Niagara's Information Source
Our friend, current councilman and mayoral candidate Glenn Choolokian stopped by the NiagaraHub for a casual conversation to introduce himself to our viewing audience and explain his campaign platform. Learn about Glenn’s perspective and interests by watching the video here:
Join us for an evening of wine and fun!!When? 3-8pm
Where? Merani Hotel Group’s Four Points by Sheraton
7001 Buffalo Avenue, Niagara Falls, 14304
Pre sale tickets available for $20 ($25 at the door)
Admission includes: wine tasting and one sheet of tickets for an imaginative Home Interiors and Gardening theme auction. There will also be a high-end silent auction, wine raffle, chocolate tastings from Jacolatte and a cash bar. National Garden Expert David Clark will present organic growing tips and will raffle a personal landscape consultation.
Check back for the list of participating wineries – confirmed to date are: Vizcarra Wineyards and Arrowhead Spring Vineyards.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.opportunitiesunlimited.org/greenhouse/store/ or at the four admin buildings at Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara. Special overnight rates are available at the hotel.
Main sponsor: Merani Hotel Group. Other sponsors include: LocalEdge, Niagara Gazette/Greater Niagara Newspapers, Niagara Frontier Publications, ARCEU Local 4265, The Granite Shop, Buffalo-Niagaragardening.com and the Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas.
Additional sponsorships are available: please contact Bob Bracikowski, 504-2617 ext. 244 or greenhouse@oppunlimited.org
Candidate for Niagara Falls City Council Ezra Scott paid a visit to introduce himself to The NiagaraHub and to our viewing audience. We welcome Ezra today and extend the invitation to other candidates this election year to visit the Hub for a casual conversation on The Soapbox with Craig Avery or to simply stop and say hello to the community via the NiagaraHub’s network. Ezra will be stopping by again soon to update us on his campaign.
Watch the video here:
The Niagara Falls Historic Preservation Society will host a Powerpoint presentation by Shredded Wheat collector and researcher, Teresa Lasher Winslow, on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 6 p.m. in the 2nd floor auditorium of the Niagara Falls Public Library, 1425 Main Street.
Titled, “It’s All in the Shreds”: The History of the Shredded Wheat Company, Ms. Lasher will present the gentleman who was the inventor of the natural food sensation, Henry Perky; the reasons why the company located here; and the reasons why it left town ninety years later.
Ms. Lasher Winslow began her interest when she researched the Company for a successful listing on the National Register of Historic Places in the mid-1970s. She has accumulated hundreds of ads, boxes, toys, and other memorabilia through the years. In 2012, the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown used her collection for its two year exhibition on New York Foods.
The Library is hosting a small display of her collection in a display case on the first floor near the circulation desk. Other memorabilia will be shown the night of the lecture. Those who worked at the factory were sometimes called “Shreddies”. All workers or relatives of workers are especially invited to come and bring any photos, work clothes, company printed materials, or other memorabilia to share and be photographed or scanned by Ms. Lasher Winslow’s fellow historical researcher Elaine Timm.
The Niagara Falls Historic Preservation Society is hosting a series of tours of neighborhoods in the city throughout the summer and fall. The Buffalo Avenue tour will include the Tatler Club also known as the Peter Porter Mansion. The home also served as the residence of Henry Perky. For more information please visit the website of the Niagara Falls Historic Preservation Society or call (716) 283-8829.
[From wnypapers.com]
Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. today announced an exciting concert lineup for summer 2015 on Buffalo’s waterfront.
This year, ECHDC is proud to announce that, with the support of its sponsors, Canalside will have 12 free Thursday concerts – two more than last year – that run from June 4 to Aug. 20…
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2015/04/29/120589/summer-concert-schedule-announced-at-canalside
Congrats Niagara Falls!!
Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation (NTCC) is pleased to announce that Niagara Falls, N.Y. has been named the Best Kid-Friendly Destination by USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest. An expert panel selected Niagara Falls, N.Y. as one of the 20 contenders for the Best-Kid Friendly category and the public had weeks to cast their votes.
10Best, Inc. is a division of USA Today. 10Best.com provides its users with unbiased travel advice through its consumer site 10Best.comon top attractions, things to do, and restaurants of top destinations in the U.S. and around the world. The core of the site’s power is its team of local experts, a well-traveled and well-educated group who are not only experts in their fields (and their cities) but discriminating in their tastes.
The announcement was made on 10Best and published in USA Today, which has a circulation of over 3 million.
