Local News

NFR Unveils $1.5 Billion Niagara Digital Campus Plans – Parcel 0 Deemed Essential for Project’s First Phase

NFR Unveils $1.5 Billion Niagara Digital Campus Plans – Parcel 0 Deemed Essential for Project’s First Phase

Data Campus, Featured, Local News, Parcel 0 October 21, 2023 at 8:00 pm

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’sRead More

Council Beats Back Tompkins Bid to Cut Ties With Law Firm Keeping Door Open for Possible Settlement Talks With NFR

Council Beats Back Tompkins Bid to Cut Ties With Law Firm Keeping Door Open for Possible Settlement Talks With NFR

Data Campus, Local News October 21, 2023 at 5:17 pm

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 eminentRead More

Opportunity for Niagara Falls Development at Hand With Millions in Jobs and Tax Money at Stake

Opportunity for Niagara Falls Development at Hand With Millions in Jobs and Tax Money at Stake

Data Campus, Local News October 19, 2023 at 9:03 pm

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 butRead More

Shadows of Scrutiny: A Closer Look at the Rape Accusation Against Veteran Political Strategist Steve Pigeon

Shadows of Scrutiny: A Closer Look at the Rape Accusation Against Veteran Political Strategist Steve Pigeon

A Miscarriage of Justice, Featured, Local News October 18, 2023 at 11:20 pm

From Politics to Personal Bonds I’ve known Steve Pigeon for over 25 years, and our association isn’t just professional. We’re friends. I knew him when he was Erie County Democratic Party Chairman and through years of his high-profile work on seven presidential campaigns, his work with billionaires and statesmen inRead More

City Roads Rated ‘Bad’ by Carl Cain: Residents Echo the Sentiment

City Roads Rated ‘Bad’ by Carl Cain: Residents Echo the Sentiment

Local News, Niagara Falls October 18, 2023 at 12:59 pm

Niagara Falls NY  – Carl Cain is running against Mayor Robert Restaino for mayor. Election is November 7.  This is the second in a series of of interviews with Cain. Reporter  How would you rate the condition of the roads in the city? Carl Cain  Bad. And it’s unfortunate becauseRead More

Personal Touch to Policing: Cain’s ‘Treat Every Case Like Your Mother is the Victim’ Stance on Law Enforcement

Personal Touch to Policing: Cain’s ‘Treat Every Case Like Your Mother is the Victim’ Stance on Law Enforcement

Elections 2023, Featured, Local News October 13, 2023 at 8:57 pm

Welcome to the first installment of our series of interviews with mayoral candidate Carl Cain, a retired police officer who served the Niagara Falls Police Department with distinction for 30 years, retiring as Deputy Chief. With Election Day slated for November 7, 2023, the 59-year-old Republican candidate is engaged inRead More

Things Keep Getting Worse With Restaino in Office

Things Keep Getting Worse With Restaino in Office

Featured, Ken Cosentino, Local News, News, Niagara Falls October 13, 2023 at 4:57 pm

Right about now, the walls are closing in on Bobby. Even if he wins, he loses. Emails and messages have flooded in to the Reporter with tips and stories about Mayor Robert Restaino’s private life. Some are so tawdry and cringeworthy that they won’t even be mentioned here. Election season willRead More

Does ‘Resty’ Exhibit the Hallmarks of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Does ‘Resty’ Exhibit the Hallmarks of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Local News, Niagara Falls October 12, 2023 at 12:45 am

Disclaimer: The following narrative is as genuine as the mayor’s Centennial Park proposal, albeit without the hefty price tag. Reader discretion is advised. By Winston Velvet Without disclosing the identity, we sought insight from a distinguished psychiatrist to provide us with a diagnostic perspective based on three distinct external eventsRead More

Restaino Should Get Out of Development Business Given City’s Poor Track Record

Restaino Should Get Out of Development Business Given City’s Poor Track Record

Featured, Local News, Niagara Falls October 11, 2023 at 11:30 pm

By Tony Farina Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino says he wants to build a  speculative $150-million events center on land the city doesn’t own and he has undertaken an eminent domain process to try and corral the 10-acre South End property from NFR at a mounting legal price and hopefullyRead More

Urbacon's plans to develop in Niagara Falls are real.

