Protesters gather before council meeting

The protest organized by Donta Myles happened on the steps of city hall as promised Wednesday. Whether it will make a difference remains to be seen.

A group of about 20 citizens gathered prior to Wednesday’s council meeting. The chief grievance was code enforcement allegedly targeting black-owned businesses.

CJ Cox of Visionary Real Estate owns the former Shorty’s on Pine Avenue.

He was recently served a cease-and-desist order on the property for allegedly having a party at the property. Only he didn’t. The party was across the street.

Cox said he had no previous problem with the administration of Mayor Robert Restaino. In fact, he rented the Mayor his campaign headquarters on Pine Avenue.

He said Code Enforcement Director Clifford Scott told him there was a police report about the party. Cox checked and found there was none.

He doesn’t understand why no one gave him the courtesy of a phone call to discuss the matter before commencing action.

He also questions how the city’s American Rescue Plan grant program works and why the city's business permit program is randomly enforced. A business with resources can fix-up a property and then apply for reimbursement.

“You have to have money to get help from the city,” he said. “I am trying to get it open.”

Sophia Hamilton operates The Atmosphere Lounge with her husband William Matthews. The lounge is across from the library on Main Street. She hosts private parties and sometimes rents out the club. 

“They target who they want to target,” she said. “Once Mr. Cox stood up for himself, two days later we got hit.”

Hamilton, who works full time in healthcare while raising 6 children, said she invested her life savings in Atmosphere.

Hamilton said she has a certificate of occupancy, fire inspection and health permit and the cease-and-desist was without cause.

She suspects it was the result of a 3rd party renting out the space and advertising a cash bar without her knowledge.

After the protest, the regularly scheduled council meeting began with a presentation from Paws in the Falls, a new animal shelter and boarding facility on Cayuga Drive.

Paws in the Falls is pushing Niagara Falls to use a more systematic approach to dog control. The city gave a temporary contract to Pit Chic, an Erie County business, and is now working to build out a new dog shelter in Hyde Park.

After the presentation, Council Chairperson James Perry led a brief discussion about the role of Acting Corporation Counsel Thomas DeBoy in running meetings.

DeBoy has been enforcing his interpretation of Robert’s Rules for the council often to the behest of Myles and observers who have contacted Perry to inquire about why the only representative of the Mayor has taken such an outsized role in council meetings.

In the “For the Good of the Community” segment, Realtor Lawrence Blaeber suggested the council appoint a parliamentarian to handle rules and meeting enforcement thereby allowing Deboy to focus on Counsel duties.

A plan to gift 14 properties to Pinnacle Community Services for $14,000 was pulled from the agenda at the last minute. Myles and Archie both questioned why the property, in the shadow of the proposed Centennial Park, were being transferred to a third party rather than being made available by the city to homeowners.

In another action item, Archie and Myles stood together in opposition to send the state legislature a home rule message requesting the right to abandon Porter Park, which was bisected by the Robert Moses Parkway.

If approved, the abandonment would allow the city to transfer the property to Rupal Corp., the owner of Courtyard by Marriott. Rupal, with a larger parcel, could then consider development.

Last but not least, Jake Fleming Sr. questioned why the city is hosting two Juneteenth Festivals, one at Legends Park on June 19th and one on Fathers’ Day at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center.