Getting It Done

The "Magic Dateline," to those in the media. The "Honeymoon Capital of the World," to everyone on the sunny side of, say, 80 degrees west longitude.

But to many of the 55,000 or so hardy souls remaining here ... and the number seems to plunge daily, like so much water churning over that acclaimed precipice ... the world’s former "Power City" is something else entirely:

For all practical intents and purposes, "NIMBY" ... that fashionable environmental catch phrase of the 80s and 90s ... may have originated right here. The words "Not In My Back Yard" seem to spout from every affected corner when ever a project or development is proposed, regardless of its nature and regardless of its potentially positive impact.

An expansive theme venture to resurrect a forgotten Main Street? NIMBY.

A downtown mega-mall that would be the envy of all? Maybe, but NIMBY.

A state-of-the-art high school that would double as a sort of community square, unifying the city while hosting untold scores of events? Sounds great ... as long as it’s NIMBY.

Oh, and don’t plan on using my tax dollars for it, either.

A sad state of affairs, indeed, for a once-proud, internationally acclaimed city.

But who can blame skeptical Niagarans? After all, defeatist attitudes come naturally after experiencing decades of downtown decay, neatly packaged and sold to the masses as "urban renewal."

Pessimism becomes a euphemism in the face of atrocities like the Love Canal environmental disaster.

And mistrust runs rampant in the presence of mismanagement, a familiar face to generations of Niagarans. Hordes of self-serving leaders practicing partisan politics and patronage have presided over the city's protracted decline, seemingly helpless to halt the hemorrhage of jobs and people.

Like a plague it has been, in terms of devastation. And the survivors, understandably, have become hardened. Obstructionism and negativity, on the part of residents and leaders alike, have manifested as just a couple of the many legitimate ... albeit deleterious ... side effects.

That was then, and that is now.

And thus it was, back in 1996, when the Niagara Falls City School District first proposed closing its two existing buildings and merging the city's nearly 2,500 high school students in a new, state-of-the-art facility. An educational edifice that would be the envy of virtually every teenager, not to mention every educator of teens, both here and abroad.

Oh, the couch critics had a veritable field day with that one. Too many kids in one place! You won't be able to manage it! Just asking for trouble, they said. Ever hear of Columbine?

The dreaded NIMBY, of course, rose like a collective war cry from every conceivable nook and cranny.

A world-class school on picture-postcard property overlooking the spectacular Niagara River gorge? Not if it means kids walking on my sidewalk to get there!

A fabulous new school on crumbling, largely abandoned Main Street? A project that could, just maybe, trigger a much-needed renaissance for the neighborhood bordering one of the world's greatest natural wonders? Unh-uh. Just think of the bus ride for those poor kids from the outskirts!

The community's leery attitude was fueled by the only hometown daily newspaper, the Niagara Gazette. A fixture in the Falls since the late 1800s and for decades, until very recently, a proud holding of the Gannett Group, the Gazette since 1997 has been operated by the significantly smaller ... in stature, as well as in scope ... Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.

In the past, but particularly since becoming a CNHI "community" member, the Gazette had reveled in its role of community cynic, criticizing seemingly every public and private foray attempting to put the city back on the international tourist destination map.

The naysayer newspaper seemed to take particular delight in grumbling over the new high school project, vigorously protesting the very need for the project, while inexplicably failing to recognize the many and obvious advantages to the plan.

Those who relied upon the newspaper as their primary source of information were understandably cynical.

But even in the most unforgiving of climates, even in the most barren wastelands of apathy and apprehension, vision has been known to flourish, ideas to take bloom.

It’s elementary, my dear Watson.