In depth with Mayor Restaino

The answers here are sometimes direct quotes but mostly paraphrased. The way this “In Depth” series works, the idea is to offer the unfiltered perspective of the subject because what they have to say is way more important than Joe Genco’s opinion.

My questions were written and we met in the conference room at the executive office suite at city hall. As with other visits, yes, I had to speak to the guard and gain admittance.

It is the same process in North Tonawanda or County Hall in Lockport, only with the addition of metal detectors.

Suggestions for future subjects or improvement are encouraged. The Express exists for the betterment of Niagara Falls. Please work for that.

Starting with a rant

Before I could ask a question, the Mayor needed to get something off his chest. The city is in the process of conducting its first tax sale since before covid.

The mayor entered from the right side of the conference room. His brow was furrowed. His face was kind of red. When concerned citizens stand to speak in the circus of a council meeting under Brian Archie’s leadership, it is a good thing. In the Mayor’s world, and mine, Brian needs to be forceful with his gavel and control of the meeting, whether that is when a speaker rants personal attacks from the podium or when gadflies in the gallery heckle.

When someone like Vincent Cauley tries to enunciate the machinations of a tax sale to bring the process to a halt because citizens need a chance for a payment plan it is, in a word, nonsense, at least in the eyes of the mayor. Cauley’s passion is a good thing. His opinion is uninformed.  As passionate as Cauley and Donta Myles can be, so is the Mayor.

Later in this meeting, after the white board education on tax law and foreclosure proceedings, the Express referred to the Mayor’s tantrum.

“You called that a tantrum?” he said.

I looked at him sheepishly, and said “OK, maybe rant, but it’s my heritage too. I have relatives on my dad’s side who can get pretty fired up about things.”
The mayor gave a knowing smile and chuckled a bit. So what was on the board? I will type it here to save you eye strain.

New York State Tax Law Article II

City of Niagara Falls Local Law, 2006-2

Moratorium, 2020, 2021, 2022. New Law for New York, 2023.

Estimate Summer/Early Fall

FINAL NOTICE: June 30 deadline.

This was necessary to set a fixed date to start the process.

No one is losing their home on July 1.

–If you become eligible to pay on 7/10 or 8/21, as an example, the only difference will be penalties and interest as required by law.

IF NO PAYMENT IS MADE: The next phase is to set the list of properties for foreclosure.

DURING THIS TIME: Title searches for properties on the list will be run to see if there are any other liens on the property. This is to be sure that those also holding a lien would get a notice of foreclosure.

FALL

THE LIST IS FIXED. Information in a notice of foreclosure is sent to property owners.

THIS IS WHEN TAX AGREEMENTS would be available for discussion. Terms would be those as permitted by state and local law.

FALL/WINTER

Court judgment. Auction early 2027

Away from the board

Later in the our meeting, the mayor returned to the topic to visit a discussion of Pung v. Isabella County, Mich., a Supreme Court ruling issued in October of last year and resulting in new legislation in New York because the old foreclosure law could be subject to challenge under the newly established precedent linked here:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-95_dc8e.pdf

As Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator, your Express editor is fully qualified to interpret the Supreme Court Ruling.

The 5th Amendment is the one that says the government can’t just take your stuff because it needs to pay for a better paint job on the reflecting pool or pay for a war-by-whim in Iran.

Applied to a foreclosure proceeding, that means, hypothetically: 1) Dyster (a hypothetical name) owed $75,000 in back taxes. 2) Dyster’s home home sells for $80,000 in the auction. 3) Dyster’s home is worth $250,000.

Dyster (or in this case, Pung) sues because he only gets a check for $5,000. Somewhere in the transaction, $165,000 in equity disappeared.

The Pung decision holds that selling property for back taxes is a longheld practice.

At the core, however, the mayor offered a different insight. When Donta Myles, among others, speaks about suggested payment plans and gets seniors, who have had misfortune, fired up, it is a good thing. Facing financial hardships is like treeplanting. The best time to plant a tree was 100 years ago. The next best time is today. Ditto dealing with matters of debt and financial crises says a guy licensed in financial services.

Here’s the point, and where Donta, and Vincent and those who think people like that widow from LaSalle deserve a payment plan yesterday and a caring mayor would just give them one.

Start a new job, say “Tom DeSantis Home Improvement,” and do a $10,000 bathroom remodel for Mr. and Mrs. Cratchett on Munson Avenue. The Cratchetts give a $2,000 deposit but Mr. Cratchett dies. Mrs. Cratchett has $1,800 in social security and a $500 pension. Mrs. Cratchett feels horribly but never makes another payment even though DeSantis completed the job.

DeSantis tries for 3 years to get payment and finally goes to court and gets a judgment against the Mrs. Cratchett. It is affixed to their property.

Now go forward. The city, in June of 2026, gives Mrs. Cratchett a payment plan, say $100 per month over 5 years to resolve $6,000 in back taxes. She falls behind and the city forecloses.

Demetreus Nix goes to the tax sale next January and buys the Cratchett’s house. The debt owed DeSantis never came to light because we followed Cauley’s payment plan and everyone is warm and fuzzy, except for the Cratchetts who lost their domicile and DeSantis who never got paid.

In the world of Cauley and Myles, city entered into an agreement in June, 2026 to allow Mrs. Cratchett to make payments. DeSantis is screwed. Nix wins.

DeSantis is screwed. That’s why “THIS IS WHEN TAX AGREEMENTS” is in capitals above.

Now back to your regularly scheduled “In Depth With Mayor Restaino”

Ebikes and safety: What can we do? Is the answer local or state?

