As this year draws to a close, it is becoming increasingly clear that our dearly beloved city of Niagara Falls is in the final phase of the transition from an electrochemical and industrial manufacturing giant into:
1) Oblivion, if we do nothing; or
2) A new era where our economy will be based solidly on hospitality, cultural tourism, light manufacturing, warehousing, and -- if we play our cards right -- an international passenger and cargo transportation hub.
Pick one.
We are strategically located with 500 miles of most of the U.S. and Canadian population. We have the best airport in the state. We sit on the largest fresh water supply in the country. Our road and rail transportation systems connect us to every place. We have two college campuses right here in our midst. We have a new medical center complex that will be among the finest in the world.
And we have some of the friendliest, most warm- hearted and hardworking people on the planet.
It's time to say good bye to the old and to embrace our future, time to wake up from the nightmare of the past 50 years and accept the inevitable impact the new global economy will have on our immediate future, as well as the impact it is having on our everyday lives here on the Niagara Frontier right this minute.
Don't believe it?
Been to Wal-Mart on Porter Road lately? It is the new-world version of an international bazaar, the busiest place in Niagara Falls, selling Chinese-manufactured products at prices we can all afford, putting our money in their pockets.
Can we figure out a way to get some of our hard-earned money back by inviting the Chinese and the rest of the world to spend some of their new-found disposable income here in Niagara Falls, a place they are as familiar with as Disney World?
We'd better!
My family wound up here because my father was looking for work. Seventy-five years ago, a man with little or no education, who may not even speak English, could be hired the same day he arrived on foot, by rail, or by bus. There was work -- two jobs, if they were willing to pull double duty. Some even worked three.
We were on fire!
I can remember, as a young boy, riding in the back seat of our family station wagon at night, being absolutely amazed by the flashing lights of Bethlehem Steel's blast furnaces in Lackawanna. Across town were Vanadium, National Carbon, Republic Steel. The factories were running full blast, 24-7. There was plenty of work for anyone who wanted it. Men, black and white, were constantly moving into Niagara Falls from all over the country, especially from the South.
We have stood by helplessly long enough, watching our textile and steel industries vanish, taking our pensions and medical insurance benefits with them, as one corporation after another chooses the easy way out, filing for bankruptcy while they line their executive pockets with multimillion-dollar bonuses they collect as their reward for eliminating our jobs, leaving most of us to fend for ourselves, or go without.
Free trade and globalization need not be our death knell. We can benefit from this by putting our heads together, doing some real comprehensive planning and thinking big.
Now that the population has dwindled down to half the size it was when we were at our peak, we have an oversupply of low-income properties, as well as a plethora of aging housing. Why not sit down together and figure out how we can take advantage of our unique opportunities?
Couldn't we, for example, consider doing something as bold as putting the library back in the Carnegie building, using the school building behind it as an annex, and converting the Earl W. Brydges Library into the court and public safety complex?
We may never again see our population swell to twice the size it is now, and that is not a bad thing, but there are plenty of things we must do to ensure the prosperous standard of living that we who choose to stay here are willing to work for and entitled to enjoy.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Dec. 6 2005 |