1. art and entertainment
2. shows and events
3. festival

FREE
THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS FAIR
MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
VOL. 16, NO. 09
FREE
He's back, bigger than ever - despite concerted effort to ruin him and his Festival
2
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Crogan Will Hold Niagara Falls Music & Art Festival This Year!
The Falls Biggest Festival Will Go On...
Frank Parlato
Call him the comeback kid.
The Niagara Falls Music and Art Festival is not dead and buried No its back with a
vengeance and being produced by none other
than Rick Crogan - through his for profit
company, Balabans LLC.
Yes, Crogan, 57, the founder of the
city's largest festival, the Niagara Falls
Music and Art Festival, is back despite being
charged with three felonies last summer for
alleged wrongdoing in connection with the
operation of the Festival.
Those charges were later reduced to a
single petit larceny charge- and Crogan was
given a conditional discharge.
What was long in doubt however in the
wake of the case against him and the ultimate disposition of the case was whether the
celebrated promoter could ever get his Niagara Falls Music & Art Festival up and running again.
Could he get sponsors and marketing
partners?.
Would the musicians and vendors come
back?
Would Global Spectrum, which manages Old Falls St, welcome him back.
The answer is yes.
Crogan will be holding his 3rd Annual
Music & Art Festival - in downtown Niagara
Falls - along the three cobblestone blocks of
Old Falls Street, between the Seneca Niagara
Casino and the Niagara Falls State Park.
The dates are set - the weekend of June
19th -21st, which happens also to be Father's
Day.
Crogan said this year he anticipates as
many as 100 art vendors from Western New
York, Southern Ontario, Western Pennsylvania and North Eastern Ohio, along with food
vendors, wine tastings, street entertainers, a
beer and wine tent and the best selection of
regional musicians assembled in one location.
"This festival will provide you with
three full days to showcase your business in
The show must go on and it will, thanks to the indomitable nature of promoter Rick Crogan, operator of
Niagara Falls’ largest festival- the Niagara Falls Music & Arts Festival on Old Falls St.
front of tourists, local residents, other businesses, and the community at large," Crogan
said recently pitching for more vendors to
participate. "Whether your medium is painting, photography, glass, wood, fiber, sculpture, etc… you will find great exposure and
opportunity at this event," Crogan said.
Artists and artisans, bringing their own
tables, tents, and professional displays, set
up in 12×12 foot spaces creating a colorful
ambience and shopping experience along the
cobblestone street.
"This is a real artist/ artisan event," Crogan said, "Work must be original, one of a
kind items. Kits and reselling are not al-
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER
“The Truth is Always Fair”
CHAIRMAN & EDITOR IN CHIEF
Frank Parlato
Managing Editor
Dr. Chitra Selvaraj
Senior Editor
Tony Farina
PHONE: (716) 284-5595
P.O. Box 3083, Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14304
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.niagarafallsreporter.com
All contents copyright © 2015 Niagara Falls Reporter Inc.
lowed. Reproductions must be clearly identified as reproductions. When the customers
come, they know they are being treated to a
display of talent- and real art for sale."
The artists at the Festival will be judged
by a panel of professionals and with winners
being announced on the Main Stage at 3pm
Saturday, ribbons will be distributed to three
winners in each category: professional, amateur and student.
And he is attracting marketing partners
like Quality Inn and Legends, Regel Tip
Drumstick, Lewiston Music, and Sheraton
At The Falls.
Crogan said more are welcome.
And frankly he needs them.
Unlike the Hard Rock and the Blues
Fest, Crogan does not take taxpayer money
to put on his shows.
But it was less than a year ago, with the
2014 Festival only days away, when his arrest on three felonies: third- and fourth-degree grand larceny and scheme to defraud
shattered Crogan's life and shocked the community.
Charges were brought against Crogan as
part of an investigation by the Niagara Falls
Police Department and the Niagara County
Sherriff's Office.
Crogan pleaded not guilty in Niagara
Falls City Court.
The case was later transferred to North
Tonawanda City Court when all of judges in
Niagara Falls City Court recused themselves.
For a time it wasn't clear if the Festival
would even come off.
The event is funded through sales of
vendor spaces and marketing partners and
does not use taxpayer money.
Would everyone run away?
Despite being under the cloud of three
felony charges, Crogan pulled off a success-
ful 2014 Festival.
There were 25 local food vendors and
40 art vendors.
Thirty five local bands played before an
estimated 25,000 concert goers during the
three-day festival.
Asked why the bands were all local,
Crogan said, "We have so much talent in this
area there is no need to bring in $20,000 $30,000 bands. We have so much talent that
wants to play and wants to have exposure."
"We drew more than the taxpayer
funded Hard Rock concerts," Crogan said.
"It was the Artpark crowd (without taxpayer
subsidies). Tons of Lewiston people, tons of
people from LaSalle. Great music is great
music. People would like to see a name
event, sure. But not some (Hard Rock hasbeen) act from the 70's or 80's, who are getting ready to retire."
But after the Festival ended Crogan now
had to face the ordeal of a coming trial.
Two women, Becky Marchetti, 50, and
Christine Salamone, 31 were at the heart of
the case against Crogan.
Marchetti, who worked as a volunteer
on the festival, went to police claiming Crogan had taken festival money donated by a
local business and spent it on himself.
Her beef was that she thought the Festival would be a not for profit event, staffed
and run by volunteers.
The manager of tellers for Encompass
Niagara Credit Union, Marchetti opened up
bank accounts in the name of Crogan's forprofit company, Balabans LLC, because, she
said, Crogan told her that the Festival needed
an interim bank account until it could be registered as a not-for-profit.
But one day Crogan told her that he decided against making the Festival a not-forprofit, and wanted it to remain under
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Despite unfair charges against him, Crogan is back
Balabans LLC.
Marchetti was furious. She became a
woman scorned.
She hounded Crogan for months. Tried
to destroy his work for the upcoming 213
Festival.
Despite her efforts, which seemed to include disparaging Crogan to anyone she
could find associated with the Festival, the
2013 Festival was a huge success- an estimated 25,000 people attended.
Marchetti had retained powerful local
attorney Robert LaDuca, who was a former
assistant district attorney for Niagara County
- and was well connected to law enforcement
in Niagara County.
It was then Marchetti went to police
claiming Crogan had taken festival money
donated by a local business and spent it on
himself.
The company Marchetti was referring to
was Renewal by Andersen Window Replacement in Rochester.
The other woman, Salamone, worked as
"creative director".
Crogan pitched her to make Andersen
the main sponsor for the 2014 Festival. A
verbal deal was struck.
"At that point we shook hands and it
was just a verbal agreement," Salamone said
in her deposition. "We paid him the full
$15,000 up front, with no signed contract
and we were not getting the amount of
events that he (verbally) promised."
The Andersen complaint was flimsy.
Andersen's name and logo appeared on
stages and promotional material in connection with Crogan events - just as Crogan said
he promised.
But the investigation continued.
Crogan's personal bank records, along
with those of the festival, were seized and
examined by a forensic accountant.
One law enforcement official involved
in the case, said at the time, "He was taking
money from the festival and funneling it
through his account. The most recent allegation is that he took some money from (Andersen) and the money fell right into his
personal bank account."
Another law enforcement official, confused about whether this was a not for profit
or for profit business, said "Crogan took the
money for sponsorship but failed to use the
money for his festival and used the money
for his own expenses.”
• What investigators did not know is
that Crogan operated as a for profit entity Balabans LLC. An owner (or member) of an
LLC, by law, can pass profits and losses directly to his personal account. Therefore
passing income from his LLC to himself,
whether from a sponsorship or any source of
income, is not a crime. All income and
losses belong to the owner - not the LLC
Pretty soon the dust cleared.
The prosecution came to realize they
had a flimsy case, built around a lot of hasty
assumptions, the words of two unhappy
women who operated - as it pertained to Crogan - in a world of verbal, not written contracts, and the unreasonable certitude that
there would be other people who would say
they were duped by Crogan.
None of which happened.
The festival was also sponsored by Joe
Cecconi's Chrysler Complex, Smokin' Joe
Anderson, CertoBrothers Distributing, and
Brave, Rick Crogan appears on stage at the 2014 Festival. After
being arrested on trumped up charges just a week before, Crogan
undaunted, kept his composure and made the Festival the biggest
ever.
Niagara Falls Redevelopment.
None of them complained.
Police failed to grasp that business law
permits a person to take money out of their
business and place it in their personal account, but the DA finally got it.
Ultimately, a plea bargain was offered.
To have three felony counts reduced in
a plea agreement to a single count of petit
larceny, a charge that would be brought
against someone who took a pack of cigarettes from a convenience store, is virtually
unheard of.
Crogan, exhausted from the stress and
the expense of the case, pleaded guilty to a
single count of petit larceny - the same
charge given to shoplifters and - as part of a
settlement that allowed Crogan to move on
with his life - he paid $5,000 in so-called
restitution to Andersen and made a $5,000
donation to the Niagara Arts and Cultural
Center, where his spouse Michael sits on the
board of directors.
Crogan was sentenced to perform 50
hours of community service - which he has
completed and one year conditional discharge by North Tonawanda Judge William
R. Lewis.
Case closed.
The Niagara Falls Music an Arts Festival continues.
It started out as the Main Street Music
& Art Festival, founded by Crogan in 2010
when Crogan was recruiting what he called
the Creative Class” to "rebuild and invest its
heart and soul in Niagara Falls."
Purged of malcontents who almost destroyed the city's largest festival, Crogan
now has an able team - part of that creative
class he always wanted to inspire -and collaborate. His team now includes Theresa
Brockman, Volunteer Coordinator, Michael
Murphy, Logistics Coordinator, Cynthia
“Cindy” Youngers Chilberg, Music Coordinator, Amanda Hart, Buffalo Art & Social
Media Coordinator and many others.
Crogan, the home town boy who came
home again after a string of successes in
Miami’s South Beach, Montgomery Al,
Manhattan, Orlando & Lady Lake, and in a
world Venezuela - never forgot his roots like when how as boy he used to clean his
parents' bar “Cousin’s Lounge” on Main
Street.
When he moved to Atlanta he lived with
his partner Michael Murphy, originally from
Mississippi. Both of them took a gamble and
moved to Niagara Falls and were married
here.
Murphy manages Campus Manor, a 388
unit apartment complex in Amherst.
The couple purchased a home in The
Park Place Historic District, next door to
Rick's mother.
The comeback kid has come full circle.
To contact Crogan call him at his office
716-534
-9960 or on his cell 716-534-1546 or
email him at [email protected]. Or
visit the website www.festivalatthefalls.com
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4
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Secret Report Reveals Dyster, Water Board Failed Residents on 72nd St.
