News

Following an expose in the Niagara Falls Reporter, the NYS DEC has ordered the city to close down and clean up an illegal dump near the Hyde Park Golf Course off Porter and New Road that the city has been using for years to dispose of street debris, dead animals, tree stumps, building materials and other detritus.
The makeshift landfill – formerly wetlands – has not been legally sanctioned and does not have containment mechanisms (like liners or containment walls) that landfills are required to possess.
The property was originally owned by the New York State Power Authority, but was deeded to the City after the 2007 relicensing of the power project. But the DPW began using the site long before – under former Mayor James Gallie, city sources told the Niagara Falls Reporter for an article that appeared on April 21.
Following the Reporter publication with pictures showing the site - said to be used for only compost - filled with all manner of illegally dumped street material including needles, used condoms, plastic, concrete, metal, and more, The DEC inspected the site and made tests.
Within three weeks the site has been closed and this week concrete bollards have been installed by the city to prevent the site from being used as an illegal dump site.
The city will now have to take its street sweeping debris to the Modern landfill in Lewiston and will a have to remove an estimated 100,000 yards of street sweepings already on site in addition to an estimated 500,000 yards of other illegally dumped debris to Modern at a cost that is estimated to be as much as $1 million.
It may be more if testing requires special hazardous waste removal procedures.
Department of Public Works Director John Caso blamed individuals and private contractors for some of the mess. 
“People are sneaking onto the site in the middle of the night and weekends to dump,” Caso said. “Then there are fly by night contractors who don’t want to dispose of construction debris properly because it costs money. We realize there are a lot of shingles on the site.”
Now the state Department of Evironmental Conservation has stepped in. The city’s illegal dump covers acres of land, and it has been in use for a decade at least.

State Orders City To Clean Up Illegal Dump, High Cost Expected

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 12:24 pm

by Mike Hudson Following an expose in the Niagara Falls Reporter, the NYS DEC has ordered the city to close down and clean up an illegal dump near the Hyde Park Golf Course off Porter and New Road that the city has been using for years to dispose of streetRead More

State DOT to Niagara Falls Tourists: “Get Out of Town!”

State DOT to Niagara Falls Tourists: “Get Out of Town!”

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 12:21 pm

by James Hufnagel If the politicians are so determined to “remove” the Robert Moses Parkway, at a total cost of over $60 million, why is there state Dept. of Transportation signage all over downtown Niagara Falls directing motorists to it, in effect urging people to traverse the city as ifRead More

Rotella: Community Involvement in Schools  Critically Important

Rotella: Community Involvement in Schools Critically Important

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 12:05 pm

by Carm Rotella As we moved through the budget process this year, the needs of taxpayers, parents, and students had to be considered.  Our commitment to students is to ensure that every student graduates globally competitive and ready for tomorrow’s careers.  The funds required to offer a high quality, equitableRead More

The Constant Battle For Open Government

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 12:02 pm

by Paul Wolf, Esq. As a concerned citizen I spend time educating myself about what is going on in the Buffalo/Niagara area. I read newspapers, blogs, and follow the meetings of local government bodies. It is truly amazing how much time and effort it takes to obtain basic information andRead More

Restaino: Goals Include Increased Outcomes  for African and Hispanic Young Men Aft

Restaino: Goals Include Increased Outcomes for African and Hispanic Young Men Aft

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 12:01 pm

by Robert Restaino In my first term as a member of the Niagara falls School Board I have had the opportunity to work with some tremendously talented and dedicated administrators, teachers and staff, who, along with my fellow board members are committed to providing the best learning environment for ourRead More

Why We Need to Explore the Health Care Consortium

Why We Need to Explore the Health Care Consortium

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 11:53 am

by Kenny Tompkins Imagine if you had a terrible disease and the doctor provided a treatment that would help alleviate some symptoms? Wouldn’t you explore it? Or would you let that option sit for two years because you worried that you might have to give up something, all the whileRead More

Destino: A Plan For Success

Destino: A Plan For Success

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 11:50 am

by Johnny Destino I am getting a lot of feedback about my plan to increase vocational education for the students of Niagara Falls and I want to clarify one misconception regarding the costs. I am not proposing Niagara Falls build and operate its own vocational high-school as we have inRead More

Raising the Jury from the Dead

Raising the Jury from the Dead

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 11:42 am

by Jim Ostrowski Jurors in this state and throughout the United States are firmly told by judges they must follow the judge’s instructions “on the law,” but in so doing, are the judges themselves following the law? Keep in mind that jurors are constitutional officers!  That’s right.  You folks areRead More

The British government banned the export of this small watercolor, “An East View of the Great Cataract of Niagara,” by an anonymous North American buyer who won it at a Christie’s London auction. Painted in 1767 by Capt. Thomas Davies, it was deemed an essential part of Britain’s cultural heritage.

Britain Stops Sale Of Rare Falls Painting You Can Buy It, But It Stays In London

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 11:37 am

by Mike Hudson The auction house sale of an 18th Century watercolor painting of Niagara Falls in London last month sparked a minor international incident that raised questions of cultural heritage and free trade. The small painting, “An East View of the Great Cataract of Niagara,” depicts a horseshoe ofRead More

William Morris Hunt gave Church a run for his money in the 19th Century, as seen here is his 1874 oil, Niagara.

