3 months ago
The physical difference between Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario is about two miles.
But the difference between the two cities when it comes to having a thriving economy based on tourism is enormous.
We're going to start our updated story where we ended our special last year- at the landmark Como restaurant.
That's where Jim Villani, a lifelong resident of the Falls, was having lunch recently.
Ask him the difference between Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario and he doesn't hesitate.
"You drive across the bridge and it's like Disney World over there, and then you come here and it's like somebody turn the lights on, you know please turn the lights on," he said.
Last year, we reported that over the past 30 years a series of mistakes, missteps, and missed opportunities had crippled the city and left its downtown desolate.
Adding to the problem was a succession of one term mayors, the most recent being Vince Anello who was indicted earlier this year on corruption charges.
We also pointed out another major problem facing the Falls was out of town developers who had been sitting on prime pieces of land for years.
"In Niagara Falls, the names Cordish and Millstein have become four letter words," we said last year.
The Cordish Company, a huge developer out of Baltimore has operated the Rainbow Centre Mall, which takes up two city blocks right near the state park.
The mall has sat vacant for nearly ten years, something we highlighted in last year's special.
Relations between the city and Cordish had gotten so bad that the two sides were suing each other.
Just last week, the city announced that Niagara County Community College's Culinary School will move into the mall within the next year, taking up about a third of its space.
The $20 million make over of the mall will bring hundreds of college students downtown everyday, and bring new life to the mall.
Scott Brown: "What do you think broke the logjam between the city and Cordish?"
Mayor Paul Dyster: "Well I think there were a variety of factors, I think Channel 2's news special certainly got a lot of attention in Baltimore and New York City."
By New York, Dyster means the headquarters of the state's economic development agency.
David Cordish, the president of the company, says another factor in the new relationship with the city was Dyster taking office in January of 2008.
David Cordish: "The city is working very closely with us, very nicely with us."
Cordish says he now has plans to develop the rest of the mall with what he's calling a major tourist attraction.
"What we're going to try to do is have an attraction that is completely unique that will play off the food and the culinary.
There are three months of the year when you have everybody coming to see the Falls, but three months does not make a year," says Cordish.
The other major developer that the city was having problems with was New York City real estate magnate Howard Milstein.
His Niagara Falls Redevelopment company has owned acres and acres of prime land downtown for ten years and has done nothing with them.
A few weeks ago as we were working on this story, we asked Senator Chuck Schumer, who knows Milstein personally, if he would get involved.
Scott Brown: "Can you talk to Milstein?"
Senator Schumer: "Well I'd be happy to talk to Milstein, I haven't been asked by the mayor or legislature recently to talk to him. But I'm always ready to talk to him and push him a little bit to do something."
And the senator proved to be a man of his word, last week he told us that he and Milstein have spoken, and that in the near future, he and the mayor will be meeting with Milstein.
Schumer: "It was Channel 2 who asked. He (Milstein) said he had been really disappointed in previous administrations. But I said there's a new mayor in town he's known as a straight shooter, Paul Dyster, why can't we sit down and see if we can come up with something, and to my surprise he said OK, I'm game."
Brown: "How important do you think it is that he's willing to talk at least?"
Schumer: "Well, he wasn't willing to talk to anybody for years and that really hurt downtown."
And there are other developers, even from the other side of the border, that believe that after years of depression, the Falls' stock is finally going up.
Faisal Merani's family recently bought two hotels on our side of the border, and it has 15 million reasons to to believe in the Falls.
That's how much it's investing to gut and turnaround the old Fallside Hotel.
Scott Brown: "Why is your family so confident that you're investing millions and millions of dollars here?"
Faisal Merani:" We definitely think Niagara Falls, New York is on an upswing. there's been more tourists, there's been more tourism dollars coming in, so we wanted to get in on the ground floor and this is it."
And there are other reasons for optimism over this past year: the new airport opened, with flights that will start within the next month.
A snow park has opened, and the Wintergarden, an empty eye-sore has been torn down, opening a clear path to the state park.
But along with the recent progress, there have been continuing problems as well.
There are many days where downtown is still desolate, and plans by the owners of the historic Hotel Niagara to renovate and reopen it have been put on hold because of the economy.
And when you ask just about anyone what's the missing key to Falls' future, they'll tell you the exact same thing.
"There are millions of people that come to our town, we just can't get them to stay long enough, that's our problem," says the owner of the Como Restaurant.
"Over and over we hear the same thing: there's not enough to do in the Falls," says Mayor Dyster.
"We just have to keep pushing, pushing, pushing," says Senator Schumer.
"You need places to stay, places to eat, and things to do," says Faisal Merani.
"You just need somebody to put money in here, real money," says lawyer and civic leader Ned Perlman.
Everyone knows what the solution is, the problem remains how do you get there, and who is going to pay for it?
Remember our friend Jim Villani from the Como Restaurant, he sums up a lot of people's feelings in the Falls.
"The time is now, everything's gotta happen now, it's been long enough that nothing's been happening."
