Business

By Frank Parlato A city on the edge of debt. A mayor with a vision. The feasibility report came. It said: Build it.   It did not say how. Or who would come. Or what would happen if they didn’t. So, the good people of Niagara Falls now entertain Mayor Restaino’s $200 million arena dream. Based on a report that avoids every hard question. Feeble Report The mayor dreamed of a grand arena in Niagara Falls, seven thousand seats. The report failed to explain how to pay for it. No assessment of risk. It was not a report, not really.

By Tony Farina This may come as no surprise to local residents, but the average salary in Niagara Falls, N. Y., is roughly $41,430 per year or less than $20 per hour, placing the city in the lower half of U. S. cities when ranked by average salary. Local government workers make much more but things could change for the less fortunate if the leadership of the strong mayoral-form of government decides to move forward by embracing data center technology and all that it can bring to boost the local economy and help workers earn more. For now, with eight

The Ten-Acre Battlefield This is a story about ten acres in Niagara Falls, New York. Ten acres of grass and trees called Parcel 0. Niagara Falls Redevelopment LLC—NFR for short—owns Parcel 0, along with 130 other acres it bought over 25 years. Billionaire brothers, Howard and Edward Milstein, own NFR. NFR has  a plan. A $1.5 billion data center called the Niagara Digital Campus. Nine buildings. All steel and fiberboard. No windows. And inside machines. Not machines like the old days — wheels, levers, and pulleys. These were new machines to store the memory of other machines. Why would anybody want

The Conflict “Parcel 0” is a 10-acre parcel of land on the south side of downtown Niagara Falls, NY. Two projects want it for development. Only one project, at best, will be developed. Because of the fight, no one might develop at all. Parcel 0 might end up as it is now – just trees, grass, and brush. The Owner Niagara Falls Redevelopment LLC (NFR), owned by billionaire brothers Howard and Edward Milstein of Manhattan, has owned Parcel 0 and 130 contiguous acres for more than 20 years. The company has plans for a $1.5 billion data center on 53

By Frank Parlato For years, the land sat empty. Now, it’s a battleground. Ten acres at Falls Street and 10th. A few blocks from the falls, just off the Niagara Scenic Parkway. He wants a stadium. Seven thousand seats. A $150 million taxpayer-funded arena. The land belongs to Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR), which has plans for the land. Nine buildings. A million square feet of data center space for tech companies – 140 megawatts of computing power. AI processing. Cloud storage. NFR, owned by billionaires Howard and Edward Milstein, partnered with Urbacon, offers the start of a digital economy: an

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. A.I. IS A-OK For a long time, many of us have held out hope that the City of Niagara Falls, NY could once again become a “City of the Future.” Niagara Falls provides power to roughly half of the East Coast, including New York City. Genius inventor and “Father of Electricity” Nikola Tesla gave the world alternating current; born from the hydropower generated by the mighty Niagara River. Once dubbed the “Power City”, Niagara Falls is positioned to become a global leader in a new era of technology… if elected officials

By Tony Farina Now that Mayor Robert Restaino has moved to have Niagara Falls go fully into the development of north Main St. and the Rapids Theater with the purchase of 38 Blue Cardinal properties and the theater, what’s next? No one really knows and it is unlikely Restaino knows because there is no real plan in place and much of what is going on is being done pretty much in the dark as transparency is not a hallmark of the mayor’s administration. But one is left to wonder how will the city get anything done with no sign of

By Frank Parlato I saw Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino in one of his out-of-control states. Restaino appeared at a fundraising event for Glenn Choolokian between when the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct kicked Restaino off the bench in 2007 and when he was elected mayor in 2019. I attended the Choolokian fundraising event at Chick D’Agostino’s old Nifty Fifty restaurant on Buffalo Avenue. Sam Fruscione was there, Bob Anderson and a lot of old timers. It was a good turnout. I remember it was the last time I saw my old friend Babe Rotella. When Restaino saw

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. It’s been two years since the former director of the Niagara University’s Global Tourism Institute, Pat Whalen, warned us about the looming tax burden Mayor Restaino’s Centennial Park and event center will inevitably create for us. Despite these warnings, our mayor is forging ahead with his plans which are founded upon loose and lofty sentiments.  In 2022, Niagara Gazette’s Mark Scheer reported, “Restaino, representatives of his administration and members of the city council who have agreed to pursue eminent domain for the purposes of acquiring land for Centennial Park, all acknowledge