Four Hundred Years Of Art Depict Niagara Falls As Scene Of Wonder

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 11:34 am

by Mike Hudson Fr. Louis Hennepin was a priest, an adventurer and a teller of tall tales who would undoubtedly get a kick out of the fact that, nearly 400 years after his birth, the first art depicting the natural wonder of Niagara Falls is still often mistakenly attributed toRead More

Obama And Clinton: Hypocricy Or Lies, At Their Best ?!

Obama And Clinton: Hypocricy Or Lies, At Their Best ?!

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 11:26 am

by J. Gary DiLaura Merriam Webster defines hypocrisy as “the behavior of people who do things that they tell other people not to do: a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially :  the false assumption of an appearance of virtue orRead More

Important Information for Patients of Dr. Gosy

Important Information for Patients of Dr. Gosy

Featured, News May 12, 2016 at 11:25 am

ERIE COUNTY, NY— In the wake of the closure of Dr. Eugene Gosy’s practice, patients in need of pain management treatment are advised to proceed as follows: ·Seek care from your Primary Care Physician (“PCP”) ·If you do NOT currently have a PCP, seek treatment from a Federally Qualified HealthRead More

Warhol Portrait To Be Sold Here To Raise Money For Fallen Soldiers’ Portraits

Warhol Portrait To Be Sold Here To Raise Money For Fallen Soldiers’ Portraits

News May 12, 2016 at 11:23 am

Kaziah Hancock is an artist who has committed to painting portraits of American fallen soldiers. Over the years Kaziah has painted more than 800 portraits which she gifts to the families of the slain. She took a break recently to paint this portrait of Andy Warhol to help raise moneyRead More

Print Edition 5.5.16

Print Edition 5.5.16

News May 5, 2016 at 2:33 pm
Sexual Predator Population  Explosion In Falls This Year

Sexual Predator Population Explosion In Falls This Year

Featured, News May 5, 2016 at 2:23 pm

by Mike Hudson The number of registered sex offenders living in Niagara Falls has taken a sharp spike in 2016, shooting up from 164 in December 2015 to 190 this week. It’s entirely possible that perverts represent the fastest growing segment of the city’s population. In Niagara Falls, the oddsRead More

Grandinetti Applies For Status As B And B After Facebook Controversy

Grandinetti Applies For Status As B And B After Facebook Controversy

Featured, News May 5, 2016 at 2:16 pm

by Mike Hudson In much the same way you wouldn’t want to give a loaded gun to, there are others for whom a laptop and a Facebook account can provide an avenue leading directly to all sorts of trouble. Niagara Falls City Councilwoman Kristen Grandinetti has often made headlines withRead More

Marc Smith flanked by US Sen. Charles Schumer and former State Senator George Maziarz celebrate the coming of Yahoo! to the Town of Lockport. Part of the deal was that Yahoo! was to donate $500,000 a year to local charities. As only the Niagara Falls Reporter predicted at the time, “local charities” did not mean Lockport - but Albany and the Governor’s choice.

Empire State’s Hoyt Makes No So Subtle Threats to Town of Lockport Supervisor

Featured, News May 5, 2016 at 2:14 pm

by Anna Howard The Niagara Falls Reporter has obtained what seems to be “threatening” emails sent by William B. “Sam” Hoyt III, the Regional President of Empire State Development – a taxpayer funded state development agency – to former Town of Lockport Supervisor Marc Smith, who is presently the CoordinatorRead More

Reporter Called It Back in 2013:  ‘No Money’ for Lockport Charities from Yahoo!

Reporter Called It Back in 2013: ‘No Money’ for Lockport Charities from Yahoo!

Featured, News May 5, 2016 at 2:11 pm

by Frank Parlato Only the Niagara Falls Reporter called it right, back in April 2013, when we reported on the $30 million Yahoo! taxpayer subsidized deal and called people “naive” who thought that Niagara County non profits would get any money in return for local taxpayers giving the giant InternetRead More

This Yahoo! server coop generates heat, which the cool temperatures of Niagara will help to offset.

Worst Area for Taxes Requires Government Subsidizes

Featured, News May 5, 2016 at 2:09 pm

by Frank Parlato Consider how stupid this is: All told, Yahoo! will get $30 million in county and state sales and property tax breaks, credits against state income taxes and 7,200 kilowatts of half-priced electricity from the New York Power Authority (NYPA). These giveaways – which will be subsidized byRead More

Warshaw Costs Climb As PERB Rules Against City On Police Pact

Warshaw Costs Climb As PERB Rules Against City On Police Pact

Featured, News May 5, 2016 at 2:03 pm

by Mike Hudson The $400,000 paid to Warshaw and Associates to transform the Niagara Falls City Police Department into a kinder, gentler organization under an agreement reached between Mayor Paul Dyster and former Attorney General and current Governor Andrew Cuomo five years ago may just be the tip of theRead More

.wpzoom (color:black;}