NIAGARA FALLS — A prominent glass building at the foot of the Rainbow Bridge, just outside Niagara Falls State Park, has been somewhat of an enigma for years.

The former Occidental Chemical office building has found success drawing tourists willing to pay for parking and souvenirs, but it remains at the center of a legal dispute between its owners and in a state of regulatory limbo under city zoning codes.

In the five years since Frank R. Parlato Jr. has controlled the building, he has floated several unusual ideas for the site—including running the building for a short time on cooking oil and threatening to operate slot machines on its ninth floor.

Now, former print journalist, television reporter and political operative Tony Farina has joined the management team at One Niagara in an attempt to turn around its reputation and fill what is a mostly vacant building.

“I want this to have a good image in the community,” Farina said. “There’s no reason why it shouldn’t. It’s come a long way from nothing; we’ve got to remember that. This was a hole in the ground and a shell of a building not so long ago.”

Farina, who at 66 is winding down a long career in journalism and politics, may seem like an odd fit to manage a tourism welcome center and retail outlet in Niagara Falls. He has spent the last decade as a top aide to City Comptroller Andrew A. SanFilippo in Buffalo and has been immersed for years in local politics.

Tony A. Farina has worked in television and on political campaigns. Now he'll try his hand at managing the controversial One Niagara tourism site in Niagara Falls. He's pictured above on the ninth floor of the building last Monday, his first day on the job.
Charles Lewis / Buffalo News

But it is Farina’s extensive network— connections built up from his years as a street reporter — that brought the Lockport native to his new role as president of One Niagara.

Farina, who has known Parlato for years, introduced Parlato to former Erie County Democratic Chairman G. Steven Pigeon in 2004. The meeting led Parlato to strike a deal with Hong Kong investor David Ho to acquire the building at 360 Rainbow Blvd. in December 2004 as it

faced foreclosure.

At the time, the building had only a few office tenants left and was best known for a 40- foot hole on the property left from a failed attempt by Ho and another investor to develop an underground aquarium.

Five years later, the hole is gone. There is a food court on the first floor. Tourists can look out at the falls from the ninth floor, buy souvenirs and book tours.

But the building has failed to reach its potential. Seven of its nine floors remain vacant and condemned.

Farina said he started talking with Parlato in December about the future of the building, one of only a few on the American side with views of the Niagara Gorge and Niagara Falls.

The talks led to a job offer for Farina.

“I can’t say it was something I thought about at all, frankly,” Farina said. “I left a very good job. I was top assistant to the city comptroller. I was involved in every element of city government.”

But, Farina said, “everything has shelf life.”

“It was time,” he said.

Farina said he was making $75,000 as SanFilippo’s aide. He did not disclose his salary for One Niagara but said he does not have a financial interest in the building.

Tony A. Farina, president of One Niagara, above, poses on the ninth floor of the One Niagara building, below. Farina joined the building’s management team in an attempt to fill the mostly vacant complex.

 

“This is just another opportunity, the way I look at it, to try something a little different,” said Farina, who has worked for five news organizations and three government officials during his career. “Really, the promotion part of it, the diplomacy, the government relations — those are all things I’ve done my whole life. That’s not new. Trying to oversee the business operations and make a successful business is, but I’ll have help.”

Where Parlato has been a lightning rod for controversy since he took over the building, Farina considers himself more of a “mainstream” figure. He plans to reach out to community leaders and city politicians to strike a diplomatic tone.

“There’s been a history here in the Falls of a lot of political fighting and a lot of different interests and competition,” Farina said. “Competition is good, but infighting is not, and I think that everybody benefits if Niagara Falls does well, so I hope to be able to work with all sorts of people up here to foster that kind of spirit.”

It will be an uphill battle.

Property taxes—which have been perpetually paid late since Parlato took over the building — were $1.46 million in arrears as of Thursday.

Parlato has challenged the city’s assessment of the property.

And when the city refused to issue a certificate of occupancy for the building’s ninth floor, Parlato went to court and got permission from State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. to open it to the public as an observation deck.

The building also is at the center of state and federal lawsuits between Parlato and Ho over control and revenue. The first lawsuit, filed by Parlato in 2007, sought to keep Ho from interfering with the business. Additional lawsuits accusing Parlato of failing to live up to his agreement with Ho have since been filed.

Steven M. Cohen, an attorney for Ho, contends that Parlato has failed to disclose to Ho key information about the building. He said no vote took place when Farina was hired. That, he said, is consistent with Parlato’s “unilateral and secretive methods all along.”

“That being said,” Cohen added, “we are pleased that someone of Mr. Farina’s stature has been brought into the picture, and we are hopeful that he will add an element of legitimacy, as well.”

Parlato’s attorneys have maintained his operating agreement for One Niagara gives him control of the building and that they have already supplied dozens of records to Ho’s representatives.

Meanwhile, Parlato has continued to pursue plans for One Niagara despite the lawsuits, property tax issues and disputes with the city.

And he has brought in Farina for help.

“There’s been a lot of bad blood here and ill will, and things haven’t gotten done,” Farina said. “I want to change that. We want this building to be successful.”

Farina said he will focus first on the building’s first-floor food court — a mix of local vendors selling everything from Mexican to Indian fare — with the hope of bringing in prominent names such as Subway and Tim Hortons.

Parlato also has brought in Joseph M. Anderson, a major downtown landowner who runs the Smokin’ Joe’s gasoline and cigarette outlet on the Tuscarora Reservation, to expand retail in the building.

Anderson, who owns the Snow Park and the Quality Hotel & Suites on First Street, sees One Niagara’s location, just outside Niagara Falls State Park, as its main asset in drawing tourists.

“The o. 1ruleislocation, location, location,” Anderson said. “This is location, location, location.”

Anderson said it is challenging to do business in Niagara Falls, and has run into challenges himself. He pleaded guilty in November 2008 to a federal charge of devising a scheme to deprive citizens of “honest services of a public official” in connection with a series of loans totaling $40,000 to then-Mayor Vince Anello and still awaits sentencing. A similar charge against Anello remains unresolved.

Parlato, Anderson said, is “trying the best he can.”

“He’s fighting battles. He’s spending money on lawyers,” Anderson said. “Sometimes this business climate down here isn’t as friendly as it should be.”

Farina, who started his job at One Niagara on Monday, is entering the Niagara Falls scene optimistically but realistically.

“I still have a sense of adventure, and I’m not quite ready to pack it in yet,” Farina said. “Time is running out, and this may be my last opportunity for one more bite at the excitement apple.”

djgee@buffnews.com