NIAGARA FALLS: Small crowd, big topics at City Council session

Local News

August 25, 2008

Racism, minority hiring among concerns aired Monday

By Rick Forgione<br><a href="mailto:forgioner@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Rick</a> The Niagara Gazette Mon Aug 25, 2008, 08:32 PM EDT

The crowd inside the Doris Jones Family Resource Center was small Monday, but those who were there had no problem filling up an hour-long question-and-answer session with a trio of city officials.

Topics ranging from minority hiring and acts of discrimination to street repaving and demolishing of homes were among the concerns aired to Council Chairman Samuel Fruscione, City Council Attorney Mort Abramowitz and Fire Chief William MacKay.

Annie Porter, who has lived in the city for 51 years, spoke out about minority hiring and a recent incident involving a racist sign put up in a Department of Public Works building.

“I don’t understand why the hiring practices in this city haven’t changed,” she said. “We can’t just (hire people) based on the color of your skin, because that’s not working. We need to have more diverse hiring, and not just a token hire here and there.”

Porter said officials need to work toward resolving the racial issues in the city. The latest incident involved a sign placed above a drinking fountain in the DPW building with the words “Whites Only Water Fountain.” That type of activity breeds more hate and fear, she added.

“People are tired of walking around and having to look over their shoulder because they’re worried about what’s going to happen,” Porter said.

Fruscione said the sign incident is under investigation and he feels the person responsible should be fired if identified.

“It was mean-spirited and just not right,” Fruscione said.

The council chairman also acknowledged minority hiring is still an issue and said he supports the Niagara Falls Human Rights Commission’s plans to request the reinstatement of an equal opportunity employee coordinator position cut from the budget years ago. Commission member Lee Whitaker said the group is meeting tonight to discuss that request, which will be made to the council in the upcoming weeks.

Porter and Whitaker were among a dozen residents from the North End attending Monday’s meeting, which is part of a series hosted by the council over the past two weeks to hear about issues. Fruscione was the only member of the council able to attend the latest session.

“We’re definitely going to do a lot of investment here in the North End,” Fruscione said, citing the ongoing courthouse construction on Main Street and the city’s financial contributions to the African-American Family Festival and Ontario House Jazz Reunion.

Whitaker asked numerous questions relating to the care of city streets, assessments on homes and how the city determines what vacant houses and buildings are demolished. She also had a few criticisms of the city’s answer to pothole repairs this summer.

“The Pothole Killer was a huge waste of money,” she said. “The roads are still bumpy.”

Fruscione said leasing the Pothole Killer trucks was meant to be a “Band-Aid effect” that would allow the city to at least hit every street this summer. He said more casino funds will be designated toward street repairs in the upcoming year.

MacKay ended the meeting with a brief overview of fire department operations and pointed out community relations and safety education are a key part of the job. Since 2005, the number of incident calls the department answered has nearly doubled. He pointed out calls range from a variety of emergencies, including fires, medical problems and hazardous material cleanups.

“We’re trying to diversify the types of services we provide to you,” MacKay said.

Remaining schedule

Niagara Falls City Council members are holding public discussions at the following times and locations:

• 11 a.m. today at John Duke Senior Center, 1201 Hyde Park Blvd.

• 11:15 a.m. Wednesday at St. John’s AME Church, 917 Garden Ave.

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