Frank Parlato
Niagara Falls NY- The long withheld report, commissioned in Feb 2014 by Mayor
Paul A. Dyster - to determine why water
lines on 72nd St. froze - was obtained
through a FOIL request by the Buffalo
News.
The report, authored by Clark Patterson
Lee, which Dyster went to great lengths to
hide from the public, verifies that the city
and the Niagara Falls Water Board contributed to the problem 72nd St. residents
now face with recurring freezing water lines.
Dyster's hiding the report guaranteed the
problem was not fixed last year, subjecting
residents to a second year of freezing.
A review of this whole matter will show
that Dyster patently deceived residents while
hiding the contents of the Clark Patterson
Lee (CPL) report.
78-year old Water Main
not replaced by design
In 2010, the Dyster administration performed a $2.6 million road reconstruction on
72nd Street. Dyster's engineering department
approved designs which called for a new
water main for the southern half of the street
but keeping the old water main for the northern half - from Stephenson to Niagara Falls
Blvd..
The old main on 72nd St. was installed
in 1931, and was shallow - between two and
three feet in places. But it was packed in clay
as insulation - as were many mains installed
during the depression.
Accadia Site Contracting did the road
construction and Paul Marinaccio, president
of Accadia, told the Dyster administration
that the old water line wasn't deep enough.
"I sent the city a letter saying that they
should replace the water line and they said
the Water Board would not approve the
money," Marinaccio said.
The Dyster administration, ignoring the
contractor's advice, ordered the contractor to
complete the job as designed.
During road construction, the compacted clay was displaced and filled with a
cover of gravel and crushed stone.
"The dirt had been around the water
lines for 70 years," Marinaccio said. "Now
we come digging along and take the pressure
of the dirt away and the water line starts
leaking because they're deteriorated," Marinaccio said. The contractor back filled with
crushed stone - as the design plans required.
Making matters worse was that the design lowered the road elevation in places and
driveways and sidewalks were also lowered
providing less distance between the water
pipes and the road.
The 78 year old water lines - without
clay insulation - were shallower than before
- and with a cover of porous stone - allowing
frost and cold to penetrate quicker.
The problem erupts
For several winters there was not a
problem. Then a brutal cold spell hit in Feb
2014.
A dozen homes were suddenly without
water.
On Feb 3, 2014, Mayor Dyster told
Time Warner Cable News, it was the cold
weather.
"Having water lines freeze during a cold
winter is not at all an unusual situation," he
said.
He told the Buffalo News he would hire
an outside consulting engineer to study why
72nd St had so many frozen water lines.
By Feb 11, 2014, the Reporter, after
conducting an investigation concluded that
the cause of freezing pipes was that main
water line was too shallow.
Anthony Mallone, a licensed engineer,
and project manager for Accadia, told the
Reporter the solution is "to redo the water
line below the freeze line and do all the interconnects, running the new services to the
main deck. It will cost more than $500,000
to do it now, as opposed to $300,000 when
we were rebuilding the road," Mallone said,
Our story - which we thought was a
dead on report - got little traction at the time.
Dyster told residents to be patient and
wait for his report. The Water Board told residents that, by law, the property owner pays
for fixing broken lateral lines. Residents
fixed their many broken pipes, spending
more than $1000 each.
The Report Comes in,
But Dyster Hides it
Winter passed. Spring arrived and with
it, on April 9, 2014, the Buffalo engineering
firm of Clark Patterson Lee handed their report on the frozen water line problem to Dyster.
A four page report, it stated there was a
“major deficiency” which was that the main
water line had "inadequate cover” (i.e. too
shallow, combined with covering with
gravel) which led to a “partial systemic failure.”
The report also specifically said water
mains were shallower than they should be,
which meant lateral lines were more susceptible to freezing.
The report also noted that the city recommended that the Water Board replace the
water main and put it deeper underground,
but the Water Board decided against it.
Instead of releasing the report in April,
and going to work to solve the problem, Dyster never shared it with residents.
Five months after Dyster received the
report, Water Board Chairman Ted Janese,
unaware that the report was completed, told
72nd St residents who attended a Sept Water
Board meeting, "the city of Niagara Falls has
commissioned an engineering report for
which we hope to learn the findings of in the
near future."
Three months passed.
On Dec 10, WGRZ reported "residents
are still waiting for the release of an engineering consultant's study ordered by the
city."
On Jan, 6, 2015, WKBW discovered
Dyster had the report and asked for it, reporting, "Eyewitness News asked to see that report a full nine months (after he received it)
but the mayor declined to share it with us,
saying he wanted to give the water board a
heads up first."
On Jan 7, Dyster, while refusing to release the report, told WGRZ's Ron Plants
from 2 on Your Side that the report "found
no specific cause other than extreme frigid
weather for last winter's frozen water pipe
problems."
Plants asked Dyster- actually pegging
the true problem addressed in the report"Let's face it. There's a lot of theories out
there saying the water pipes weren't buried
deep enough or they didn't use the proper
material. What do you think about that?"
Dyster replied, "What the consultant engineers came back and told us was that there
was no single factor that you can say was responsible for the frozen water services aside
from the fact that we had an extended period
of record cold ."
With this, Dyster tried to put the matter
to bed.
It was the cold and nothing more.
Had Feb 2015 not been so cold, Dyster
might have got away with it.
72nd St has frozen lines again
The problem reappeared.
It was not the cold alone.
According to the Water Board, while no
other street in the city had more than three
homes with frozen water lines during the bitter cold spell in late Feb, there were 18
homes on the stretch of 72nd Street with
frozen lines.
Dyster's reaction was to not release the
report but admit there might be a problem
other than the cold.
On Feb 22, Dyster told WGRZ he
would hire a consultant to examine the
bedrock and soil composition beneath the
street.
On the same day, while not showing the
report, Dyster told Time Warner Cable
News' Kevin Jolly that the report "ruled out
the placement of the waterline (as the problem)."
Two days later, pressed by WIVB's Rich
Newberg, Dyster said the consultant's report
could not "pinpoint" the problem but “We’re
willing to lead the charge in terms of fixing
whatever this problem is, once we’re able to
determine what’s happening.”
It was not until the next day, on Feb 26,
when the public learned what the report really said.
The Secret Report is Uncovered
Dyster has to spin madly
“Such was the will of the Father that
his Son, blessed and glorious, whom
he gave to us, and who was born for
us, should by his own blood, sacrifice,
and oblation, offer himself on the altar
of the cross, not for himself, by whom
"all things were made," but for our
sins, leaving us an example that we
should follow his steps.”
St Francis of Assisi
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Dyster Tried to Hide Report From
Residents Instead of Fixing Problem
5
More Money for Consultants
Dyster, who has failed to hire a city engineer - for years - as required by city charter
- is planning on ignoring the original report
which clearly points out what is wrong, and
is planning on spending "a significant
amount of money" - with Clark Patterson
Lee - whose assigned engineer for city business is Dyster friend and campaign contributor, David Jaros, who bills the city at $92
per hour - to find out what is wrong.
In Feb 2104, the Mayor Paul Dyster knew there was a problem on 72nd St. . By April he knew what the
problem was - thanks to a report by Clark Patterson Lee - but for some reason Dyster chose to hide the
results of that report.
The News obtained the report not from
Dyster but through a FOIL request.
The News' Aaron Besecker reported,
now for the first time that the report claimed
“inadequate cover”, as a “major deficiency”
and that water mains were shallower than
they should have been.
And that the report did not say the
frozen pipes were caused by cold alone.
The News wrote, "It appears the city
had clues about potential causes (of the
freeze problem) as early as last spring".
Surprisingly, as the News reported,
"Water Board officials said they first saw a
copy (of the report) Thursday (Feb 26) when
provided one by a News reporter."
Funny, a 10 month old report which vitally impacts 72nd St residents, and if interpreted could be construed as laying the
foundation for blame on the city and the
Water Board yet Dyster never gave it to the
Water Board.
Water Board Executive Director Paul
Drof, who got his first look at the report the
day the News gave it to him, admitted that
the city typically recommends the Water
Board replace water lines during road projects, but the Water Board doesn’t always
have the funding.
The News' reporter, Besecker turned to
Dyster for explanations.
Dyster claimed the report was essentially worthless. He told the News, "the city
spent the money for the engineering review
last year because it was looking for something specific to act on, but no specific project emerged at the time."
Then Dyster, not having his best spin
doctor day, admitted, rather amazingly, “We
didn’t know it was going to freeze up again
this year.”
Dyster kept spinning, while saying
“we’re reaching the conclusion that there’s
some type of systemic issue on 72nd Street,”
he said the words in the report don't mean
what they say.
The News reported, "Dyster said he believes last spring’s analysis includes many
statements that can be misinterpreted if taken
out of context. The report’s note about 'inadequate cover' does not mean there was a mistake made in the amount of fill or material
put on top of the water mains, Dyster said.
All state Department of Transportation specifications were followed, he said."
Dyster next said he would hire consultants for an "extensive investigation".
“I think we’re at the point where we feel
we’ve got to put a significant amount of
money into finding out what might be done,”
Dyster said.
Mistakes combined with non transparency created this mess
Here is what is wrong- Dyster and his
non transparency.
Failing to understand the original design
was faulty, possibly because there is not a
city engineer, failing to correct the problem
in the field when it was pointed out, failing
to reveal the report for 10 months - which
pointed to the problem, then doing nothing
last summer - that is the problem.
That a new water main could have been
installed for $300,000. Now it will cost more
than $500,000.
It also cost residents on 72nd St, who
paid for broken water lines in 2014 and were
certainly entitled to know what the Clark
Patterson report said.
An analysis of that report might have
pointed to a solution that could have
avoided the 2015 freeze and additional costs
and inconvenience borne by residents.
We don't need a repeat of last year
where Dyster hires consultants who give him
reports which he hides.
At the end of the day, the Reporter predicts that the city and the Water Board will
have to replace the old main water line as
they should have done when they rebuilt the
street.
But it will not be done before Dyster can
spend as much money on consulting with his
Buffalo friends.
But spending is no problem when Dyster likes the plan.
In the midst of the long months where
Dyster sought to hide the report, WIVB
spoke with local resident Vince Mameli who
said “With all the money that they use from
casino (funds) they should have replaced the
water lines when they rebuilt the street but
they took the cheap way out.”
In the year since the problem occurred
on 72nd St, Dyster spent casino money on a
lot of things he personally fought for -$500,000 for Isaiah 61 for a reuse store,
$150,000 for Community Mission to pay off
a tax lien, $350,000 for the still unopened
Underground Railroad Exhibit, $350,000 to
Wendel Engineering to rebid the train station
after Wendel failed to include soil boring results in their first bid, $460,000 for a repave
of City Hall's parking lot, $1.5 million to
USA Niagara for parties and events on Old
Falls St and to manage the conference center
and much more.
