By Mark Scheer
Niagara Gazette
NIAGARA FALLS —
The lease on the building is set to expire soon but the Niagara Falls Police Department has no intentions of leaving the confines of its substation on 19th Street.
City lawmakers will consider today a proposal to renew the city’s lease at 496 19th St., a storefront the police department has been using for months as a base of operations in what has traditionally been one of the city’s higher crime neighborhoods.
The city had been paying building owner Carl F. DeFranco $400 per month plus utilities to rent the space, which has been home to several failed businesses over the years, including the old Tally-Ho pizzeria and tavern. The lease is set to expire Sept. 30.
The new lease agreement under consideration by the council includes an increase in the monthly rent to $425, plus utilities. The new lease runs through June 30. The new monthly rent payment would bring it in line with rental terms being charged to the city at other police substations. Funding for the cost of the substation is available through the city’s Community Development Department. The lease is expected to come up for a vote during the council’s meeting at 7 p.m. today.
Council Chairman Sam Fruscione said he did not have any problems with the new proposal.
“Nineteenth Street has always been a very rough section of the city and we support having a police substation in that area,” he said.
Block club members and community leaders pushed for the placement of a police substation in the 19th Street area amid a rise in criminal activity, including violent crimes, drug trafficking and prostitution along 19th Street from Niagara Street to Pine Avenue and from 17th Street to 23rd streets.
Police Superintendent John Chella said he fully supports continued operation out of the substation, adding that he believes the police presence in the area has helped deter crime in the neighborhood. Chella also conceded that much work needs to be done and said his department is working with the Weed and Seed committee in an effort to secure federal funds that would allow the department to expand operations at the site.
“I think our numbers prove that we are making an impact,” Chella said.
