When the ice just begins to form, we'll surely be able rent two tents to Cellino and Barnes, one to rent skates (loss leader), and one to file the suits.

BuffaloDave...it was an event sponsored by Labatt, it makes sense that there be some drinking.

Keeping EBM open in the fall/winter, Great!

One Gripe: As a slip holder in EBM the thought of 24 hour access for non slip holders is a bit disturbing. Many of us pay a good deal of money to have a slip for 3 months, and anyone who knows anything about boats, they arent the most secure things in the world when it comes to theft. There is really no good reason to allow summer access to the EBM after 10PM and I hope they take into consideration the 500K in revenue the slipholders provide the city annually and make sure that the boats/slips are adequatley protected (and no, I dont just meen a chain accross the dock access, this wont even stop my grandmother). Anyone who would like to argue the crime aspect against boats in this area should talk to the slipholders who keep their boats in past closing each year.

This wont keep me from having a slip there this year, but if crime DOES increase many slipholders will leave.

.02

Who's the guy next to the Mayor, tugging at his johnson?

How many times did Mayor Brown change his clothes for the photo shoot??

Where are these people going to park? Doesn't the city have rules about parking? Will you open a Police Precinct at the marina? What are you going to do about your contract with the marina operators? Who will determine that the ice is safe to walk on? How will the owners of the condos adjacent to the marina respond? It doesn't sound like our politicians did any research before they made their decision to open this area to the public. The marina operator found out about it as they saw it on television. They are livid and they should be. I was under the obviously mistaken opinion that our government was working for us.

FunGuy - thanks for the explanation :)

dix1900, no arguement from me on the beer at the Labbatt's event. It was sponsired by a beer company. But when it comes to St Paddy's Day here in the B-LO, I have to ask you if you ever attended the parade here. If you had, you would agree that during the parade, the drinking should be banned. Most folks come to the parade already drunk and adding more fuel to the fire gets really bad. Hell, I'm a beer boy myself, but I also know when it's time to close it out for a couple of hours. mac1234, it looks like this dude made a point of grabbing his jewels for the pic. Maybe as a Tool Man grunt to the competition or maybe as a sign of ignorance. Who knows? But, I agree with you, and I am also surprised the photographer didn't crop it or offer another pic in its place.

Did any of the posters above who were speaking about the public beer drinking even GO to the game? There were a ton of kids and family's there. I didn't see a thing wrong with parents having their children there. And I couldn't see a single family concerned that their children were being exposed to such a thing as public drinking. Obviously it is being sponsored and brought to us by a beer company, why wouldn't there be a beer tent? If people are so worried about children seeing grown men and women drinking beer outdoors at an event sponsored by a beer company, then they should lobby for an "upright, holy than thou" hockey event of their own. Someone mentioned St. Patrick's Day as evidence of "public drinking" at a "family affair", folks I come from Savannah Georgia, Home to the 3rd largest St. Paddy's day celebration in the US. I can tell you, drinking at "family event's" unless it's at Disney World isn't anything new to children... Doesn't matter if it's a St Paddy's day celebration, a hockey game, or a heaven forbid a Superbowl. The matter shouldn't be public drinking but driving afterwards. Besides, Buffalo seems to be a "drinking" town as it is... there shouldn't be any fuss over drinking. And not being a Buffalo native, I was not even aware until reading the comments here that the waterfront marina isn't open during the winter. I am extra glad I went to the game then, not only did I get some great photos for my family back in Ga, but I got to do something I apparently couldn't do anyway. I say, lets open the water front marina up more often! Just be sure to put a life guard on duty because I saw a couple people wandering a little too close to the frozen ice on the lake side of the roadway. Sorry for the rant about drinking though, just my opinion and everyone has one.

Ben - And same thing when it begins to melt. Mid-to-late March will be a bad time to let anyone walk onto the ice. Might have some Darwin Award potential. That happens anyhow sometimes with ice fishers sometimes. At least the city should warn people at that point, or maybe close it up for melting weeks. I agree with those who've said this sounds like a hurried decision in a few ways.

great idea that will get better and better every year. Throw in more vendors, beer stands, hot coco with bailey's, drum fires, 1 hr hotel rooms, etc..

Great!! There isn't any reason that people should not be allowed to use an already public area year round. If people want to brunt the winds and snow they should be allowed to. Otherwise it appears as though the city really only wanted it to be publicly accessible so the 'haves' to get access to their private boat slips.

Ohh wait that is probably the reason it is closed in the winter to begin with and why 80% of the land down there is restricted to parking for shanghai reds or boat launch users only.

regurge...I'd go a step further and say they were more than a sponsor... without them the event would not have taken place. Labatt's should be praised for the event, and if a 'family-friendlier' event is invisioned for the future, some other organization would need to step in and help with the organization/sponsorship.

Great event, great FUN. As far as the guy next to the mayor, he's a disgrace. Ignore the man behind the curtain. Good to see that there is talk about opening this area up. Wonder if it had anything to do (annual closing) with who would take care of salting and plowing the road and parking lots. Added expense to be sure, but also brings more people down to the area in bad weather months. Add this to the cocoa and Baileys - cocoa and peppermint schnapps. As far as St Pat's Day, the city really should clamp down on the public drinking during parade time since it is for families. The drinking can continue AFTER the parade when the little kids are out of harms way.

little things like pond hockey or a beach that are so elemetary and inexpensive for water front development. We need more events and more things to do in the winter here. The season is just to long and grey.

It is about f...ing time that the waterfront was opened to the public!

I see that the guy grabbing his crotch is hoisting a can of Blue..................It looks like a statement to me !!

Good idea, drive more money out of Buffalo, I highly doubt the city needs the money, it may as well be a public park with NO INCOME! Sweet idea!

It would be really terrible to not have the dock side of the water (A MARINA) available for what? fishing off the pier? Give me a break. Many of the people who slip here (myself included) live and work in the city. We choose to have our boats here because it is in the city.

Please let me what it is you plan on doing in the Marina in the pitch dark between 10pm and 6am in the summer, I'm all ears.

I hope for Higgins and Brown's sake they did their homework first to make sure this isn't against the law

Before everyone gangs up on me - I just thought that it was an odd to see. I have never been one to shy away from the drink and have no problem with it (just used to hiding booze in my pocket I guess!)

lol, never been downtown for a st. pattys day parade i take it.

I went down to the marina to see the tournament and thought the same thing. It did me proud to see people using that area in the winter. The lake looked really neat and a lot of people, myself included, never usually get that close to it in the winter. The skyline looked great, especially in the similar angle to your last shot above, with the new condo tower rising, the shell of the Dulski visible and the new BlueCross/Shield building. I felt very proud to be a Buffalonian, but one has to wonder about the blatent drinking going on at the event. Not that anyone was roudy, but odd to see the mayor in a pic with the guys all drinking in a public place. Regardless, this event opened me up to the beauty there and makes me want to ice skate in the marina.

The idea of the park open all year is great, the 24/7 access is not. What is anybody without a boat going to do at the marina at 3am? Many state & county parks close at or near sunset unless a camping permit is obtained. Chestnut Ridge, Woodlawn Beach SP, & Watkins Glen SP are a few examples. Why would anyone without a floating mortgage payment want access at 3am?

300miles, the first pic was at the hockey play-offs on Saturday, the second pic was from today when Brown and Higgins removed the barrier at the Marina.