NYS Says No To Niagara Falls

http://niagara-gazette.com/local/x1503758131/State-to-forward-2-5M-to-Salamanca-until-Seneca-dispute-ends-no-similar-deal-for-Falls

An article in today's Niagara Gazette (see above) gives a pretty clear indication of what New York State thinks of Niagara Falls.  While the State once again found it within its heart of hearts to front $2.5 million to Salamanca, Niagara Falls is left to sit and wait while volunteer agencies get cut and more reductions of services are on the horizon.  As Governor Cuomo continues to let Niagara Falls hang by a thread, our elected officials standby hoping for a miracle.

On the one hand you have Mayor Dyster who is telling everyone who cares to listen that the Governor is doing all he can to help the city.  He keeps on pointing to the ridiculous offer to accept an advance on the money due the city from the NYPA.  This offer is typical NY State.  You see by taking the advance the city actually loses money in the long run because as a penalty for receiving this advance what is actually due the city would be reduced.  How the Mayor can continue to advance this is simply the act of a politician looking to save his own skin because he certainly does not want to propose service and staffing reductions.

Then of course we have our esteemed State Assemblyman John Ceretto.  If you recall Ceretto, along with Councilmen Choolokian and Fruscione, went to Albany last April to discuss with the Governor the prospects for an advance from the State.  Of course, despite Ceretto's claim that he speaks with the Governor regularly, when the Terrific Trio went to Albany they ended up meeting with an aide to the Governor.  There was plenty of huffing and puffing from the Terrific Trio about how they really got the point across and how they were confident that the Governor would come through.  Well, that didn't happen and then in June Johnny Boy wrote a letter to the Governor about an advance.

In today's article, Ceretto touts that he sponsored a bill to have payments be made directly to the city and not have to come through the State.  However, what Johnny Boy forgets to tell everyone is that his bill never made it out of committee.  Now, once again, he says that if the arbitration isn't settled soon that he will re-introduce legislation to have the city get direct payments from the Senecas.  With the Democrats having an even larger majority in the Assembly, what makes you think that a new bill from Ceretto will ever see the light of day.

Finally, we have Council Chairman Glenn Choolokian saying that the State doesn't seem to care about the city's financial problems.  My question to Glenn is: why aren't you asking your friend John Ceretto what he is doing about it??  It was you, Fruscione and Ceretto who were on local cable television talking about your efforts to bring these payments to the city.  Of the three of you, Ceretto is the state official.  He claims every time he sees the Governor he brings up the city's financial woes.  Really???  If we are to believe that, then its obvious that Cuomo doesn't give a damn about what Ceretto has to say or about Niagara Falls.  It would seem like these 2 political wizards, Choolokian and Fruscione, were taken in by old Johnny Boy.

In the end, all of these local officials posture like they are fighting the good fight for Niagara Falls but in reality they don't have the ability to do anything to break this stalemate.  In truth, if this bunch were for sale, I'd like to sell them for what they think their worth and buy them for their real value