Git yer popcorn

At first glance, tonight’s Niagara Falls Council meeting seems uneventful.

It is unlikely to be so.

First, the agenda includes approval of the sale of vacant properties sold at auction. Many of the parcels are vacant.

Next up is the sale of 14 parcels to Pinnacle Community Services for $14,000.

Pinnacle is the former employer of councilperson Dante Myles. Myles was fired a few years ago as Pinnacle’s only Falls-based homeless youth outreach worker.

Funding for his position had been cut because the mayor determined it was no longer available. Myles alleges it was a political hit. Myles landed on his feet, selling life insurance with NILICO.

With scant details available, it’s hard to imagine Myles or Brian Archie supporting that agenda item but it is sure to bring debate.

Meanwhile, a flier has been circulating in the community inviting concerned citizens to show support for business owners who feel they have been unfairly targeted by the city’s code enforcement department with a pre-meeting rally in front of city hall likely to be followed by numerous speakers For the Good of the Community.

Members of the community allege businesses are being targeted for code enforcement based on who runs them and where they stand with the administration.

Two examples of Cease-and-Desist or Condemnation notices being served are like Honeycomb Hive, a cannabis shop operating without a state license on Pine Avenue and Atmosphere Lounge, a club on Main across from City Hall.

It is the opinion of the Express that the state has totally goofed up the legalization of recreational marijuana. It is good Honeycomb Hive has shut down.

As for Atmosphere, community members claim it is a private club renting out for parties but advertisements on Facebook present it as offering a cash bar without a liquor license.

A property on 19th Street that was the subject of a drug raid last week has also been condemned.

Community objections seem to be that Honeycomb Hive has been targeted repeatedly when at least another half-dozen similar businesses remain open on Pine Avenue without being targeted for enforcement.

A large portion of the animus seems to be targeting Mayor Robert Restaino. Real allegations of biased code enforcement should be taken seriously but reality is enforcing building codes on Pine Avenue and anywhere else in the city is important and something at which the city needs to be better.

At tonight’s meeting, Tanya Barone and Janine Gallo will be allowed to speak after being banned for 60 days by council chair James Perry because of incivility and a lack of decorum.

Gallo and Barone are critics of the Restaino administration’s handling of the stray dog crisis. They say the city gave an illegal, no bid contract to Pit Chic Kelly Swagel to handle stray dogs at a facility on Grand Island.

The city counters it had no choice because the Niagara County SPCA was terminating its contract.

In the midst of the morass rests Deputy Corporation Counsel Tom DeBoy who interprets Roberts Rules and seems to be the only public face of accountability for the administration as the mayor and city administrator rarely attend council meetings especially when hostile citizens demand accountability.

The meeting will be preceded by a rally at 4 p.m. led by Councilperson Dontae Myles and community activist and former councilperson Vincent Cauley.