment in there, personnel to run it, they started looking around and Niagara Falls was a natural. Maybe our biggest asset for that airport is across the border.
Q. There's no question it's becoming a desirable destination for travel.
A. That's right. You can't fly in here any closer. Now people say the 99-year lease, 99 years is a long time. But our original idea was get the NFTA out forever. I wanted the NFTA out of this picture forever. I think the military had some issues about an outright sale, about someone else owning their runway. That's when we started talking lease. But now we have a problem because there are apparently a couple of companies out there named Cintra. And one of them apparently is a pretty bad operator.
Q. So the bottom line on Cintra is that you support it, that it's gone through an evolutionary process, there's been a lot of public comment, and you've given it a lot of time and thought.
A. Get somebody in here! That's my thought.
Q. What about the military? Is it your impression they're opposed to the privatization?
A. Absolutely not. First off, they attended every one of our task force meetings. In fact, they actually hosted one of the meetings at the air base. Cintra has met with them privately, and they've been nothing but supportive.