By Frank Parlato Escalating Costs of the Bills Stadium On November 15, 2024, the Buffalo Bills management confirmed the new Bills stadium will cost more than $2.1 billion, 50% higher than the original estimates in 2020 of $1.35 billion. The $560 million increase is primarily due to inflation, which has driven up labor costs and prices of materials, including structural steel. Additionally, expenses related to the Bills stadium may rise, as only about 35% of the stadium is complete. Construction is expected to continue until June 2026. Just north of Buffalo, a mayor of a city with 48,000 residents faces

By Tony Farina Even if you believe Mayor Robert Restaino’s heart is in the right place when it comes to rebuilding Niagara Falls, his vision on how to get it done is unfortunately an old, worn path that has not delivered in the past and is not likely to prove successful today. There may be a better path available today that wasn’t there in the past that doesn’t rely on hit-or-miss developers counting on taxpayer money no matter the source, city or state.  The money just isn’t there, and that includes for the mayor’s legacy events center project in the

By Tony Farina New York State has a structural budget deficit with a three-year budget gap of $13.9 billion projected and it is expected to increase further as stop-gap tax measures phase out and public education and health care costs continue to grow. Many experts see the problem as state spending which they say continues to spiral out of control and the heavy reliance on federal aid may be cause for concern with Donald Trump in the White House come next year. In short, given the budget gaps and a new president, it is unlikely the state will be in

By Tony Farina The real measure of the economic benefits that would accrue to the city of Niagara Falls across the board with the development of a nine-building, $1.5 billion South End digital campus as proposed by Niagara Falls Redevelopment is now becoming much clearer and even beyond the wildest expectations one could imagine.  The numbers are staggering and the benefits mind boggling. According to a former National Grid expert, as reported in the Niagara Gazette, the tax gains for the hard-pressed taxpayers of Niagara Falls, and that includes the school district, are just almost overwhelming in every respect.  We’ll

By Jacob Tierney  The developer, which owns more than 140 acres in downtown Niagara Falls, plans to construct nine buildings – totaling 1.2 million square feet – over five phases on 53 acres of undeveloped or underdeveloped land between Falls Street and Rainbow Boulevard. “We’re talking right now about undeveloped downtown land,” said John Horn, partner with the law firm Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, who represents Niagara Falls Redevelopment. The developer recently submitted a Planned Unit Development application to the city, seeking zoning changes that would allow the project to move forward. Niagara Falls Redevelopment has partnered with Urbacon,

This is Part Two of a series on the eminent domain fight between Mayor Restaino and NFR. Read the first article here. Niagara Falls’ mayor Robert Restaino is a lawyer and formerly a city court judge who famously was removed from the bench for an unfortunate episode where he locked up 30 plus innocent citizens present in his court because a cell phone purportedly went off when he was talking. Though he has never developed any projects in his life, there is a tradition in this city of mayors building a legacy project that invariably is overbuilt and costs taxpayers

An incredible battle is underway in Niagara Falls, NY. The battleground is a 10-acre piece of vacant land. The fight is over what the 10 acres will be used for – the entranceway to a sprawling AI digital data center built without taxpayer funding, a project that will contribute millions of dollars per year to the city’s budget, or a taxpayer-funded municipal arena that supposedly will boost the tourism industry by a larger amount than it will cost taxpayers annually to run. Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR), a private development company, owns the 10 acres. NFR has the funding to develop

Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) announced Thursday that it has filed a full application with the City of Niagara Falls for a Negotiated Planned Development District, more commonly referred to as a Planned Unit District (PUD). The new district would be known as “Data Center at Niagara Digital Campus PUD,” and would further NFR’s efforts to develop the $1.5 billion Niagara Digital Campus data center in downtown Niagara Falls. The nearly 500-page PUD application was submitted to the City on Monday October 21, 2024. It is the next step in the development of the innovative, state-of-the-art data center, which is anticipated

