Niagara Falls, N.Y. (WBEN) - Niagara Falls Mayor Rob Restaino says a lack of communication led to the late opening of the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion on Monday, and that any controversy regarding the operator of the rink is being blown out of proportion.
Youth hockey players showed up to the rink expecting to play, only to find it closed at Restaino's order. It was opened for players a short time later.
"We reached out to the current operator and asked for a schedule of events," Restaino told WBEN on Tuesday. "Upset that they weren't selected, they did not want to participate... We had no idea what the schedule was despite inquiring."
The controversy followed a City Council vote to postpone accepting the bid of an Albany-based company to operate Hyde Park Ice Pavilion after dozens of people showed up to support current operator Michael Carella.
"This isn't personal," Restaino said. "We put out the request for proposals. Responsible public officials look at the best responsible bid and make the decision. To do that, a legislative body has to take a few minutes other than just the evening of a meeting to get information."
Restaino targeted Councilman Donta Myles, who called out the Mayor's handling of the rink on Monday.
"The Mayor wants to have an out of state company... run the rink when we have Mike Corella, who has been running this rink for the last 14-plus years and doing very well," Myles told WBEN on Monday.
"You can just tell how uninformed the council member is when he says they're out of state," Restaino said in reply. "They're based in Albany and they run hockey arenas all throughout New York State."
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