From the Niagara Falls Review:
Vince Anello views Niagara Falls, Ont., and Niagara Falls, N.Y., as “one city with a river running through it.”
“I hate to call It a border because it really sounds like something that you have to work hard to cross,” said the Niagara Falls, N.Y. mayor, who was guest speaker recently at the Niagara Falls Rotary Club’s weekly meeting at the Renaissance Fallsview hotel.
He touched on border security issues, and how they have affected the economies of both cities. He also talked about how easily times change.
Anello recalled a time when Canadians would cross the river for an evening of shopping and dinner, and Americans would do the same to take in the attractions and the better view.
“That made a lot of our small business survive and grow,” he said. “But people forget. That was 30 years ago.”
Since those days, the economy of Niagara Falls, N.Y., has declined. Businesses have closed. Buildings have been abandoned and failed schemes have eroded confidence in the city’s ability to rebound.