19° and Partly Cloudy
(Editor’s note: Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino posts a weekly Youtube video. The Express watches and summarizes so you don’t have to.)
City Market plans new season
Plans are in the making for this season at the city market events planning and calendar coming.
“The city market looks like it is going to be an active and exciting place.”
(Editor’s note: the reformation of the market, with a new building and a move closer to Pine Avenue is still coming. There has been no announcement on what it will look like but it is a sure thing, not a hockey rink.)
Lighting project
DeVeaux mostly done. Crews are now in midtown and moving to the south end “Sector 3.”
A few issues need to be addressed.
Some major roads remain saved for night work at the end to minimize traffic disruption.
Conversations are ongoing regarding what technology we are going to add to these fixtures.
Employment
“I’ve had an opportunity to talk with our human resources department. We have jobs in public works, code enforcement, parks and law enforcement with salaries from the mid 30s to the low 70s.
“We are always interested in people interested in serving the community.”
(Editor's note: Here is a link to job openings. https://niagarafallsusa.org/residents/employment_opportunities.php)
Brickbats for Milstein
The city is moving along with acquisition of public property from the Milstein group. The park at Falls Street and 10th was never properly transferred to NFR because it was a park and needed a home rule message to be alienated.
“What is the response from the Milstein Group? It's sort of the gaslighting mystery tour of misinformation. The funny thing is there are people who fall for it.
“It is reminiscent to me of something that happened many, many decades ago. There was a great writer, his name was HG Welles. And HG Welles wrote a novel. The novel was ‘The War of the Worlds’. (Mayor holds up vintage copy.)
He wrote that novel in the late 1800s. Then, in 1938, Orson Welles (No relation) did a radio broadcast and started talking about the War of the Worlds and as people were listening, even though it was a narrative being told that was sort of a hypothetical story, people believed it.
“They believed that Martians were really coming, people from outer space and that is really the way the Milstein Group behaves.
“They provide these crazy narratives. They talk about things that have no basis in fact. And then there are people who believe it. Let me just say to all of you. Take a look around at what for now, NFR the Milstein group have done for 28 years and what they are doing now in terms of how they want to influence the government by contributions and the people who they will prop up for government.
“You have to ask yourself, if they have done nothing in 28 years, and that has been their mission? And now they are losing their grip because we, the city, are taking back some land. As a matter of fact, I have even begun having conversations about whether or not it makes sense with the support of others to take all of their property and simply remove them from the community. “That is a bigger task, but certainly the task at hand is our effort to finally to be able to take possession of our own future and to develop something that they choose not to do. This should not be a surprise to us.”
With that he rose from his desk and headed to a map.
“This is their map, sent to us many, many years ago. If you take a look at the section that they have marked off as their own they are telling you what they want to do. Nothing. They are leaving it all empty. They are knocking down the houses they have eliminated the churches.
“We really shouldn’t be surprised that they are doing nothing and that they choose to do nothing. They want to tell stories that scare people and make people nervous (waves book) or otherwise try to confuse people that maybe they really are going to try and do something.
“Again I ask you all, we were promised:
“A luxury hotel and spa at the Turtle. Drive down there. It is a decaying building that they choose not to do any work on.
“We were promised a $100 million hotel and retail complex at the very site that the city has now been authorized to take by the courts. All that is there is a cinderblock square and fencing. And that promise was made oh, sometime in 2006, 7 or 8. The promise on the Turtle right around the same time or so.
“So in both instances it is over a decade where they make representations and do nothing.
“We will continue to press ahead. I shared with you as we go along the interest that entities have had in our ability to build the park and event center they are interested in the possibilities for the city of Niagara Falls so I think that is something that we can have hope and confidence in.
“We can have no hope and no confidence in a bunch of people who, by their own map, tell you ‘We are not going to do anything. We will leave it all empty’ because they don’t care. “And remember the city of Niagara Falls didn’t create that map. This administration didn’t create that map. Niagara Falls Redevelopment created that map and they’re telling us ‘we are going to do nothing’
“Please don’t be fooled by them. Don’t get sucked in, don’t get into panic, let’s not revisit that re-live this (he clutched book again).”
About the weather and potholes
Warm temps melted some snow. We will be experiencing the great spring headache, potholes. There are potholes everywhere in communities all across Western New York. Freeze and thaw, changes that happen with temperature, all of these things contribute.
Crews are out cold patching. Asphalt plants aren’t open yet. The city can’t access better material for at least a month when the plants reopen.
No matter what we do this weather is not over. . . . your patience and understanding as well as you ability to be careful . . . and the fact the repair we do now is temp
Concluding
There was a Casino event for diabetes awareness Friday night.
Recognize conditions and pay attention when you are driving.
Remember the city market will be open.
Drive safely.