“It comes down to enforcement for me. What would be a great start would be to compel certain things.” Helmets come to mind. We have a precedent in motorcycles. 

Mark Laurrie is retiring. You were in the school board when he became superintendent. How do you feel about it in hindsight?

“I said this when the board members were debating when Bianco was retiring (Cynthia, the previous superintendent) we have the gold standard here and he already knows our district. What are we going to do? Wait and see if we can find platinum?”

It was Groundhog Day all over again. There was another planning meeting for the Downtown Redevelopment Initiative the other day. When do we see shovels in the ground?

“With all things, the hardest part is coming out of the planning stage with stakeholders and community meetings, a function of being able to get through things.” One major change to the project was the move of the public square from the greenspace in front of the police station to the neglected space in front of the library. We will see more things going on as the summer continues. (Editor’s note: Last week as I pedaled down Main Street to meet the Mayor, workers were replacing a window in the Club Fusion building. I didn’t have time to stop for a photo, but hey, it is evidence of progress. The mayor confirmed that was the new owners, not the city, doing work.)

Is the Rapids sale closed? Talk to me about the new operator.

Yes, but there are details that need to be ironed out with the Niagara Orleans Land Improvement Corporation, including a discussion about 1701 Main St., the blue building at Main and Michigan. “A lot of people have left us with horrible circumstances. Between this year and next, people will work being done on Main Street.”

How are the first 4 Suspension Bridge District projects progressing?

They are all progressing. The last report on the Jenss building is the developer is going to build out the first floor and construct a model apartment.

What other projects on Main Street have not been announced?

“The team has not told me but 1906 and 1908 Main St. are close to more than tire kicking. 2006 and 2008 are also in talks. There is an RFP for Main and Cleveland for student housing.

(Editor’s note: Abe Bose posted to Facebook last week that he and his partner have closed on purchasing 2010-2018 Main St. The 40,000 square foot space will become student housing. The Mayor did not mention it to the Express. Red Door Real Estate’s Renee Moran posted about it.)

What can the city do to get its vacant lots mowed and its vacant properties maintained? Did you notice the Cedar of Lebanon died on the front lawn?

An RFP is in process to get extra help for mowing. The city is, increasingly, making vacant lots available to adjacent homeowners to acquire and maintain. It is sad that the tree died. The Mayor said he would like to replace it with a tree planted and maintained by a certified arborist. As anyone who has planted anything and had it die can attest, it needs to be watered and maintained until established.

In the last 10 years and the next 10, the public and private development in the downtown area as counted by USA Niagara Development is now valued at $525 million. What does this mean to the city?

“Economic development is always a positive but understand, many of these projects are under PILOT agreements (payment in lieu of taxes). The bottom line is tourism industry and hospitality season expand it generates more revenue.”

The court ruling to settle the eminent domain suit with Niagara Falls Redevelopment requires $4 million. Where is that going to come from?

From the general fund and fund balance. The city is required to maintain 15% of its budget in reserves. That guards against a hiccup in casino revenue or other issues. The bottom line is the city has the money set aside.

Is the Granicus Website actually working? How is the staffing in code enforcement coming along?

On Granicus (the Internet site that handles short term rentals) “There is no good answer.”

As for staffing, there are two new employees on the administrative side which should help some but the department lost an inspector to the police academy.

The legal department has added another attorney to deal with Freedom of Information Law requests as well as a legal assistant.

How would you react if a majority of the City Council decided it would never pass anything unless you or the city administrator attended council meetings?

“I would say it would be doing a great disservice to the public. I don’t think it matters to the majority of the public. People would like to see meetings be more civil.”

Every two weeks we hear the same mewling voices whining about the dog shelter and the voices from the side of the former operator are just as bad. Who cares? How is the dog shelter progressing? What was up with the concrete? Is it true the appliances would not fit in the door?

“Yes on the appliances. It was the fault of the general contractor. On the flooring, there was an error in the application of the epoxy coating. They are working to get it repaired. It should have been complete in February. It bites into the profit margin for the contractor.” Asked about why an RFP has not gone out for an operator, the mayor said the shelter needs more work. He did not offer a timeline.

How is John Murphy doing as the new superintendent of public works?

“In general he is doing well. He came from the workforce. He has a working knowledge of how it is supposed to be done.”

A foreclosure sale is a good thing, but is there any active plan to fix the housing stock? Economically, it takes $500,000 to build a small house, $50,000 or more to demolish and $200,000 or so to rehab. Who maintains city-owned properties. Is there a plan? Is there a list online?

“We need to get that out there online so people can get a look at it.”

In Tuesday’s primaries, the far left won everywhere. What would it mean if Nate McMurray wins the 145th Assembly District seat currently held by Angelo Morinello?

“I have been saying repeatedly that is not an indictment against any person but it is a function of ‘how can you get a consistent state partner seated at the table.’”

The mayor went on to discuss $300 million spent in Rochester, $400 million in Albany and $1.2 billion in Buffalo while Niagara Falls, a Wonder of the World at the core of the region, gets little.

Is there an update on the billionaire investors from China who have approached the city in concert with their plans for Ontario?

The mayor said he had discussions with Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati earlier this month and there have been discussions about a roadtrip to meet with developers but nothing is firm.

Mount St. Mary’s Nursing Home sits vacant on Lewiston Road. So does the hospital on 6th Street. Any update on either?

The proposed nursing home development is still seeking funding. As for the hospital “it could be a foreclosure. Sometimes it is the only way to move on the dime.”