Niagara Falls, New York - Gallery

[Kris]

http://www.geocities.com/asiaglobe/g...niagara-us.htm

[TLOZ Link5]

The Canadian city of Niagara Falls, from what I've heard, is much more prosperous than its American counterpart. *Sad that so many upstate cities are total rustbelts.

[Kris]

The Canadian side has what matters: the view of the falls, not that of its own ugly skyline. Add the advantage of the currency.

At least the few visible NY buildings look pretty decent.

[TLOZ Link5]

Even if most of them are vacant, that is.

[Kris]

[Max Power]

Originally Posted by Kris

The Canadian side has what matters: the view of the falls, not that of its own ugly skyline.

I find your comment about the skyline on the Canadian side strange Kris. I don't believe you've ever been to Niagara Falls (correct me if I'm wrong). The skyline on the Canadian side is actually really nice. It's huge for a city of 70,000, and most of it has been built in the last 10 years. The American side doesn't have a skyline. It has 1 tall building (the brown one), and one tall observation elevator thingy that goes down to the river.

The Canadian side is nicer, cleaner, safer, and more exciting, with WAY more stuff to do. This is reflected with far more hotel rooms than the American side, and far more attractions.

[Kris]

Join the office of tourism.

[ablarc]

The American Falls are moving upstream at a fair clip, measured in geological time. Evidence of this is all those boulders that mar the view; most were not there fifty years ago. Eventually, these falls will more closely resemble rapids.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Geology! My other favorite subject. Way to go, ablarc.

It is believed the origin of the falls is 7 miles downstream about 12,000 years ago. The erosion rate was 30 ft per decade until the 1950s when water was diverted for varoious power plants. The present erosion is 1 ft per decade.



The flow at American Falls was stopped in 1969 to study the feasibility of removing the rock rubble at the base. It was determined to be too expensive.

[ablarc]

Fascinating photograph: just switch off the falls. Most of the water runs through pipes and turbines anyway. Still, getting rid of the rocks at the base would enhance the majesty of the American Falls. The Canadian Falls are still OK.

[Max Power]

Originally Posted by Kris

Join the office of tourism.

Sure Kris. Can you get me an interview? Reading all your comments about New York, it seems you already work for the office of tourism. Or are you New York's official Swiss representative now?

[NoyokA]

The Canadian side has gambling and a skyline....

Go figure>!

[Kris]

Who knew?

[Kris]

December 27, 2003

As Tribe Plans Hotel for Casino, Niagara Falls Weighs Effects

By STACEY STOWE


The Seneca Niagara Casino opened last year in downtown Niagara Falls, N.Y. Casino officials say that construction of a 600-room hotel for the complex will start in the spring and take 16 months.

After opening a casino in downtown Niagara Falls, N.Y., the Seneca Indian tribe will begin construction next spring of a $140 million hotel — the tallest building in the city skyline — as part of the gambling complex.

The hotel is to stand 26 floors high and have 600 rooms, including those reserved for high rollers, and a full-service spa. A top-floor lounge will have a view of the falls and of the Niagara Gorge. Construction should be completed in 16 months, said Mickey Brown, president and chief executive of Seneca Niagara Casino.

Luring tourists from Ontario, where the Rainbow Falls are more picturesque, to the New York side has never been easy. The Canadians poured money and attention into developing their natural wonder into an attraction, including opening a government-backed casino in 1996. Efforts to promote tourism on the New York side, however, have been rather wan, said Byron W. Brown, a state senator whose district includes Niagara Falls.

So far, the 88,000-square-foot Seneca Niagara Casino, which opened last year, has not inspired a building frenzy in the city, where a chemical and manufacturing industry once thrived. In the 1950's, as many as 100,000 people lived here. Today, the population is about 55,950, said Cynthia Baxter, the city clerk. About 700 of them work at the casino.

The state is expected to receive $40 million based on casino slot machine revenue. Under an agreement between the Seneca Nation and New York State, the state will receive 18 percent of the casino slot revenue from Seneca Niagara Falls Gaming Corporation, which operates the casino. The state is expected to allot the city of Niagara Falls 25 percent of that share or $10 million. The question is how the money will be spent and when it will arrive. A seven-member commission that includes the mayor and three members of the State Legislature, including Senator Brown, one of two nonvoting members, will decide how the money is apportioned.

But some elected officials and business owners are concerned that the new project could hurt downtown businesses and might not help revive its flagging property tax base.

Vince V. Anello, who will become mayor in January, said the city's casino allotment should be used to compensate for property tax revenue lost when the tribe built downtown; the 55-acre parcel owned by the Seneca Nation is exempt from taxes. The city's tax base has been declining for the past 30 years, he said. When he takes office, just $250,000 will be available to pay city expenses until property tax payments are collected. He noted that other commission members have said that all of the money should be spent on downtown redevelopment.

Mr. Anello, who said he was happy to have the casino and hotel downtown, noted that downtown businesses are somewhat in the shadow of the casino, which has its own bar and restaurant, and soon, a hotel.

"The people in Niagara Falls have been struggling for years," said Mr. Anello, who has lived here since 1956. "The casino was supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel for downtown development."

But Mr. Brown said those concerns were outside the scope of his casino, which he said brought five million people to Niagara Falls this year.

"We're not a social service agency," said Mr. Brown, who was president of Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut from 1992 to 1997. "I think we've made our contribution. It's up to them to work on private sector development."

Asked about another construction project on the horizon for the city, a state-financed $17 million conference center, Mr. Anello said flatly, "Another nonrevenue-producing project."


Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[TLOZ Link5]

The casino could very well do more harm than good. People might just be lured to the city for the casino rather than for the city itself. That would hurt Main Street businesses.