Waterfront
Brian has long believed in a simple formula for waterfront development: remove the barriers to public access and provide high-quality public space along the water’s edge, and economic growth and development will follow. In 2005 he led the charge to secure a $279 million hydropower relicensing settlement from the New York Power Authority, which is funding much of the work at the Inner Harbor, and fought for the creation of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation, which is directing the improvements. The past several years have seen an unprecedented transformation at Canalside and the next several years promise equally stunning changes at the Outer Harbor, along Niagara Falls’ waterfront with the partial removal of the Robert Moses Parkway, and in the Tonawandas.
More on Waterfront
Buffalo, NY - Mayor Byron Brown and Congressman Brian Higgins officially re-opened a 1.4 mile stretch of Ohio Street today, which continues to undergo an $11.3 million rehabilitation. Ohio Street is now operational, with nearly 70% of the work completed. The remainder of the project will be completed in spring 2015.
Congressman Brian Higgins, City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, New York State Assemblyman Sean Ryan and Buffalo City Councilman David Rivera announced the start of a major reconstruction project on the Ferry Street Bridge connecting Niagara Street to Squaw Island.
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is calling on the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) to amend the General Project Plan (GPP) for Canalside to immediately transfer a minimum of $15 million currently proposed for parking structures to instead be used on development of parks and public improvement projects along the Outer Harbor.
BUFFALO – Buffalo motorists may notice a few new changes to the $11.3 million Ohio Street construction project. Today, Mayor Byron Brown and Congressman Brian Higgins announced that crews, who started the conversion process two months ago, are on track for early completion, with 40% of the infrastructure redevelopment project completed.
“Today’s discussion about transporting people between the inner and outer harbors is a welcome one resulting from the significant transformation of Buffalo’s waterfront. The Buffalo waterfront saw its first public water-based transportation with the debut of the Queen City Ferry in 2011, and continued dialogue about public access to the water is timely. I applaud the New York Power Authority for responding to an effort for expanded ferry service we initiated two years ago and are pleased it is now moving forward thanks to willing partnerships and new public demand.”
