Peace Bridge: Part 5: A Community Strives to Survive, and asks us to please listen
A number of our Buffalo West Side neighbors are asking us to hear and know this:
The nearly-clearly imminent results of the Peace Bridge Group's expansion decisions threaten the legacy of the best that Buffalo has always been, (and should preserve, and can be) : the essence of an historic neighborhood.
Consider residents Thomas and Kate Cody, who live off Porter on Columbus Park in the PBA-threatened heritage community. This frightened community wants to know if you know that it is about to be laceratingly taken away, and then graded into dirt and asphalt, to be a diesel riddled fuel parking lot far and away from its soul--
---all removed from existence by the PBA plaza project? Do we know that and do we care?
The Peace Bridge Group will eliminate--tear down (remove familes) from over 120 tax-base and user fee homes, and in result will nullify existence to a Buffalo’s community’s honorable heritage.
Thousands more West Siders are at stake under caution for their health and other issues cited in other of this series' parts, but today's Part 5 of our series focuses on a specific neighborhood.
Prime space—prime families—prime history—prime family health--and prime future are all under imminent attack—and removal by the PBA. “Please listen to us and please care about us,” is the clarion last minute cry hundreds of residents want you to hear right now, here.
Columbus Park has some of Buffalo’s oldest and lovely homes. Did you know that they comprise Buffalo’s ONLY historical true waterfront community of upscale period designed architectural residences.
This was the prime, historic Italian neighborhood that in its early days, the richest of Italian neighborhoods, built a grand community that today is thriving with self-respect. There are proud homeowners who seek to preserve that legacy. They are still Italians, but also Germans and Irish, Polish, and every nationality you can think of, that live there and thrive there now—all as an entrenched and enriched Buffalo community under threat..
It’s one of those marvelously saved heritage communities. Given countless years of community change and turmoil, it is a grand space of Buffalo that unveils beautiful homes that families set out upon a life from. We need to ask ourselves as Buffalonians if we care to protect their rights now?
Buffalo’s suffered decades (e.g. 1960's) of neighborhoods that went into demise, crime, disrepair and then somehow miraculously recovered. This one did that miraculusly so. Now just to let it be destroyed? Can we do that Buffalo? Wow, that’s crazy, really-- it’s just so gracious and beautiful a place of neighbors and family life at its best.
A great couple--Tom and Kate Cody-- their beautiful turn of century house is a grand example. Senator Al Coppola (17 years a Buffalo Councilman) told me how he was friends with Jimmy Naples there as a kid—James Naples is now a prominent Buffalo attorney; but it was his father’s house—Buffalo's well known Doctor Naples who back when built that beautiful home the Cody’s now own.
Visiting Tom and Kate Cody’s home you see the illustrations depicting the colossal and historic Armory across the parkway in its days of seeing trolleys crossing from historic Busti Avenue routes unto heralding Black Rock. Tom Cody’s family has a beautiful home dating a stay of 16 years, and with his wife Kate, and their kids, they now see their neighborhood about to fall into the wrong hands.
Today we hear from Tom Cody, who writes to all of us:
The Tale of Two Plazas
by Thomas Cody (West Side Resident)
”I recently attended presentations with alternative plans for building a new international bridge and plaza to accommodate increased truck traffic across the border.
The Public Bridge Authority presentation was uninspiring and predictable. The PBA claimed to have studied 59 options and concluded only one plan as viable which is the same flawed plan they have been promoting for the last 10 years.
A plan that crams cars and trucks together and funnels them into a space confined plaza in the middle of Buffalo’s Olmsted Parkway System, destroying an historic waterfront neighborhood and removing 130 homes and businesses from the city’s tax rolls.
The more sensible plan was presented by the Ambassador Bridge Group - build a separate bridge and plaza for trucks only near the International Railroad Bridge. The truck plaza would be approximately twice the size of the proposed PBA plaza, funded with private money and built on brown fields connected to rail yards on both sides of the border.
Their proposal does not require the destruction of homes, polluting of neighborhoods or destroying of parks, and as a private company, the Ambassador Group would pay taxes to our cash starved city.
