It was a beautiful thing.
Rarely can Republican and Democratic officials work together in Niagara County, but last week, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, North Tonawanda Mayor Larry Soos and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, all Democrats, joined with Republicans like county Legislature Chairman William Ross in the hopes of sending a message to Albany.
Speaking with a single voice, they asked New York Gov. David Paterson to lift the moratorium on the state's Brownfields Cleanup Program, a freeze that is costing the Niagara Frontier more than $375 million in new development and stalling the creation of nearly 400 good jobs here.
Conspicuous by her absence at the event was state Rep. Francine Del Monte, who, along with state Assembly Chairman Sheldon Silver, is opposed to brownfields redevelopment under the program. As usual, political concerns in Albany outweigh the welfare of Del Monte's Niagara Falls constituents when it comes to her stand on the issue.
"The city of Niagara Falls is ready to take advantage of this critical state program with the largest private development project in recent years," Dyster said. "The project represents a $244 million investment and 100 new jobs, and is currently being stalled by the moratorium."
The freeze on tax credits and funding for developers willing to clean up brownfields sites has also hurt Buffalo, Brown said. "The city of Buffalo is being adversely affected by the current moratorium, and we are in danger of losing a full construction season and a $3.5 million project that will result in 100 new jobs," he said.
In Niagara County, two projects, the Northern Ethanol facility on 47th Street here and the Remington Rand development in North Tonawanda, are in an indefinite holding pattern. Brownfields remediation is widely seen as an essential first step in attracting new investment to Western New York.
The legislatures in both Erie and Niagara counties have voted unanimously on resolutions asking the governor to get the program restarted.
"Redevelopment of brownfields sites makes sense because everything needed for development is already in place," Ross said. "This is a priority, and New York state needs to immediately remove the moratorium and move on with allowing the tax credits."
He pointed out that it was Love Canal in Niagara Falls that led to the federal Superfund program and increased awareness of contaminated sites left by industry.
"There's been $999 million spent or committed statewide under this program, and Niagara County gets one $100,000 project, then they shut the door?" Dyster told the Reporter. "That's crazy. It's indefensible. Let's move on here before we miss some great opportunities."
Soos said the Remington Rand building, located near his city's center and targeted for a mixed-use business and residential facility, represents a crucial piece of the redevelopment puzzle there.
"The revitalization of the Remington Rand building is critical to the future of the city of North Tonawanda," he said. "The city has been working on this project for several years, and the developer can only be expected to wait for so long before they take their investment elsewhere."
Del Monte's most recent accomplishment in the Assembly, touted in a May 15 press release, was the passage of a bill she sponsored to ban the sale of fish caught by recreational fishermen in New York state.
"Currently the state does not do enough to protect our commercial fishermen," she said.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | June 17 2008 |