Published: July 03, 2009 10:56 pm      

CITY HALL NOTEBOOK: City rallies behind Flynn

Call it T.O. overload, but heading into it, I wasn’t terribly thrilled about the idea of Niagara Falls High School graduate and NBA draft pick Jonny Flynn receiving a key to the city during Monday’s council meeting.

I really had no interest in watching a bunch of politicians fall all over themselves to pat a future millionaire basketball player on the back.

But then Flynn supporters started filling the seats at City Hall.

The crowd got larger and larger.

Pretty soon, there weren’t any seats left.

By the time Flynn himself arrived, the place was abuzz.

Once he got his chance to stand behind the podium and say a few words, it became pretty clear to me: This guy actually seems worth it.

“People always wonder can anything good come out of Niagara Falls, New York,” said Legislator Renae Kimble, D-Niagara Falls. “I’m here to tell you something good has come out of Niagara Falls, New York — Jonny Flynn.”

Flynn started his speech by thanking God for giving him the strength to make it through. He thanked his family for all their support and all the coaches who kept after him on the days when he felt like being lazy. He thanked Paul Harris, a fellow Falls High graduate and another ex-Syracuse University basketball star whom Flynn said helped him develop his court skills and treated him as if he were his real brother.

Lastly, Flynn thanked the city itself, and all those residents out there who supported him all these years.

“You see a lot of guys out there who don’t have much support,” Flynn told his raucous crowd of supporters. “I have a whole city behind me.”

And so he does.

Had it been election day, Flynn no doubt would have immediately been anointed mayor.

He only said a few words, but the crowd reacted to each sentence as if he had just hit a buzzer beater to win the championship.

This may sound strange to some, but City Hall needed Jonny Flynn Day as much as Jonny Flynn deserved it.

If only for a few minutes there, the future Minnesota Timberwolves point guard gave hundreds of residents in Niagara Falls a reason to take pride in their city again, the rarest of opportunities in a place where so many things have gone so horribly wrong for so long.

It was fun.

I’m glad I got a chance to experience it.

Ceremonial musings

The packed house was an odd sight for council members as well.

Before commencing with the festivities, Chairman Chris Robins asked how many in the crowd were there to hear about the city’s new leaf blower?

“It is sure great to see so many people involved in their local politics,” he cracked.

Robins opened the Flynn ceremony by asking the council to approve a resolution honoring the basketball star for his accomplishments, a no-brainer given the number of Flynn fans in attendance.

“I’m going to dare someone to vote no,” Robins quipped. “We’ll see how tough these guys are.”

Proclamations were the flavor of the day as members of the council, the county Legislature and the state Assembly all gathered to present Flynn with formal written words of support from their respective branches of government. No official read the lengthy documents in full. Before Mayor Paul Dyster got his chance to step to the podium, Robins got another laugh by encouraging the city’s loquacious mayor to keep it short:

“Mayor, you’ll notice nobody else has read the whole thing,” Robins said. “You’re not going to read the whole thing, are you?”

Dyster heeded the chairman’s advice, reading just one section of his proclamation. He also offered the following thoughts on Flynn’s accomplishments:

“Everybody’s asking the question: What can the NBA do for Jonny Flynn?” Dyster said. “The question I’m asking is: What can Jonny Flynn do for the NBA? As a role model, his achievements have become a beacon to the young of our community, not because these achievements have led to fame, but because such achievements demonstrate the good that comes in an individual’s life when they remain true to themselves and respectful of the skills the Lord has blessed them with.”

Nice touch

Lastly, City Hall regular and City Council irritant Ken Hamilton actually did something that may just endear him to the same city lawmakers who roll their eyes whenever he approaches the podium during the council’s public speaking session.

Hamilton got a hard copy, suitable for framing, of the Niagara Gazette’s draft-day coverage edition featuring Jonny Flynn. During Monday’s ceremony, Hamilton had the budding basketball star autograph it.

Much to the surprise of this reporter who predicted Hamilton had his eyes on an E-Bay score, the Gazette contributor presented the autographed version to lawmakers, suggesting they have it framed so it can be hanged in the council’s office.

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250.