In the first week of January, Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino proclaimed city ownership a parcel of land transferred to Niagara Falls Redevelopment in 2004. He fed the story to the Gazette and spoke about it on Youtube. The Express published it the next day. The Gazette held it for two weeks.
Restaino, and his supporters, would like to use the 10th and Falls Street parcel for Centennial Park, a fantastical events center that would cost $150 million taxpayer dollars to build and might even attract a Ontario Junior Hockey league team.
There has been no study of the location or feasibility of the proposed shangri la but hey, why quibble about details or how much it will cost us. After all, the train station loses $130,000 a year. What's another drop in the bucket?
Restaino’s January proclamation was that half the site he has been trying to wrest from NFR through eminent domain already belongs to the city because it was never alienated by home rule message and state legislature approval by the receiving property owners.
The administration claims last year legal fees paid to Hodgson Russ over the eminent domain case were at about $90,000.
NFR has now responded with a letter from its attorney, John Horn, of Harter, Secrest & Emery refuting Restaino’s claim with newspaper clippings and council minutes reporting the property did not need to by alienated because it was never formally a park.
NFR is fighting for the land across from the casino a half-mile from the entertainment district because it plans a $1.5 billion data center on the site which is not currently zoned for such a development.
