The Pressure Is On... Again.
Congressman Brian Higgins, along with Mayor Byron Brown and Western New York industry and building trade workers, are, once again, stepping up the pressure to build a secondary bridge over the mouth of the Niagara River. Their platform is not only the notion of alleviating traffic flow and increasing commerce, it is focusing on job creation and a 'green' future for Western New York and Canadian residents. The economy boost generated from employing thousands of workers on the site, may be the best rallying cry for the proponents. And the proposed two-tower cable stay companion bridge would certainly attract truck drivers who may be opting to avoid the current bridge waits. Of course the design would change the aesthetic landscape of the waterfront. Some argue that the cable stay has already become any 'every day' design. Others cry out, "Build the damn bridge."
One thing is for certain. For the meantime (if the cable stay is built) we will still have an expensive-to-maintain Peace Bridge on our hands. Maybe if the cable stay bridge proves its worth we may see a future battle regarding twinning the cable stay. The above photo represents the Peace Bridge design selection jury recommendation. Representatives from the Fair Apportionment of Infrastructure Revenue (FAIR) Organization are already clamoring to jump onboard with the project. "According to the Peace Bridge Environmental Impact Statement, total construction job counts are expected to reach approximately 4800." Higgins is fighting to keep as many of the man-hours on the American side as he can.
The project would include a Niagara Street friendly plaza and a return of land to Front Park. Restoring that land would be great, and directing traffic to Niagara could be just what that street needs. The Front Park expansion is just part of 'going green'... the controlling of exhaust that effects the health of neighboring residents is also a priority. But more than anything else, the addition of a new bridge would signal that Buffalo is ready to do business. After talking with a random ex-pat at the Erie Basin Marina this morning, I found that much of what he based his offhanded judgments about Buffalo revolved around the Peace Bridge. He kept saying, "They were arguing about that bridge ten years before I left this city... and I left ten years ago. I wish you luck cuz you're gonna need it." Anyone ever heard of the luck of the Irish?
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Comment Options
hamp
It is easy to look at the Peace Bridge as another example of nothing getting done around here. But that is not really the case. Say what you want about the process, but it actually was (eventually) quite good. The Peace Bridge listened to the public, and came up with a new design that included preserving green space and recreating Fort Porter. It was a long, elaborate, and expensive process. And that's the way it should be. We don't need to make excuses for this to anyone, including expats. On the contrary this is something to be proud of.
I'm still not convinced that there is any huge economic benefit to building a new bridge. I wish someone could show me a real analysis that describes the impact. In the mean time, I think we should continue to press for the shared boarder arrangement, or move the bridge to another location.
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BuffaloUP
Build the bridge already....perfect example of too much public input delaying progress
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chris69
The Peace Bridge Authority does not share revenue nor does it pay taxes. It would be nice if Higgins, Brown, Hoyt and all the others that want to shove this bridge down our throats will tell us who is going to pay the taxes from the acres of civil war era homes and businesses that are going to be demolished!
Yes, acres of demolished homes and businesses why because Chertoff refuses a colocated customs plaza in Fort Erie. Well to bad for Chertoff...I dont see why the residents of Buffalo have to sacrifice acres of homes and businesses on this guys whim of ignorance.
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chrish
Buffalo isn't unique here. Unfunded, multi-million dollar infrastructure projects with much at stake for the community can provoke decades-long discussions. New York is *still* building a Second Avenue Subway that began construction in 1921, and it won't be completed until 2018 at the earliest.
One thing is for sure, this plaza now being promoted (even though SBM is still on the table) won't add one square foot of land to Front Park, and would detract so greatly from the park's utility by the demolition of half of the Prospect Hill neighborhood that it wouldn't be worthwhile even if the new plaza were to add an acre or two the park. The vast new plaza would make Niagara Street a nightmare for pedestrians and destroy high-potential retail corners. This is all spin, no substance. The bull speaks from the rear.
Peace Bridge traffic is declining dramatically. There is no need, and no federal money, for a new bridge or an expanded trucking plaza. The discussion may keep a few people in the headlines, but don't expect cranes to be in any photo ops anytime soon. The people clamoring for this new plaza just added ten years to the discussion.
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MisterChips
There is no "green future" if a new bridge accomodates only cars & trucks and not rail. Why do we keep acting as thought cheap gas is forever?
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chris69
I think their under-estimating the protest to the demolition of those homes and businesses! There are alot of politicians that are going to get black eyes and sullied reputations by pushing this on Buffalonians.
