Dear editor:

This is an excerpt from a Forbes magazine article I came across, dated November 1997:

“The town has never seen anything like Si Wai Lai. In just four years she has virtually bought the town, spending $56 million to buy the four smallish hotels that dominate the upscale lodging market.”

“Despite Si Wai Lai’s tact and charm, there is plenty of local grumbling. We are becoming a Disney-on-the-Lake, sniffs Margherita Howe, leader of the 600-person Niagara Conservancy Group, which since 1987 has protested virtually every change in the town.”

Does this sound familiar?

Today, the players may have changed but the narrative remains the same.

“The end of NOTL” motto from the vocal minority has become redundant and passé.

Let’s remember people also protested against the Queen’s Landing hotel, King’s Point condominiums, Shaw’s Lane housing, St. Vincent De Paul school housing, closing the high school and the hospital, the Phillips Estate carveout — and even McDonald’s.

NOTL is resilient and has gone through many transformations since 1812 and will continue to thrive and prosper regardless of the current and future changes.

Kudos to the present and past mayors, councillors, administrations, developers, farmers, residents and business owners for creating and maintaining a dynamic place to reside and a world-renowned tourist destination.

Tony Giordano
NOTL