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Editor’s note: Late last week, Taylor Anthony of WKBW published a piece on her station’s Website after talking to Councilmember Bridgette Myles who is calling on Niagara Falls government to do a better job cleaning up allies and enforcing the law. Her motivation is pure but also perhaps misplaced because the focus is best placed on enforcing the laws in place as laid out below by Jeffery Flach which is followed by Anthony’s piece. The city has established an email address where you can report nonsense. It is illegaldumping@niagarafallsny.gov.
By Jeffery Flach
Special to the Express
1. There are already laws and fines as evidenced by GARDEN GATE last year. Before reinventing the wheel, make sure the wheels we have are used appropriately to address the issues they were designed to address. ie enforce the rules we have before making new ones, if they are being used and failing then understand why they are not working otherwise you risk inventing new rules as ineffective as the old rules
2. City government needs to set the example by ensuring its own property is cleaned up first don't make me show pictures of city owned properties that are a mess like that, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone of those properties shown are actually city owned properties
3. Read the charter, the Council is the POLICY MAKING BODY of the city and has power of the purse Article II Section 2.1
“The government of the City of Niagara Falls shall be of the Mayor-Administrator-Council form. There shall be separate and independent legislative and executive branches of City government. The Council shall be the legislative branch of government and shall determine policy, enact legislation, adopt annual operating and capital budgets, and perform all like acts of policy determination and legislation as may be prescribed hereinafter and by law.”
4. We have a reporting system to address these issues, like the 311? 411? contacting by phone or email either the Executive or Legislative bodies. While I applaud Ms. Myles on her attention to this issue, has she asked the City administrator if the city is aware of those properties, if so where are they at in addressing them if not, now that they are aware what action will be taken....
5. Once these properties she has shown are addressed have a review of the process of addressing them and see where there is inefficiency, difficulty, challenges to the process and explore who those can be reduced either through administrative procedure, resources or change in local law. Only then will you find a good working solution.
6. If the administration is found to be unwilling or obstinate in taking the corrective action a Policy resolution along the lines of:
Whereas the city council is the policy making body;
and whereas the administration is responsible for enforcement of local laws and actions to ensure the health safety and welfare of the community;
and whereas there is widespread dumping of trash and garbage on properties throughout the city creating quality of life issues for our residents;
and whereas the administration is negligent in executing its responsibility to address these issues but instead has expressed an unwillingness to execute its responsibilities;
Therefore, be it resolved that the Administration shall within 30 days to provide the council a plan to inspect all city owned properties and report to council there condition meets the standards set by law or provide a plan to remedy them within 60 days in order to ensure government is setting the example and not adding to the degradation of residents quality of life;
be it further resolved that the administration shall within 90 days provide a report of all reported private property in order of most to least egregious, with a plan to aide or force owners to remedy those issues
7. If the Administration still does apply then amend the budget to reduce the salaries of appointed officials, Mayor, Administrator, Directors of DPW and Code enforcement, in order to recoup the cost of hiring a private vendor to take the action and go as far as amending the charter to grant it more direct policy enforcement tools to ensure the executive operates IAW council policy.
Basically, start by exercising the tools you have and see where you lack tools to address the problem. Use the hammer you have before getting a new one. Only if that hammer is not right for the job, (not big enough, too big, to light or heavy, need a rubber mallet instead....) or upon inspection, do you get a new hammer. Same for screwdrivers, wrenches....
Vincent Cauley, Zajac, Archie, Perry, Myles.
By Taylor Anthony
WKBW
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — Abandoned buildings, illegal dumping and trash have gotten out of control in Niagara Falls, creating what one city leader calls a quality-of-life crisis.
Niagara Falls City Councilwoman Bridgette Myles says she will push city leaders for a stronger response to the issue, which she calls an emergency.
"It's not safe. It's not fair to the residents. We have to have either stricter laws, fines, something that'll get people to clean up their properties," Myles said.
People who live in these neighborhoods want to see change.
"It's terrible, terrible," Rebecca Zimmerman said. "The animals we get, the mice in the house, and they're coming over there."
"This stuff needs to be removed. If you look behind my home, I live right behind City Hall. That whole alley should be clean. It's disgusting," another resident said.
The Department of Public Works is actively cleaning a lot of the built-up trash, but what is currently there is not even half of what was piling up.
Mayor Restaino said DPW crews are constantly out in neighborhoods responding to resident concerns.
"If no one owns them, or no one's going to appreciate them, and put some living human beings in them, tear them down," another resident said.
Residents are urged to call 311 to report abandoned buildings, potholes and cleanliness issues.
"We can't do anything. We can't bring investors in. You can't give people hope if the city is dirty, so we need to start there. It starts with us. It starts at home, working together," Myles said.