Wouldn't you think fixing the residents'
problem on 72nd St would have been a
higher priority?
6
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Walker Files Single Campaign Report - 19 Still Missing
Anna M. Howard
As of press time, Charles Walker has
filed a campaign financial report.
One report to be exact.
One of twenty that are missing, late,
delinquent, and/or deficient.
His report can be seen online at
www.elections.ny.gov.
Nineteen more reports and the 18 year
veteran of the city council will be up to
speed.
Last week, in our Feb. 24th story,
"Walker Fails to Disclose Dozens of Prominent Campaign Donors," Walker told the Reporter, "Over the next few days, you will see
all the information begin to go up on the
state's website… In a weeks' time you will
be able to review it all….. Around by the
(Feb) 28th, we should have it all in."
While not exactly true to his word, the
councilman filed, on March 2, his 2013, 32
day pre primary report summary.
2013 was an election year for Walker.
Several more reports for that campaign season are overdue.
Yet, in one sense this represents an
achievement - it was the first time in
Walker's 18 year history on the council that
he has been known to disclose a single donation.
Walker's 2013, 32 pre-primary report
shows he received $1,973 in campaign contributions, apparently all generated during a
single fund raiser - held on June 11, 2013.
The record shows contributions such as
$100 from Dennis Virtuoso, $100 from the
United Steelworkers and $100 from the Ni-
One down, 19 to go. Charles
Walker files a single campaign
report with the NY Board of
Elections. He has 19 more to
file.
agara County Building Trades Council.,
Norstar Development, United Steel Workers,
Jimmie Seright, Stephanie Cowart, John A.
Cooper and others made donations from
$100-200 - as is typical of a fund raiser
where tickets are $100 a piece..
The report raises some questions.
Why has the councilman - with as many
as 20 campaign finance reports missing chosen to by submit this lone report?
Was this report filed by Walker himself
or was it tabulated by his campaign treasurer?
Election law calls for all campaign
money to be received and accounted for by
a designated campaign treasurer.
Last we heard the councilman no longer
had a campaign treasurer although he had
initially tried to lay the delinquency of his reports at the feet of his former treasurer who,
as Walker told the Gazette, was having trouble understanding the electronic filing requirements of the NYS. board of Elections.
Also of note is that this report is a pre
primary report, and includes no information
as to what happened with his campaign account from the primary to the general election of 2013, much less a contain a final
wrap up post election report, which would
have been due on Jan 15, 2014.
None of these reports are filed.
This sole report represents less than five
per cent of the missing financial information
required to satisfy election law.
The report also appears to fail to disclose at least one donation - a $200 donation
on April 30, 2013 from the Niagara Falls Fire
Officers PAC, that the Reporter uncovered
independently.
Prior to this week, Walker filed only
four reports since 2000. All four- dated July
2009, January 2010, July 2010, and January
2013, claim "no activity."
As we reported last week, while Walker
filed "no activity" for his Jan 15, 2010 filing
- he received at least eight donations totaling
$3,750.
The Reporter has also discovered some
40 other donations Walker received but has
yet to report to the NYS State Board of Elections. There may be hundreds more.
While some office holders and candidates, upon occasion, have been known to
file reports that are late by weeks or months,
Walker has failed to file financial report for
more than a decade and through four election
cycles.
New York State election law requires all
candidates for elected office from local town
board members to governor to file finance
reports or risk fines and/or jail time.
By failing to file disclosure forms,
Walker is in violation of New York State lection law14-126 (1): "Any candidate who
willfully and knowingly fails to file required
forms can be fined $1000 per failure."
In addition (EL 14-126(4) provides that
a candidate can be charged with a misdemeanor."
Starting in Oct 2013, The Buffalo News,
the Niagara Gazette and the Reporter have
questioned Walker about when he was going
to file.
His standard answer is "I'm working on
it" and "I'm getting around to it.
From the President to US Senator to
Governor and right down to the local elected
law maker everyone has to file detailed and
accurate finance reports.
We wonder how Walker has been able
to sit as a council member all these years for so
long that he has earned lifetime health
insurance benefits - an exceptional benefit
for the part time position of a city council
member - as he oversaw city government
and all of the timely requirements and demands that government requires.
8
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
The Szwedo Warning! The Article no Politician Should Write!
James ‘Jim’ Szwedo
Republican Primary
Candidate for
Mayor of Niagara Falls
(Editor’s Note: The publication of candidate’s views, written by a candidate, does
not constitute an endorsement of a candidate, but rather a desire to help candidates
get their message out. Since elections are
often decided by voters who are uninformed
about either candidate, we hope these articles by Szwedo will help inform voters what
he stands for. His opponent, John Accardo,
is invited to offers his views in this same
forum.)
When did it change?
The definition of “public servant”.
It used to be defined as a government
official or employee sincerely working for
the good of the citizens.
The mayor, the administrator, department heads, police officers, firemen, the
Council, the School Board, the Water Board,
legislators, teachers, these are public servants. Swearing oaths of office. To protect
and serve; first in, last out; care of the children’s future.
Some of them still do care.
The elected official that sees the plight
of citizens, and believes his voice can make
a difference.
The police officer who sees the lines between right and wrong changing, and wants
to stand that line. The firefighter who runs
Candidate for Mayor James Szwedo wants to be the non-politician.
He will run in the Republican Primary against John Accardo.
into a burning building to rescue a child.
The teacher who gets as much satisfaction as the children in her care; when that little light goes on. The doctors, nurses, and
caregivers that celebrate victories and grieve
their losses.
Now, here’s the question: What
changed?
The new definition of public servant in
Niagara Falls at least is making far more
money than the public you serve, put in your
Szwedo’s Message to his Fellow Candidates:
What’s It All About?
Side note to all my fellow candidates
running for office, from candidate for Mayor
Jim Szwedo:
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
If it’s about powerful interests providing large sums of money to protect their
strangle-hold on our City…
I LOSE.
If it’s about three men in a room
figuring out their strategy to embarrass and
intimidate a candidate…
I LOSE.
If it’s about powerful political parties jockeying for position in our City…
I LOSE.
If it’s about working to keep the
City the same for the benefit of the same few
people…
I LOSE.
If it’s about unions flexing their political muscles…
I LOSE.
If it’s about non-developers continuing to compromise our City’s future…
I LOSE.
If it’s about spending the most
money…
I LOSE.
If it’s about $100, $200, or $500
fundraisers…
I LOSE.
If it’s about just leaving well
enough alone…
I LOSE.
If it’s about promising people jobs
for contributing to the campaign…
I LOSE.
If it’s about keeping six-figure
salaries, pensions, and lifetime healthcare…
I LOSE.
But if it’s about all our citizens and
businesses in Niagara Falls…
WE ALL WIN
Thus spake Swami
Vivekananda to his disciples, “We
are not weak. And if you are weak
it is because you love your own
weakness!”
time and get out with a large pension.
What turned a calling into a job?
A mayor who didn’t have the officers’
backs? An administration that didn’t want to
hear that demanding careers take tolls on
those who work them? Administrators that
didn’t give the teachers the tools? A bureaucracy that cares more about percentages than
the value of human lives?
When I decided to run for office, I was
told in effect not to talk about our public ser-
vants.
They told me, “Don’t talk about the police officers or firefighters” “Don’t mention
the teachers or the Water Board” “Don’t
mention Public Works or employee healthcare”.
“They will ruin you; you won’t win.
These are powerful people, with powerful
unions”.
“As Mayor, you can’t change these
things anyway”.
So I ask them: when did it become
about fear and intimidation, and not about
the people?
I am running for mayor of Niagara Falls
to change everything that you, the citizens,
feel is wrong with our government. Accessibility, accountability, listening to your needs,
and common sense would become my administration’s oath and pledge to you.
These are things I can control: giving
you a voice in your future and your city’s future.
As far as the other things, I guess I am
stupid enough to question people and things
I would not have control over. People might
say I don’t even know what a mayor’s job
really is, that these questions don’t really
matter.
But what if I’m dumb enough to ask
these people, who I have no control of, these
questions, and smart enough to know I truly
can’t change things without them?
To all the people and businesses I can’t
control, I must ask: what are you willing to
change to make Niagara Falls a better place
for all its citizens?
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Skrlin Scores Another Political Artistic Masterpiece
Change The Head takes the viewer
into the very bowels of the political laboratory where calculating and devious political candidates are cleverly manufactured
and then set loose on the townspeople like
so many Frankenstein monsters. In this instance it is Candidate Dyster who rests atop
the mad political scientist's operating table
readied for action as the mayoral election
approaches this year. Modern mental health
experts have defined the "false self" to be
the persona adopted by the troubled individual who cannot meet the world through
their own real personality and so adopt the
false self or mask with which to function
day to day. In Skrlin's masterpiece of the
retelling of the Frankenstein tale Dyster's
false selves are literally on the shelf and are
interchangeable depending upon what impression and what program or special event
Mayor Dyster seeks to project to the public
so as to be reelected. This cartoon blends
the classic horror of the 19th century with
the contemporary horror of the 21st century
political process. Just as the original
Frankenstein tale caused many a sleepless
night for readers so many years ago, so
does "modern politics" create a deep cynicism and stark fear in the heart of contemporary voters.
Winston Oliver Petty
Art Critic
9
10
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
David Boniello To Run For Niagara Falls City Court Judge
Niagara Falls attorney David Boniello
announced his candidacy this week for Niagara Falls City Court Judge.
Boniello seeks to fill the seat vacated
by retiring city court Judge Angelo J.
Morinello.
“For more than 36 years I have practiced law in Niagara Falls and throughout
Western New York," Boniello said. "I plan
to bring that same level of commitment to
serving on the bench.”
In entering the race, Boniello will oppose another local attorney, Danielle M.
Restaino, who announced she will run in
January.
Restaino maintains a private law practice on Third Street, and is a staff member
with the Niagara County Public Defender’s
office.
Both candidates come from politically
and legally prominent families.
Restaino is the daughter of Robert
Restaino, also an attorney, a former city
court judge and present School Board
Member. She is the nice of Anthony
Restaino, the director of the Niagara
County Department of Social Services.
Boniello began his law practice in 1979
with the law firm of his late father, Ralph
A. Boniello and his brother, Ralph A.
Boniello, III, who is now a State Supreme
Court Justice sitting in Niagara Falls.
In 1982, David Boniello opened his
own law firm, specializing in criminal court
cases as well as personal injury, trial court
litigation and real estate.
While maintaining his law office, he
also served as an assistant district attorney
assigned to the Niagara Falls City Court for
12 years.
Boniello has, in addition to his decades
of private law practice served in a number
of law enforcement positions.
"I have first hand knowledge of the violence plagued by this city," Boniello said.
"Our community needs someone in the
courtroom who understands and will address the concerns of the elderly, someone
who will work to combat violence and address the problems affecting our children,
our families and our neighborhoods.”
