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WNY's Greenest, Most Complete Street |
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Green streets and complete streets have been a frequent topic on Buffalo Rising, but sadly -- to date -- some of the best examples we've covered have been from out of the area. Well, those days may be over, thanks to a building trend in infrastructure planning in western New York that is beginning to come to fruition in a major way. In a spectacular way, actually, resulting in the opening this weekend of a street which will be second-to-none anywhere in the world in terms of green, complete, sustainable design -- and the creation of a new "public realm" and human-scale attraction for western New York's second largest downtown.
Read the full story on Buffalo Rising |
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Paul Dyster's dedication of the New Niagara Falls Public Safety Building |
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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.
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Welcoming Remarks by Mayor Paul Dyster at the Boundary Waters Treaty Signing |
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.”
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Niagara Falls State of the City Address |
State of the City Address by Mayor Paul A. Dyster January 29th, 2009Good 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.
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