By Tony Farina There are no takers so far to invest in Restaino’s dream project, including New York State, leaving Niagara Falls taxpayers the most likely borrower in a project that most economic experts predict won’t deliver much in the way of jobs or anything else, especially given the competition in the area for entertainment and sporting events already in place. A federal bond floated on the backs of taxpayers is among the possible financing options on the table for Centennial Park, Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino’s $150-million plus events center arena that he wants the city to build on

By Dennis Elsenbeck If you’ve followed the debate over the proposed $1.5 billion Niagara Digital Campus, you know that the project is estimated to generate more than 5,000 union jobs during construction, and approximately 500 jobs when fully operational, with expected annual wages to exceed $29 million. You also may know that the overall economic spinoff benefits to the community are estimated to exceed $850 million during construction, and $250 million annually, with more than 1,700 permanent jobs created in support and ancillary businesses. Perhaps you’ve followed national news coverage of the incredible need for data centers due to the

By Tony Farina Well paying high tech jobs or low tourism industry bottom-feeder pay? High tech vs. more of the same for poor Niagara Falls.  The contrast is stark and the time to step into the future with hope for a better tomorrow is now. We’ll take a look here at the road ahead and nudge the city to embrace a more forward looking agenda. The pieces appear to be in place to make something happen after years and millions of taxpayer money going over the falls to nowhere. Niagara Falls Redevelopment is still anxious to build a $1.5 billion

Niagara Falls NY – As the city’s eminent domain legal fight to take 10 acres of private property from Niagara Falls Redevelopment continues, Mayor Robert Restaino has two messages for his dwindling supporters. One, above all, the city needs Centennial Park, the mayor’s boondoggle dream – a $250 million plan with a 7,000-seat arena, a 500-car parking ramp and a four acre park crammed with a splash pad, ice-skating rink, zip lines, parking ramp climbing wall, adventure courses, and other amenities. And two: Since the city does not have the money or manpower to maintain its 35 parks. He wants

By Tony Farina It has been 12 long years since real excitement was generated for anything in Niagara Falls and nothing that has happened since or is on the drawing boards now will come close to electrifying the city like Nik Wallenda’s historic tightrope walk across Niagara Falls. It was June 15, 2012 when more than 13 million viewers from around the world and tens of thousands on site on both sides of the river watched daredevil Wallenda take his incredible night walk across Niagara Falls after months of controversy to clear the path for him to really put Niagara

By Tony Farina Very few government-sponsored development projects make good on their promise in Niagara Falls and the latest hope for a successful finish is now fading like many of the others with the state-backed subsidized housing plan at the former South End TeleTech call center site now being challenged by the mayor who not too long ago was on board. What is not surprising here is it is more of the same sort of start-stop-start legacy of Niagara Falls development, a development history that has kept Niagara Falls in the dark ages when it comes to capitalizing on the

By Frank Parlato Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino proposes to build an arena on a property the City doesn’t own. To do so, he must stop Niagara Falls Redevelopment LLC (NFR) from developing a $1.5 billion AI Data Center on its own property with its own money. Restaino wants to build his $150 million taxpayer-funded arena on NFR’s land. Restaino, who calls his planned arena Centennial Park, is in the middle of an eminent domain action to force NFR to sell the City 10 acres of land for Centennial Park Arena. Blocking a Major Project The 10 acres were supposed

Niagara Falls, NY, has the opportunity to have a world-class, state-of-the-art data center with developers ready to go. It will be a huge project. The developers, Niagara Falls Redevelopment and Urbacon, have the money, the skill, and the plans to build a mammoth $1.5 billion digital center with an emphasis on accommodating the needs of high-tech companies working to develop AI solutions to human needs. It is the wave of the future, and they have only one obstacle. An archaic man sits in the mayor’s office who bizarrely wants to snatch their land for a pretty obsolete and unnecessary legacy

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. Live entertainment experts such as Christian Printup have voiced their opinions in opposition of Mayor Restaino’s proposed event center in Niagara Falls, NY. One of their key arguments as to whether or not this project is even feasible involves the saturated market for live events in immediate proximity to our community. The City of Niagara Falls already has three event centers, two of which are owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians. The first is the Bear’s Den which seats 440 people and is located inside of the Seneca Niagara Casino.