Besides his work as an assistant district
attorney for Niagara County, Boniello
served as an assistant district attorney in
Attorney David Boniello will run
for City Court Judge.
various town and city courts, served as an
assistant county attorney for Niagara
County that included cases in juvenile
court, was a former assistant town attorney
for the Town of Lewiston and former town
prosecutor for the Town of Wheatfield.
“As judge, I will adhere to the same
principles that have sustained me throughout my career," He said. "My decisions will
be made in a firm, fair and efficient manner
while also protecting the rights of victims.”
Boniello received his Juris Doctor degree from the New England School of Law
and his Bachelor degree from the University of Miami, Florida. He is a graduate of
Niagara Falls High School.
His memberships include the Erie
County Bar Association, the New York
State Civil and Criminal Trial Attorneys Association, and the Niagara County Bar Association. He previously served as board
member or board counsel for Niagara
County Builders Association; Niagara Falls
Board of Realtors; Pine Avenue Business
Association; Niagara County SPCA; PortaNiagara Girls Club and Family Center; as
well as the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce and Niagara University Council.
Boniello will kick off his campaign on
April 16, at an event to be held at Antonio’s
Banquet Center.
Accomplished Recitalist, Flint Dollar Appointed Music Director at St Paul’s Episcopal
Will perform free organ recital March 15 at the Lewiston Church
The music is going to get heavenly.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has just
appointed Flint Dollar, MM. as their organist and music director.
He brings over 20 years of church
music experience to the ministries of St.
Paul.
To herald his entre with his new
church, Flint will present a recital on Sunday, March 15, at 2:30, at the church, 400
Ridge Street, Lewiston.
He will play the church’s 2 manual
(keyboard) pipe organ (built by Burton Tidwell in 1987) performing works by J. S.
Bach, Felix Mendelssohn and Leo
Sowerby.
The event is free and open to the public. A light reception will follow in the undercroft of the church.
Flint has performed recitals extensively
in the southeast.
Added to his credentials is that he studied with renowned organist Dr. Robert Parris and choral directors D15r. Stanley
Roberts and Dr. John Dickson.
Flint holds a Master’s Degree in Organ
Performance from Mercer University in
Macon, GA, and a Bachelor’s Degree in
Church Music and Organ Performance
from Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX.
Flint Dollar (above) will perform a free organ recital on Sunday, March 15 at 2:30 at St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church where he was recently appointed music director and organist.
Farmers Market with Prizes and Free Blood Pressure
Screenings at Complete Senior Care on Main St.
Niagara Falls' Complete Senior Care (CSC) PACE has
partnered with Goodman’s Market to offer the community
an Indoor Famers Market from 11 am to 2 pm on Friday,
March 6th at their headquarters, 1302 Main Street, Niagara
Falls.
Please enter under HANCI awning.
Along with fresh fruit, vegetables, jams, jellies, Easter
candy and crafts, CSC is offering free tote bags to the first
150 customers, free blood pressure screenings and free refreshments.
Every participant has the opportunity to enter the Jellybean Contest to win a free Easter Basket, sponsored by the
Allstate Mastantuono Agency.
For more information, call 285-8248.
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
A Broke City with a Casino Windfall That Stays Broke
Financial Advisory Panel Should Challenge That Contradiction
Anna M. Howard
The Niagara Falls Financial Advisory
Panel has begun its work.
Formed by the council following a
budget process that Mayor Paul Dyster delivered 37 days late and which featured a
budget gap of nearly $5 million, a 6.5-percent rise in spending and a property tax increase, while, at the same time, the city
enjoys a $18 million a year casino cash bonanza that Mayor Dyster uses as sort of an
alternate universe budget - used for all sorts
of motley uses without ever any written
spending plan - sometimes appearing to be
spent entirely by caprice and often announced suddenly to the council- but with
admonitions of great urgency for immediate
passage.
The panel might hope to address the
tremendous contradiction in the above paragraph, of the dichotomy of rank and file residents taxed to the straining point, with, still,
a deficit of $5 million, while tens of millions
of casino cash are strewn lavishly to the select, but for measurable results some $100
million plus of casino cash might have been
cast to the four winds.
You go try to find it and where it has
benefited the people as opposed to the select.
The original resolution creating the
panel, sponsored by Council Chairman
Touma, prevents panel members from accessing "confidential" finance records. In our
world any serious audit or fiscal review must
be conducted with the up-front promise of
opening all finance records to inspection.
Instead Niagara Falls will have a panel
of seven citizens appointed to review the
city's non confidential finance records in the
hope they will find a way to repair the city's
dire financial picture.
Ahead for the panel's consideration is a
city whose deficit fluctuates and remains unsettled and is not transparent; the city debt is
not posted online; the "live" city budget is
not posted online; the bed tax account is not
online; the casino revenue interest account
and it's expenditures are not online; the
banks the city does business with and the investment actions and debt management techniques are black holes with no finance details
escaping.
In a cash-strapped city with a history of
unfortunate, costly and, at times, disastrous
financial decision - yet with a huge windfall
11
of casino cash - which is never used to provide relief for everyday residents - a panel to
make recommendations on how to spend tax
revenue and casino dollars might be helpful.
They should of course have access to all
records. That would be more helpful.
Mayor Paul Dyster has said he is expecting the panel to dive into the city's troubled financial picture. In a way, the very
creation of the panel implies that finance
management - normally the job of the mayor
and his well paid top department heads - has
failed this city.
The panel, confirmed by the council, is
Janet Baker Scott, Doreen O'Connor,
Lawrence H. Cook II, Samuel P. Granieri,
Carmen A. Granto, Frank A. Soda and Dr.
Jay Walker.
Their first meeting is today.
Voutour Elected President of New York State Sheriffs’ Association
Last week, Niagara County Sheriff
James Voutour was elected by its members all of the elected and appointed sheriffs of
New York State - as president of the New
York State Sheriffs’ Association, a not-forprofit corporation, formed in 1934, to assist
sheriffs in “the efficient and effective delivery of services to the public.”
After the election, held during the 81st
Annual Winter Training Conference in Albany, Voutour was sworn in by Thomas
Beilein, Chairman of the NYS Commission
of Correction, and former Niagara County
Sheriff, whom Voutour served under as his
Chief Deputy during Beilein’s tenure as Niagara County Sheriff.
In addition to education, the Sheriffs’
Association is active in supporting or opposing laws.
In 2013, the Association filed an Amicus
Curiae Brief in support of a federal challenge
against New York’s SAFE Act. Last year,
based on constitutional considerations, the
Association recommended its members refuse requests by federal immigration authorities to hold all foreign-born detainees for
additional time so that they can be investigated for immigration-related offenses.
Niagara County Sheriff Voutour (left) is sworn in as a President of
the NYS Sheriffs Association by Thomas Beilein (right),
12
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
For Growing Medical Marijuana Lewiston LLC has the
Facility, and Growing Expertise
Frank Parlato
For the last few weeks, the Niagara Falls
Reporter has looked at the new medical marijuana law in New York State - and considered if one local company - located in
Lewiston - Lewiston Greenhouse LLC - was a reasonable candidate for selection as
one of five growers statewide of the newly
legal crop.
According to published reports, dozens
of companies are already into the planning
stages to compete for one of the five registered organizations (RO's) that will be licensed by New York to grow and dispense
marijuana.
We have reported that Lewiston Greenhouse, LLC. - owned in part by the owners
of Modern Disposal, the 20th largest waste
removal company in the United States, with
an annual payroll of over $21 million and annual expenditures of over $61 million, much
of it within Niagara County - is certainly the
leading local contender.
In the selection of the five growers in
New York State, there are expectations that
it will be merit-based considering location,
experience, type of security, background
checks.
Geographic diversity will play a role so
they are spread throughout the state, according to state officials.
And of course a company has to have
sufficient facilities and land or a bond of $2
million to be approved to grow medical mar-
ijuana.
Lewiston Greenhouse LLC was probably the first serious contender for one of the
five growing spots to have a location readymade.
Since growing medical marijuana must
be done indoors, if selected, Lewiston
Greenhouse plans to operate out of their 12
acre, state-of-the-art greenhouse on Pletcher
Rd., which presently produces tomatoes
under the name H2 Gro.
If selected as a grower, Lewiston Greenhouse will shift its operations from growing
tomatoes to medical marijuana.
As for experience - a key ingredient in
the selection process -Lewiston Greenhouse
has it. They grow six million pounds of vineripened tomatoes without pesticides or herbicides annually.
The Greenhouse uses a hydroponic system which circulates and re-circulates water
and nutrients directly to the plants’ roots.
UV light sterilizes the water before recirculation to prevent spread of diseases.
Pest insects are controlled using other insects
to kill the pests, eliminating the need for
chemical pesticides.
Every couple of rows of plants are bee
hives with its own queen and worker bees
and drones. The bees pollinate the plants.
The company also uses natural sunlight
- good for growing medical marijuana also and light-diffusing materials to provide
plants with extra light. Carbon dioxide is
pumped in to ensure sufficient nutrients for
Medical marijuana grows well in greenhouses.
the plants.
The Greenhouse is also an award winning wonder for energy efficiency.
All electricity and heat for the greenhouse is supplied by Modern’s partnership
with Landfill Energy Systems, which converts the energy in gas extracted from Modern Landfill into electricity and heat. Gas
extracted from Modern Landfill, once
burned as a waste, has been used since 2005
to generate electricity and heat for the H2Gro
Greenhouses.
The heat for the greenhouse is produced
using special heat recovery equipment surrounding seven electrical generators at
neighboring Innovative Energy. These generators are powered by methane gas collected from Modern Landfill.
13
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
With exclusive license for Charlotte’s Web the company will be hard to ignore.
Charlotte’s Web is by far the world’s most famous strain of medical
marijuana. Lewiston Greenhouse LLC has the exclusive NY license.
Lastly, the fruit is handpicked, hand
sorted and ripened on the vine. The company
employs 23 crop workers and five supervisor/managerial staff while picking tomatoes
eight months a year.
Because growers of medical marijuana
will be engaged in year round cultivation and
because of the extra security required by the
state as part of its regulatory process, it is expected that the net employment gain from
converting the greenhouse from tomatoes to
medical marijuana will result in more than
three dozen new jobs.
Under the Act, a grower, once selected,
may produce no more than five strains of
medical.
One of the strains Lewiston Greenhouse
will certainly grow is Charlotte's Web - the
world's most famous strain of medical marijuana.
Lewiston Greenhouse has the exclusive
license for New York State for Charlotte's
Web.
Charlotte's Web has received international recognition as a miracle cure for
epilepsy suffered by children.
This strain of marijuana is low in THC,
the psycho-active compound found in marijuana and high in cannabidiol (CBD)
Charlotte’s Web will not make users
“high” because of the low THC content.