“We applaud the public for voting Niagara Falls, N.Y. as the Best Kid-Friendly Destination. Families create lifetime memories here when they partake in some of our timeless and exciting attractions. Visitors from around the world enjoy the Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, Erie Canal history, jet boats, and Old Falls Street, to name a few,” said John Percy, NTCC president & CEO. “This acknowledgment comes at just the right time and is setting the correct tone as Niagara USA is bustling with energy and activity as we kick off the peak season.”
For a complete list of recognized destinations visit 10best.com/awards/travel.
(Niagara Falls, NY) Using the newly-renovated Caravelle Park as a backdrop, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul A. Dyster continued an annual tradition today by kicking off the 2015 paving season with a press conference announcing the first 12 of an estimated 34 streets to be repaved as part of a $2.5million in-house paving program. Not surprisingly, Caravelle Drive itself (from Cayuga Drive to Niagara Falls Boulevard) was one of the streets included.
“We’ve already been out with our DPW crews doing patchwork, and have used our Zipper machine to do some larger repairs on stretches with multiple problems,” said Dyster. For example, Porter Road eastbound has recently been Zippered and is scheduled for paving tomorrow, May 1. City crews have also been busy paving over numerous water cuts left over from broken water mains during the severe winter. “Over the next couple weeks our efforts shift into the next gear.” Once again this year, the City will make use of the Pothole Killer, an advanced technology that Niagara Falls helped to pioneer earlier in Dyster’s administration. “The first Pothole Killer will arrive around May 4th, to be joined by reinforcements shortly thereafter. This allows us to address a large number of potholes in a short period of time. It makes the streets drivable, prevents damage to cars’ front ends, and frees-up City crews’ time and energy for more substantial reconstruction efforts.” The total cost for the program is $70,000 for 320 machine/hours.
According to Dyster, milling of streets for the City’s in-house reconstruction effort will start May 11th. “The first project we’re going to address is a block of 4th Street downtown, part of which delaminated–basically disintegrated as a result of winter damage–and is located directly adjacent to where a new hotel is in the process of opening in the next few days. So we want to get that out of the way before the start of the prime tourism season, usually defined as beginning with the Victoria Day weekend.” Preliminary work on the street has started already in order to speed completion. City Forestry crews are also out trimming tree branches necessary to prevent them interfering with the raised beds of dump trucks or other paving equipment. Thus far this season, City crews have been hauling hot asphalt from a plant in Lockport; the Niagara plant is scheduled to open May 7, reducing the run time for City trucks and making the operation much more efficient.
Efforts then shift to the City’s LaSalle section for the first part of the season. Streets to be repaved are: W. Rivershore Drive from S. 86th Street to its westerly terminus; Caravelle Drive from Cayuga Dr. to Niagara Falls Blvd.; 95th St. from Cayuga to Niemel Dr.; 89th St. from Cayuga to Niagara Falls Blvd.; 84th St. from Lindbergh Ave. to Witkop Ave.; Witkop Ave. from Laughlin Dr. to 87th St.; 85th St. from Witkop to Bollier Ave.; 81st St. from Niagara Falls Blvd. to Frontier Ave.; Girard Ave. from 66th St. to 72nd St.; 74th St. from Buffalo Ave. to Stephenson Ave.; and 47th St. from Packard Rd. to Niagara Falls Blvd. “We try to alternate where in the City we start our efforts, and it was LaSalle’s turn this year,” said Dyster. “But don’t worry. After we get part of the way down the list, we’ll announce the next group of streets, and by the end of the season we will have paved in all parts of the City: Echota, Center City, the North End, DeVeaux, etc.”
West Rivershore Drive is a special case, since only this single road serves a long peninsula jutting downstream into the Niagara River from Cayuga Island. DPW officials will do outreach to local residents well in advance of the start of construction to help reduce inconvenience to residents during the period—hopefully only a few days—when the street will be under construction.
In some cases, streets have deteriorated to the point where a complete full-depth reconstruction of the street is required. These jobs are bid out by the City to private contractors. Dyster announced that two streets would be handled by the City in this way: Portage Road from Ferry Ave. to Niagara Street, and 27th Street, also from Ferry to Niagara. “Portage Road deteriorated during the recent record-cold winter, with red clay showing through the asphalt base. 27th has been a long-time maintenance headache, with brick underlying much of the street. This year, we’re going to address these two long-term problem areas, and scratch them off our list.” The total estimated cost for both jobs is about $1.1 million. Contracts with the low bidders will be brought before City Council for approval when the bidding process is complete over the next several weeks.
