January 29, 2012 - 10:54 AM |
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I spoke this week with Eddie Friel, an "expert-in-residence" at Niagara University's College of Hospitality & Tourism Management. A native of Northern Ireland, Friel came to the U.S. five years ago after helping transform Glasgow, Scotland, from a fading shipbuilding capital to a tourism hotbed.
The result? More than 66,000 tourism jobs created since 1983, Friel said, and an industry that employs twice as many tourism workers as it once did shipbuilders.
When he settled in Western New York, Friel was amazed at Buffalo's architecture and Niagara Falls' beauty. But he said both cities can do much more to showcase their treasures. Below (and in the video above) are some comments about Friel's thoughts on Buffalo.
Friel on Buffalo's changing image: "Over the past five years, I have noticed a gradual building of self-confidence. And this [National Trust for Historic Preservation] Conference acted as a catalyst to bring everyone together, to allow the community in Buffalo to recognize, actually, we do have a magnificent city. It is significant in architectural terms, nationally and internationally, and that is something that we need to celebrate. And the community in Buffalo responded mangificently to it. That didnt happen five years ago, so there is a change."
Friel on where Buffalo should be in five years: "Buffalo needs to be a major urban destination, as one of top 10 cities in the U.S. for creative industries, for innovation and design. Cities are going to become much more important places to live work and play, and we need to create livable cities and livable communities. That's Buffalo's challenge, and it's ideally placed to do so, because it has so much available within the city requiring development."
For Friel's thoughts on what the Niagara Falls needs to do to keep the 8 million tourists who visit each year -- and to learn about President Obama's new tourism plan -- read Sunday's Niagara Weekend story in The Buffalo News.
- News Staff Reporter Charlie Specht
January 23, 2012 - 3:11 PM |
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Join me tonight for a live blog of the City Council work session at 4 p.m. and regular meeting at 7 p.m.
Here's the meeting agenda and the resolutions the council will be voting on. For a full preview of the issues to be discussed at the meeting, click here.
-News Niagara Reporter Charlie Specht (cspecht@buffnews.com)
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January 19, 2012 - 1:01 PM |
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NIAGARA FALLS -- The City Council will hold its regular meeting Monday, and we'll be right here on the Niagara Views blog with our second live chat. Feel free to chime in with your questions and comments as I give live meeting updates.
If you can't wait until Monday, you can get a peek at the meeting agenda here, or read the council resolutions here.
The meeting will include updates from Mayor Paul A. Dyster's administration on:
--The Lewiston Road reconstruction project, which has been plagued by delays and disputes between contractor Dave Pfeiffer and the city. Pfeiffer has said he found alarming levels of radioactive material beneath the road, while city and state Department of Environmental Conservation officials say the levels are not a threat to the public. Paving is expected to start again this spring. 
--The Center Court housing development (right), which was unveiled in 2010 despite the absence of street lights. At the Dec. 13 council meeting, City Engineer Jeffrey Skurka said he was trying to fix the problem "as best as I can, as fast as I can."
Daria Sterner of the Niagara Falls Blues Festival and Karl Bauer of the Western New York Blues Society will make a presentation about the blues festival and its budget. In December, City Council Chairman Sam Fruscione announced the city would gradually decrease its funding for the festival.
To find out more about these issues, and the city's response to the SPCA of Niagara controversy, join me right here on Monday. The work session begins at 4 p.m. and the regular meeting starts at 7 p.m., with a break in between.
-News Niagara Reporter Charlie Specht (cspecht@buffnews.com)
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January 10, 2012 - 11:28 AM |
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NIAGARA FALLS -- Jobs are hard to come by these days, but if you have experience in public safety, human resources or development, you may be in luck.
The city is accepting applications for fire chief, HR director and community development director positions, according to City Administrator Donna Owens.
The department head positions were recently vacated with the retirements of Robert Antonucci (development) and Joyce Mardon-Serianni (HR), but the city has been without a fire chief since Roger Melchior was fired in February.
