For anyone in Buffalo worried about what a downtown casino will mean for the city, relax. It'll be great.
Just take a drive up the I-190 and look at Niagara Falls.
After exiting the Robert Moses Parkway -- just one of the State of New York's tremendous contributions to the city -- you'll see a newly reopened water park and a beautiful new hotel before you even get to the Seneca Niagara Casino, which brought them both to life.
So what if the hotel is on land given to the Seneca Nation by the state and will never generate a penny in sales tax, bed tax or any other sort of revenue for the city around it. And forget for a moment that both the Senecas and the state have made quite clear that they fully intend to take the land housing Fallsville Splash Water Park off the tax rolls, as well.
Just look at Conference Center Niagara Falls on Third Street and the nearly completed Third Street renovation a block away. Both projects by USA Niagara, a subsidiary of the state-run Empire State Development, have unquestionably improved the appearance of the area.
Will either make the tiniest bit of difference to the local economy? We'll give that the benefit of the doubt and make sure to check back in 10 years or so.
Travel a few more blocks and you get to the real reason any of this makes any sense at all for the city -- Niagara Falls itself.
Which -- despite the best efforts of all manner of high mucky-mucks to get someone besides the Buffalo News to call the region "Buffalo-Niagara" -- Buffalo ain't got.
On second thought, maybe Buffalonians in search of peace of mind would be better off staying put and continuing to swallow what their elected officials feed them.
Seneca Niagara provided the area's flagging tourist industry with a second anchor, a separate and distinct reason to come to Niagara Falls. The Third Street revitalization is an attempt to create a reason for those who come to visit the cataracts or the casino to stick around and spend some cash.
How much, if any, of that cash ends up in the pockets of local business people or city coffers remains the big question. Particularly with the state's announcement last week that it's subsidizing the purchase and refurbishing of the Holiday Inn Select, perhaps the most valuable piece of real estate in Niagara Falls not owned by the Seneca Gaming Authority or under the threat of eminent domain.
That should be great for the local hotel business, no?
Then there's the recent announcement that the aforementioned Seneca-built hotel will also house up to 30 stores selling tax-free goods. That should help local retailers as much as the "free" drinks and smoke-'em-if-you-got-'em policy at the casino have assisted local bars and restaurants.
And this is coming from someone who still thinks the casino is, in the very long run, a positive economic factor.
In Niagara Falls, that is.
Buffalo lacks that second anchor, that reason other than the casino for somebody to drive five or six hours (and past another gambling joint coming from any direction). Politicos vehemently disagree, pointing to the announced, but as yet unconsummated, arrival of a Bass Pro mega-store.
In short, Buffalo is no longer relying on a silver bullet to solve economic woes that were dozens of years and scores of bad decisions in the making.
It's relying on two.
Eager to leave office after 12 years with a legacy other than a state control board that could be in place until 2037, Buffalo Mayor Tony Masiello still insists the best way to save his city's downtown is to give away a chunk of it. Given the self-interest that's controlled every significant decision there for decades, maybe he's right.
And thanks to the generosity of the promises made to the Seneca Nation by Gov. George Pataki during an election year, there may not be much Masiello, his successor, or anyone else can do about it.
A Buffalo casino would be bad news for Niagara Falls, too. If more gamblers from the Queen City and points south decide to put their money into the slots rather than spend it on gas, fewer will trek north to Niagara Falls on a regular basis. That means fewer dollars for city, county and state officials to fight over endlessly.
There's a reasonable argument that a gambling den in Buffalo is better in some small way than the nothingness that exists at most of the proposed sites, from the outdated convention center to the empty waterfront to the abandoned train station.
The pending arrival of the Seneca Buffalo Casino, though, guarantees the city's residents exactly that in the way of spin-off development or positive economic impact -- nothing.
If they're lucky.
Federal prosecutors have asked the judge in the Laborers Local 91 case to jail former union president Mark Congi pending trial on extortion, racketeering and conspiracy charges, the Niagara Falls Reporter has learned.
In court papers submitted to Judge Richard A. Arcara, prosecutors allege that Congi violated conditions of his pre-trial release. Like his co-defendants, Congi was freed on his own recognizance following his arrest in May 2002.
The filing by prosecutors alleges that Congi had contact with co-defendants including Andrew Shomers and Andrew Tomascik, each of whom have pleaded guilty in the case.
In addition, Congi allegedly told former union members to vandalize vehicles of other members who were put in control of Local 91 by trustees installed by the Laborers International Union of North America following the indictments of former business manager Michael "Butch" Quarcini, Congi and 12 other officers and members.
In May 2003, vehicles owned by then-acting business agents Randy Tagliarini, Enrico Liberale and Rob Connolly and Connolly's 82-year-old mother had their tires punctured with an ice pick-like object.
In July 2004, after LIUNA returned control to the Local 91, members elected Connolly to the business manager's position Quarcini held until his indictment, while Liberale was voted to the secretary-treasurer's post.
Tomascik pleaded guilty last week to harassing non-union workers during an asbestos-removal project at the Niagara Falls water treatment plant and to taking part in a gang assault on four union bricklayers during work on the Wegman's supermarket on Military Road.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors led by assistant U.S. Attorneys William J. Hochul Jr. and Brett Harvey agreed to recommend a prison term of four to four-and-three-quarters years.
Of the 15 indictees -- former Niagara Falls Bridge Commission member Joel Cicero, Quarcini's son-in-law, was charged with extortion and added to the list of defendants in 2003 -- only five still face a trial scheduled for September.
Congi, the most-indicted member of that select group, was ordered to wear an electric ankle bracelet to monitor his movements after prosecutors raised the issue of his release earlier this month.
A hearing to determine whether he'll await trial behind bars is scheduled for Tuesday, but could be moved to later in the week pending the conclusion of a civil trial the judge is overseeing.
As a couple readers called to point out, an item in last week's Citycide incorrectly credited Niagara Falls City Council Chairman Charles Walker with gathering the most signatures of any Council candidate seeking the Democratic Party's nomination.
Newcomer Sam Fruscione, with the help of the Niagara Civic Club, collected 1,513 signatures to Walker's 1,423.
In the interest of equal time, Chris Robins turned in 1,407, Joe Schiro gathered 1,167, incumbent Glenn Choolokian turned in 1,032 and Sam Archie collected 940, setting up a six-way primary race for three available Democratic nominations.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | July 26 2005 |