The World According to Bob

The World According to Bob

Each week, Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino issues edicts from his throne, letting his minions know what lies ahead as well as sometimes sharing his opinion of those who don’t support his agenda. The Express transcribes so you don’t have to watch.

Halloween happenings

Let me start off by saying that in another couple of weeks, it'll be Halloween. And so there's a few things that are happening in that whole run up.

Let me start by saying that, um, trick-or-treating in the city of Niagara Falls on Halloween is from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.

For Halloween, you have a couple of things you can enjoy. On From 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23rd, the Niagara Falls Police Department will be having an event out in front of the police station with movies, a number of different events that'll be going on, an opportunity to meet and talk with some of the police officers and they'll all be out there, uh, right out in front of the police station at 1925 Main St.

It's really a good opportunity for kids and their parents to come on out and enjoy some time visiting with our police officers.

There will be a whole number of things that are going on, pumpkin painting, food, Halloween treats and Halloween themed activities,.

From 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at the parking lot at the John Duke Center near Sal Maglie Stadium, our youth and senior services, department will be holding a trunk retreat.

If you want to volunteer or if you want to donate to the Oct. 24 event, please contact (716)-297-9324.

On October 30th, um, at the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion, there will be a costume contest, open skating, public skate, uh, for everyone to enjoy from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.

So you've got something going on the 23rd, the 24th, the 30th and the 31st.

Text alerts

Let me just remind you that if you're not on the text alert system, join it. You'll know all about all of these things as well as other things that are happening in the city, and you'll text the word resident (716)-325-5723.

Outdoor ice rink is coming

Final preparations and construction for the outdoor ice link

that we will have in Hyde Park just south of the ice pavilion.

Final construction items are being done. So throughout the late fall and winter, we'll have outdoor ice skating in the park.

And then in the spring and summer, the ability for roller skating at the same location.

We'll be having a formal announcement about that, but construction has started, and we anticipate over the course of the next week or so, that construction will be completed, and then the outdoor ice rink will be available for us this winter.

We continue to make final preparations for, uh, the coming 2027

Budget. Obviously some of the decisions that have been made in recent meetings by the city council are impacting. Our budget, uh, preparations. We will be presenting the budget on November Then it'll be through the month of November that we'll be having discussions about the budget with a final budget being required by December 1 So more on that as it begins to develop.

Be careful on the roads

This past week, we had a couple of other incidents, unfortunately, that have occurred out on our streets with some speeding. So I'm gonna say the same thing I've been saying probably for about three months.

These young folks who are in here helping me record this are probably sick of hearing me say it, but I'm gonna say it again.

These are our streets.

You have as much responsibility to keep them safe as the police do, to patrol, and do all of those things. You can make your streets safer bytaking the opportunity to drive a little bit slower, be patient, understand that there are rules of the road.

The other thing, too, that I would ask people to remember: if you're gonna turn, you have turn signals. It would be really, really nice for everybody else on the street if they knew when you're turning left or turning right. It just makes it easier for all of the rest of us who are out there.

If I'm riding an e-bike, it would be nice to know that you're gonna be turning your car right if it's gonna cross my bike lane. I'd like to know that.

That way I can take steps to make sure that I stay safe.

To my e-bike friends and scooters and regular bicycle friends, remember the rules of the road are not suspended because you don't have four wheels. You too have to obey the rules of the road. Where do you ride your vehicle, scooter, e-bike, bicycle?

You ride it on the right side of the road.

Keep right

In 1776 this nation declared independence from England. We ride on the right side of the road. So when you're out there, remember, stay on the right side of the road.

I'm not even gonna go so far as to expect that the folks who ride bicycles or motorcycles or scooters understand hand signals, but that might be a good thing for me to talk to the new superintendent about, to start teaching people hand signals.

Before, and I know you all look at me, and I got white hair, so I must have been around a long time, but we used to learn that.

Same when we were driving, you'd learn what the signal is to stop, what the signal is to turn left, what the signal is to turn right.

And I assume that there are probably some young people who know it because maybe their parents have shown them what they are.

But in the end, all of what I'm talking about simply means being a little bit slower, being a little bit safer on the street.

You know, if you're supposed to be someplace at three o'clock.

And by being more careful on the streets, you get there at 3:05. You got a reason. You got a reason you're five minutes late. You didn't feel like getting into an accident. You didn't feel like hurting somebody. So the better practice is leave yourself enough time, right? Leave yourself enough time so that you're not rushing. That's the better way to do it.

I was at an event last night, and some poor woman came up to me and said how fast people were driving on her street, a residential street. And she said to go down there fifty, sixty miles an hour. That's insane. All it would take is one child running after her ball, and then all of a sudden your life's changed.

To the people who do see these videos, you know, pass the message along. Because I'm sure there's lots and lots of people who don't see this. So if you're passing the message along, maybe collectively we can help make the roads safer around here. Look, we're not gonna be perfect, right?

There's always gonna be somebody who decides that the rules don't belong to or don't pertain to them. So, but if the majority of us are being careful, we will have safer roads, okay?

Especially, you know, there's some things coming up, right?

Halloween's coming.

There's gonna be kids out there, they're gonna be everywhere, and they're just worried about making sure that when they get to a neighborhood, they go to every house.

So sometimes when they're crisscrossing, they're not looking

Now. We could sit here and reprimand children for not watching, looking both ways before they cross the street.

And that's important, too.

So, you know, that's another thing to make sure that we're telling our children, our grandchildren.