Mayor Paul A. Dyster has pointed to political instability as a reason for the fire chief vacancy. Since the chief serves at the pleasure of the mayor, Dyster said it was difficult to attract candidates before he won re-election in November. If he had lost, another mayor could have come in and appointed his own chief.
Another issue we documented in an investigative story was the fire chief's $83,900 salary, which in some cases was up to $60,000 lower than what battalion chiefs and other underlings were making. The disparity was a function of overtime and other benefits the chief isn't eligible for.
City Controller Maria C. Brown said Monday that despite the absence of a chief, the fire department has kept overtime costs "very reasonable."
The city has received two applications for the fire chief position, Owens said, and would like to fill all three spots "as expeditiously as possible."
Applications will be accepted for all three positions until Jan. 26, she said. Owens can be contacted at donna.owens@niagarafallsny.gov, and job qualifications and submission information is posted here.
-News Niagara Reporter Charlie Specht
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January 9, 2012 - 9:00 AM |
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Join me tonight for a live blog of the City Council work session at 4 p.m. and regular meeting at 7 p.m.
Here's the meeting agenda, as well as the supporting resolutions the council will be voting on. The 4 p.m. work session will involve administrative updates regarding the fire chief search and two recently retired department heads.
-News Niagara Reporter Charlie Specht
January 5, 2012 - 11:51 AM |
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NIAGARA FALLS -- Mayor Paul A. Dyster was in Albany on Wednesday for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's State of the State speech.
But as he was finding out specifics about the governor's pledge to offer $1 billion to companies who build in the Buffalo area, a familiar scene was taking place back home:
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for the second time in two-and-a-half years, were showing up at Niagara Falls City Hall.
Wednesday's appearance centers around tax records from the One Niagara building, which used to house the offices of the Occidental Chemical Co. and has been known by locals for years as the "flashcube."
The building has been a source of controversy for years, especially after plans for an underground aquarium stalled, leaving a large hole in front of the property. The latest issue centers around a tax dispute with the city -- first by Buffalo developer Frank Parlato, who owned the building until 2010, and now by Lewiston attorney Paul A. Grenga and his ownership group.
The city claims Grenga and his group owe $1.7 million in property taxes, interest and penalties assessed by the city, its school district and Niagara County. Grenga claims the building was unfairly assessed.
Dyster speculated the investigation had something to do with the unpaid back taxes, while One Niagara spokesman Tony Farina said the FBI's probe was "totally unrelated" to the building's current owners. He confirmed that FBI and IRS agents interviewed the current owners Wednesday.
When agents showed up to deliver a grand jury subpoena for the tax records at City Hall, they probably didn't have a hard time finding the place. Agents have investigated officials there for years, most recently (and pictured left) in a July 2009 raid that led to felony charges against Falls plumber John J. Gross Jr.
The next year, a different federal investigation landed former Mayor Vince Anello in jail. He was recently released from federal prison.
Details about the latest FBI investigation were scarce Wednesday night, but Dyster said federal agents requested tax payment records from One Niagara dating back to 2004.
"We're happy to comply, and should be able to do so swiftly," Dyster said.
--News Niagara Reporter Charlie Specht
November 23, 2011 - 5:48 PM |
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NIAGARA FALLS -- Tourists are expected to make their way to Niagara Falls this weekend, and for once, the famous cataracts are only a secondary attraction.
They'll be coming to the heart of downtown to experience the Niagara Holiday Market, a 36-day European-style festival aimed at attracting travelers and residents with regional and national foods, specialty crafts and a winter concert series. The festival kicks off at noon Friday on Old Falls Street.
"It’s the ultimate winter wonderland," developer Mark Rivers said as saw blades buzzed around him Wednesday afternoon on Old Falls Street. "We hope we can create a family destination for the holidays. Thirty-seven days of great shopping, fun entertainment, a great ice skating rink."