Named after Charlotte Figi, whose story
Charlotte Figi with mother Paige. The child - with only months to
live - was cured with the strain that bears her name.
Lewiston Greenhouse LLC - with its 12 acre greenhouse - is now
growing tomatoes. But that my soon change.
led to her being described as "the girl who is
changing medical marijuana laws across
America" Charlotte's Web was developed in
2011 by the Stanley brothers by crossbreeding a strain of marijuana with industrial
hemp.
Presently the developers of Charlotte's
Web are treating nearly 200 epileptics with
Charlotte's Web.
Nearly all the children have seen dramatic reductions in the frequency and intensity of their seizures.
Time Magazine noted in October 2014,
that the creators of Charlotte's Web had a
waiting list of more than 12,000 families,
some of whom moved to Colorado to be able
to legally obtain it.
If approved, the company after growing
Charlotte's Web, they will create the extract,
a CBD rich oil extracted from the harvested
plants and concentrated through rotary evaporation, on site.
In New York, it is expected that once
Lewiston Greenhouse LLC gets a growers license, people on the waiting list in Colorado
- people with children suffering from
epilepsy and other ailments -will come to
Lewiston where they will get they will get
the help their children need.
Lewiston Greenhouse LLC has right
now some 75,000 tomato plants growing in
pots with shredded coconut used instead of
soil. By mid-March, the first crop will be
picked, and by July, 40,000 pounds a day of
tomatoes will be harvested.
But next year by this time the crop may
be medical marijuana -and that strain known
throughout the world as the true miracle of
medical marijuana -Charlotte's Web.
With only five growers to be selected in
the entire state, it seems not improbable that
the only company that has the license for
Charlotte's Web - that has a superb growing
facility - and certainly financially stable should be topmost on the list of candidates.
That's good news for the thousands of
children on the waiting list- children suffering from epilepsy and other diseases, whose
parents, who, by next year at this time, will
be able to obtain for them Charlotte's Web in
Lewiston New York.
14
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Sweeney Payne Unhappy With Remington Nash’s Manners
Sweeney Payne
Sweeney Payne, as we explained in our
first column in December, and further explained as our pseudonym in our February
18 column, represents both men and women
who are citizens of North Tonawanda.
One of our goals for the column was to
bring public awareness to the dichotomy that
exists in North Tonawanda, with only those
who follow a particular party line receiving
a fair hearing.
If our public officials would properly inform the citizens they are supposed to be
serving before they make their decisions, we
wouldn't have to guess on things. It is so sad
that the only way we get transparency from
those supposedly serving us is to make it a
very public inquiry or a guess in print.
Many of us are disgusted at being
treated like idiots, fools or ignoramuses only
humored by public officials feigning to be
listening to us at best.
The Remington Nash diatribes are similar to what too many of us have been victim
of or witness to since 2010. We are grateful
that he or she has submitted them in writing
to publicly validate our point. Talking down
to us and insulting us for daring to exercise
our rights as citizens to know what the
elected or elected and appointed officials are
doing is indicative of the problem we have
been describing.
The vitriolic responses from Remington
Nash are symptomatic of the responses so
many of us who don’t agree with the reigning party have been given in recent years.
Other communities have citizens with divergent opinions and concerns and both sides—
or multiple sides at times—who are given
the opportunity to present them without derision or outright insults.
We are legally entitled to be made aware
of pros and cons of sales of any public property, including reasons for not putting them
up for public bidding. We appreciate a Buffalo News article on March 1 sharing details
after the fact. At the time the completed sale
was announced, the minutes of the relevant
Council meeting were not yet up on the City
website. A good majority of our older citizens also do not own or use computers, let
alone the internet. Council meeting times
are not convenient for anyone but the City
officials.
We were pleasantly surprised to read
Douglas Taylor’s missive as Chairman of
Lumber City Development Corp. Is he the
same Douglas Taylor who is the President of
Taylor Devices, the business that is the only
one to buy property and locate on the Buffalo
Bolt property? Was his purchase of the old
Niagara Radiator property while chairing the
City’s economic development entity that
oversees the Buffalo Bolt complex a conflict
of interest? If Taylor and company had provided the facts up front on the land sale, we
wouldn’t have needed to guess.
In our January 27 column, we asked for
actions and answers to a number of issues we
as citizens deserve answers to from those in
office. To date, no elected or appointed official has responded.
In the February 28 North Tonawanda
Sun, a letter to the editor appeared informing
us that former four-year Mayor and our first
elected four-year Councilman at Large
Lawrence Soos had submitted a request for
an interview for the Councilman at Larger
position vacated by Arthur Pappas’ appointment as Mayor. Why wasn’t Soos even
given the courtesy of an interview and why
weren’t we informed that he was one of
those interested in filling the position?
We now have a 2/5 appointed Common
Council, an appointed Mayor, an appointed
City Clerk-Treasurer. We are still waiting to
read more about the new City Clerk-Treasurer.
Those we elect or who they appoint to
become our public servants seem to be missing the fact that we deserve to be privy to
verifiable facts from them. We deserve the
courtesy of knowing what they are doing on
our behalf and why. We deserve the courtesy
of their listening to our questions and answering them without insulting us. We
should know what the options are when
making decisions on our behalf and why the
final decisions are made. Those are our
rights as citizens of NT.
Giving us only final decisions is not
transparent or accountable governing. The
lack of transparency and accountability in
NT’s government has defied description!
We do want action in rectifying the untenable situation of a special few running
OUR City.
We, who our appointed Mayor and twofifths appointed and three-fifths elected
Common Council and appointed Clerk-Treasurer are all supposed to serve, will be
watching between now and November to see
who they actually serve.
cess and this year’s encore presentation
promises to be even bigger given the roster
of headliners who will be on hand to honor
the career of one Western New York’s most
memorable figures.
Star-Studded Conservative Gala to Honor Kemp
Tony Farina
Erie County Conservative Party Chairman Ralph Lorigo is planning to top last
year’s very successful tribute to Jack Kemp
when the Conservative Forum presents this
year’s Jack Kemp Tribute Dinner on Saturday, March 14, at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens.
This year’s dinner honoring the late
congressman and former Buffalo Bills quarterback will feature a roster of big names including Jack Kemp’s son Jeff, a former NFL
quarterback himself and the founder of
Stronger Families, a non-profit that offers
help and advice to strengthen marriages and
families
The major Conservative Party fundraising event will also feature the following
headliners: Chris Jacobs, former Kemp intern and current Erie County clerk; Dr.
Charles Krauthammer, nationally syndicated
columnist and Fox New contributor; Mike
Long, state Conservative Party chairman;
and the colorful Roger Stone, former advisor
to Ronald Reagan and a critically acclaimed
author.
The event will also honor two former
chairman of the Erie County Conservative
Party: George Vossler and the late Billy Delmont.
Chairman Lorigo said NewsMaxTV
will be streaming the event live on the internet as well as taping it for re-broadcast.
Tickets are $150 per person and
$250 per couple with corporate checks accepted. Seating is limited. Cocktails are set
for 5:30 with dinner at 6.
People interested in more information on the star-studded tribute to the legendary Bills’ quarterback and long-time
public servant and former 1996 GOP vice
presidential candidate can call former Kemp
Jack Kemp 1935 – 2009
congressional aide Russ Gugino at 716-4409259 or contact him by email at [email protected].
Last year’s event was a rousing suc-
Famed political trickster and
bestselling author, Roger Stone
will be one of the speakers at
Kemp Tribute.
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
To NT’s Sweeney Payne -- You Got it Wrong!
Remington Nash
Tsk Tsk Tsk ! Sweeney Payne.
I warned the Reporter that they were
risking their own good name with your fully
transparent inaccuracies.
Contrary to your Feb 24th report, Ramsay Field is NOT part of the land transfer that
is being wisely put back on the City tax rolls.
The original Ramsay Field was located
on Erie Avenue at the foot of Sherwood. It
was displaced with a deal made with the
Oxbow Corporation. Its new Co-generation
Power Plant was supposed to provide steam
to the current Fortistar hydroponic tomato
growing operation, and generate electricity
that by law had to be purchased by the electric company at a higher price than Ni Mo
could generate it themselves. Such a deal!
That land swap moved the Babe Ruth
Baseball field eastward down Walck Road to
where it is now - that is ACROSS FROM
DEERWOOD GOLF COURSE. It is staying
put right where it is!
The "dirty deal" that you are again erroneously whining about abuts the City's DPW
service center grounds on Erie Avenue in the
back. Its frontage overlooks the lovely former Durez site on Walck Rd., between Nash
Rd. & the foot of Zimmerman St. The poor
excuse for a ball field that currently sits in
disrepair was most recently used for overflow little league play. Dept. Heads including
Parks & Recreation Director Brosius and
DPW Head Rowles sent letters to the Common Council stating that they had no pressing use for the land.
Sure, there is a loss of the relatively
minor difference between the official assessment and what the City Fathers settled for.
But now we will have a thriving business
that is willing to relocate to this once scruffy
property, and put up a nice, taxable building.
So once again Sweeney, you failed to
An angry Remington Nash chides Sweeney Payne and proclaims
‘Ramsay Field will not be sold!”
ask an authority, or even read the published
reports that would have pointed you in the
right direction. You say that you want me to
let you run the place. I don’t think so.
I am not and will not possess an elected
position as you reasoned in the Feb 17 edition. I’m just a guy that sees people trying to
improve things, and cannot stand for the
likes of you ripping them for it!
dollars, said he would have supported the repairs at the rink if the money was invested
from casino funds, like a lot of other things
in the city, but was firmly opposed to taking
on additional debt to complete the Phase IV
work (you can read his full comments elsewhere in this newspaper).
Touma countered that in reality
the money from the bond issue was really
coming from casino money, but was being
spread out over 15 years to soften the impact.
The administration will have to scramble
quickly to find a source of funds to complete
the Hyde Park repairs or risk the consequences of losing the $6 million in economic
activity generated for local businesses by the
tournament activity at the pavilion, according to rink operator Gene Carella.
Council Falls Short on Bond for Hyde Park Rink Repairs
Tony Farina
With $6 million already invested in
work at the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion since
2009, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster suffered a setback on Monday night when the
city council fell one vote short of the super
majority of four votes needed to approve a
$3.1 million bond issue to fund replacing the
aging rink pads and boards at the 40-yearolod facility.
“It is definitely a setback,” set Council President Andy Touma after Monday’s
vote in which Councilman Glenn
Choolokian held firm in his position not to
borrow to complete the Phase IV work but
to use casino funds to make the repairs.
While Councilmember Bob Anderson did not attend Monday’s session, the
council still needed a super majority of four
votes to pass the bond authorization and fell
short with Choolokian’s opposition. Touma
and his fellow lawmakers Kristen
Grandinetti and Charles Walker also voted in
favor of the bond resolution, making the
final tally 3 to 1.
