NIAGARA FALLS — More than a decade ago, Manhattan real estate billionaire Howard P. Milstein first invested in a company with grand plans to redevelop a huge swath of derelict property in Niagara Falls, and so far there is almost nothing to show for it.

But Milstein and public officials finally are talking with one another, and the development company has started a new Web site that more strongly promotes business development in the city.

Mayor Paul A. Dyster and U. S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., held a 75-minute face-to-face meeting with Milstein in January in his New York City office. Dyster said later that he and Milstein agreed to talk once a month “to establish a line of communication.”

Trying to make good on that agreement, Dyster said last week that he was setting up a three-way telephone conference among the three men.

“There is no imminent breakthrough,” the mayor said. “There will be no big announcement. Nothing is going to happen right away.”

Dyster said the first meeting enabled him and Schumer to see some issues from Milstein’s point of view; likewise, the developer could better appreciate those issues from the city’s point of view. He did not describe those issues in detail.

The mayor added that the door now was open for city officials to hold follow-up meetings in Niagara Falls with Roger Trevino, executive vice president of Milstein’s Niagara Falls Redevelopment company.

Niagara Falls Redevelopment, or NFR as it is known locally, controls more than 140 largely dormant acres in the city, including dozens of acres of boarded up or vacant downtown properties within walking distance of Niagara Falls State Park and the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, both magnets that attract tourists.

But the company still has failed to build any of the $110 million in projects promised in its agreement with the city. Despite NFR’s denials, some local officials have publicly stated fears that the company intends to hold on to the undeveloped property indefinitely in hopes of eventually selling it off at a great profit.

As if to counteract those fears, NFR has recently put up a Web site,

www.niagarafallsredevelopment.com

, making a strong pitch for investment in the redevelopment of Niagara Falls.

Touting the value of investments here, the Web site says NFR “is now offering rare and unparalleled development opportunities of unlimited potential. With millions of dollars in state and leveraged private investment, Niagara Falls, USA, is writing an exciting new chapter in a unique tourist destination.”

Niagara Falls Aviation, an affiliated company, operates the underused Niagara Falls International Airport, which opened a new $31.6 million terminal last summer and is seeking to increase flights.