Rivers said the festival will be "very European, almost Disney-esque" with its custom vendor booths, rooftop lighting and cobblestone streets. They've been using the festival at right as a guide.
Rivers, an Idaho developer and Ellicottville native, said the market is not your typical food festival. There will be no carnival rides when the show kicks off at noon Friday.
"We're trying to be a little bit more discerning and have something that’s unique and special," Rivers said. "Taken all together, it can be an attraction unto itself. It should be exciting, different and fun."
More than 50 vendors will line up along Old Falls Street each day from Friday to New Year's Day. An eclectic mix of regional and national craft vendors -- from Elmwood Avenue to San Francisco -- will create what Rivers calls the "anti-mall."
Workers were busy Wednesday afternoon constructing and outfitting vendor booths (left) between the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel and Niagara Falls State Park. Skaters can lace up at the public ice skating rink, which will feature activities with Sabres great Gilbert Perreault on Dec. 21.
"We wanted to draw people down here," said the state's USA Niagara Development president Chris Schoepflin. "Most of what we usually put on are one- or two-day events. What Mark brought us is much broader, much more conceptual. These are big companies. I couldn't think of a better way to bring them here in one place."
The Canadian Tenors will kick off the market's concert series at 7 p.m. Saturday, and a Rockefeller Center-style tree-lighting ceremony will be held 5 p.m. Monday on Old Falls Street.
A full list of vendors and activities can be found here or by visiting niagaramarket.com.
-News Niagara Reporter Charlie Specht
November 9, 2011 - 3:24 PM |
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NIAGARA FALLS -- When Mayor Paul A. Dyster scored a victory over Republican challenger Johnny G. Destino on Tuesday, he became the city's first two-term mayor since Michael C. O'Laughlin left office in 1991. 
Day One of his second term --according to City Hall sources -- included some time for rest and relaxation after a campaign that started slow and heated up in the past few days.
After defeating Destino 53 to 45 percent, the mayor spoke about the top priorities on his agenda for his second term.
Among them: two road repaving projects and large-scale development aimed at revitalizing downtown and the city's North End.
Here's my interview with Mayor Paul Dyster about his agenda for his second term.
-News Niagara Reporter Charlie Specht
August 29, 2011 - 7:00 AM |
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I hope the two-day series on urban casinos in Western New York, which was published Sunday and today in The Buffalo News, will open a meaningful, more public dialogue over the future of both the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino and the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel.
Here are a couple of other things I thought worth sharing:
* As the Seneca Nation of Indians prepares to expand its casino in Buffalo, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul A. Dyster sees it as good thing that the state limited the sovereign land it set aside in the Queen City to nine acres, instead of the 50-acre plot the Senecas have in the Falls. They won’t be able to build as much on it, he said. Otherwise, Dyster sees fewer advantages to having a casino in Buffalo than in his city.
Dyster points out that more than 6 million visitors come to his city every year, most of them during the summer tourist season.
The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. gushed last month that it anticipated about 360,000 visitors on the Buffalo waterfront this year.
Dyster considers the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel a "resort casino," where money flows in from all over the world. He wonders if a larger casino proposed for Buffalo might be more of a "blue collar" one, where money from the local community is recirculated and, as Niagara University associate professor Steven H. Siegel warns, the existing hospitality industry could suffer.
"I think it's something you've got to think about," Dyster said. "If I were Chefs or the Swannie House or McCarthy's, I would be concerned about what ends up getting built on the casino property."
Here's the other thing he sees nearly 10 years into the introduction of Native American gambling in the Falls: the city has grown increasingly accustomed to it, the Senecas recently have tried more earnestly to connect to their surroundings, and government and business leaders have begun to devise more plans to capitalize on it.
City business went through a crisis of self-confidence in the early years of the casino, and several bars and restaurants closed, Dyster said.
"Now," he said, "I think people are feeling maybe a little bit more relaxed about what type of competition the casino does or doesn't present. I don't think the Como Restaurant is concerned the casino is going to make a better meatball."