“Touma said the administration had
decided to bond the work after going through
a list of projects that were on the table, thinking it would offer the biggest return for investment given the economic activity
generated by the rink,.
“It is an amenity that so many people use,” he said of the Hyde Park rink, “and
the work is needed for it to stay competitive
with so much competition in the area.” He
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF
A DOMESTIC LLC
BOULEVARD VAN CITY & MEDICAL TRANSPORT
LLC has been formed as a limited liability company
(LLC) by filing Articles of Organization with the NY Secretary of State (NYSS) on December 26, 2014. Office
located in Niagara County, NY. NYSS designated as
agent for the LLC upon whom process against it may be
served. NYSS may mail a copy of any process against it
served upon him to: 2708 Niagara Falls Boulevaard, Niagara Falls, NY 14304. The purpose of the LLC is to engage in any lawful business acts or activities permitted
for LLCs under the NY Limited Liability Company Act.
The limited liability company is to be managed by one
or more members.
1/13/15, 1/20/15, 1/27//15, 2/3/15, 2/10/15, 2/17/15
The Ice Pavilion needs some
$3.1 million more to renovate.
Some in the city want to bond
the money but to date they
haven’t got the votes.
said people come from near and far to compete at the rink and may decide to go somewhere else if the facility is not up to
standards.
“A lot of nearby businesses that
benefit from that heavy traffic are now left
to wonder what’s going to happen,” said
Touma, adding that work needs to start by
April 15 to be completed in time for the start
of the season in October.
Touma said with about 70 percent of the work at the Pavilion already completed, the administration will have to find
the money somewhere else now that the
bond resolution has failed, and that could
mean some other planned projects will suffer.
Choolokian, a staunch conservative when it comes to spending taxpayer
If the whole world stands
against you sword in hand,
would you still dare to do
what you think is right?
16
STATE, COUNTY Republican LEADERS want MEDICAID, WELFARE Reform
LOCKPORT—Sen. Robert G. Ortt, RNorth Tonawanda and Assemblywoman
Jane L. Corwin, R-Clarence met with
members of the Republican majority of the
Niagara County legislature last week to
discuss state mandates from Albany and
how Niagara County can opt out or reduce
costs of Medicaid and “Safety Net".
County leaders, led by Legislature Majority Leader Rick Updegrove, R-Lockport,
complained last year to Gov. Cuomo about
the ever-increasing costs of Medicaid,
which currently accounts for 60 percent of
local property taxes.
Medicaid Seen As Too Generous
Medicaid costs in Niagara County are
more than $45 million a year, providing
benefits to 35,500 people whose top of the
line health care benefits are superior to
coverage provided by employers for the average American worker who pays for it.
Among the solutions county lawmakers are seeking is passage of Assembly bill
A.4072, sponsored by Corwin, that would
allow counties to opt out of providing various Medicaid services not mandated by the
federal government.
The federal Medicaid program mandates that states provide only 10 basic services. There are 21 optional services.
New York State mandates 30 of the
services, the 10 required by federal law,
and 20 of 21 optional services - the most
benefits in the USA.
Because of the extras provided New
York’s Medicaid plan has become one of
the two costliest items in the budget.
New York spends more on providing
Medicaid benefits than Texas and California combined. Other states, including California, have reduced benefits covered.
Medicaid Better than Working
Families Health Insurance
New York's Medicaid is superior to
most private insurance plans, superior even
to those of the Erie and Niagara county
civil service employees whose job it is to
hand out the benefits. County workers do
not have dental coverage, and they don’t
have eye coverage, either, but Medicaid recipients do.
Things like medical exams are an optional benefit not mandated by the federal
government, as are regular eye exams and
eye glasses. As a matter of fact, there is no
limit in New York State. You could get 10
pairs of eyeglasses in a year if you wanted
to.
“As the former mayor and treasurer of
the City of North Tonawanda, I worked
hard to cut costs, reduce spending and deliver taxpayer relief,” said Ortt. “Allowing
counties across the state to ‘opt out’ of the
costly, non-federally-mandated Medicaid
services will provide some of that same relief by dramatically decreasing our taxes.”
“Unfunded state mandates are one of
the major cost drivers for municipalities
across the state,” Corwin explained. “….A
good, long overdue first step is allowing localities to ‘opt-out’ of our State’s burdensome mandates so savings can be passed on
to taxpayers.”
County lawmakers also urged passage
of Senate bill, S.1814, from Sen. Michael
Ranzenhofer, R-Amherst, that would impose a Medicaid residency requirement, as
Assemblywoman Jane Corwin and State Senator Rob Ortt want taxpayers to get a fair shake.
the county has, in recent years, seen a significant number of applicants for taxpayerfunded medical care come from outside the
county—and even outside the state.
Greater than Federal Law, State
Welfare Benefits Are Out of Control
The state and county lawmakers also
addressed changes initiated by governor’s
budget to the funding formula for Safety
Net - the unique state welfare program that
allows people to stay on welfare for life that caused the direct costs to county taxpayers to rise by more than $2 million per
year.
Safety Net, a supplemental welfare
program, kicks in for people not eligible
for the federal Temporary Assistance to
Need Families because they have exhausted the full five years of federal benefits, or did not meet eligibility guidelines.
The program grows more costly every
year, costing local taxpayers $7.8 million
last year—more than 10 percent of their
total property tax bill.
The program became more costly after
Cuomo changed the funding structure in
his 2011 executive budget. Prior to that
year, the state and counties each paid 50
percent of Safety Net's costs. Under
Cuomo’s new funding scheme, counties
pay 71 percent of the costs and the state
pays 29 percent. This increased local costs
by $2.2 million per year, while the overall
program’s costs, locally, have climbed by
167 percent since 2006.
Updegrove noted that SNA is not mandated by the federal government under welfare reforms signed into federal law by
former President Bill Clinton in 1996,
which capped at five years or 61 months
the maximum time limit for collecting welfare benefits.
Lifetime Welfare Attracts
Loafers to New York,
and Taxpayers Away
The New York State Legislature, heavily laden with liberal Democrats in New
York City, responded with Safety Net to
carry welfare beyond five years - if you
live or are willing to relocate to New York.
There is no limit on how long a person
can collect welfare benefits on Safety Net.
New York State is one of the only
states that provide for public assistance
benefits beyond five years.
County lawmakers urged the state delegation to work to pass reforms that allow
them to opt out of offering the Safety Net
program altogether.
“The added cost to taxpayers for the
SNA program has gone on for far too
long,” said Ortt. “What taxpayers need is
relief, rather than an Albany mandate that
only deepens state government’s pockets
while burning holes in the pockets of local
taxpayers.”
Too Generous Medicaid, Safety Net an attack on working people
Medicaid -the most generous plan in
the nation - for those who don't pay for it
and the most burdensome for those who do
- the taxpayers.
Safety Net - the ability to remain on
welfare for life.
These two are certain to attract people
to relocate to New York.
Indeed Americans are famous for their
willingness to relocate to areas offering
better opportunities, and chronic welfare
recipients are, for the most part, Americans.
Their exodus from less welfarefriendly states to New can almost be seen
as a cultural phenomenon not dissimilar to
the westward expansion the country experi-
enced during the 19th Century. It has almost equaled the exodus of working families out of New York to more taxpayer
friendly states like Texas, Florida and Nevada.
The $99,000 question is - why is it that
people who don’t work, can’t provide for
themselves, or just refuse to pay for it
themselves, receive superior benefits to
people who bust their tails to pay for it?
How long can the Niagara Frontier
sustain the continued exodus of bright, educated, hardworking people, replacing them
with those too lazy or stupid to work, or
whose drug and alcohol dependencies
make showing up for a job every day impossible?
The political will to put an end to the
gravy train that is the New York State welfare system is lacking because powerful
downstate Democrats in the State Legislature have a huge number of welfare recipients among their voting constituencies.
Updegrove sounded optimistic about
recent political changes in Albany.
Former Speaker Sheldon Silver, DManhattan, had previously blocked Medicaid reform votes from ever even coming
to a vote. Updegrove said he hoped the
man who replaced Silver, Speaker Carl
Heastie, D-Bronx, would be more evenkeeled in running the lower chamber.
“We are calling upon Speaker Heastie
to show he does not share former Speaker
Silver’s heavy-handedness,” Updegrove
said. “Give these bills a fair airing and a
fair up-or-down vote.”
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Borrowing $3.1 Million for Ice Pavilion While
Wasting Millions in Casino Cash is Foolishness
Glenn Choolokian
City Councilman and
declared candidate for
Mayor of Niagara Falls
On Monday's council meeting, Council
Chairman Andrew Touma submitted, for
the second time in a row, a resolution to authorize the city to bond $3.1 million for Ice
Pavilion improvements.
It failed to pass both times - because,
when the city wants to borrow money - a
super majority or four of five council votes
is needed.
To date, Councilman Robert Anderson
and I have not been persuaded that such
borrowing is a good idea.
For my part, I'm concerned.
The City of Niagara Falls is in debt for
more than $63 million, not counting interest. The Dyster administration continues to
submit budgets year after year with tax in-
creases, layoffs, and the added scare of loss
of services to families in Niagara Falls.
I can't vote to borrow $3.1 million for
this project to be paid back by taxpayers for
years to come.
It seems the genesis of this resolution
is that Mayor Dyster apparently suddenly
realized, and then informed some on the
council, that the Ice Pavilion project urgently needs millions more to finish.
How did this crop up without advance
notice?
The Ice Pavilion project is not new.
The renovation package was voted on in
2009. Clearly no one ever spoke in the beginning of this Ice Pavilion renovation
project that the city was going to have to
borrow millions to complete it. This bonding need came out of the blue.
One would think that with good management, projects are preplanned and
money allocated in the budget.
Even if this $3.1 million was unexpected - and that's a lot of money to be unexpected - why are we finding out,
suddenly, about an overnight, urgent need
for $3.1 million, and not five months
ahead of time?
Two years ago, you may recall, the
council was told by the mayor about another emergency at the Ice Pavilion -- that
the council needed to vote right away - replacing mechanicals under one of the rinks
because it would not last much longer,
maybe only a few more days.
The council bought in.
17
Councilman Glenn
Choolokian says he
supports the Ice
Pavilion project but
not the way it is
funded. He thinks
that instead of borrowing the money to
complete the project,
the city should use
casino funds.
Two years later, and the emergency
rink repair was never done.
The money set aside for the rink repair
was spent on things unrelated to the Ice
Pavilion.
Now here is another emergency, so
hurry up and borrow $3.1 million.
With that said, please do not mistake
my support for the Ice Pavilion, the operator, Gene Carella, and this project.
I voted to approve millions in casino
money to finish the project.
