Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Gov. Kathy Hochul and other elected officials were in attendance Monday for the opening of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Welcome Center at Niagara Falls State Park, a $46 million facility that the governor’s office says will provide modern amenities and information on the region to millions of yearly visitors.
The 28,000-square-foot center features new ticketing and information desks, new concession spaces, restrooms, green roof elements and glass walls and a low roof to maximize views of Niagara Falls.
The final phase of the project, which does not have a completion date, will see the creation of a museum with immersive exhibits.
“There is no place in the world like Niagara Falls, and our State park has always been a beacon of natural beauty and historical significance, captivating visitors with its awe-inspiring landscapes and iconic waterfalls,” Hochul said in a statement Monday. “Today we unveil our commitment to elevate this state jewel even further as we roll out the welcome mat to welcome the world to our state's natural gem. This new building is a wonderful addition to this already stunning park and will help visitors plan both their visit to the park as well as to the many businesses and attractions the City of Niagara Falls and Western New York has to offer.”
At the opening, Hochul also announced two additional investments in Niagara Falls: an $8.5 million renovation of the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center auditorium and a $2.5 million restoration of historic buildings at Oakwood Cemetery.
The governor's office says the renovation of the NACC auditorium will include restoring it to its "original historic grandeur while integrating the equipment, technology, and support spaces needed to transform the theater space into a venue suitable for hosting modern live productions," while the restoration at the Oakwood Cemetery will include new roofs, structural repairs, stonework and painting for the Chapel, the Green & Wicks mausoleum and the Stone Office."
"An analysis of the work involved in completing the third phase of Niagara Scenic Parkway removal is now underway, according to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
This phase involves removing a six-mile stretch of the roadway between Findlay Drive in Niagara Falls to Center Street in Lewiston.
The scoping process will be led by Colliers Engineering & Design, who merged with the Rochester-based Bergmann & Associates.
The entire scoping and preliminary design process is planned to finish by Aug. 2025.
State Parks worked with the State Department of Transportation, Empire State Development, and the New York Power Authority to remove three miles of the former Robert Moses Parkway over the past decade.
In August of 2022, the Niagara River Greenway Fund Standing Committee allocated $1.5 million for scoping work for the third phase of the removal project, which involved hiring consultants to create design concepts, get public input and make a project timeline.
The first phase was completed in 2018, with a mile-long segment along the Upper Niagara River and Niagara Falls State Park was removed and converted to a park road.
The second phase, from Main Street to Findlay Drive, saw the two-mile section between Main Street and Whirlpool State Park removed and replaced with walking trails and gorge overlooks. Whirlpool Street and part of Third Street were rebuilt as slower two-lane roads. This phase concluded in the fall of 2021.
The first public meeting for the third phase will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the Castellani Building at DeVeaux Woods State Park. An open house with project displays will start at that time with a formal presentation starting at 6:30 p.m.
"Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center is a safety-net hospital, providing care to some of the most vulnerable residents of Western New York.
The 10th Street facility also is home to one of the region’s two safety-net behavioral health emergency departments – the other being a much larger unit at Erie County Medical Center.
And, Niagara Falls Memorial recently announced, the hospital has completed a nearly $150,000 expansion and renovation of its behavioral health emergency room.
Kevin Burgess, the medical center’s director of behavioral health, said the project overhauled what was a “very old and outdated space.” The renovations included new paint, lighting and also increased the behavioral health emergency department from four to five rooms.
“I think, for sure, it’s going to improve the patient experience,” Burgess said. “It’s going to look nicer. It’s going to be more modernized. It’s brighter. So, aesthetically, if something looks pleasing, it’s better for your overall mood and well-being.”
The facility’s behavioral health emergency room, a 24/7 operation, sees about 200 patients a month, Burgess said. The behavioral health emergency room has 12 full-time-equivalent positions dedicated to it, he added.
Every patient who arrives in the behavioral health emergency room, he said, is evaluated by a psychiatrist.
If the person is deemed stable for discharge, they are assessed by a social worker who helps set up follow-up outpatient appointments and links them to care management services.
If a patient is determined to meet the criteria for admission, Burgess said they are admitted to one the hospital’s inpatient floors.