There's a place for a casino and a variety of other attractions in a city visited by millions of tourists each year, said John Percy, head of the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp., Niagara County’s lead tourism agency.
"I think the casino adds an enhancement to our product, but it can't be the end-all," he said. "This [Seneca Niagara] casino is in an international tourist destination, so it's going to have a totally different draw than a casino in Buffalo in the future, but it also depends on how [the Senecas] market, position and brand that casino."
* During my reporting for this story, I exchanged emails with Patrick T. Rayome, a bufalonews.com reader from Lexington, Ky. Here’s how our exchange went:
Patrick:
Can someone, anyone, please tell me where all the tourist money from Niagara Falls is going to? Why is the New York State side of Niagara Falls dirty, debilitated and just nasty? Who is really profiteering from all this money? Why is the Canadian side of Niagara Falls cleaner, modern and offers more things to do for the entire family? What is keeping Niagara and/or New York from reinvesting the money it receives back into promotion and modernization the American Side of the Falls?
I am originally from Massena, NY, but have been living in Lexington, KY for the past 20 years. I have been to both sides of the Falls several times in the past 42 years. During that time: Canada obviously has a better handle on this. My visits and photo's clearly indicate the progression, modernization and efforts Canada has put pouring their dollars back into their side of this tourist attraction. Even Google has: the top hotels, top restaurants, top attractions etc. ...are all found on the Canadian side. [One of the] Visitor's Center[s] is a prime example of what is happening on the NY State side. It is unfinished, dirty and the letters on the outside of the building are falling off. I wish I were the only one who noticed this...but time after time other tourists were overheard saying what a 'dump' the American side is. Many others claimed this was the last time they would be staying (hotel), eating or spending their money on the American side, and that their next visit would be exclusively to the Canadian Side...taking all their money over there!
All that money and comparatively speaking nothing to show. Is there a comprehensive breakdown on where all the money collected from tourists goes? Again who is profiteering and what are they using that money for?
Me:
The short answer is that Ontario committed to the tourism industry as a main economic driver about 40 years ago, developed a plan and has stuck to it. The provincial government continues to take a significant amount of money spent on tourism in the Falls and plow it back into city tourism.
The New York side focused on heavy industry decades ago, particularly the chemical and power intensive trades. Worse, the state government in Albany has drained much of the money that comes from Niagara power, the Seneca Niagara Casino and Niagara Falls State Park out of Niagara Falls and returned a far lower percentage to city tourism than the Canadians.
Then, of course, there's the view. The Canadians have about 20 hotels with a straight-on look of the American and Horseshoe falls. The U.S. side will never be able to build even one.
Patrick:
I shouldn't care but do...Since my first visit in 1969 (even with no water over Niagara Falls) this has been a special place for myself to vacation. I have also sent alot of people from right here in Kentucky to Niagara Falls as a vacation pick. Many will be obtaining their Passports and going to Canada next time - taking the much needed tourism dollars with them. Decline in Tourism to the American Side will exponentially kill Niagara Falls New York and turn it into a port of entry only into Canada.
I think the people of Niagara Falls in particular need better State Representation in New York at Albany and in Washington D.C. to force more of those dollars back into Niagara Falls (the city) and in the development of the American side of the Park.
I fully understand the view issue. But development in activities for family entertainment - such as an indoor water park (like in Canada) ...etc. - go beyond the view and venture into creativity; giving families (and children) things to do. The Aquarium and Discovery Center are outdated and antiquated for too many years.
Come on! Even in Kentucky they have a modern, successful Aquarium at Newport KY; a Creation Museum in northern KY, and are in the process of constructing a multi million dollar Noah's Ark Park. Creativity and commitment is the true view.
--News Niagara Editor Scott Scanlon
August 22, 2011 - 9:45 AM |
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News Staff Reporter Charlie Specht is discussing his Sunday cover story -- In Falls Fire Dept., underlings sometimes earn more than chief -- at 11 a.m. today.
