So as intimate as I’ve said the venue of the Bear’s Den is, a small crowd makes it hard for a comedian to really get on a roll. That’s what we learned at Thursday’s Barrel of Laughs when a crowd of about 100 appeared to be about 35 people, according to the headliner comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe. After taking a few shots at Niagara Falls, he admitted that his very life was consummated nine months prior to his birth in Niagara Falls, NY. He began to warm up to this chosen few who braved a miserable rainy night to get some good old fashioned entertainment via this comedy club at the Seneca Niagara Casino.

I’ve said it before folks, “Get off your couches on a Thursday night, and go see some good comedy for a couple hours during an otherwise ho hum evening!” A hundred people got a good deal, but two hundred would make the show even better. These comedians suck energy from big happy audiences and their stuff gets funnier and funnier with more folks responding. You gotta do it; I’m getting tired of trying to describe the experience, go see it for yourself.

Anyway, the show opened with the host, Buffalo’s own Rob Lieberman, who is really a very funny guy. He just starts talking and you laugh! He introduced another fellow radio personality Mix96’s Tony Pusateri, who at least got the crowd to begin to giggle.

A few hecklers, who Hinchcliffe identified as 90 year olds, made it easy for the audience to relate to the performer. Not sure what happens when the elderly drink heavily, buts it’s not a pretty scene.

All in all, another fun night, if you missed it, mark your calendar- Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 8:00 PM. BEN ROY AND ADAM CAYTON-HOLLAND
will be at the Bear’s Den. Let’s give ‘em a big crowd, you’ll enjoy yourself even more.

Netflix’s Tony Hinchcliff rises like the mist at Seneca Niagara Casino’s Barrel of Laughs on Thursday night

[Press Release]

The Niagara Falls City Council approved the $2.8 million 2017 Niagara Falls Community Development Draft Action Plan on March 20, 2017, as a result of four months of public participation with residents.

“Our 2017 action plan process featured the most comprehensive public outreach in our department’s history,” said Seth Piccirillo, Director of Niagara Falls Community Development. “When residents join in and are treated as valued partners, our plan action plan gets stronger.”

Over the past four months, CD hosted 10 public meetings throughout the city and created an online/paper citizen survey to gather public opinion, offered a 30-day written public comment period, created an email address specifically for action plan dialogue, and accepted competitive application for eligible Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program projects. The City Council approved Draft Action Plan leveraged an additional $2.1 million in non-municipal matching funds, for a total budget of $4.9 million. City Council Approved 4-1: Yes (Walker, Grandinetti, Scott, Touma) No (Tompkins)

The complete plan and citizen’s guide can be viewed at: https://nf-cd.org/participate

The City of Niagara Falls is proud to include participatory budgeting (PB) in the 2017 Action Plan.  PB is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. It enables taxpayers to work with government to make the budget decisions that affect their lives. A total of $360,000 in CDBG funds has been allocated for public park improvements that will be decided through PB. A series of public meetings will be held to create proposals for park improvements.  These initial proposals will be refined with budget amounts and turned into ballot items that will go directly to the community for a vote with electronic tablets that allow residents to rank and ultimately decide which projects should be completed.