The World according to Bob

(Editor’s Note: Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino casts weekly to his minions via Youtube so we know what to think. The Express watches so you don’t have to.)

Shovel your walk

“I don’t know about you but I think I have had enough of snow” the Mayor said.

That takes me to another topic: thanks for clearing your walks to make the city a safer and better place.

Streets are plowed but then become more narrow and people walk in the street.”

(Editor’s note: Thursday at dusk as we drove down Main Street there were at least 6 people walking on Main Street because the walks weren’t cleared in front of Jenss or the Rapids.)

“For those who choose to ignore (shoveling), the people who complain about sidewalks and potholes and trees but the simple thing that they can do, cleaning their sidewalk, they refuse, just won’t do it” he said.

I can’t understand if you own a commercial or business property why you wouldn’t want to clear a front walk. Think about customers. Think about future customers who may be walking past your place. It doesn’t make any sense. And the fact that people will say to me ‘well why aren’t we out there punishing people for that’ think about that. Is there an ordinance? Sure and we should be citing people for violation of the ordinance. Well, think about the people that we are going to have to designate to do that because there are so many people who just decide that that’s not their responsibility. I want to provide you with an update. It is your responsibility to clean the sidewalk parallel to the street in front of your homes and in front of your businesses I used to own a home that was on a corner and so those of you who have the residences or businesses yeah, its an awful lot of work to do that but it is your obligation.”

“. . I want to thank the people who are doing that. I want to caution the people who aren’t that you are simply playing Russian roulette with the ability to be sue for liability

“Government shouldn’t have to go out and sledgehammer people into doing what is right and what they should do.”

Thanks to the waterboard

The city’s text-alert system has been flooded with tales of water and sewer main breaks.

The men and women of the waterboard are out there in the snow and ice fixing the cold and wet. Thanks to them.

Milstein Group still sucks

Our city transferred property transferred property to the Milstein Group without proper permission in 2008 or so.

“The defense by NFR is that it wasn’t a park” he sai. “We have plans designs installations beginning in 1942 which show that area as a park and a playground.

“This group doesn’t hasn’t done anything in over 30 years to develop the land and now just wants to get in the way.”

Restaino cautioned against turning a sympathetic ear to the do-nothing developer.

“This group has done nothing over almost 30 year with almost 142 acres,” he said, “one broken promise after another, broken promise after another promise.

“How many times do we as a city have to deal with being told one thing and having another thing happen.”

Local election warning

Be careful as we enter the cycle of sort of who is going to come into local government.

“Those people that talk about NFR and the MG as some great contributor to the city you have to check whether or not they are obligated to them or they are concerned about you because, at least at this stage, you could clearly take a look at what that group has done and say to yourself logically that they have done nothing to help this community.”

Black History month

We are quickly approaching the end of February but it is Black History Month. The Mayor will be reading at Bond School. There are other events going on in the community.

Lighting conversion continues

The team has now moved into the area around city hall and eastward. The last section will be much of the south end and LaSalle. A little over 2,200 of the more than 6,000 lights have already been converted.

The mayor will be meeting in the next week or so to determine what other technology that can be added to the poles.

The weather again

Temperatures are going to warm up upper 30 to start next week. Most of the snow event is over for now. Also for baseball fans spring training will get underway.

Oh hey and one more thing:

Shovel your walk