News - Niagara Falls Redevelopment

March 18, 2023

Niagara Gazette: IBEW’s Ed Hill Jr. Describes Opposition to Mayor’s Plan

“In a room filled with those who oppose the city’s expensive quest to take land from Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) through eminent domain, there were only two speakers who solely supported the mayor’s initiative. “Speaker after speaker raised issues regarding the vast amount of money being spent to wage an eminent domain fight that could […]

March 18, 2023

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Rips Niagara Falls

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Tried to Build a Data Center In Niagara Falls “I had a project in upstate New York behind the grid in Niagara Falls for electricity – a global data center we were building. Eventually it got so bad with the politicians in the local region and the state policy, we moved […]

March 17, 2023

Niagara Gazette: IBEW’s Ed Hill Jr. Describes Opposition to Mayor’s Plan

March 11, 2023

A Conversation with Urbacon’s Peter Russell

A Conversation with Peter Russell Urbacon Data Centers Toronto, Ontario Editor’s Note: There has been considerable misinformation spread over the past several months about the proposed Niagara Digital Campus, a state-of-the-art, innovative, $1.48 billion facility planned for downtown Niagara Falls. Urbacon, one of the premier developers of commercial and industrial properties in Canada and […]

March 6, 2023

New Legal Brief Alleges Mayor’s Project Violates 2009 Comprehensive Plan

NFR Files Brief in Eminent Domain Case Alleging City of Niagara Falls’ Attempt to Take John Daly Boulevard Parcel Directly Violates City’s Own 2009 Comprehensive Plan Brief also alleges City manufactured new “blight” allegation despite the fact that the well-manicured, wooded parcel is properly maintained and has never been so much as a day […]

March 1, 2023

New Article Alleges Eminent Domain Will Benefit Seneca, Not City

Mayor’s Plans for Forced Sale of NFR’s Parcel O Tilt Clearly Toward Seneca Favoritism This article first appeared in Niagara Falls Reporter on March 1, 2023: The plan is undoubtedly unique. Mayor Robert Restaino plans to use New York State courts to take 10 acres of land in the south end of Niagara Falls from a […]

February 28, 2023

Latest Media Coverage: Event Center Facing Opposition

Niagara Falls Mayor’s Plans to Kill $1.5 Billion Data Center for ‘Poor Location’ Event Center Facing Opposition This article first appeared in Niagara Falls Reporter on February 28, 2023: Niagara Falls Mayor Robert M. Restaino is seeking to purchase a 10-acre plot of land from Niagara Falls Redevelopment LLC (NFR) to develop Centennial Park, a $150 […]

February 28, 2023

Local Media Highlights the Truth on Two Projects

With continued public discussion of development plans for downtown Niagara Falls, a series of articles recently appeared in the the Niagara Gazette and the Niagara Falls Reporter, detailing issues surrounding the proposed taking of private property by the City of Niagara Falls for an ill-advised and unfunded park and events center that will supposedly cost the city more than $150 million (indeed, some published reports indicate the […]

February 20, 2023

NF Reporter: Mayor Offered Polluted Land for Data Center

From Niagara Falls Reporter, February 20, 2023: The controversy is far from over. It is between a mayor of a dwindling city of 43,000, down from 100,000 in 1960, a city with a famous name – once the Power City, the Honeymoon Capital of the World, now dead broke. And a development company backed by […]

February 15, 2023

Mayor Admits He Selected Parcel 0 to Help Seneca Business Interests; Public Hearing March 13

FEBRUARY 15, 2023 BY NIAGARA REPORTER- Mayor to Hold 3rd Public Hearing in March on Parcel ‘0’ as ‘Plans Shift’ Niagara Falls, NY: On February 9, Mayor Robert Restaino convened a special meeting of the Niagara Falls City Council to advance his plans to develop Centennial Park. All five council members were present. The mayor’s […]

February 13, 2023

New York State Report from 2021 Highlights the Right Location for an Events Center in Niagara Falls

As issues heat up related to the City of Niagara Falls proposed taking of private property for an ill-advised and unfunded $150 million park and events center, it makes sense for all residents of Niagara Falls to reconsider the 2021 Development Strategy Summary prepared by New York State and the USA Niagara Development Corporation, found here, […]

February 3, 2023

Szwedo: We Can Have All Three, Instead of Just One

Jim Szwedo is a Niagara Falls businessman and activist, who heads the Niagara Street Neighborhood Revitalization Organization. This article originally appeared in the Niagara Falls Reporter on February 3, 2023 Please do not mortgage our future for Centennial Park When it comes to the dueling project proposals by the City and Niagara Falls Redevelopment, […]

February 2, 2023

Niagara Falls Reporter Asks: Is Someone at City Hall Lying?

The article below appeared on February 2, 2023, in the Niagara Falls Reporter: What Came First: the Data Center or Events Center on Parcel 0? Is Someone at City Hall Lying? The Parcel 0 series covers the battle between Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino and Niagara Falls Redevelopment LLC. Manhattan billionaire and philanthropist Howard Milstein owns […]