Less Parking... More Park and People
Over the weekend I headed down to the foot of Ferry to see how the Earth Day cleanup was going along the Niagara River. When I arrived to Broderick Park I discovered that Riverkeeper had beat me to the cleanup. The area was clean and there was a blue sign left behind that read, "Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper - Clean Up Site". So instead of documenting the cleanup I decided to observe the layout of Broderick Park. Like many of Buffalo's other public waterfront properties, Broderick Park suffers greatly from the incredible number of parking spaces that take up valuable waterfront land.
Maybe in this case it is because the entrance to the Buffalo Sewer Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant is also found on the land... along the Black Rock Canal. That means that on one side of the park we have parking, while on the other side of the park we have the Sewer Authority's driveway. I asked the official at the Sewer Authority entrance if there was another entranceway to the plant and she told me that there was an entrance on Squaw Island. I was actually familiar with that entrance, but was not sure if it was operational. If the Sewer Authority consolidated to one entranceway, Broderick Park would benefit. Many of the people who use this park live on the West Side of Buffalo. These people walk to the park... I have rarely seen more than a dozen cars parked along the river. The waterfront parking at Broderick could be lessened due to the overabundance of spaces, and like Squaw Island, the park could be returned to the people... not the cars.
Broderick Park was the last stop on the Underground Railroad before slaves headed on to Canada. There is an abandoned hotdog stand there that should be given to some entity involved with promoting that historical significance. Pastor Darius Pridgeon of True Bethel Baptist Church would be perfect for the project considering that he has successfully operated a Subway restaurant at his church where he trains young people for entering the workplace.
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PaulBuffalo
I visited Squaw Island Park last summer and the railroad bridge is an exciting entry to that gem. This entire island has so much potential and has come a long way since I was a kid dodging mounds of garbage on my bicycle. Will Broderick Park receive the same positive attention as Squaw Island Park?
Buffalo's continuing racial divide is deplorable, but I hope that there is enough support in the community to erect a memorial here to the Underground Railroad as part of any change to Broderick Park. It's long overdue.
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sbrof
There is a plan that was partial started about the underground railroad and this site. It was a city funded idea similar to the LaSalle Park Gateway plan. I don't know the status of it but it is probably somewhere between dead and limbo.. I mean how many union police can you employ with the money that could go into the city's infrastructure.. geez
Ok enough brown bashing. This is a great asset to the city and a very fun place to hang out on a summer evening. Growing up in a fishing household the 'foots' of many streets were important locations in my childhood mental map of the city. The foot of ferry, the foot of Ontario where always places to go, talk with people and run around. I wasn't much for fishing but I always liked to check out what people had in their buckets. Fisherman are often some of the nicest people around even though many people I know now see them and consider them 'sketchy.' really a shame overall.
I think whatever does eventually get done to this small and manageable park needs to somehow think about the fisherman. Many catch their dinners from these waters in the summer and it would be a shame to see them somehow gentrified out because they didn't fit the 'hipster' new buffalo mold.
Ohh memories. It is funny how BRO can constantly tug on these memories.
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rpmcmurphy
This post reminded me of something I thought of when visiting Squaw Island the other day. This island could really use a name change. Squaw is a derogatory term used to refer to Native American women and is pretty offensive. I cannot understand why it would be named that. I understand that we may be going overboard on political correctness this day and age but there is also a need to atone for the terrible things we have done and continue to do to native peoples of this land we have taken. This is merely a name change and our atonement needs to go much further.
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Joshua
Broderick Park --- my father did some work on this park. I believe he installed some of the park benches (that have been destroyed) and some of the covered pavilions (that are also destroyed). I remember them when they were new. My family cooked hotdogs; we had a great time - also I walked out on the path towards the Peace Bridge. Believe me, it's a lot further than you think. I plan on spending more time at this park.
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Joshua
Broderick Park --- my father did some work on this park. I believe he installed some of the park benches (that have been destroyed) and some of the covered pavilions (that are also destroyed). I remember them when they were new. My family cooked hotdogs; we had a great time - also I walked out on the path towards the Peace Bridge. Believe me, it's a lot further than you think. I plan on spending more time at this park.
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fredrico
This is one of the most striking and beutiful assets our city has. It's a true diamond in the rough. I would love to see a bread and breakfast be built here or a pavillion whereby one might listen to beautiful music at sunset on the rivers edge. This spot has been so wasted and neglected for way too long. I truly believe that it has the greatest potential of any piece of land in our entire area.
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Rez
The City of Buffalo needs to get going now and replace the missing railing along the river for public safety.
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