CITY COUNCIL: HOPE not lost

By Rick Forgione<br><a href="mailto:forgioner@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Rick</a>
Niagara Gazette

November 25, 2008 12:06 am

— A group of about 40 Niagara Falls residents came to Monday’s City Council meeting to pledge continual support for an $80 million housing development project in the North End.
It was enough to keep HOPE alive.
A recommendation from Mayor Paul Dyster to fund a $3 million cleanup of incinerator ash at the site of the planned HOPE VI project was passed 4-1 by City Council members. The vote earned an ear-splitting applause from those in the crowd, several of whom were waving handmade signs with phrases like “Have a heart, don’t take out HOPE.”
“There are people out there who need this quality housing, the city needs this project,” said former Buffalo Common Council member James Pitts, who was among several HOPE supporters to speak in favor of the project Monday night.
Construction on the Niagara Falls Housing Authority’s HOPE VI project has been delayed since the discovery of the incinerator ash under the site of the old Center Court Park playground. Project developer Norstar Development originally planned to relocate the questionable material to a berm it planned to build on a parcel of nearby city owned property. After questions were raised about the berm proposal by the county health department and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the developers presented the alternative currently being considered — removal of the ash from the location for deposit in a landfill.
The Housing Authority requested the city fund the cleanup at a cost of $3 million. Dyster proposed using $1 million of 2007 casino revenue and another $1 million of 2008 casino revenue which is expected to arrive in 2009. In addition, Dyster asked the council to allow another $1 million already set aside for the second phase of the project to be used earlier than expected to address the immediate cleanup concern.
Dyster pulled his resolution from the Nov. 12 council meeting after being notified by the Niagara County Department of Health that further environmental testing is needed before the project can restart. While the new testing hasn’t yet happened, Dyster resubmitted the resolution Monday under the contingent that none of the city’s money can be used until the tests are completed and there’s no health hazard.
“This allows the city to move forward, but it avoids the council to be called upon to make a judgment on health and safety regarding the site,” Dyster said.
Highland Avenue resident Ken Hamilton was the only member of the public to speak out against the proposal. He asked the council to table allocating any money until detailed testing is done at the site, which he classified as a former dumping ground. He also questioned the motives of Housing Authority and Norstar Development officials in attempting to rush the project forward before definitive testing results.
“Everything about this project is wrong,” Hamilton said. “This is one of the biggest frauds I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Councilman Steve Fournier cast the lone vote against Dyster’s recommendation. He has previously said the developers, not the city, should be on the hook for any cleanup costs.
However, Councilman Charles Walker, a long supporter of the HOPE VI project, said it’s the city’s obligation to make sure the land is safe for everyone living in the area.
“If there is contamination at that site, then we should be cleaning it up, regardless of whether we are building there or not,” Walker said.