Cuomo Attempts Appeasement, Ignores “Blunderfalls”
Robert J. Edwards
Guest View
Governor Cuomo has seems to have taken an interest in making a show in Niagara Falls. His most recent visit was the “fantastic” news that Albany was going to do something for the city, or so they would like you to believe. The governor’s visit was a rehash of two previous statements: a comment that the Robert Moses Parkway will be renamed to the much less inflammatory “Niagara Scenic Parkway”, and that a chunk of money had been set aside for Niagara Falls State Park.
Of course, none of this has much direct impact on the city of Niagara Falls, contrary to what Albany wants you to think. The idea that the state park would be able to trickle-down the economy to Niagara Falls is a weak theory at best. The more there is to do in the park, the less time people will spend out of it.
On top of this, Cuomo stayed silent on the Seneca “Power Station”. Now that Albany doesn’t have any chips in the game, it seems they are content to let this play out on its own.
What about the Rainbow Centre, or as Cuomo calls it, “Wonderfalls”? The state guts two thirds of the mall down to the concrete, takes down all signage with the exception of a now pointless “mall closed” sign, and squats for a few years. Contract disputes are laughable considering how much favoritism Buffalo has seen in recent times. At this point, “Blunderfalls” would be a much more suitable name not just for the mall, but for our at best tepid relationship with Albany.
