Buffalo’s strategic position on the Great Lakes contributed significantly to its early rise to prominence; at the turn of the last century Buffalo was America’s largest inland port and the leader in the transshipment of grain and several other commodities.  Just as the waterfront was an engine of our early growth, so can it be a catalyst for Buffalo’s rebirth.

 

 

 

 

May 10 2006: Senator Clinton, Congressman Higgins Call for Expansion of Public Access and Green Space in and Around Historic Buffalo Lighthouse

 

April 28, 2006: Congressman Higgins, AmeriCorps Celebrate Earth Week 2006 with Waterfront Clean-Up

 

April 11, 2006: Thruway Authority’s Broken Promises on Buffalo Waterfront Development Egregious

 

March 23, 2006: Congressman Higgins, Mayor Brown, Congress for New Urbanism President John Norquist Announce Buffalo Skyway Chosen for National Study

 

March 20, 2006: Higgins Seeks to Expand Public Access and Green Space in and Around Historic Buffalo Lighthouse

 

 

 

 

October 18, 2005: $20.3 Million in Top NYPA Executive Pay Should be Reviewed

 

August 18, 2005: Congressman Higgins Dismayed by NYPA’s Disregard for Western New York

 

August 3, 2005: HIGGINS CALLS FOR UNIFIED SUPPORT IN POWER AUTHORITY FIGHT

 

May 5, 2005: Power Revenue Should Fund Waterfront Development

 

 

 

 

Unprecedented efforts are currently underway to appropriately develop Buffalo’s waterfront.  Focused attention and care must be taken now to successfully steward these projects toward completion.  Below is a listing so some of the projects in advanced phases of development at Buffalo’s Waterfront, with some information about each initiative.

 

 

 

Construction will begin in Summer 2006 on this project which includes bank stabilization, environmental remediation and a pedestrian/bicycle pathway from the Pier Restaurant, south around the Bell Slip, to the Terminal A building.  $9.24 million is in place to fund this project, including $640,000 from SAFE TEA LU, the six-year federal highway legislation, and $3.5 million from the New York State Clean Air Clean Water Bond Act. 
 

 

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) hired a nationally-recognized planning firm to develop a New Buffalo Erie Canal Harbor Area Design which calls for mixed use development at lower Main Street and in the Cobblestone District, and builds on the anticipated Bass Pro development, the HSBC arena and other recent improvements.  The publicly-funded aspects of the plan will be implemented in part with a portion of the $279 million settlement between Buffalo and Erie County and NYPA, through which the newly-created ECHDC will receive $3.5 million annually from NYPA for fifty years.  It is anticipated that bonds will be issued based on the first thirty years of this anticipated revenue, which will secure approximately $65 million. 

 

The project will now include previously unfunded interpretive design elements made possible by $4 million specifically set aside for this purpose from the NYPA settlement.  $2 million will become available within two months of the signing of the final agreement and the additional $2 million will become available in 2007.  Construction of the new home of the Naval and Servicemen’s Park museum building is slated for 2006.
 

 

$31.96 million is presently available for the construction of this project.  NYS DOT has made available $9.6 million for this project.  Additionally, $9.36 million was secured by Brian in SAFE TEA LU, the six-year federal highway legislation, $8 million was secured by Senators Schumer and Clinton in SAFE TEA LU, and $5 million was secured by Senators Schumer and Clinton in 2004 annual appropriations.

 

The conversion of Fuhrmann Boulevard to a two-way, urban parkway, with access to Route 5 at the current foot of the Skyway Bridge will be the first phase of this project.  This project is the result of the Southtowns Connector Study, a 10 year planning study which, to date, consumed $7.6 million in federal highway funds for planning.
Federal regulatory approval of the environmental impact study is anticipated shortly, allowing for the publishing of the final environmental impact statement
 

 

After outreach from Brian, the US Coast Guard has indicated a willingness to consolidate their operations on 30 acres at the mouth of the Buffalo River into 10 acres.  This would allow for the remaining 20 acres, including the historic “Chinaman’s” Lighthouse, which was built in 1833, to be accessible to the public once again.  The plan is to move this property to the control of the ECHDC for conversion to public access parkland.  This is in addition to the 14 acres of natural beach property at the Outer Harbor which presently houses the NYPA Ice Boom which is being transferred to the ECHDC.