Dyster said that the City’s 2015 program also includes approximately $500,000 worth of sidewalk replacements, and roughly the same for reconstruction of catch basins and other hardware needed as part of street reconstruction. The Mayor also said the City would be making a major effort this season to install ADA-compliant corner crossings, and would continue its efforts to address problem alleys as well.
The site of today’s press conference, Caravelle Park, has seen a series of recently-completed improvements itself. New playground equipment and a new swing set were installed, along with a half-court basketball court, all new sidewalks and fencing around the park, and new trees and landscaping. “Especially since Caravelle Drive was one of the streets we were paving, we thought it would be appropriate to hold the press conference as the park, where we just completed a series of improvements.”
[By Lexi Lines]
On Tuesday, I walked into NiagaraHub expecting a normal day of media work, when I received a pleasant surprise; today’s assignment was to go visit a local restaurant – Taylor’s Tap & Grille. This presented me with an opportunity to get out of the office and go try somewhere new I’d never been to before. I called my friend Anne, picked her up and off we went.
It was really easy to find, the large sign out front made it easily recognizable from the road. Parking wasn’t a problem either, I was able to find a spot right next to the restaurant even though they were slammed!
From the moment I walked in, I was impressed. It’s said that first impressions are what stick in your mind, and Taylor’s Tap left a great impression with both Anne and I.
The rustic modern design was done perfectly. I loved the red leather booths and the worn wooden chairs, the metal detailing throughout the restaurant and the overall welcoming feel. The attention to detail was impressive. My favorite detail was the quote on the far left when you walked in. It said, “Why Go Home? You’re Here” and covered the wall. It was tasteful and truthful. I felt at home as soon as I walked in with the friendly staff and the relaxing atmosphere. It felt like a place I could spend an entire day in, and definitely go back to for fun times with friends.
We were seated right away, and provided with water and menus instantly. Quickly though, we ran into a problem… Everything on the menu sounded so good! We had to tell the waitress we weren’t ready yet because we couldn’t decide what sounded the best. Finally, I decided on the Tequila BBQ wings and Anne ordered the popular Bacon and Brie Burger. Our waitress informed us both options were best sellers, but we were determined to decide that for ourselves.
Our food came out quickly and was presented beautifully (As beautiful as you can make wings and a burger look)! They both looked delicious, and we couldn’t wait to dig in. Within the first few bites I realized that ordering the Tequila BBQ sauce was the best decision I’d made all day by far. Discarding any thought of being polite I devoured all ten wings, they were so good! They had the perfect amount of crisp to them and came with plenty of sauce (I hate wings that are dry or too crispy). I didn’t even need the Bleu cheese that’s generally a staple for my wings. They were so good I forgot all about water, bleu cheese, and Anne for that matter, for a solid five minutes.
When I finally looked back up, I realized she was doing the same thing as me… devouring her burger in record time. I asked her how it was and she gave me the “hold on” look and made me wait until she was done to answer. “That was the best burger I’ve had in a long time!” was her first response with a thumbs up. I asked her what made it different, why was it so special? She told me that the burger was cooked to a perfect medium (like she ordered) and that the jam worked perfectly with the burger. The bacon and Brie burger, in case you’re not aware, is made with brie cheese, onion straws, and Jameson glazed bacon served with whiskey bacon jam. Who would’ve thought jam belonged on a hamburger?
Our service was phenomenal as well. Even though they were relatively busy our waitress came over immediately and was all smiles. After helping us decide what we wanted the great service continued throughout the remainder of our meal. She checked on us a few times and actually had a few minutes to talk to me about what it’s like to work at Taylor’s Tap. She claimed that she loved working there, and hopes she can remain there until she retires. She said that the owner, Jeff Taylor, loves his employees and treats them really well. She seemed genuine and like she truly cared about the restaurant!
Finally after our food was sadly gone and we were as content as could be, it was time to go. We paid our bill, very reasonably priced, and ventured outside to take a look at the outdoor patio (which is officially open now).
Needless to say, we’ll be going back very soon to try the rest of the menu!
Check out their new website (still in design stage) here: www.taylorstap.net
Our good friend Tom stopped by the Hub today for this edition of The Soapbox. Catch The Thomas Loop Radio Show Wednesdays at 10am on WJJL AM 1440.
Watch video here:
