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Welcoming Remarks by Mayor Paul Dyster at the Boundary Waters Treaty Signing
Saturday, 13 June 2009 00:00
Welcoming Remarks by Mayor Paul Dyster
Boundary Waters Treaty Signing, Rainbow Bridge, Niagara Falls
June 13, 2009

Honored guests, Canadian and American friends, and visitors from other lands, welcome. There could be no more fitting place to celebrate the centennial of the Boundary Waters Treaty than here in Niagara Falls, a truly bi-national city united, rather than divided, by the river that runs through it.

The spirit of friendship and cooperation that has marked the organization and staging of this celebration is a direct outgrowth of the tradition of consensus-based decision-making that has characterized the International Joint Commission since its inception. The IJC is a model of international cooperation that could well be emulated by nations around the world as they search for peaceful methods to resolve issues related to cooperative management of scarce and often threatened resources.

In communities here on the border, we have a long history of jointly commemorating our shared triumphs and tribulations as military allies in the 20th century. Now, we stand at the beginning of a new century full of new challenges. We, citizens of the cross-border region are confident that the same bonds of trust and goodwill that have served us well in times of war will form the foundation for the next hundred years of successful collaboration as we address emerging issues of the economy and the environment.

We who live our lives every day in sight of the border and of this great Niagara River must be especially careful never to take for granted the things that are most precious to us: the abundance of fresh water with which we have been blessed; the clean, renewable energy that it allows us to produce; and the love and friendship of our neighbors across the river.

Mayor Salci has already extended thanks on behalf of the committee to many people responsible for organizing this great event. By I want to extend a special thanks to my Canadian friend and counterpart Mayor Ted Salci, who everyday embodies all that is good about the great nation of Canada–and that is quite a lot.

The last hundred years of binational cooperation along the border have been a model for peaceful resolution of international issues. There is much for which we should be thankful. The future no doubt holds both challenges and opportunities as we face issues of climate change, water scarcity and energy shortage on a global level. But here in Niagara Falls, we are confident that when our descendants look back on the next hundred years of the Boundary Waters Treaty and International Joint Commission, they will declare, “that was their finest hour.”
 
Paul Dyster's dedication of the New Niagara Falls Public Safety Building
Wednesday, 17 June 2009 00:00
Dedication Remarks by Mayor Paul Dyster
Niagara Falls Public Safety Building, June 17, 2009


In our society, we have a tradition of using grand architecture for our public buildings–our schools, courts, government offices, and so forth. It is a tradition we have inherited from our Roman forebearers, from whom we also have inherited the precious concept of the rule of law.

When we think of the accomplishments of the Romans, we often think of their great public works like the aqueducts and the Coliseum, of their cultural and scientific achievements, or of their military conquests. But perhaps their greatest accomplishment as a civilization was that they found a chaotic world, ruled by brute force and barbarism, and transformed it into an orderly one, ruled by law.

To remind their citizens of the importance of the rule of law, the Romans invested in public buildings, and paid a great deal of attention to their design and construction. They viewed them as symbols of the permanence of their civilization and institutions, the power of their state, and the pride they had in these things as citizens.

That is a tradition I think it is particularly important to honor at this time and place in our history, when so many people, with so much apparent justification in the daily headlines, are growing increasingly pessimistic about the future of our political institutions. Pessimism about the future is a distinctly un-American attitude, for if any principle has guided us throughout our political life, it is the principle that we Americans are the good guys, and of course the good guys are always going to win in the end. So we Americans have been generally optimistic about the future even when history has presented us with great challenges. In fact, it is at precisely these moments of crisis and doubt, when all seemed lost, that the optimism of our ancestors came to the fore to save the day.

Today, by gathering here to dedicate this great public building, we as a community are sending a message to those who may have lost faith in the future of America and its institutions.

So...

If you are a violent criminal that thinks you are going to take control of our streets and drive our citizens cowering into their living rooms–guess again. We’re not going to let that happen.

If you are a drug dealer who is making a profit selling out the future of our young people, watch out. Even if you work for the City of Niagara Falls. Even if you’re a cop. If you think you’re above the law, guess again. We’re going to arrest you.

If you are a gang member who thinks that you can make your own rules to live by and ignore the ones that we as a society have set for ourselves, guess again. We’re going to round you up, and take you off the street.

If you are a bigot and you think you can use the workplace as a vehicle for discrimination, harassment or retaliation based on the race, creed, or color of your co-workers, guess again. We’re not going to tolerate that.

If you are a crooked businessman who cheats our elderly citizens out of their retirement money, or a crooked accountant who cooks the books for personal gain, or a crooked bureaucrat who looks the other way in return for “certain considerations,” or a crooked politician who sells the public trust to the highest bidder, and you think that because you wear a suit and tie that you are above the law, guess again. You’re going to get caught. The good guys are going to win in the end.

In a sense, we built this building to show that the rule of law is here to stay, that law and order will always triumph in the end, and that in spite of knowing that we have some bad people living among us, the vast majority of us have pride in our government and all that it stands for.

So...

If you’re one of the thousands of honest citizens of the City of Niagara Falls who get up every morning and go to work, doing an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay...

And you pay your fair share of taxes (with only the usual amount of grumbling), and respect your neighbor regardless of race, creed or color, and teach your children to do the same...

And you give of your time and energy to help make the community you live in a better place, whether by working with a block club, or coaching in the Little League, or helping out at your church or your neighborhood school...

And you respect and obey the law, because you understand the blood that has been shed on battlefields around the world to ensure that we Americans will always have the precious right to craft the laws under which we all live...

then we’re sending a message to you, too. This magnificent building is the house that YOU built. If it is a palace, then by the grace of God let it be the people’s palace. Let it stand for a hundred years as a living symbol that government of the people, by the people and for the people has not and will not perish from the earth.

Rather, because of you the citizen, because of your abiding faith in our laws and institutions, your sacrifices, your commitment, and your eternal vigilance, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, our democratic values, our cherished American way of life, our laws, will endure long after even this magnificent structure has been reduced to rubble by the passage of time.

There were many people who believed that this building could not be built, or at least that its’ construction would inevitably devolve into a fiasco of delays, work stoppages and cost overruns, and in the end prove that nothing much has changed in the City of Niagara Falls. Well, guess again. The good guys won in the end. We got the job done on time and under budget.

On behalf of all the citizens of the City of Niagara Falls, I offer thanks to the many workers whose hands touched this great work, from the ironworkers and carpenters and electricians to the citizen volunteers to the engineers, architects and developers and... yes, even the lawyers. For each of you in your own way has left your imprint upon this project.

I ask our eternal father to watch over the judges and police officers who work here. I ask him to bless them with a hard heart in dealing with the evil-doers among us, but with a sense of justice and compassion in dealing with those who may have temporarily lost their way. I ask him to soften the hearts and reawaken the human spirit of those that find themselves incarcerated here, that they might find their way back to the straight and narrow path from which they have strayed.

I ask our lord to remind us each time we pass this magnificent building that we are a nation ruled by laws, not by men. I ask his blessing upon all our elected officials, but especially our Governor David Paterson and our President Barrack Obama. Lord, bless these good men with courage and wisdom as they stand for the rule of law in a world fraught with chaos and corruption, and keep them healthy and safe.

Finally, I ask God’s blessing upon all the citizens of the City of Niagara Falls, that in their shared accomplishment of erecting this fine building, they will find a cause for new confidence in themselves and new optimism about their future. No doubt many great trials and tribulations lie ahead of us, but having successfully overcome this once apparently insurmountable challenge should give us all renewed faith that, yes, in the end, the good will prevail.
 
NY Power Authority Reform
Sunday, 26 April 2009 19:20
We may finally be seeing some movement towards reforming business practices at the New York Power Authority.  Paul Dyster has been championing the efforts since the start of his term as Mayor.  You can see a June 2008 interview by the Buffalo New's Jim Heaney where Paul discusses the importance of reform in the allocation of power and how Niagara Falls would benefit by the reform.  Then check out the latest "Progress on the Power Front" that was discussed at a press conference that Paul attended.
 
Niagara Falls State of the City Address
Wednesday, 04 February 2009 20:35

State of the City Address by Mayor Paul A. Dyster January 29th, 2009

Good evening, friends and fellow citizens.

We gather at a time of national peril and promise. Peril, because at every turn we hear talk of bankruptcies and layoffs, foreclosures and bailouts, and hard times into an indefinite and uncertain future. But also, promise, because we have a new president who inspires hope and confidence –confidence based on the knowledge that, as a nation, we seem to do our best work under pressure. Hopefully, that will be true for our city as well.

We read the papers and watch the news. We wait and wonder: what will become of Niagara Falls, a city that seems to rest permanently on the brink of possibility? Can we take this fragile community of ours and strengthen it, and renew it, and leave it to the next generation better than we found it, in spite of the economic challenges our city and nation face today?

To answer this question we need to answer two more: What is the state of our city, today? And what do we hope for our city, tomorrow? I will try to address these questions tonight. And I want to thank all of you for being here to share in the conversation.

In a special way, I welcome the members of the City Council: Chairman Chris Robins, Councilman Bob Anderson, Councilman Steve Fournier, Councilman Sam Fruscione, and Councilman Charles Walker. Thank you for your ongoing cooperation and for your service to our city.

I also want to welcome and introduce the members of our administration: City Administrator Donna Owens, Police Superintendent John Chella, Fire Chief Bill Mackay, City Controller Maria Brown, Corporation Counsel Craig Johnson, Economic Development Director Peter Kay, Public Works Director Dave Kinney, City Clerk Carol Antonucci, Personnel Director Joyce Mardon-Serianni, Community Development Director Bob Antonucci, Building Commissioner Guy Bax, Management Information Services Lead Engineer John Cahill, Purchasing Agent Dean Spring, City Assessor Dom Penale, and Donna Winstanley, confidential secretary to the mayor. These individuals, and many more equally- dedicated individuals in every city department, are working hard every day to fulfill the promise of our city.

Above all, I welcome you, the people – residents, the business community, public and private sector workers, block club members and yes, even those of you best described as "community organizers" (your stock has certainly risen in recent weeks!)– and I thank for your faith in the City of Niagara Falls.

Tonight, I hope to avoid the tricks and temptations that have become the tools of the trade for too many politicians. You're smart enough to know that our city does not yet rise to the level of our highest ambitions. We want it cleaner, greener and more prosperous. We're not there yet. Instead, our city is a work in progress, a journey unfinished, a masterpiece painting where many of the brushstrokes are yet to be applied.

While our work may be incomplete, make no mistake: we have made a good beginning.
Read more...
 
"The Big Moves" - from the Buffalo News
Sunday, 29 June 2008 14:29

Article from the Buffalo News

'The Big Moves' in Niagara County: Will words turn to actions?

By Bill Michelmore - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
Updated: 06/25/08 12:31 PM

NIAGARA FALLS — The city calls them “The Big Moves,” a targeted program of improvements and investments to revitalize the city.

Ten years ago, Niagara Falls looked at the big picture and recognized three big moves. Four years ago, the canvas became more complex and the city focused on seven big moves.

They’ve been on the books ever since, but progress has been slow.

In 1998, the three moves that were seen as critical to the city’s renewal were jump-starting Niagara Falls International Airport, removing the Robert Moses Parkway and building a casino.

“That was the consensus,” Senior City Planner Thomas J. DeSantis said last week. “Then, and now.”

In 2004, Niagara Falls received a Strategic Master Plan that would guide downtown revitalization over the next several decades.

In general, the plan would give the city new life by opening up the waterfront, rebuilding blighted neighborhoods and creating a cultural district.

The 126-page report prepared by Urban Strategies, a Toronto-based international design firm, is replete with words such as vision, strategies and priority initiatives. But they are just words without two crucial ingredients Niagara Falls has lacked for decades: leadership and money.

Read More from the Buffalo News