During those years, with each new
funding request, the council was told by the
mayor that we are at the tail end of this
project.
Clearly this project should have been
pre-planned using casino money yearly in
the budget. I support using casino money to
complete this project.
When you consider all the wasteful
boondoggles the mayor has spent or plans
to millions on with our casino cash, it
seems natural to use $3.1 million of it for the Ice
Pavilion.
Consider, the mayor set aside $4 million per year for five years ($20 million)
for the Governor Cuomo's Economic Development Contest - where millionaire developers will compete for millions in prize
money - to be judged by USA Niagara. The
city does not need to invest in the state's
contest.
Or we could use the $3.2 in casino
money allocated for a municipal animal
shelter, or the $1.5 million given the state
agency USA Niagara yearly for running the
Conference Center and staging parties and
events on Old Falls St.
Projects like the Ice Pavilion are the
things that casino money should be used
for, things that will benefit our children,
benefit our community and things that will
last for years to come.
The scenic cataracts of Niagara Falls
will be lit up in blue March 1-7 to support
“Go Blue,” a state and national effort to
raise awareness about colorectal cancer.
And beginning March 4, the Niagara
County Cancer Services program will join
the American Cancer Society to promote
Main Streets Go Blue by displaying blue
ribbons along Pine Avenue in Niagara Falls
and by working with local businesses to
promote colorectal cancer awareness and
arrange screenings for men and women age
50 and older who do not have health insurance.
Colorectal cancer - cancer that begins
in the colon or rectum - is one of the most
common cancers among New Yorkers. It is
estimated that one in 20 people will develop colorectal cancer during their lifetime. Nearly 10,000 new cases of colorectal
cancer are diagnosed each year in New
York State and over 3,000 men and women
die from the disease annually.
Colorectal cancer can often be prevented. Regular screening can find precan-
cerous polyps in the colon or rectum so
they can be removed before they turn into
cancer.
“All men and women age 50 and older
should get screened for colorectal cancer,”
said Renae Kimble, coordinator of the Niagara County Cancer Services Program, a
service of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical
Center. “Although this disease can occur at
any age, most people who develop colorectal cancer are over age 50.”
All health insurance plans cover colorectal cancer screening with no patient copayment or deductible. The Niagara
County Cancer Services Program works
with 48 service providers across the county
to offer colorectal cancer screening to eligible women and men who lack insurance
coverage.
For information on eligibility and
screening referrals, contact the Niagara
County Services Program at (716) 2784898 or the toll-free referral line at 1-866442-CANCER (2262).
Screenings Suggested and Offered for Colorectal Cancer
“Blue” Program for Awareness this Week in Falls
18
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Ceretto Announces Big Win for Niagara University
Assemblyman John Ceretto (R, C. I.-Lewiston), who
earlier urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to include Niagara University in the state’s START-UP NY program , announced
on Monday that his alma mater has been granted eligibility
to designate portions of its campus as tax-free zones for
businesses that relocate from another state.
In a statement, Ceretto said “I have seen firsthand the
positive impact the school has on the community and the
local economy and now I look forward to the potential of
seeing several new businesses flourish as a result of this
[START-UP] program, which is another step in helping our
region unlock its full economic potential.”
Ceretto added that under its proposal, Niagara University will designate 9,409 square feet in DePaul Hall and
15,000 square feet of development-ready land on the
southeastern quadrant of campus as tax free zones for businesses.
Eligible businesses looking to receive the tax breaks
under the program would have to align with the academic
goals of Niagara University and provide an economic ben-
efit to the region, added the Lewiston lawmaker who earlier had written a letter to the governor urging his support
of the designation.
Ceretto added that he had very positive conversations
with the governor in his efforts to win the designation for
Niagara University, describing Cuomo as very supportive
of ongoing local development efforts in addition to his
Buffalo Billion initiative.
Aquarium of Niagara to Hold Annual SEAsonings Fundraiser
Niagara Falls, NY – On Thursday,
March 5th from 6 to 9pm, the Aquarium of
Niagara’s annual SEAsonings food tasting
event will be held at the Aquarium on 701
Whirlpool Street.
Tickets are $55.00 per person or
$100.00 per couple.
Guests will be treated to food samplings provided by a variety of local restaurants.
The Village Bake Shoppe, Murphy’s
Café on 3rd, Dick and Jenny’s Bake &
Brew, Red Coach Inn, , Jacolatte, The Griffon Gastropub, Just Say Cheesecake. Top
of the Falls Restaurant, Providence Social,
The Conference & Event Center, Quality
Hotel & Suites, , TGIF of Niagara Falls, , ,
Hard Rock Café, , , Everyday Gourmet
Bakery Café, Four Points by Sheraton, will
all be presenting
enjoy great food from area restaurants,
fine wines from the region’s vineyards
Heron Hill Winery, Long Cliff Vineyard
and Winery, Flight of Five Winery, and
Victorianbourg Wine Estate.
plus beer, soft drinks, and other refreshments.
music from DJ Pat Proctor and hosted
by emcee Brandy Scrufari.
Participating wineries include Additional beverages provided by Certo Brothers Distributing and Coca-Cola Bottling
Company.
SEAsonings 2015 is sponsored by Niagara Frontier Publications and Niagara
Gazette/Lockport Union-Sun & Journal.
Tickets printed courtesy of Sharp Printing,
are available at the Aquarium, or by calling
716-285-3575 extension 203. Tickets will
be available at the door, but reservations
are preferred by March 1st.
Key Vacancies Abound in Poloncarz Administration
Tony Farina
The stories seemed to come out all too
frequently about deaths and other medical
emergencies at the Erie County Holding
Center in Buffalo and at the orrectional Facility in Alden. But despite the tarnished
history, there is still no chief medical officer in place to oversee the care of the more
than 600 inmates routinely held at the
Holding Center and the 800 or so prisoners
often housed at the Correctional Facility.
The chief medical officer (CMO) position has been vacant for more than a year
and the office of County Executive Mark
Poloncarz said in a statement “it has been
difficult to find an individual who is willing to do this kind of work, when opportunities available to such an individual in the
private sector would be more lucrative and
with a different clientele.”
According to Peter Anderson, Poloncarz’s press secretary, “the Erie County Department of Health continues to discuss the
CMO position with potential partners and
hopes to fill the position soon.”
That sounds a lot like the response we
received recently about two other key vacancies in the administration of the county
executive, the Social Services and Mental
Health posts which are currently served by
an acting commissioner (Mental Health)
and a holdover (Social Services) who
couldn’t be moved to Mental Health because of legislative opposition.
In the case of the correctional CMO,
you would think a salary in the range of
$150,000 would be able to attract a medical
Erie County Comptroller
Stephan Mychajliw
professional despite the bad history and inmate clientele, but so far, like in the other
two cases, the job remains unfilled.
And in a recent report, a court-assigned monitor has indicated that he has
concerns about the lack of a supervising
doctor to oversee physicians and review
new policies at the correctional facilities
that have had so much trouble in the past
even as some progress is evident.
Add the name of Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw to those expressing concern about the correctional CMO
vacancy as the efforts to find a suitable
candidate continue to founder.
“We’ve recommended that the county
executive push to increase the salary of the
CMO for the jail and Correctional Facility
but so far he hasn’t moved on it,” said Mychajliw. “I’m sure if the position were to
be filled it would cut down on the often
County Exec Mark Polancarz
frivolous visits to ECMC by inmates with
no supervising physician on hand to make
medical decisions on their care.”
According to an audit he released in
January, the county’s cost for providing inmate health care at the Alden facility and
the Holding Center over the three-year
audit period was more than $24 million for
medical services that included prescription
drugs, hospitalization, transportation, surgery, testing and mental health evaluations.
The comptroller said the annual cost
for providing care coverage averages $8
million, all of it coming from taxpayers.
Mychajliw is calling on the state to have
the inmates have some skin in the game
when it comes to paying for their own
health care.
“I’m very concerned about the real
costs of providing health care for those
who are incarcerated, and I want to help
decrease these costs,” the comptroller said
in a statement accompanying the audit. “It
only makes sense to me that inmates have
some skin in the game when it comes to
paying for their health care.” If they have
money to spend on snacks and candy at the
jail, he said, they can afford a low co-pay.
Mychajliw said the audit disclosed that
if “we can’t measure it [cost], we can’t
manage it.” He said that charging a co-pay
to inmates would generate roughly
$300,000 in annual revenue for the county
and would discourage inmates from pursuing unnecessary medical services and procedures. Identifying inmates that are
eligible for Medicaid and those with private health insurance would allow the
county to avoid costs for those inmates.
In the meantime, the position remains
vacant and lots of secrecy continues about
the actual conditions inside the correctional
facilities and the costs of taxpayers of inmate care that is being performed without
the oversight of a correctional medical professional, a condition that seems unlikely to
be settled soon as in the cases of the other
two major vacancies in the administration.
The county executive is touting a report that Erie County will save $136 million in retiree health care costs in future
years as a result of his administration settling union contracts. Mychajliw said he’s
glad the county executive listened to recommendations he made to cut things like
massages and acupuncture early in his term
and that previously had been pushed by
former County Executive Chris Collins, a
Republican like Mychajliw.
20
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
A Second Helping of Celebrated Artist Gerald Skrlin
Is Walk the Plank an artistic representation of the Niagara Falls political scene as we
know it to be or is the artist presenting a reality that he hopes to one day find? That is,
has the Reporter positioned Mayor Dyster at
the end of the proverbial "plank" that must be
walked or is the artist giving us a cartoon scenario as he would one day hope it to be with
the mayor having to walk the plank? In life
there are no easy answers and in this cartoon
- and in the city's politics - there are no easy
answers but there is little doubt that the Reporter has proven to be Dyster's bugaboo as
it exposes government waste while casting
the light of transparency onto the shenanigans
of Niagara Falls government. With the sword
of truth in hand the relentless Reporter - in
the fevered creative mind of Skrlin - has managed to muzzle NF 1 and cause him to tuck
his tail between his legs. Which proves two
things: the truth will always surface and a
free press is the keystone of good government.
John Ashley Winston-Smathers
Art Critic
St. Mark Lutheran to Hold BBQ
St. Mark Lutheran Church, 1135 Oliver
Street, North Tonawanda, will hold their annual BW Chicken and Rib Barbecue,
Theme Basket Auction and Bake Sale on
Saturday March 21, from 4:00-7:00 pm.
This event has been popular in the past,
serving more than 700 dinners. Cost of the
barbecue: Pre-sale: Chicken $8.50. Child
$6.50 (age 8 and under) and Ribs
$14.00(adults only). On the day of dinner
the price is $1.00 more for each selection.
Each adult dinner includes: Half Barbecue Chicken or Baby Back Ribs, Potato
Salad, Chef Salad, Roll, and Ice Cream for
dessert.