Mayor Restaino’s Perception of Reality Questioned Amidst Development Controversies

Elections 2023, Gerald Skrlin, Local News, Niagara Falls October 11, 2023 at 11:12 pm

Is Mayor Robert Restaino losing his grip on reality? In his latest campaign ad—trumpeted with great fanfare for days on Facebook—Mayor Robert Restaino suggests NFR and Urbacon’s Niagara Digital Campus development proposal is not real. Not real? • Is Mayor Restaino suggesting the company Urbacon, a Toronto-based developer and operatorRead More

Carl Cain is set to become the next mayor of Niagara Falls

Stage Set for Mayoral Debate Slugfest

Elections 2023, Featured, Local News, Parcel 0 October 9, 2023 at 8:32 pm

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 theRead More

Niagara Falls Mayor’s Arena Plan Stalls Potential Tech Boom

Niagara Falls Mayor’s Arena Plan Stalls Potential Tech Boom

Data Campus, Featured, Local News October 8, 2023 at 12:10 pm

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, despiteRead More

Mayor Restaino’s Broken Campaign Promises & Failed Report Card

Mayor Restaino’s Broken Campaign Promises & Failed Report Card

Elections 2023, Featured, Ken Cosentino, Local News, News October 7, 2023 at 8:14 pm

The following is a screenshot taken directly from the main webpage of Mayor Restaino’s 2019 campaign platform. These are his top three campaign promises: For clarity, it reads: Development. We must focus on business development that can deliver employment with wages to empower families and help stabilize neighborhoods. Transparency. TheRead More

Is Mayor Restaino Echoing the Financially Damaging Tactics of E. Dent Lackey?

Is Mayor Restaino Echoing the Financially Damaging Tactics of E. Dent Lackey?

Featured, Local News, Niagara Falls October 6, 2023 at 12:31 pm

By Ken Hamilton For those unfamiliar with Niagara Falls’ history, a trip down memory lane reveals mayoral decisions that devastated the city economically. Notably, Mayor E. Dent Lackey of the 1970s implemented policies that led to the confiscation of private properties from entrepreneurs and families who helped build the community.Read More

NFR Plans Education Center on Niagara Digital Campus

NFR Plans Education Center on Niagara Digital Campus

Data Campus, Local News October 6, 2023 at 12:26 pm

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 theRead More

Why would the city want a rubber ducky when they could have a sturdy sailing ship ready to employ hundreds of people all 12 months a year - rather than the parttime, sporadic work that comes with an arena?

Restaino’s Dilemma: The Lustre of Legacy vs The Power of Progress!

Data Campus, Local News October 6, 2023 at 10:23 am

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.Read More

Cauley Full Speed Ahead in Council Campaign, Believes City Moving in the Wrong Direction

Cauley Full Speed Ahead in Council Campaign, Believes City Moving in the Wrong Direction

Elections 2023, Featured, Local News October 5, 2023 at 2:12 pm

By Tony Farina     Vincent Cauley is a member of the Republican majority of the Niagara Falls City Council, named last December to fill out the term of retiring council member John Spanbauer. Cauley and fellow Republican Michael Gawel are candidates for the two open seats on the council,Read More

Child Rape Allegations Against NY’s Steve Pigeon Raise Questions on Validity

Child Rape Allegations Against NY’s Steve Pigeon Raise Questions on Validity

A Miscarriage of Justice, Local News, News October 4, 2023 at 10:41 pm

Buffalo, NY — A former lawyer and Erie County Democratic Chairman, Steve Pigeon, is facing trial for allegedly raping a nine-year-old relative in 2016. Pigeon, known for his role as an adviser to influential politicians, including former Governor Andrew Cuomo and President Bill Clinton, will face a jury on sixRead More

A digital center is planned for Niagara Falls and has only one opponent -- Mayor Restaino.

Will Restaino’s Stadium Dream Stop NFR’s High Tech Future: A Niagara Falls Election Issue

Data Campus, Local News October 3, 2023 at 11:49 pm

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, withRead More

Weighing the Economic Impact of an Event Center vs. Digital Campus

Weighing the Economic Impact of an Event Center vs. Digital Campus

Data Campus, Ken Cosentino, Local News, News October 3, 2023 at 9:46 pm

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 isRead More

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