The International Railroad Bridge was built in 1873 to serve the commercial transportation needs and growing commerce between Canada and the United States. The Peace Bridge was built in 1927 to accommodate automobiles and pedestrians and link two local communities. Our needs today are the same – the choice should be too!
From my standpoint, the most frustrating aspect of this process has been dealing with the arrogance of the PBA. Their most recent proposal is a slap in the face to the residents of this community that they claim they have been collaborating with. Rather than present a couple of options for consideration, they are trying to steamroll the same plan to expand in Front Park.
Rather than work with the community, they have chosen to be more aggressive in their taking of property - crossing Rhode Island Street, almost to Vermont and building a truck ramp into our neighborhood, further impacting our quality of life and health of our children.
What I think can get the interest of the suburbanites who want quick access to their beach house and golf course is the negative health impact from the idling diesel trucks that surround them.
The worst part about crossing the border is looking at and smelling the trucks - if they were moved to another site we wouldn't have to contend with them, making for a more pleasant journey across the border. People should be greeted by a waterfront view, the Olmsted Parkway System, a resurrected Fort Porter and a visitor’s welcome center - not a truck plaza!
Lastly, in review of the PBA's DEIS, I read the following: "Buffalo's economic decline began in the 1950's, when numerous large companies started leaving the area.... The installation of thruways, designed to revitalize the city, instead had a detrimental effect on various neighborhoods.
The Niagara Extension of the NYS Thruway (I-190) was particularly harmful to Blackcock and the West Side. The city sustained a loss of population that was, in part, exacerbated by the federal government's post-war policy of using low interest, long term loans for the construction of new homes and businesses as opposed to those already established. Urban Renewal Projects were implemented in an attempt to stem the decline and exodus but were ultimately ineffective".
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Thanks Tom Cody...and good luck.
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Comment Options
halljd39
I am 100% in favor of having the next bridge built on the International RR Site. This would be the best alternative. Buffalo does not need any more of it's history destroyed by a stupid bridge.
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viking
I hope this forum is not too little to late, this could have been a election issue but was avoided by all the currently elected officials when asked, and most were. Most of the neighborhood people in favor of the PBA plan are people who hope that a guaranteed sale would bale them out from a declining property value, their concern is self centered and defensive The BlackRock site utilizes an area that was designed to function as the indicated goal with little disruption, we don't need to re-event the wheel
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SLEEPL8
Someone is going to lose something on this deal. It is unfortunate but is there really a win win option?
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atypical
Win win? Yup - it's called Shared Border Management.
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comptart_lws
Shared Border Management isn't really a win if the trucks are still co-mingled with auto, bike and pedestrian crossing. We should think of SBM as "gravy" that could make a separate-crossing solution even better by incorporating flexibility over the next 80-100 years as transportation, currency and trade continue to evolve.
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RonR
Why does nobody want to talk about the crossing rights. The PBA, from both Canada and the US, have crossing rights from where the Niagara river meets Lake Erie to 6 MILES North. The Ambassador Group has NEVER spoken as to how they would get permission to do this. Permission has to come from both the US and Canada.
All of the PR is about what residents of the West Side of Buffalo want. While their opinion is VERY important, it is not the only one. Where is the feedback from the residents of Fort Erie? Where is the feedback from the Canadian government?
Jim Kane can present as many sexy ideas as he wants but until this issues is resolved all they are is ideas. I am surprised that a media outlet that is providing such extensive coverage of this issue has never spoken about this key item.
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BuffaloRox
Ron R,
I'll save you the aggravation. There is no interest in this series of threads of taking a critical look at the international bridge crossing or the ABG as an alternative. If you're interested, there are a couple of very unflattering opinions to the editor, articles/bogs at the Windsor Star (Windsor, ON) leveling the same general accusations made about PBA against the ABG. Wasn't very difficult to Google "Ambassador Bridge" and Windsor to get the lively discussion that's taking place to the west of us regarding another crossing in that area.