Two points keep nagging me about Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino’s plan to build an arena on NFR land – land he has gone to court to force the sale through eminent domain. The location for the arena seems to be the mayor’s deliberate plan to favor the Seneca Nation over the local business community, since the tax-free sovereign nation will get the first crack at overflow from the arena. Why would the mayor favor a sovereign but wealthy Indian nation that cannot vote for him over the taxpaying business in the city? The second concerning matter is that the

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino is hell bent on building his Centennial Park, actually not a park but a 7000-seat arena right at the entranceway of Niagara Falls Redevelopment land, on NFR land, and in so doing block NFR’s plan to build a $1.5 billion data center. The Restaino arena, if he can borrow the funding, will be paid by taxpayers. The data center he effectively kills would not cost taxpayers anything. The owners will pay for the data center. Instead of costing taxpayers money, the data center will add money to the city’s coffers through hefty property taxes the

Niagara Falls, New York is currently at an extraordinary, perhaps historic, crossroads. At the head of the city is Mayor Robert Restaino, who is solely responsible for deciding whether Niagara Falls will move into the future and accommodate the current demand for high tech data centers or let them be built elsewhere. Niagara Falls Redevelopment and Urbacon’s offer to build a state of the art data center that will employ more than 500 people is on the table before the city. The developers have the money and know-how, have developed data centers, and have the land. The land is near

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. This past Friday, the Niagara Gazette’s investigative journalist Mark Scheer published an editorial entitled “Economists on sports venue public financing: ‘read the fine print’.” Scheer astutely compared expert analyses on the public funding of the new Buffalo Bills stadium with Mayor Robert Restaino’s proposed use of public funding for his event center. The verdict: Not so good for the taxpayers. According to Scheer, economic experts participated in a webinar presented by EconoFact this past Thursday. Those experts cautioned heavily about the use of public funding for stadiums and sports venues. And

This is not how eminent domain is supposed to work. It is also not how development is supposed to work, even when, like Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino, you’re spending taxpayers’ money. Mayor Restaino told his Buffalo lawyers to tell the NY State Supreme Court that 10 acres of private property on John B. Daly Blvd. owned by Niagara Falls Development LLC., is the only suitable land on which he could build his unfunded event center, “Centennial Park.” That appears to be untrue. Restaino has not yet determined whether the property is even right for the Centennial Park project after

While the City of Niagara Falls has stalled a proposed Data Center with a $1.5 billion investment by Urbacon, one of the world’s largest data center developers, and NFR, the city’s largest landowner, other areas in the country, are seeing the need and taking advantage of the AI boom. Another significant data center developer in Santa Clara, California, Vantage Data Centers, received a significant boost in its operations with a $6.4 billion equity infusion. This substantial investment is a clear indicator of the thriving sector, propelled by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence technologies. DigitalBridge Group, a prominent digital infrastructure

The proposal of the Niagara Digital Campus, a $1.5 billion data center, allows the city to compete with the big cities in the world of big tech and AI advancements. The project has two of the three main ingredients needed to succeed. The developer, Urbacon, is a successful data center developer and operator. Their collaboration with the landowner, Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR), is the second ingredient – the company has the land and financing. The developers recently unveiled the site plan for the first phase of NFR’s land on John B. Daly Boulevard, across from the entranceway of the Seneca

Niagara Falls Redevelopment Reveals $1.5 Billion Data Center Plan Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) recently revealed a site plan for the first phase of its ambitious $1.5 billion data center project, coined the Niagara Digital Campus. Despite this unveiling, Mayor Robert Restaino has opposed the proposal despite a global surge in data center developments due to the AI boom. Legal Battle Over Land Intensifies Standoff With City Administration The plan, outlined by NFR spokesman James Haggerty and prepared by Toronto-based Urbacon, NFR’s partner, showcases the potential of a 10-acre plot near John B. Daly Boulevard for the project’s first phase. This

The Niagara Digital Campus is an innovative, $1.48 billion technology and data center hub that will bring thousands of jobs and cutting-edge technological infrastructure to the City of Niagara Falls. The joint project between Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and Urbacon—a Toronto-based developer of state-of-the-art data centers—is privately funded and will bring tremendous economic benefits to the community. During construction, the Niagara Digital Campus is projected to create more than 5,600 high-paying jobs with more than $250 million in wages, with economic spinoff benefits expected to top more than $810 million. Once operational, the Digital Campus is estimated to create more

