PLAN TO OPEN REHAB CENTER OPPOSED

NIAGARA FALLS - The president of the City Market Block Club on Monday gave
the City Council a petition with 590 signatures opposing a plan to open a
drug and alcohol treatment center in the heart of Little Italy.

Michael Quarcini said residents around the market don't want the treatment
center in their neighborhood. He said the city has put a lot of money into
improvements at the City Market to make it the centerpiece of the Little
Italy ethnic village the city and the Pine Avenue Business Association hope
to develop as a tourist draw.

Horizon Health Services plans to open a rehabilitation center to serve area
residents who find it difficult to get to other clinics, including one on
Niagara Falls Boulevard.

Councilman Paul A. Dyster said the City Market location would serve 25 clients.

"How are we putting all this money in here, and how does a drug and alcohol
rehabilitation center bring in tourists?" Quarcini asked.

He also asked if the tenant mix violates the market developer's lease with
the city, which owns the market. The city leased the market to Pine Avenue
businessman Alphonse Muto, who originally proposed turning the main
building into an Italian marketplace with various vendors selling themed goods.

But Muto said he was unable to attract appropriate tenants and later rented
parts of the building to Save-A-Lot and Dollar General stores. Muto also
relocated his Pine Pharmacy there.

Community Development Director Nancy J. Joseph said her department has
looked at the lease and doesn't believe there is any violation. Council
Chairwoman Frances M. Iusi said that without a provision in the lease
requiring Council approval of tenants, the Council has no authority over
Muto's choices.

After the meeting, Quarcini also questioned whether the use of federal
block grant funds for both the private development and public improvements
to the market was appropriate since tourism-attracting businesses weren't
developed.

In another matter, the Council approved a resolution urging city unions and
the city administration to form labor management committees to resolve
labor matters before they become disputes and the subjects of court cases.

Thomas R. Vitello, president of Local 9434-0, United Steelworkers of
America, commended Dyster on the resolution.

He said there are long-standing requirements for the committees in the
Steelworkers labor agreements, but none of the last three city
administrations has honored them.

He said he hoped the committees would progress and that other committees
called for in the contracts, including safety committees, also would be
reinstated.

The Council also approved a resolution urging the U.S. Small Business
Administration to keep its Area I Disaster Office in Niagara Falls.

Complaints about building and maintenance conditions at the present
location have prompted talk of a move, possibly to a suburban location.