It’s been two years since the former director of the Niagara University’s Global Tourism Institute, Pat Whalen, warned us about the looming tax burden Mayor Restaino’s Centennial Park and event center will inevitably create for us. Despite these warnings, our mayor is forging ahead with his plans which are foundedRead More

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

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

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

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

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

Two points keep nagging me about Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino’s plan to build an arena on NFR land – land he has gone to court to force the sale through eminent domain. The location for the arena seems to be the mayor’s deliberate plan to favor the Seneca NationRead More

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino is hell bent on building his Centennial Park, actually not a park but a 7000-seat arena right at the entranceway of Niagara Falls Redevelopment land, on NFR land, and in so doing block NFR’s plan to build a $1.5 billion data center. The Restaino arena,Read More

Niagara Falls, New York is currently at an extraordinary, perhaps historic, crossroads. At the head of the city is Mayor Robert Restaino, who is solely responsible for deciding whether Niagara Falls will move into the future and accommodate the current demand for high tech data centers or let them beRead More

Last night’s city council meeting was further proof that Mayor Restaino’s proposed use of CDBG funds for purchasing Parcel 0 is still on the table. Last night, Councilmember Vincent Cauley attempted to rescind the authority the council granted the Mayor last December to use CDBG funds for the purchase ofRead More

Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and Toronto-based developer Urbacon have unveiled a $1.5 billion plan for the first phase of the Niagara Digital Campus, a state-of-the-art data center project in Niagara Falls, NY. The development is centered on a 12-acre plot known as “Parcel 0,” which is key to the project’sRead More

By Tony Farina It looks like the Oct. 25 debate between Mayor Robert Restaino and challenger Carl Cain, a retired deputy police superintendent, has all the makings of a rip-snorting political slugfest between two long-time Niagara Falls figures, one a lawyer and the other a cop. But lost in theRead More

Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and the City of Niagara Falls clashed in New York State Appellate Court in Rochester today as NFR seeks to end the city’s attempt to take their private property through eminent domain. Mayor Robert Restaino’s fanciful vision for NFR’s land, dubbed “Centennial Park,” drew skepticism fromRead More

Spend First, Study Later At a “Special Meeting” on Wednesday, May 17, at 5:00 p.m., Niagara Falls Mayor Robert M. Restaino will seek Council approval to spend $140,000 for a feasibility study for Centennial Park, a planned 7000-seat events center and a small adjacent park. According to the mayor, theRead More

Ken Cosentino, the writer of this article, mentions an old, failed dream of Niagara Falls, AquaFalls. An ambitious, and ultimately fanciful, plan to build an underground aquarium called AquaFalls was revealed during the administration of former Mayor James Galie. New York Governor George Pataki came to Niagara Falls to laudRead More

This is #5 in the Parcel 0 series. By Jim Szwedo Please do not mortgage our future for Centennial Park  When it comes to the dueling project proposals by the City and Niagara Falls Redevelopment, I believe we can have both. If the City and NFR both give a little,Read More

This is #4 in the Parcel 0 series. Parcel 0 – #1 –Reporter Investigates City’s Fight With NFR Over Best Use – Data Center or Events Center Parcel 0-#2: Pat Whelan, Former NGTI Director: Mayor’s Centennial Park Bound to Fail Parcel 0 -#3: The Battle Between Restaino and NFR IsRead More

Part #3 on Parcel 0. This is Part #3 of a series on Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino’s attempt to force the sale of 12 acres of a private company’s land to develop an events center and park project that the City does not have the money to develop. TheRead More

Parcel 0 is a 12-acre site in downtown Niagara Falls, owned by Niagara Falls Redevelopment LLC [NFR]. Both NFR has a plan for Parcel 0 and Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino has a plan.   NFR wants to build a Data Center on their land. Mayor Restaino wants to use eminentRead More

A battle is heating up in Niagara Falls, NY. It is a fight over property rights, the government’s use of eminent domain to force the sale of private property, and the highest and best use for a property that is a gateway location for both the City and for aRead More