Gerry Rising Nature Watch from yesterdays Buffalo News:

http://www.buffalonews.com/185/story/365392.html

The Erie Basin Marina was built for docking boats. The walls there are to protect the integrity of this harbor.

The currents at this beach as it is configured are very dangerous to non swimmers and people without open water skills and knowledge.

Even a rescuer going into these currents is at higher risk. An untrained open water rescuer is putting their own life in danger.

The EBM is a public park and there is no way that any elected official can allow the city to be subject to a lawsuit. None of us want to see innocent people die wrongfully. The family of a drowning victim at this location would have every right and reason to file a court law suit if swimming was allowed at your own risk. This is far too dangerous. The baby hole under the Peace Bridge had a similar set up as the Erie Basin Marina beach and then two children died when they went out too far and got swept down the river to their deaths. Fort Erie completely destoryed that beach and won't ever allow swimming because of safety concerns prompted by those two tragic deaths. The general public in this city does not know how to swim in a pool and has absolutley zero understanding of what to do if caught in a strong current. Many of them make the incorrect chcice and swim against the water curretns it to their deaths.

My previous suggestion for a shallow natural water pool runnig next to the breakwall has a snowballs chance in hell in this city. Top down decisions are the way that most decisions are promagated in Buffalo. But my idea would provide safe swimming at the Erie Basin Marina.

The current beach at the EBM is labor intensive to keep it clean. I agree that the public pools should be opened as soon as Buffalo Public Schools have broke for summer vacation. These places provide safe swimming to urban youth and provide summer work for Buffalo Public H.S. swimming team members.

I kayak from that beach all the time , the current is further out. Why not put in a net system that would stop people from swimming out. There's such a nice sand bottom , its really to bad people can't enjoy it.

Why not allow swimming at your own risk? This is a free country. Ambulance chasers suck.

Is the 'no swimming' enforced? If so, one might reasonably conclude that it would be less expensive to have a life gaurd on duty (allowing swimming) and having happy citizens, than having an unhappy populous (no swimming) and a police officer who's time might be better spent chasing real bad guys, not those troublesome waders and 'wouldbe' swimmers. (Agree with TheNextMayor that the ambulance chasers seem to be casting a wider cloud over all of our activities... or, as the case may be, non-activties.)

Its doesn't matter that it is small or that debris washes ashore. There seems to be a constant flux of people (most probably willing to do their part of clean it up a bit) using and loving the waters edge in downtown. That is fantastic and one hell of a change from what was there 6 months ago. Even without making it any bigger it is one more things to do downtown when people ask.. where should I go, what should I do. Architecture, restaurants, plays, and a beach.. all within walking distance to one another. Some people can't see the good things of life when they are right in front of them. Sit back, grab a cold one and enjoy life!

I thought Mayor Brown wanted volleyball games. Were is the court? Ill be there!

I haven't been yet but can't wait. Just needs to cool off a little.

I don't think the city can just remove the rocks. They are probably integral to the stability of the breakwall. That whole area is man made and without such a strong face the lake would probably destroy it and the harbor behind it.

It is interesting to note that the breakwall was created as a part of the city's bid to win the Erie Canal terminus. It is what provided the sheltered harbor for the terminus of the canal and the industrial development that used to be in the Erie Basin Marina. Built with brute force, sweat and probably more than a couple lives even these simple rocks had a role is our history and play into our future (be giving people access to the water, a harbor for boaters and a place to enjoy sunsets.

Not to say that expanding the beach wouldn't be fantastic but it would probably be structurally best to add before removing.

A kayak floats on top of the water. There are strong water currents under the water there. You don't have local swimming experience in this area to make these judegements of the currents in this area. To even think of alowing swimming without life guards and some kind of barrier is courting disaster.

Why the heck is the boardwalk closed at both ends? If you walk all the way down on the rocks, you then have to get off the rocks, go around the boardwalk to the steps in the middle to get back on it. Then, once you're on it, you can't go anywhere. Its not really a board walk, you don't walk across it, its a viewing deck. It just seems silly to not be able to access it from each side, allowing the natural traffic flow to continue.

I wish the city would jump on removing the rest of the rocks and wood pieces and expand the beach before summer ends.