After the medical center added seven beds in June – which had been temporarily taken offline for use as Covid-19 surge space – Niagara Falls Memorial now has 35 inpatient beds dedicated to behavioral health.
Sean Dwyer, the medical center’s marketing director, said the behavioral health emergency room renovation was funded internally.
“Our upgraded facilities and services stand as a testament to our commitment to guide those who struggle with mental health toward the path of recovery,” said Joseph Ruffolo, president and CEO of Niagara Falls Memorial."
"There are signs that plans for the massive Amazon warehouse in the Town of Niagara are starting to move forward.
Last August's purchase by Amazon of 217 acres of vacant land in the Town of Niagara was the first – but so far only – sign that the long-awaited $550 million regional distribution center project was finally moving forward.
Now, the venture to construct the 3.1-million-square-foot facility appears to be taking another concrete step toward the start of construction.
A Syracuse-based concrete supplier is seeking approval from the town to place a portable ready-mix batch plant on an adjacent property on Haseley Drive that is owned by another concrete contractor, Ventry Concrete.
The application to the town Planning Board from Riccelli-Northern does not name Amazon. But it says its proposed new plant "will supply Redi-Mix concrete via concrete trucks for the construction of the adjacent warehouse project," which will be constructed on the other side of Haseley.
Haseley Drive wraps around the western and southern borders of the property that Amazon acquired.
The concrete facility is the first sign in months that Amazon is prepared to move forward with the Town of Niagara project. The company in recent years has delayed or canceled multiple projects as it has slowed its plans to expand its warehouse and distribution network.
A “last-mile” station in Hamburg, which took 11 months to build, sat empty for 18 months after it was completed before the retailer moved in last fall. The company said the Hamburg warehouse employed 205 people at the end of last year, nearly three times more jobs that it had promised to create.
Amazon also has a delivery station at 800 Riverwalk Parkway in Tonawanda that opened in 2020 and a sortation and returns center at 4201 Walden Ave. in Lancaster that opened in 2017.
The proposed Town of Niagara facility would many times bigger than all of its other local facilities combined. It is expected to employ more than 1,000 workers when – and if – it opens.
The application said trucks will take Haseley Drive from the concrete facility and "travel south to a private access road to access the construction site." Meanwhile, trucks bringing in aggregate, cement and sand will come onto Haseley from Packard Road to the north. The application for the concrete facility will be taken up by the town Planning Board on April 2 and the Town Board on April 16, but will first be reviewed by the county Planning Board.
Amazon and its developer, Atlanta-based JB2 Partners, plan to construct a concrete-and-steel warehouse and distribution facility on part of the northern 111 acres of the vast site, which has been designated as “shovel-ready” since 2012.
Located on the south side of Lockport and Packard roads, it’s also bounded by Haseley and Tuscarora Road, as well as the Niagara Falls International Airport and Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station to the east and south.
Amazon and JB2 received $123 million in tax breaks from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency for the project.
The planned Amazon.com Services operation would function as a first-mile fulfillment center to receive bulk shipments of products from vendors, suppliers and sellers, and then package them for the first leg of delivery. The proposed five-story building would consist of a 650,000-square-foot ground level and four additional floors of 606,750 square feet each.
The facility also would include 55 loading docks, while the exterior parking area along the west, south and east sides of the building would include 469 parking spaces for trailers, 1,755 spaces for cars and 16 for motorcycles.
In all, that's a lot of concrete that needs to be produced and delivered over the 18 to 24 months of construction – which is where Riccelli-Northern comes in.
According to the application, the proposed portable concrete batch plant would include a portable office, material bins, a generator and portable bathrooms, as well as a cement storage tank. It will be placed on new concrete pads on a small part of the 6.1-acre site on Haseley, using existing stone surfaces. A new water line will be run from Haseley into the plant for use in production.
A consultant also prepared a "spill prevention, control and countermeasure plan" for the project, as the facility will use or store diesel fuel for fueling and operating equipment, and will have about 1,435 gallons of potential oil storage capacity in above-ground storage tanks, 90-gallon drums and smaller containers."
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
