Local News

Veteran/Activist Arlene Doss Exposes Mayor Restaino’s Web of Lies

Veteran/Activist Arlene Doss Exposes Mayor Restaino’s Web of Lies

Featured, Ken Cosentino, Local News, Niagara Falls November 13, 2024 at 6:50 pm

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. The fight continues between (38 year) US Army veteran/community activist Arlene Doss and cowardly bully Mayor Robert Restaino over the Beech Avenue Project. Despite Arlene’s larger-than-life moral stature, it would be misleading to label this a “Battle of the Titans” dueRead More

Digital Campus Would Be a Lottery Win for Taxpayers

Digital Campus Would Be a Lottery Win for Taxpayers

Community News, Data Campus, Local News, Niagara Falls November 8, 2024 at 10:00 am

By Tony Farina The real measure of the economic benefits that would accrue to the city of Niagara Falls across the board with the development of a nine-building, $1.5 billion South End digital campus as proposed by Niagara Falls Redevelopment is now becoming much clearer and even beyond the wildestRead More

Niagara Falls Redevelopment is taking the next steps on a $1.5 billion plan to construct a massive data center campus in the City of Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls Redevelopment is taking the next steps on a $1.5 billion plan to construct a massive data center campus in the City of Niagara Falls.

Community News, Data Campus, Featured, Local News, Niagara Falls November 5, 2024 at 4:17 pm

By Jacob Tierney  The developer, which owns more than 140 acres in downtown Niagara Falls, plans to construct nine buildings – totaling 1.2 million square feet – over five phases on 53 acres of undeveloped or underdeveloped land between Falls Street and Rainbow Boulevard. “We’re talking right now about undevelopedRead More

Voters be Trippin’

Voters be Trippin’

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. The Amtrak Train Station located at 825 Depot Avenue is an early polling location for voters in and around Niagara Falls, NY. Early voting began on Saturday, October 26th and “since then, every single day, at least one, and sometimes severalRead More

Legacy Project or Political Vendetta? Mayor Restaino’s Arena Plans Under Scrutiny Amid NFR Dispute

Legacy Project or Political Vendetta? Mayor Restaino’s Arena Plans Under Scrutiny Amid NFR Dispute

This is Part Two of a series on the eminent domain fight between Mayor Restaino and NFR. Read the first article here. Niagara Falls’ mayor Robert Restaino is a lawyer and formerly a city court judge who famously was removed from the bench for an unfortunate episode where he lockedRead More

Eminent Domain Escalates: Restaino’s $150 Million Arena Plan Threatens $1.5 Billion AI Data Center

Eminent Domain Escalates: Restaino’s $150 Million Arena Plan Threatens $1.5 Billion AI Data Center

Community News, Data Campus, Local News, Niagara Falls, Parcel 0 October 29, 2024 at 7:18 pm

An incredible battle is underway in Niagara Falls, NY. The battleground is a 10-acre piece of vacant land. The fight is over what the 10 acres will be used for – the entranceway to a sprawling AI digital data center built without taxpayer funding, a project that will contribute millionsRead More

Mayor Restaino: The Gaslight King of Niagara Falls

Mayor Restaino: Gaslight King of Niagara Falls

Community News, Featured, Ken Cosentino, Local News, Niagara Falls October 27, 2024 at 12:10 am

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. “We have been deceived on the North End of Niagara Falls. We have been defrauded,” Arlene (Jackson) Doss told WKBW earlier this month while referring to Mayor Robert Restaino’s refusal to write a letter of support for the Beech Avenue project;Read More

Niagara Falls Redevelopment Files Application for Planned Unit District (PUD) for $1.5 Billion Niagara Digital Campus

Niagara Falls Redevelopment Files Application for Planned Unit District (PUD) for $1.5 Billion Niagara Digital Campus

Data Campus, Featured, Local News, Niagara Falls, Parcel 0 October 26, 2024 at 9:40 pm

Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) announced Thursday that it has filed a full application with the City of Niagara Falls for a Negotiated Planned Development District, more commonly referred to as a Planned Unit District (PUD). The new district would be known as “Data Center at Niagara Digital Campus PUD,” andRead More

Mayor’s Vision Not a Good Deal for Anybody

Mayor’s Vision Not a Good Deal for Anybody

Community News, Data Campus, Local News, Niagara Falls October 19, 2024 at 11:54 am

By Tony Farina There are no takers so far to invest in Restaino’s dream project, including New York State, leaving Niagara Falls taxpayers the most likely borrower in a project that most economic experts predict won’t deliver much in the way of jobs or anything else, especially given the competitionRead More

New Business Transparency Rules: What You Need to Know About Beneficial Ownership Reporting in 2024

New Business Transparency Rules: What You Need to Know About Beneficial Ownership Reporting in 2024

Community News, Gawel, Local News October 19, 2024 at 11:39 am

Michael S. Gawel, JD, CPA Beneficial Ownership Information In 2021 Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act. As of 2024 the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) requires most domestic and foreign businesses that are registered to do business in the US to report their Beneficial OwnershipRead More

Brown Moves On to New Position

Brown Moves On to New Position

Community News, Local News October 19, 2024 at 9:39 am

By Tony Farina After nearly 20 years as mayor of Buffalo, Byron Brown is getting acquainted with his new environs, Western Regional Off-Track Betting at Batavia Downs. In a bright and classy news conference in City Hall last week, Brown said he was looking forward to the next chapter ofRead More

Gawel Kicks Off Run Today at Wilbur’s

Gawel Kicks Off Run Today at Wilbur’s

Community News, Gawel, Local News October 14, 2024 at 10:32 am

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

"Niagara Digital Campus" digital rendering courtesy of PRCG | Haggerty LLC

GUEST VIEW: Niagara Digital Campus would generate millions in sales tax revenue. Here’s how.

Data Campus, Featured, Local News, Niagara Falls October 12, 2024 at 3:05 pm

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

The Time for High Tech has Arrived for Niagara Falls

The Time for High Tech has Arrived for Niagara Falls

Community News, Data Campus, Local News, Niagara Falls, Parcel 0 October 4, 2024 at 11:15 pm

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

Time to Change the Development Game in Niagara Falls

Time to Change the Development Game in Niagara Falls

Community News, Featured, Local News, Niagara Falls September 28, 2024 at 10:11 am

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

Tugby’s Opens on Niagara Street

Tugby’s Opens on Niagara Street

Community News, Local News September 28, 2024 at 10:05 am

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

Did Council Chairman Jim Perry Violate the First Amendment?

Did Council Chairman Jim Perry Violate the First Amendment?

Community News, Featured, Ken Cosentino, Niagara Falls September 24, 2024 at 9:16 pm

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. 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 thatRead More

Lorigo Tapped to Top State Political Post

Lorigo Tapped to Top State Political Post

Community News, Local News September 24, 2024 at 12:32 am

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

Gawel Gears Up for Council Bid

Gawel Gears Up for Council Bid

Community News, Local News September 24, 2024 at 12:29 am

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

Mayor Restaino has a grand dream. But the people might wake up.

Adopt-a-Park or Adopt-a-Mayor? Restaino’s Latest Desperate Plea

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

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