A New Niagara Falls Story
Niagara Gazette Guest View By Seth Piccirillo
Originally published in March 2019
Editorials from political candidates sound similar, written more for the author than the reader. I am going to share a memory, or the lack of one, instead.
My generation, the one before me and those after, never knew the Niagara Falls lovingly described to us by our parents and grandparents. Never saw the architectural splendor of Falls Street. Never enjoyed caramel corn at the Strand Theater. Wasn’t able to just choose a factory on Buffalo Avenue and go get a job. Those stories are rich and beautiful, painting a picture of life in generations past. But in an important way, these are just stories to us.
The people my age that live in Niagara Falls are people who chose to stay in our city when the going was tough, without having seen the glory days we’ve heard so much about.
We still didn’t leave even when our friends and relatives did; understanding that improving our city is a lifetime commitment. This is home.
We want our kids to hear those colorful Niagara Falls stories directly from their grandparents, year-round.
As parents ourselves, we want to strengthen the community our children are growing up in, and empower them to raise the city to a place beyond our current imagination, themselves.
This is the future I have dedicated most of my life to because Niagara Falls means, and is, the world to me. It’s also why I am running for mayor of my hometown.
Speaking in slogans and dealing out vague criticisms will never create the results we need here. It is this type of thinking and exactly that behavior that dug us into a 50-year hole. Urban Renewal. Love Canal. Overtaxing industry. Shortsighted negotiations with the state. Niagara Falls Redevelopment’s leveling of the east side. Land speculation. Embarrassing scandals. FBI raids. Abdications of duty.
Throughout these misled eras, politicians said all the right things, made people long for an easier time, found someone else to blame, and after the election failed to make the right decisions or execute a real plan.
My mayoral platform is so specific and my work as community development director has been so inclusive as a direct response to these tired political notions that in my opinion, are being kept alive by my primary opponent. I reject old school politics because its based on deception, the fast handshake and patronage offers. It talks loud but says nothing. I am direct with my ideas, plans and criticisms because I am running to do something, not just be something. You deserve details and I think third-party attacks are cowardly. There is too much work and not enough time for anything less than straight talk.
We should adopt a land value tax and start penalizing land speculation instead of responsible home and small business owners. We should negotiate for a portion of state parking revenue instead of just describing the problem. We should empower citizens to directly make budget decisions through more participatory budgeting because I have seen it work. We should set specific neighborhood investment goals every year, because quality of life is what brings and keeps residents and employers in any place. We can create a 3-1-1 system to track and improve customer service and become experts on snow and garbage removal and new paving techniques. We should double down on community policing because proactive action can save lives and communities.
I say “We” so often because if this moment’s story is going to be different, impactful and uplifting, all of us will need to be the authors. That’s what we owe to future generations. Everyday I envision all of us telling the story of the transformational change we are capable of, as I walk to your doors, ready to talk, listen and learn. It’s the same thought I’ve carried with me since first hearing what our city “used to be” as a child.
Niagara Falls; let’s go write our new story.
Seth Piccirillo is a lifelong resident of Niagara Falls and a candidate for mayor.