I would like to personally thank the City of Niagara Falls Council majority members, consisting of Sam Fruscione, Glenn Chalookian and Bob Anderson for our 2013 budget. All homeowners would be paying 8% more in property taxes if they didn’t have the guts to trim Mayor Dysters’ 2013 budget. They also saved 28 jobs. This decision temporally cut the budgets of city block clubs and the NACC (the arts center at the old Niagara Falls High School, on Pine Ave). Funding to the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation and the USA Niagara Corporation were also cut. This was a tough but necessary decision. The council majority knew that once the 89 million in Casino money was paid to the city Dysters 8% tax would have stayed. These groups, whose budgets were cut, crucified the council majority at every council meeting concerning the 2013 budget. Sam Fruscione’s primary election was badly damaged because of their persistence. They didn’t like Sam because they had to wait for their money. Now they’re getting their money, 28 jobs were saved and every property owner saved 8% in property taxes. Sam, a long time teacher at Abbott Elementary School, made the honest decision.
Sam was instrumental in creating the Niagara Falls Tourism Advisory Board and stressed on giving tourists proper directives, which in turn, give money spending tourists reasons to stay longer and spend more money on local restaurants and area business’s. Again, a tough decision because the big money tourism leaders, that support our mayor, don’t want our tourists educated. While our tourist city should be user friendly, big money tourism leaders make more money when the tourists are uninformed and herded to select businesses. This cheats our tourists of a quality experience and gives Niagara Falls a bad name. Sam wants to put an end to this, don’t you?
In1980, a handful of local residents successfully lobbied local and state officials for the Riverwalk Bike Path funds and a LaSalle Waterfront Park. Twenty years after the funds for the trail were made available by the NFTA and government officials, city officials finally got on board and Sam pushed hard for the projects to be reality. Mayor Dysters’ administration attempted to take credit for these tourism ideas for the trail and the park and tried to put their own flair to the ideas by pushing for a canoe launch near the Grand Island Bridge. Realizing Dysters’ administration was making a dangerous decision, Sam attended a public meeting with three tourism board members to stress the dangers of this uneducated direction. At the meeting, comments on the dangers were booed by Dyster followers whom, as it was printed in the Gazette the next day, called him and the tourism board members that accompanied him “thugs”. It wasn’t long after that when Danny Sokol took a kayak from that area and almost went over the Falls. That was on the Front Page of the Gazette. Tourism Board members still want to know why a concession stand and security cameras they lobbied for at the park were scrapped in favor of a storage facility for a movable dock. That movable dock turned our park into a liability instead of an asset. Please make note, this handicapped assessable, moving dock is a not a safe place on a windy day.
Tourism Board members wanted to know why the road around Goat Island was changed so, Sam invited Mark Thomas (Niagara Parks Commissioner) to a tourism board meeting to explain. He told us that they purchased the trolleys before measuring under the bridge to Goat Island so they had to revamp Goat Island to accommodate the trolleys. Tourism Board members also found out that the unused rock climbing wall at the Discovery Center cost over a quarter million dollars. Should we let these local decisions go unquestioned, just because the state says so?
These things may not be important to everyone but job opportunities should be. Although the Gazette and Buffalo newspapers didn’t agree, our council members were correct in questioning our mayor for hiring out of town administrators. Why would we need an engineer, with no license, from Saudi Arabia. Why would we need a Fire Chief from Florida? Why would we need an city administrator from Atlanta? Can they teach local professionals about ice and snow? Those jobs should have gone to residents that need work.
Let’s not forget that our present mayor was a silent councilman during the Elia Administration when the state of New York sprung the Casino deal on us. Did we get a good deal? No. As a council member, was Dyster man enough to stand up for residents of Niagara Falls? No, Paul was quiet as a church mouse.
The Casino Pact put together by the Pataki Administration gave the state 25% of the casino profits. Niagara Falls receives 22% of the states 25%. That leaves 5.5% of casino profits, From Niagara Falls’ 5.5% of casino profits, USA Niagara and Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp get approximately $3 million annually each. Our school system also receives a couple of million annually. Did this give Niagara Falls residents tax relief? No it didn’t. Now, to add insult to injury, our mayor wants to raise our taxes to give all his carpet bagging administration raises. Us everyday taxpayers can’t afford it.
USA Niagara did well by tearing down the Wintergarden to open Falls St., and securing the NCCC Culinary Art Institute on Falls Street, but they did neither without the help of our tourism board and local residents. What turned me against the USA Niagara state run marketing group was their concept of signage. It turned into a money grab for the state. Most of the signs led to the Casino and the Maid of the Mist boat docks, New York States cash cows.
The 3 million dollars a year we give to the NTCC is used to sell tours for select private tour owners and all expense sales trips around the world. Why is our casino money used to pay for private business’ sales personnel?
The Niagara Falls Tourism Board has lobbied our administration for 6 years now to help tourists visit our city and spend money to help lower our taxes to no avail. As of today, no city signs point to Goat Island or the Horseshoe Falls or the Bridal Veil Falls or Three Sister Islands or Luna Island or etc.. etc.. Concerning the revamping the Robert Moses Parkway for local tourism, our mayor has relinquished our city line at Findley Drive leaving control of DeVeauxs’ section of the parkway to the town of Lewiston. We are on the verge of giving our tourists a quality experience so that we may have business opportunities for every new business owner but we need Sam Fruscione re-elected to finish our mission. Without Sam there is no tourism Board. Please vote November 5. Please cast your vote for Sam Fruscione so Niagara Falls residents can have the fruitful opportunities they deserve.
Thank You.
Vincent M. Mameli
(716)-812-0448
City of Niagara Falls Tourism Advisory Board
(The preceding article is a guest submission for NiagaraHub.com. The content or opinion expressed within does not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of NiagaraHub.com. Readers are encouraged to submit articles and videos, but NiagaraHub.com expresses the right to approve or disapprove each submission. Each submission will be posted as is.)
I believe Mr. Mameli is incorrect in stating that the block clubs have had their funding restored. The three councilmembers to oppose citizens who volunteer their own time and money to fight crime, blight and promote safety were warned that they would have to answer to their actions on election day. Mr. Fruscione proudly put himself at odds with all the citizens who volunteer for and care about their neighborhoods. He was on a mission to save the city that few hundred bucks he felt were being squandered on our safety. Shortly thereafter, the council secretary received a hefty pay raise. Election Day is here and now Mr. Fruscione will have to answer for those actions. In the future, the other two councilmembers will face the voters once more. It was a really bad decision, not just morally but because the people who care so much about their neighborhoods are the same people most likely to vote.