Meanwhile, this thread focuses on the health detriment of the current bridge plaza to West Side residents only (ignoring the fact that the same will occur if the bridge is moved), lambasting the PBA for its self-serving bridge location survey (look at the "highly scientific" bridge location survey advanced by the ABG - complete with very persuasive filled in circles for the international RR crossing location) and whether the acronym PBA is accurate (gee that makes a difference). I hope I've made the sarcasm evident.
This is my last post on this series of threads since it quickly devolved into get this out of my backyard (West Side) rather than a critical discussion on the pros and cons of each location and the operator of each proposed bridge, and what makes sense for WNY/Ft. Erie. Not a single critical examination of the ABG proposal.
BR
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Riverfisher
When it comes down to the PBA saying "We won't let anyone consider an alternative regardless of whether or not it is a better proposal," what does that say about the PBA? It shows that they are far more interested in their own self-preservation than acting for the public's benefit.
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carlmalone
BuffaloRox:
Great points and well made. If you are really looking for a critical in-depth look into the issues you will not find it here. I urge others to seek out the issues and the complexity behind them. They are real, relevant and not documented anywhere in this series. I mean does Canada even matter to anyone here?
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zimbuddha
Carlmalone,
Canada matters a lot. It matters that Amex controls the Canadian half of the five appointees to the PBA board, and that each are allowed excessive orientations to wealth deriving from the PBA. It matters that the five appointees to the American half of the PBA run in limted terms, and that Cuomo took away their stipend, disincentiving their interest, that each receives only car milage and $100 a meeting.
The result is a loose, striated, fumbling American side led by a wealthy attorney, in conjunction with a rich, fine tuned operation run by coffer keepers on the Canadian side.
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RealityChek
RonR and BuffaloRox make excellent and intelligent points.
Riverfisher, your comment on the PBA is purely and utterly a slanderous lie. Who said it and when? This was never said, EVER, and you know it. It's clear you are only interested in persuading people in your direction without any use of actual facts.
Also for the record, and to clear up another lie that keeps being repeated, including the Ambassador Group website, the PBA is required to pay property taxes in Fort Erie and then pays an equivalent amount to Buffalo, plus a $200,000 annual payment to the NFTA. No other Public Authority pays taxes BUT THE PBA DOES.
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magnum
A second bridge at the international railway would divert a majority of the revenue to that bridge( A for-profit private company). The end result will be higher tolls for cars going over the peace bridge. We already have 4 bridges crossing the Niagara river, we don't need a 5th. Wait for a new administration, we can build the truck stop in Ft. Erie as originally planned.
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RisingDamp666
It's a terrible plan, but like most terrible plans, try stopping it.
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KED
RealityCheck - I think you need to do your own reality check. Please read the last paragraph in the article about the PBA at the site you recommended in one of your previous blogs (www.politicswny.com). Judy Einach ends her interview with the PBA's Ron Reinas with "Oh, one more thing. As I listened to Ron Reinas it became clear to me that the Peace Bridge plaza on the US side will be built, a second bridge will be built, and these things will happen regardless of who becomes County Executive or even if no one is County Executive (huh?). The PBA is happy when local elected officials offer support but the PBA CAN AND WILL MOVE AHEAD ON ITS OWN." So how's that for ARROGANCE?! In her 3rd paragraph, Judy states "the PBA has been accused of operating outside of government." CASE CLOSED!!! The PBA has even breached its agreement that the City of Buffalo will be the agent to handle property acquisition during plaza expansion. The PBA bullies have been personally meeting with property owners in the surrounding neighborhood to discuss potential purchases, including with a homeowner who happens to be one of the US public jurors! The PBA has been PREDATORY in its scheme to "take" properties along Busti Ave. between Vermont and Rhode Island, telling homeowners that the property would only be used for "administrative or buffer areas" in the plaza expansion. Oh, one more thing, you all must read Harvard Professor Ed Glaeser's article here in BR, which teaches us about the rise and fall of Buffalo, who's turning point was when TRUCKS entered the scene in about 1910. How ironic is that?!!!
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