NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — Governor Cuomo made a stop in Niagara Falls Monday to unveil a multi-million dollar project aimed at bringing new life to the city.
Cuomo attended the grand opening of a new 37-milllion dollar Doubletree hotel on the upper Niagara River. City officials say this is the third hotel to open on that stretch since the Governor announced funding to remove part of the former Robert Moses Parkway last year.
After the ribbon cutting, Governor Cuomo made his case for his budget proposal, re-iterating much of what he said during his state of the state address and emphasizing his goals for Niagara Falls. Those include putting a million dollars in ecologic preservation of the gorge and calling on Empire State Development to start seeking bids to build a lodge on Goat Island.
“The one thing Canada beat us to was they had more recreational activities on their side, we now have the hotels we need the activities and between the lodge on goat island and the RFP for just that creating recreational activities on this side of the falls, you’re going to see more traffic and more hotel rooms being filled up,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo also wants Empire State Development to reclaim some vacant properties in the falls so they can be put back on the taxroll. CEO of Empire State Development Howard Zemsky says the goal is to make improvements so people will make hotel stays longer, which they estimate could create thousands of jobs.