Proceeds will benefit the St. Mark
Lutheran Church Youth Group to fund participation in Christian camp and Retreats.
Tickets are available at the church Monday
through Friday, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, or call
716-693-3715.
Film Festival Seeks Helpers
The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival is
now seeking volunteers, interns and festival director's for events which run from
April 10-18th in the Buffalo / Niagara Falls
Area.
Volunteers will act as a liaison between the Film Festival and festival sponsors and organizers. Coordinate and run
events with local theaters. Correspond with
filmmakers, production companies and
media outlets. Shoot, edit, design and produce promotional materials, videos and
web content.Assist with the day to day running of the Film Festival.
Festival Director's Responsibilities:
Oversee volunteers, interns and festival activities. Ensure the festival is successful and well attended. To assist us and put
an interesting and appealing festival program together. Scouting and recruiting
good talent, themes and underlying ideas
for the festival.
The director needs to be able to bring
creative and new ideas to the job. Originality and a go-getters attitude is a must! If
you think you got what it takes - give us a
call or email Bill [email protected] 716-693-0912
21
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Change the Slogan Already
First I would like to request that the
century old saying "MOVE THE CITY
FOREWARD" be replaced with "IMPROVE THE CITY" or some other decent saying. Moving the city ... Forward
is so old it has no meaning in NIAGARA
FALLS.
Philips
A man with a plan
I have read your articles on the pit bull
problem, the proposed pit bull shelter and the
under utilized train station, and I think I have
a brilliant idea. So let us consider this an
open letter to Mayor Dyster.
Dear Mayor Dyster,
Since you have spent millions of dollars
on a very large train station that is mostly
empty and propose to spend millions more
on a pit bull shelter, why not save the taxpayers money and convert say - three quarters of the train station into your pit bull
shelter? Train station put to good use, pit
bulls sheltered and millions of dollars saved!
Your welcome,
An over-taxed citizen
Mr. Hufnagel
I read your article Dr. Dyster, or How I
Learned to Stop Complaining and Love the
Moses Parkway in the Reporter. While I
loved it overall I do not understand why you
used the term "white Suburbs to the north"
What does color have to do with the removal
of the parkway? I hope you will respond.
thanks
Tom Collister
Lewiston, NY
Hufnagel's response:
Mr. Collister,
Thank you for your interest in my story
and also the topic of the Parkway. I have
been involved with the effort to remove the
north Parkway for nearly 20 years. During
that time I have had personal conversations,
read comments on the internet and even seen
in letters to the editor in the newspapers that
one major reason Lewiston residents want to
keep the Parkway is because they don't want
to drive through what they consider "ghetto"
neighborhoods such as they perceive Main
Street, Niagara Falls is.
Lewiston is 99+% white. The major reason many live there is to avoid living with
black people. I have overheard this from
both friends and strangers enough times that
I know it to be true. I am not saying that is
why you live there. But it's a fact of American life - white flight.
The Parkway, by cutting a couple of
minutes off the commute time into the city,
helps to enable this racial status quo to perpetuate at the expense of the quality of life
and economy of the city of Niagara Falls.
I hope this sheds some light on why I
used that terminology in describing the Parkway. Thanks again for your question and also
for reading the Reporter.
Jim Hufnagel
Lumber City Chairman Says
Ramsay Field Not Being Sold
Kindly inform Sweeney Payne to please
fact check before writing her/his rants about
Letters to the Editor
North Tonawanda.
In a recent column Sweeney falsely
claims that the City is selling the baseball
field at Ramsey Field in the City- at 1344
Walck Road- to a business who wants to
construct two buildings and employ 40-50
people at the site.
If Sweeney would be so kind as to read
the City Council Meeting Minutes from February 17, 2015 it is plainly stated that the
property being sold is at 758 Erie Avenue- at
the opposite end of Walck Road- and some
1.2 miles from Ramsey Field.
The property being sold is an abandoned
baseball field sited on DPW property- in the
"triangle" formed by Nash Road, Walck, and
Erie, near the old Durez Chemical Plant site.
Perhaps when you did your "driving down
Walck Road to verify that there is only one
athletic field there" you were wearing dirty
eyeglasses?
Sweeney- you don't even have to go to
a Council meeting to find out the facts- you
can simply read the City Council Meeting
minutes on line at the northtonawanda.org
web site before you go into your rant...... especially when it concerns a business and jobs
coming to the our City. Please do a better job
of actually checking the facts before you
start typing.
Douglas P Taylor
Chairman, Lumber City
Development Corporation
NT History Museum ED
Enlightens Remington Nash
Remington Nash in your column that
appeared in the Feb 24 edition of the Reporter, you wrote to columnist Sweeney
Payne, "To hear you tell it, the Sweeneys,
Paynes, Vandervoorts, & Goundrys pretty
much ran the place for generations of cash
driven nepotism – and that was OK? I don’t
know if that could happen amidst the conditions of transparency with which your group
claims to associate yourselves. Those well to
do families certainly didn’t have to deal with
nuisance, anonymous Sound Offs complaining about them buying up all the land."
James and John Sweeney and their inlaw George Goundry purchased land from
the Holland Land Office (for whom George
Goundry worked), as did William Vandervoort. These men owned three-fourths of
what is today's City of North Tonawanda.
What Remington Nash doesn't seem to
realize is that only a very few people lived
here when these gentlemen acquired their
land. The Sweeneys and Goundry invested
in land here before the Erie Canal was completed through here. They did, except for
George Goundry, who never lived here, give
of their time in public service and helped develop us into the Village of North
Tonawanda in the Town of Wheatfield.
James Sweeney served at various levels of
the early governments. Sweeney family descendants remained in North Tonawanda
into the first half of the 20th century.
Lieutenant Colonel Lewis S. Payne,
who arrived after the Sweeneys and Vandervoort, was involved in the early development
of our community as a lumber center and he
and his family were active in the community
well into the 20th century also. Payne also
represented the developing community politically.
History doesn't portray them as "running the place" themselves. We suggest that
you visit the North Tonawanda History Museum or purchase our full-length books to
learn the accurate history of the Sweeneys
and Vandervoorts and the Paynes.
You also wrote, "Mr. Remington was a
swell guy that made a nice buck manufacturing awesome typewriters & office stuff in
North Tonawanda. He had a great relationship with Messrs. Rand & Sperry at the plant
until Mr. Sperry had his name thrown off the
sign out front, in favor of Sperry-Rand. In
the end, Remington still came out on top by
having a lofty tavern and a NT street named
after him."
We're sorry to have to tell you that there
were no Remingtons in North Tonawanda.
The Rands bought out the Remington operations as they did many other manufacturers
of office supplies and equipment. No typewriters were ever made at our North
Tonawanda plant. It was a printing plant for
the office record keeping supplies invented
in North Tonawanda by the father of the
Rand who eventually merged the businesses
his father and he had created and the acquired numerous other manufacturing operations.
We invite you to visit our Rand Family
Exhibit Hall and our Remington-Rand exhibit in the Erie Canal Exhibit Hall to learn
the accurate history.
Donna Zellner Neal,
Executive Director
NTHistory Museum
Some Queries on the Ice Pavilion
Hey I have a few questions about the Ice
Pavilion.
Why didn't Mayor Dyster use casino
money to cover the three million?
There are large consulting fees that
seem all out of line here... why weren't they
covered by casino money and why have the
Ice Pavilion project consultant fees been so
high?
Controller Maria Brown gave a rambling answer at the last meeting that eventually said in effect "we can handle this bond
debt with no problem." Really? How can the
city with a deficit as high as nine million easily handle this new debt?
Why were no debt program numbers
shared?
Why is the city still unaware of exactly
how large its debt is and its deficit are?
Why would the government borrow a
penny for any reason after the past budget
crisis?
Was this ice pavilion project ball parked
as costing this eventual eleven million?
Were real numbers shared year to year
with the council and public?
Wasn't the ice supposed to fail three
years ago?
Isn't this last minute "government by
crisis" the same route taken in the past with
the train station rebid, Hamister, trash program and soon to be dog pound and parking
plan? In other words no numbers are shared
until the last moment when the contract or
costs are shown at a council meeting.
Ron Warren
An Important Point About Heroin
I am writing because I saw your article
on Heroin's comeback.
Recently, The Levittown based nonprofit organization, Steps to Recovery were
proud to help launch a Naloxone roll out for
Police Officers in Bucks County, PA. The
medicine will help save the lives of people
who have overdosed on opioids across the
county.
The rolling out of Naloxone to all first
responders and not just medical professionals is an important step to improve accidental
overdose survival rates.
Opioids can cause a depression of the
central nervous system, respiratory system,
and hypotension. This can lead to hypoventilation or a severe slowdown in breathing.
Naxalone is an opioid antagonist, designed
to help reverse signs of an opioid overdose.
Mark Wollacott
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF
A DOMESTIC LLC
CR HOME INVENTORY LLC has been formed
as a limited liability company (LLC) by filing Articles of Organization with the NY Secretary of
State (NYSS) on December 17, 2014. Office
located in Niagara County, NY. NYSS designated as agent for the LLC upon whom
process against it may be served. NYSS may
mail a copy of any process against it served
upon him to: 2802 Stenzel Ave., North
Tonawanda, NY 14120. The purpose of the
LLC is to engage in any lawful business acts or
activities permitted for LLCs under the NY Limited Liability Company Act. The limited liability
company is to be managed by one or more
members.
2/3/15, 2/10/15, 2/17/15, 2/24/15, 3/3/15,
3/10/15
22
City Hall and Dog Park Jokes
Q: How many dogs could a Dyster
dog park park if a Dyster dog park could
park dogs?
A: Forty. At a cost of $95,000 in
consulting fees.
The dog park is going to require a
new Dyster "team" and it's going to be
called the "POOP" team...Pooches and
Other Oddball Programs.
NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAR 03 - MAR 11, 2015
Donna Owens, always health conscious, said that like other city parks the
dog park will be smoke free. "Dogs will
not be allowed to light up while using
the park," said the tough minded city administrator.
When Ms. Owens heard that the
mayor wanted to open a park and play
area for dogs she was heard to say "how
will the dogs be able to sit on the swings
and go down the slide?"
"Dog parks, animal shelters, and
homeless hotels, oh my!" State Comptroller Thomas Di Napoli commenting
on the city's financial condition.
Now that the dog park is set to open
city hall won't be the only government
site totally full of crap.
What's the difference between a college dorm and City Hall? The college
dorm has less sex.
At city hall the Big Bang Theory
isn't a TV sitcom, it's a career path strategy.
Dyster announced his "green compliant snow removal plan." It's called
"the sun" and he expects the plan to be
fully operational by early April.
Simple fix: If only all the hot air in
Dyster's administration could be pumped
underground to those frozen pipes in
LaSalle!