By Tony Farina While Mayor Robert Restaino narrowly won re-election with a 3.5 to 1 vote advantage, he still appears committed publicly to building his events center arena on 10 acres of land the city will have to purchase from NFR on John Daly Blvd. if the city wins the eminent domain legal battle still ongoing which is being paid for by taxpayers for sure. Despite the legal fight over seizing the NFR land, we should note that Restaino nonetheless has issued an RFP for a feasibility study to decide where the arena should be built even after winning round

Bold Vision: Leveraging State Land for Event Center, Tech Campus to Spur Growth! With the Mayoral election over, Niagara Falls can now turn its attention to the “two-project solution” as a potential avenue for economic growth and development in the city. This solution aims to provide residents with an arena, parkland, and a state-of-the-art Niagara Digital Campus, without burdening taxpayers with the costs and complexities of an eminent domain battle. The plan is based on several key facts: City and state-owned properties in Niagara Falls, including a parcel on the corner of Third and Niagara Streets, are considered ideal locations

Mayor Robert Restaino wants to build a taxpayer-funded events center. He does not yet have the funding or land. But we understand the principle behind his effort, and we want to support it by proposing some better, more accurate names than his preferred one: Centennial Park. Mayor Robert Restaino’s Majestic Amphitheater at Liberty Commons. Mayor Robert Restaino’s Regal Sports Dome at Millennium Green. The Esteemed Mayor Robert Restaino Celebration Center at Pioneers’ Park. The Splendid Mayor Robert Restaino Athletic Grounds at Independence Field. The Honorable Mayor Robert Restaino’s Illustrious Performance Hall at Destiny Gardens. The Renowned Mayor Robert Restaino Championship

By Dennis Elsenbeck I have lived and worked in Western New York for decades now. Many in the area know me from the nearly 30 years I spent at Niagara Mohawk and National Grid (culminating in the position of regional director for Western New York), or from my role on New York State’s Climate Action Council. I’m currently a consultant to the Niagara Digital Campus, a joint project between Urbacon and Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) to bring a $1.5 billion data center development to downtown Niagara Falls. At NFR’s expense, National Grid recently completed an Engineering Assessment that has concluded

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. Last night’s city council meeting was further proof that Mayor Restaino’s proposed use of CDBG funds for purchasing Parcel 0 is still on the table. Last night, Councilmember Vincent Cauley attempted to rescind the authority the council granted the Mayor last December to use CDBG funds for the purchase of Parcel 0. If the authority is not rescinded, the door remains open for the Mayor to use these funds.  Mayor Restaino has stated that CDBG funds are off the table, as the community has been very clear; they want the funds focused

By Tony Farina Simply stated, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has now become part of the story of the competing Niagara Falls development projects, one supported by the mayor and the second by Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR). In denying a FOIL request by the Niagara Gazette, HUD said after consulting with the city that it could not release three documents containing Centennial Park “financial” information, including “financial assumptions, real estate budget, and source of funds.” The administration of Mayor Robert Restaino had objected to release of the information, saying it could negatively impact the ongoing legal

Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and Toronto-based developer Urbacon have unveiled a $1.5 billion plan for the first phase of the Niagara Digital Campus, a state-of-the-art data center project in Niagara Falls, NY. The development is centered on a 12-acre plot known as “Parcel 0,” which is key to the project’s infrastructure and its first 50 MW phase. The plans detail a mega electric substation that NFR and Urbacon will construct to power the data center and significantly upgrade downtown Niagara Falls’s electric grid. Phase I of the project, which will include approximately 282,000 square feet of the total 600,000 square

By Tony Farina There was good news for the taxpayers at Wednesday’s Niagara Falls City Council meeting as lawmakers beat back a bid by outgoing councilmember Ken Tompkins to cut ties with the outside counsel which would have effectively ended the possibility for continuing negotiations with NFR in the eminent domain case and possibly a settlement. As reported by the Gazette, the council blocked consideration of a resolution by Tompkins that would have terminated the agreement with attorney Jeffrey Palumbo and recover any funds still held by Palumbo’s firm. The vote was 3-2 against consideration with Council Chair David Zajac and