 

 

The proposal to convert the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium into a massive sports retail destination has commitments of $21 million in state investment and $14 million from the City of Buffalo and Erie County.  Government funding has also been identified in the amounts of $16.3 million slated for an Inner Harbor parking facility and $14.8 million for the related Erie Canal and Great Lakes Museum.  It has been reported that Bass Pro intends to invest $57 million in private funds in this initiative.
 

 

The NYPA settlement with Buffalo and Erie County provided for $2 million annually for fifty years to be used for parks and other recreational amenities along the waterfront to be spent according to a general plan to be developed by the Niagara River Greenway Commission.
 

 

After a competitive national process, NFTA selected a team led by Opus, a national developer, and Uniland, a local developer, as the preferred developer for much of the waterfront land under NFTA’s control.   NFTA and Opus/Uniland have signed a Memorandum of Intent, and are now negotiating an actual contract, or development agreement.
 

 

On July 25, 2002, then-Assemblyman Higgins called for the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, to assume control of Gallagher Beach and the Small Boat Harbor from the NFTA.  The argument was successfully made that New York State Parks, with its dedicated sources of revenue, would maintain the property to high standards and continue to invest in this urban waterfront park, unlike the NFTA, which annually used slip rental proceeds to subsidize its other operations.  Governor Pataki agreed to the proposal on October 23, 2002.  NFTA and State Parks, both effectively controlled by the Governor, have not yet effectuated the transfer.
 

 

In the past decade, several projects have been completed to improve public access to the Buffalo River, including Old Bailey Woods, Seneca Bluffs, the Smith Street Park and the Buffalo River Canoe Trail (including canoe launches in West Seneca and Buffalo’s Old First Ward).

 

Assemblyman Mark J.F. Schroeder recently secured $400,000 for the establishment of a new park between Ohio Street and the Buffalo River, and West Seneca Councilmember Tina Bove has attracted $230,000 in public investment to a new boat launch and park in West Seneca.
 

 

More than $7 million has been spent on environmental remediation and park improvements at this former brownfield site along the Niagara River. 
 

 

A $5.4 million initiative is underway to build a boathouse to be used by the West Side Rowing Club based on a design by Frank Lloyd Wright.  The project is managed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rowing Boathouse Corporation and has attracted substantial private investment and $1 million in New York State “Adelphia” funds.  Construction is slated to begin this spring.  Buffalo State College has proposals for $23.2 million in projects at Cotter Point, including facilities for their programs in boatbuilding and the Great Lakes Research Institute.

 

 

 

A number of important waterfront development projects are underway outside of Buffalo in the 27th Congressional District.  The items below are not a comprehensive list of all of the waterfront projects in the 27th Congressional District, but they highlight some of the important waterfront work taking place in our communities in which Brian is involved.

 

 

The Downtown Jamestown Connector Trail along the Chadakoin River will provide important public access and amenities there.  Brian secured $1.6 million toward this effort is the six-year federal transportation legislation and also announced a $150,000 grant from National Park Service for this project.  This work will augment the refurbishment of Jamestown’s historic train station, for which Brian secured an additional $1.6 million.

 

 

In the six-year federal transportation legislation Brian also secured $400,000 for the Dunkirk Bicycle Path and Pedestrian Trail, which will provide public access at Dunkirk’s Lake Erie Waterfront.

 

 

Lake Shore Road, or Route 5, is part of the Seaway Trail system and is an important link between the communities up and down New York State’s Lake Erie Shoreline.  Brian secured $400,000 in federal transportation funding for improvements to Route 5 in the Town of Hamburg.