EDITORIALS
Niagara Falls found a way to ruin a sure thing
Niagara Falls must examine all options to force recalcitrant developers to act
There is perhaps no better example of “giving the store away” than a couple of so-called development agreements that have left Niagara Falls pillaged and the citizenry holding a putrid bag of coal.
The only answer, if at all possible, may be to explore whether the state can utilize eminent domain to retake property in the best interest of taxpayers. In other words, condemn the rights of uncooperative developers who, for whatever reason, haven’t developed.
Meanwhile, the state comptroller’s office just released an unsurprising report that concluded lax oversight and poorly written development agreements have left the city with few options in dealing with the empty Rainbow Centre mall and dozens of acres of vacant properties near the Seneca Niagara Casino.
These were bad deals and generations have been left with the bill, specifically for a 75-year lease on the Rainbow Centre mall with a subsidiary of Cordish Co. in Baltimore and a $110 million development agreement with the private firm Niagara Falls Redevelopment.
Instead of thriving economies that should have helped remake downtown Niagara Falls, land has been left idle along with a ghost of a mall.
The targets for criticism are those in the previous two administrations and Councils who allowed this travesty to occur. The agreement with Niagara Falls Redevelopment, first signed in 1997, was approved with no dissenting votes from either the City Council or the Urban Renewal Agency. The players were Mayor James C. Galie and Council Members Vince Anello, Guy T. Sottile, Vincent R. Morello (now de-ceased), Anthony Quaranto, Connie M. Lozinsky, Ralph Aversa and John Accardo. Robert P. Merino acted as corporation counsel.
Minutes from a special Council meeting in 1997 showed each Council member giving reasons he or she was voting in the affirmative, notably that “each had a firm belief that the group would be a tremendous asset in revitalizing the City of Niagara Falls.” Galie stated that the city had done its “due diligence” in investigating the credentials and that he felt confident that this was a true “dream team” that would work to make the city an exciting tourist destination for the country.
What a rub. The deal, renegotiated in 2003, was backed by then-Mayor Irene J. Elia and Council members Fran M. Iusi, Paul A. Dyster (now mayor), Vince Anello (later to became mayor) and Charles Walker. Only Candra C. Thomason voted against the deal.
Again, nothing happened. As News reporter Denise Jewell Gee recently outlined, what seemed like “ironclad assurances” turned out to be vaporous.
Now it is up to the current city administration to ensure that this story does not repeat itself. Moreover, any contractual obligations made by the city and private developers should be carefully scrutinized so that citizens do not find large portions of land held at bay for lengthy periods of time.
State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli outlined a series of recommendations, some of which current Mayor Dyster has implemented, but are worth repeating. At the top of that list is assigning the city’s director of planning and economic development to monitor the progress of projects and to be the city’s liaison with developers.
Last September, Dyster hired a director of economic development, Peter Kay, and last year he appointed a new corporation counsel, Craig Johnson, who has worked on a package of protective measures for future development deals.
Besides the comptroller’s report, University at Buffalo law professor George M. Hezel agreed to examine the 2003 Niagara Falls Redevelopment contract at the request of The News. He found what most might interpret as sizable holes, or what appear to be substantial obligations by the developer which, in the end, turned out to be minimal.
The biggest stick the city held consisted of the ability to take back 260 parcels of land sold at precasino prices. But even that appeared only to be made of rubber.
Dyster summed it up best when saying that the city has, in the past, negotiated from a position of weakness and that a sense of desperation often has dominated the city’s dealings with developers.
The result has been all but ruinous. Citizens are the ones to pay.
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