By Tony Farina NFR’s development partner, Toronto-based Urbacon, last week released its site plan for the first phase of its $1.5 billion data center project which would be built on 10 acres of what is now referred to as “Parcel-0” off John Daly Blvd. on land owned by NFR but under siege by the city in an eminent domain legal proceeding. The very detailed site plan was released almost simultaneously with Mayor Robert Restaino’s statements critical of NFR’s development record, to which NFR’s James Haggerty said the site plan, which took months to prepare, had not been formally submitted to

By Tony Farina It looks like the Oct. 25 debate between Mayor Robert Restaino and challenger Carl Cain, a retired deputy police superintendent, has all the makings of a rip-snorting political slugfest between two long-time Niagara Falls figures, one a lawyer and the other a cop. But lost in the give and take over Cain’s personnel file that has suddenly become an issue is the overriding concern about the best road ahead for the Cataract City, with Restaino and Cain total opposites on development opportunities that may spell the future for a struggling city facing financial strain. Adding jobs and

NIAGARA FALLS — A land-use tug-of-war in Niagara Falls puts jobs and innovation in the balance. Mayor Robert Restaino, anticipating a tough election battle against Dr. Carl Cain this November, is championing a plan to develop what he calls Centennial Park. The mayor envisions a $150 million, 7,000-seat stadium, despite not having funds to even acquire the land. Critics argue Restaino’s proposal exemplifies the old Niagara Falls approach: make grand gestures, funded by taxpayer dollars, without a clear path or sustainable benefits for the community. The concept planning behind such a large arena remains questionable, as many performers, concerned about

Voters want to know more about NFR’s plans for the Niagara Digital Campus. This report will hopefully help inform them. In the heart of Niagara Falls, a technological renaissance may unfold The Niagara Digital Campus promises to be more than just a technological marvel, it’s about economic revitalization. Beyond the 5,600 construction jobs it will generate, it’s estimated the Digital Center will create over 500 permanent positions across varying skill levels—these range from computer technicians and engineers to specialized roles in energy, telecommunications and management. As part of the Digital Center, the developers, Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and Urbacon, plan

By Winston Velvet In the heart of Niagara Falls, a debate is brewing, with two visions for the future of a ten-acre plot of land. A taxpayer-funded arena, or a high-tech data center with private investment adding to the tax rolls. Here are the mayor’s taxpayer-funded sketches of his arena.   Mayor Robert Restaino, with his unfunded arena aspirations, is pitching a house of cards beside a brick mansion – the entirely funded and ready-to-start Niagara Digital Center. To this observer, Restaino’s plans are like betting on a mirage when you have an oasis in hand.   It seems the

Niagara Falls, NY — Mayor Robert Restaino’s dream of building a 7000-seat arena – possibly bearing his name – has clashed with plans proposed by Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) for a high tech data center – on the same 10 acres of land. While the November mayoral election looms, with Dr. Carl Cain emerging as a formidable opponent, Restaino Stadium vs NFR’s Niagara Digital Center – may be a critical election issue. Both projects are slated to be built on the same 10 acres – land owned by NFR. Restaino seeks to force NFR to sell the 10 acres to

The following was written by investigative journalist Ken Cosentino. As the mayoral election draws nearer in the city of Niagara Falls, one can’t help but wonder what will happen if Mayor Robert Restaino gets re-elected. Aside from Mayor Restaino dishing out small business grants to locals in exchange for votes and cutting ribbons at press events, Restaino’s focus is on one solitary thought: His legacy event center. Restaino hasn’t so much as addressed the ever-spiking violent crime rate, which is at an all time high. He hasn’t addressed the poverty and homelessness which is also at an all time high.

By Tony Farina Time is rapidly slipping away on a golden opportunity to possibly cash in on two competing development projects in Niagara Falls that could be transformative in so many ways. Let’s give credit to NFR’s Roger Trevino for his comments in the Niagara Gazette last week titled “In defense of NFR Land Deal,” in which Trevino exhorts city leaders to end the money-wasting, war-of-words stalemate that currently exists between the mayor’s and NFR’s competing development projects and find answers. Bold leadership is needed to make both these projects a success and not at the expense of one of

