Following the collapse and demolition of a house he was rehabbing Seth Piccirillo said, "I'm changing the mission of the Isaiah 61 program from housing rehabilitation to housing demolition. Sometimes you just have to go with your strengths."
That's one way of putting it: Mayor Dyster said, "The line between rehabilitation and demolition is a thin one. The Isaiah 61 staff simply crossed that line."
It's on spin cycle: Community Development director Piccirillo has a new name for "emergency demolition." He's calling it "terminal rehabilitation."
A recent Gazette ad: "Democratic mayoral candidate wanted. Must have thick skin. PhD not required."
Political dictionary:
Budget: The annual fiscal blueprint for a government. In Niagara Falls that blueprint is written with invisible ink and can only be read by a select group of Dyster administration insiders who interpret it for the rest of us.
Spin: Explaining or promoting an issue by clouding that issue through half-truths or outright lies. Spinning is a time honored political tradition.
The Reporter recently invited Mayor Dyster to sit down for an interview. We calculate the odds of Dyster agreeing to that interview as being slightly better than the odds of Reporter publisher, Frank Parlato, getting a date with Beyonce.
Sal Paonessa, a retired city police lieutenant and current part-time Town of Niagara police officer, is the shortest officer in the town. How short is he? He's so short he needs a booster seat in his patrol car.
(The above was a "mercy joke" printed to make Sal, a former possible mayor candidate feel relevant)
Seth Piccirillo's...
Favorite song: Peter, Paul and Mary's, "If I Had a Hammer"
Favorite book: J. D. Salinger's, "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters"
Favorite movie: The 2015 horror flick, "Collapsed"
The latest Andy Touma city hall survey:
Circle the funnier phrase:
A) I'm from City Hall and I'm here to help you
B) I'm from Isaiah 61 and I'm here to rehab your house