By Tony Farina Entertainment begins at 4:30 this afternoon (Monday, Oct.14) at Wilbur’s Bar on Cayuga Dr., Niagara Falls, where former councilmember Michael Gawel will formally announce his candidacy for city council next year. Gawel, a CPA, pledges to run hard for a seat on the council to help bringRead More

By Dennis Elsenbeck If you’ve followed the debate over the proposed $1.5 billion Niagara Digital Campus, you know that the project is estimated to generate more than 5,000 union jobs during construction, and approximately 500 jobs when fully operational, with expected annual wages to exceed $29 million. You also mayRead More

By Tony Farina Well paying high tech jobs or low tourism industry bottom-feeder pay? High tech vs. more of the same for poor Niagara Falls.  The contrast is stark and the time to step into the future with hope for a better tomorrow is now. We’ll take a look hereRead More

By Tony Farina No matter where you look in Niagara Falls, there is a failed or under water investment development plan that has come up empty.  Whether sponsored by the city of Niagara Falls or USA Niagara it doesn’t seem to make any difference. Outside of the Welcome Center developedRead More

By Tony Farina The Niagara Reporter wishes to extend all the best in the future to the new souvenir shop opening at 616 Niagara St., Tugby’s, named for Thomas Tugby who opened one of the first souvenir stores back 75 years ago near the Goat Island Bridge and later atRead More

During a Niagara Falls City Council meeting on September 4th, Tanya Barone stepped up to the podium to speak for the good of the community. Once she announced that she was going to discuss a Freedom of Information Act request that she filed regarding a contract between the City ofRead More

By Tony Farina Another incredible political honor has come to the longest serving Erie County political chairman, Ralph Lorigo, who has served as the County Conservative Party chairman since 1994, during which time many other political chairmen have come and gone. Lorigo, who is also legal counsel to the stateRead More

By Tony Farina It may be early, but former Niagara Falls councilmember Michael Gawel is planning another political comeback to bring his legal and accounting experience to the city by running for one of the three open council seats next year and he has already tossed his hat into theRead More

Niagara Falls NY – As the city’s eminent domain legal fight to take 10 acres of private property from Niagara Falls Redevelopment continues, Mayor Robert Restaino has two messages for his dwindling supporters. One, above all, the city needs Centennial Park, the mayor’s boondoggle dream – a $250 million planRead More

By Tony Farina It has been 12 long years since real excitement was generated for anything in Niagara Falls and nothing that has happened since or is on the drawing boards now will come close to electrifying the city like Nik Wallenda’s historic tightrope walk across Niagara Falls. It wasRead More

Mayor Restaino’s reckless and wanton misuse of our tax dollars seems to know no boundaries. He now wants to renovate the former DPW building in the middle of Hyde Park into an animal shelter. He’s planning on using $4.5 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to pay for thisRead More

By Tony Farina Batavia Downs Gaming may be in the midst of a leadership change, but the numbers being rung up by the current leadership team continue to set incredible numbers with August ringing up $107.3 million, topping the previous best month by more than $4 million. To be exact,Read More

By Tony Farina The rock band SoleTurn, featuring the new and re-imagined hits they famously deliver, will be on stage Friday night at Angry Buffalo, 2753 Wehrle Dr., Williamsville, from 7 to 10 p.m., outside if weather permits, inside if not. In addition to their usual menu of crowd-pleasing newRead More

By Tony Farina Very few government-sponsored development projects make good on their promise in Niagara Falls and the latest hope for a successful finish is now fading like many of the others with the state-backed subsidized housing plan at the former South End TeleTech call center site now being challengedRead More

The City of Niagara Falls, NY has been plagued by poor development deals since time immemorial. Mayor Restaino promises to keep that tradition alive by marching our city into the development business and right off a fiscal cliff.  First is his abysmal dream of Centennial Park, which appears to beRead More

Restaino’s Centennial Park project could leave residents footing the bill for decades Niagara Falls’ leaders might wish to examine what has happened in other cities when they borrow money by issuing municipal bonds for speculative ventures like Centennial Park. After failing to secure funding, Mayor Robert Restaino plans to issue municipalRead More

Mayor Robert Restaino has been intentionally misleading his constituents for the past 3+ years by telling us that Centennial Park will cost taxpayers an estimated $150 million. When the Niagara Gazette attempted to uncover the actual projected costs of the project by a Freedom of Information Act request, Restaino’s administrationRead More

By Frank Parlato How Much Has Niagara Falls Spent on Buffalo Lawyers to Stop the AI Data Center ? Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino has decided not to disclose the amount of money the City has spent on a Buffalo law firm for an eminent domain procedure against a privateRead More

In an unusual turn of events, the charges against Leor Kweller, a former teacher, were dismissed before trial, and the prosecution’s attempt to appeal the decision has ended. The dismissal marks a significant victory for Kweller and his family, who have been fighting to clear his name and restore hisRead More

On Wednesday night, all five members of the Niagara Falls City Council voted unanimously to revoke the membership of council appointed Niagara Falls Water Board (NFWB) member Michael Asklar due to “numerous complaints” and “dissatisfactory performance,” and to replace him with James S. Dean. Mark Scheer of the Niagara GazetteRead More