EDITORIAL: Sharing casino jackpot

Opinion

January 30, 2010

Anonymous The Niagara Gazette Sat Jan 30, 2010, 11:10 PM EST

Let’s not gamble on Niagara’s future.

Local officials need to come together and determine the best way to spend funds from the casino compact.

There has been too much bickering as every municipality attempts to grab a bigger share of the pie.

The city and county are bound by the 99-h section of state finance law, which says casino funds can only be spent on economic development initiatives, capital improvements and related personnel.

Make them accountable

Why doesn’t every entity getting money have a detailed account of where the money went?

If we are going to have a state law that requires reports to be filed, it would be a good idea to have ramifications when that data is not filed.

The financial accounting also should be filed locally. For example, voters and residents should be able to venture into a government building or their state representative's office and be able to access that information. As it stands now, the reports are supposed to be filed in Albany.

Looking at 2016

“It’s still a little too early, but that day is coming sooner than a lot of people realize,” Niagara Falls Mayor Dyster said.

For the compact itself, 2016 represents the completion of the initial phase and the beginning of another.

As for the revenue distribution agreement, 2016 signals the end of the line entirely and potentially the beginning of another hard-fought negotiating process.

In both cases, local officials say they are keeping an eye on the future but are doing so with a clear understanding that someone else may be in office when the time comes to sit down at the bargaining table.

For a successful compact, the groundwork must be laid now.

“I would hope that at least from the state’s side, the state would want to renegotiate the contract,” state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, said.

Spin-off development

Eight years later, the view in downtown Niagara Falls hasn’t really changed.

There is still vacant storefronts and dilapidated housing surrounding the Seneca Niagara Casino.

“It’s pretty much what you could have predicted,” said Bryant Simon, director of the American Studies Program in the Department of History at Temple University, and an expert on casinos and urban renewal. “Since the 1970s, we’ve always wanted our urban renewal to be quick fixes.”

Falls’ residents have heard their share of redevelopment dreams and nightmares.

There has not been a quick fix for this area. At this point, there isn’t even a long-term plan in place.

However, there are glimmers of hope.

The vision of Niagara Falls as the new Times Square hasn’t even begun to materialize.

We don’t need to be like Times Square ... but we do need to take a more tourist friendly approach to development.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Opinion

PFEIFFER: Something that really 'bugs' me
Who would ever think that roaches, as in cockroaches, not your left-over weed, and valentines are a good match?
As the greatest Hallmark holiday ever created looms large, my friends at the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Bronx Zoo have concocted a Valentines Day fundraising promotion that just makes you want to say, “Really?”

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
HAMILTON: The SPCA and the pineapple upside-down pie
It is said that, as free Americans, we often get the things for which we ask; we also often get exactly what we deserve. Sometimes it works out to our good, and sometimes it doesn’t.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
CHEERS & JEERS: Feb. 10's best and worst of the week
As Ken Hamilton so eloquently puts it in his column on this page — the SPCA of Niagara would probably be in a lot better shape if everyone took care of their pets.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
GLYNN: Slim chance now for a real thick ice bridge
If you’re not convinced about the unpredictability of Western New York weather, consider that this area was experiencing temperatures in the mid-40s on the 100th anniversary of the ice bridge tragedy in the gorge.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
EDITORIAL: U.S. has a lot of catching up to do in War of 1812 bicentennial
Almost 200 years after President Madison declared the War of 1812 there is a distinct lack of interest on this side of the border in commemorating that milestone.

February 9, 2012
BRADBERRY: Is Black History Month Still Relevant?
I am uncomfortably recovering and slowly recuperating from a relatively minor, but medically necessary procedure which has kept me out of circulation, out of touch and essentially on my back for a lot longer than I have personally believed was justifiable; however, in this case my opinion matters not; the doctor’s diagnosis and promising prognosis trumped mine, so here I lay almost completely befuddled, nearly unable to pen a clear sentence.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo
CONFER: Time to end the NFL’s blackout rule
Long ago, in a much simpler time, ticket sales accounted for the majority of revenues for professional football teams.

February 6, 2012 1 Photo
EDITORIAL: Times up for SPCA board
This is no time for subtleties or polite requests.
We are now demanding the resignations of the members of the board of the Niagara County SPCA.

February 6, 2012
CITY BEAT: Stuck on traffic
Sometimes I feel like the traffic signal reporter in Niagara Falls.
Traffic signals have been making a lot of news around here lately. There’s the whole flap about what to do to improve public safety near the Como Restaurant in the 2200 block of Pine Avenue.

February 5, 2012 1 Photo
HIGGS: Discussing crime and punishment in the Falls
Have to take a detour off Pine Avenue in 1956 this week to report on an event held by the Niagara Falls Block Club Council for its member clubs and other interested citizens.

February 5, 2012 1 Photo
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

EDITORIAL: Sharing casino jackpot

Site Map

Contact Us