By Christian Printup I am a local boy, a proud son of Niagara Falls. I’ve worked in a handful of different places in the U.S. over the years — including, for the past seven-plus years, at Seneca Gaming Corp. as senior executive director of Entertainment and Special Events. Soon I’ll start a new job in Connecticut. I love Niagara Falls and want to see it grow and prosper. And, particularly as an entertainment executive, I’ve been watching this events center vs. data center debate here in Niagara Falls with great interest … and more than a little concern. Here’s my

During the ongoing debate surrounding the controversial Centennial Park Project and its cost to the community, various organizations and groups have shed light on a concerning trend: Mayor Robert Restaino’s alleged withholding of community development funds and grant money for those who oppose his vision for Centennial Park. Reports suggest Mayor Restaino is even withholding essential citizen needs for any who dissent with his vision of taxpayers paying the bill for his events center. Jim Szwedo, President of the Niagara Street Neighborhood Revitalization Organization, suggests the time may have come to investigate whether community funding should depend on the support

By Tony Farina According to a story in the Niagara Gazette, Mayor Robert Restaino “expected” the notice of appeal filed by Niagara Falls Redevelopment against a decision last month by the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court in favor of the city’s eminent domain bid to acquire up to 12 acres of South End land owned by NFR for the city’s proposed $150-million Centennial Park plan.  That’s the no-money plan. NFR last Wednesday, as Restaino “expected,” filed a notice of appeal to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals,  arguing “it respectfully

Job creation is one of Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino’s highest priorities. Mayor Robert Restaino In his effort to stop NFR and Urbacon’s Niagara Digital Campus, a 600,000 state of the art data center from being developed, Restaino points to the marvelous job creation opportunities his project, Centennial Park, a 7000 seat arena and parking ramp, will create. The NF Reporter did an analysis of jobs likely created by the two competing projects for development on the same land.   Restaino’s $150 million arena – 8 Full Time Jobs, 40 part time Restaino is right. There will be jobs created.

By Tony Farina Multiple published reports indicate the new Bills football stadium under construction in Orchard Park may already be facing cost overruns for as much as $300 million and that’s only after three months. Initially pegged as a $1.4 billion project in March of 2022, the stadium cost is now reportedly approaching $1.7 billion, and again, that’s only the beginning. The Athletic has cited unidentified individuals as projecting the stadium’s price tag potentially reaching $1.9 billion with the Bills initially committed to covering $550 million of the construction costs, and that may jump to $850 million before it is

Niagara Falls, NY: Urbacon is a developer of commercial and industrial properties in Canada and the United States. Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) has the land. The two companies planned to develop 60 acres of land in Niagara Falls as the “Niagara Digital Campus.” It was to be a $1.5 billion technology center comprising 600,000 square feet of building space – a state-of-the-art data center – one of the most significant data center developments anywhere in the western part of the state of New York, and a magnet for more of the same — high-technology space and the jobs and the opportunities

By Tony Farina It is important to note in the ongoing battle between the city of Niagara Falls and Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) over competing development proposals that NFR insists it discussed its data center project a fully eight months before the mayor’s $150 million Centennial Park plan was unveiled, with both projects targeted for the same 10 acre NFR South End parcel that is now the subject of eminent domain court proceedings. That point goes to credibility, and NFR spokesman James Haggerty calls suggestions that its data center proposal was in response to the mayor’s park plan as completely

By Tony Farina Niagara Falls has won the first legal round of the eminent domain battle with Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) as a panel of four judges from the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, found that the city’s purpose in seizing a 12-acre parcel on South End land owned by NFR “is rationally related to a conceivable public purpose.” Well, in reality, it is a hollow victory that only signals the start of a likely protracted and expensive legal fight with NFR which plans to appeal the initial finding that there is a public benefit to the city’s Centennial Park plan,

Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and the City of Niagara Falls clashed in New York State Appellate Court in Rochester today as NFR seeks to end the city’s attempt to take their private property through eminent domain. Mayor Robert Restaino’s fanciful vision for NFR’s land, dubbed “Centennial Park,” drew skepticism from the four-judge panel of the Appellate Division court, with judges wondering aloud whether the city’s hastily conceived land grab constitutes prudent fiscal policy. As today’s courtroom spectacle unfolded, NFR attorney John Horn argued that the city’s “Determination and Findings” failed to fulfill the essential requirement of serving a genuine “public