Area block club members and residents listen as New York State Gov. George Pataki announces operation IMPACT Integrated Municipal Police Anit-Crime Teams Wednesday at the Family Resource Building. (Dan Cappellazzo / Niagara Click on photo for larger image

Added protection for Niagara
By Mark Scheer
Thursday, June 10, 2026

County residents living in high-crime areas got welcomed news Wednesday from the state’s top executive.

During a visit to Niagara Falls, Gov. George Pataki announced the start of Operation Impact, a program that will pair New York State Troopers with local patrol officers in an effort to increase police visibility and deter crime.

The initiative, which will initially be based in Niagara Falls before spreading to other parts of the county, will allow more undercover and uniformed officers to take to the streets where law enforcement officials say they can most effectively deal with gang activity, drug trafficking and violent street crime.

“It’s going to make a real difference in the quality of life in Niagara County,” Pataki said.

Pataki announced plans for Operation Impact during his state-of-the-state address. The program targets a total of 15 counties, all of which account for 80 percent of the crime outside of New York City, state officials said. A total of 300 State Troopers will be available for use in the IMPACT project statewide. Officials would not disclose how many of those would be directly involved in operations in Niagara County.

“I think it’s great,” said Homer Billips, president of the Tennessee Avenue Block Club. “I especially think it’s timely with crime on the rise. This doesn’t look like just talk, the Governor is backing it up with man-power and money.”

Part of the plan involves checks by so-called Multi Agency Street Corner Outreach Teams, small groups of law enforcement officials who will regularly visit crime hot spots to keep tabs on suspicious activity and characters. Task force movements will be based on work done by Niagara University which will use a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab and crime-mapping software to locate trouble areas for law enforcement officials.

“For the citizens of Niagara Falls who want a stable, secure neighborhood, Operation Impact is their dream,” said Niagara Falls Police Superintendent John Chella. “For those that want to terrorize those same neighborhoods, Operation Impact will be their nightmare.”

The announcement drew praise from representatives of local block clubs who have long advocated for outside help in dealing with recurring crime problems.

“The reduction in crime that will result in this program will lead to an increase in business for our city,” said Ricky Daniels, the second vice president for the Tennessee Avenue Block Club. “We need more jobs so that we can keep our youth in the community and this is the first step.”
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