The Buffalo Chronicle
Niagara County
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Niagara power and Albany spending frame the Bologna-Sholk race in the 144th Assembly District
Republican Assemblyman Paul Bologna says New York cannot spend its way to prosperity. Democrat Donna Dye Sholk wants unallocated Niagara hydropower sent to Erie and Niagara county households. Here is where the…
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Niagara Falls sewage plant fix now costs $338 million, and the water board’s engineers call it unaffordable
A state order forces Niagara Falls to convert its sewage plant to biological treatment. The estimate has climbed to $338.2 million, and the board’s engineers say ratepayers can’t carry it without more…
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Lockport Common Council votes to take down the city’s Flock license plate cameras
The Common Council voted 5-1 to revoke permission for all eight Flock Safety cameras in the city.
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Niagara County’s sewer moratoriums need a repair plan and a hard end date, not open-ended renewals
Pausing big projects while Niagara County’s sewers overflow is defensible. But the pauses should come with a public repair schedule, measurable targets and a firm end date, and the district’s towns should…
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Wheatfield’s 2027 budget heads to a Nov. 2 hearing with a $13.70 tax increase for a typical home
Wheatfield’s Town Board will take public comment on its 2027 preliminary budget Nov. 2, as officials weigh higher salt prices, garbage fees and uncertain state road aid.
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The Feed: Cheektowaga’s camera discipline, Alberta’s vote and Trump’s gas-price remark dominate the week online
A Cheektowaga police camera case, radioactive backyards in Niagara, Alberta’s referendum and a U.S. Embassy fact sheet, and President Trump’s oil-profits remark led the week’s public conversation online.
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Niagara Falls’ first North Main Street tax break: what $376,523 in incentives buys at 2109 Main
The Niagara County IDA’s first incentive deal on the north end of Main Street backs a $1.13 million, six-apartment renovation of a former nightclub. It is a test case for a corridor…
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A stuck sewer camera keeps the old Niagara County Infirmary in limbo on Lockport’s city-town line
A plan for roughly 70 homes at the former Niagara County Infirmary is on hold while the Town of Lockport waits for usable video of a city sewer line. Meanwhile, the vacant…
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Niagara County’s sewers hit their limit, and Lewiston moves to pause bigger developments
Lewiston’s sewage plant ran about 320,000 gallons a day over its state permit after a wet summer. On Monday the Town Board takes up a six-month pause on sewer approvals for larger…
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Four charged with murder in alleged plot to kill a witness, as federal gun case and day care shutdown round out the week
An indictment accuses five Buffalo residents of conspiring to kill a murder-trial witness. The week also brought a federal gun-trafficking complaint, Timon Street arrests and a state shutdown of a Ransomville day…
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Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls loan goes back to a special servicer after reaching maturity
The roughly $74 million mortgage on the Town of Niagara outlet mall matured this month and moved to Midland Loan Services, months after the Niagara County IDA approved a 10-year tax deal…
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New York’s $225 million water-for-housing fund is open only to Pro-Housing towns. Many WNY suburbs aren’t certified yet
The state’s new Clean Water for Housing grants pay up to 75% of water and sewer work tied to new homes, first come, first served. HCR’s dashboard lists 12 certified municipalities in…
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Radioactive slag was documented at a Town of Niagara drive-in in 2020. Neighbors are still waiting for answers
A 2020 report for Niagara County’s land bank found radiation on a vacant Witmer Road drive-in across Gill Creek from homes and recommended a $1.25 million cleanup. Six years later, neighbors are…
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Lockport’s short line gets $9.6 million from the last of the infrastructure law’s rail money. Congress hasn’t refilled the pot
The Falls Road Railroad between Lockport and Brockport won $9.64 million in Monday’s $2.3 billion federal rail round, the final one funded by the 2021 infrastructure law. The stopgap Congress passed in…
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Niagara County weighs fully exempting its most disabled veterans from county property taxes
Niagara County lawmakers hold a hearing Tuesday on a full county property-tax exemption for veterans the VA rates permanently and totally disabled, following Erie County and Buffalo. The notice gives no cost…
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Buffalo wins a new $4 million federal lead grant; the White House budget asks Congress to shrink the national program
Buffalo’s new $4 million HUD lead grant follows one it gave half of back. Federal records show Erie County has drawn about 5% of its own $7.75 million award, and the White…
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Niagara SPCA gets $5,000 county boost as grace year for New York’s new shelter rules runs out
Niagara County legislators gave the Niagara SPCA $5,000 to upgrade kennels under New York’s new shelter standards, as the state’s ‘educational year’ for the rules ends in mid-December.
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Federal judge dismisses Justice Department suit over New York City sanctuary laws, rules an information-sharing law unconstitutional
A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s suit against New York City’s sanctuary laws and held that 8 U.S.C. § 1373 violates the Tenth Amendment. It is the second such loss in…
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Niagara County weighs suing Albany over immigration law it says shields noncitizen voting, though the law exempts election work
The Niagara County Legislature votes Tuesday on suing the state over a new limit on helping immigration agents, arguing it protects ‘illegal non-citizen voting.’ The law itself exempts voter registration and election…
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Hochul opens $76 million county infrastructure round, raising housing-linked award caps
Gov. Kathy Hochul opened a $76 million county infrastructure round with higher award caps for projects that unlock new housing. Applications are due Feb. 5, 2027.