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TheNextMayor
Higgins jumps into the bridge debate to pander to the unions (he's up for reelection next year.) The I-190 created thousands of short term jobs, too. It also cut off the city from its most precious resource and lowered property values for decades. We are now stuck with it.
I'm sure the 60 acre american truck plaza will be a fantastic neighbor. Diesel exhaust combined with keeping the city cutoff from the waterfront's highest bluff is a superb way to raise property values. When are Higgins and Brown moving in?
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atypical
Don't let the authority fool you: they WILL expand the US plaza, absorb Front Park, knock more homes off the tax roles, and exacerbate increasing levels of lung disease but they will *NEVER* build that new bridge.
Teaming up politicians and unions is nothing more than the Authority manipulating the outcome of the EIS and creating an unnecessary media buzz and pressure to build NOW while traffic counts are DOWN at the bridge; not up.
Brown and Higgins should call on the completion of Shared Border Management and not call for the destruction of an Olmsted Park and city neighborhood. Where was Higgins voice when talks stalled? Exactly.
Also, why is the Olmstead Conservancy so quiet?
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Auburner
I'ts so easy to fall in love, i'ts so easy to fall in love..."
Future is Auto Workers, God bless them, Unions and Corporations... With healthcare being the largest expense for Ford, GM and Chrysler, larger than payroll, it is very easy to fall in love...
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Auburner
Oopps, sorry, got taken off track... Build the damn thing! Stop being a cry baby... Just do it!
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jstraubinger
I can only go by my own bridge crossing experiences of this summer and last summer. Returning to the US from Canada involved over 2 hours of my time moving in a crawling traffic jam that started about 3/4's of a mile from the bridge on the QEW. Looking at the bridge from this eternal spot, I saw only a solid convoy of trucks and trucks and trucks heading to the USA. When I finally got to the bridge entrance in Fort Erie, the traffic flow seemed to follow a 3 trucks and 1 car routine. The folks who operate the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit made a proposal a few years ago to build a trucks-only bridge where the` International Railroad Bridge is now with all customs and warehousing would be on the American side. That's where the permanent jobs are after the bridge construction is over. Why isn't this bridge proposal or at least the economic benefits that would come by following its suggestion being taken seriously?
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Auburner
I am personally so sick of Buffalo sittifng there, fearing any kind of change. The most regretfull and conservative city in the United States, Buffalo sits on it's fingers, questions every move, while watching the world go by. Jesus, it is a bridge, for Christ's sake... Build it or let it go! Stop litigating this thing to death! It is a freeking bridge...
Buffalo needs to get out of petty BS and give it'self a good dope slap. Buffalo, as much as I love it, needs a wake up call. Stop crying and whining. You are not St. Louis, New Orleans or Detroit... But if I were an executive looking to relocate a company, I would have to wonder... "Get a mitt and get in the game" as one wiser than me once said.
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TheNextMayor
For all of you in the "just build it crowd": If it's such a great idea, then buy your next home there. Your children can experience 60% higher than normal asthma rates.
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TheNextMayor
Correction: Six times the normal asthma rates. Even better.
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JohnMarko
Um - the reason traffice is DOWN is BECAUSE THE BRIDGE IS OVER CAPACITY and people are finding better crossing points.
If they had the properly sized NEW bridge with the PROPER future capacity, TRAFFIC WOULD INCREASE...
Build the damn thing already...
Glad Higgins is on top of it - like all the other good things he has done since replacing that repuke...
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Auburner
OK, Just got a few IMs and I have to say universally, "stop peeing on my leg and tell me it is raining". If Buffalo knows what is good for it, the city should developl rather than rot. I do not mean to allow it's treasures to be destroyed, it has many, but for them to meld into a new infratructure. What better way than a bridge to the Canadian border. Build the silly thing (regardless of Canadian partipitation).
I am one who loves the rust belt. I am a complete supporter of Cleveland, Buffalo, Eriie, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, etc... Each has come it's own way by bringing themselves up by thier own boot straps (I feel Buffalo does not need a fishing store to do so, as I have stated prior). But these cities need to stop crying in a beer and each needs to participate in the global economy!
Buffalo has so much going for it and it has a strategic position, next to Canada which makes it very unique. Buffalo can position itself as a medical hub, an energy hub, labor hub... but for some reason, Buffalo always stubs a toe. Buffalo always stieps on it's own two feet, for some reason or another. I would like to hear an answer if anyone has one...
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pummer
Just wanted to add that at least part of the reason traffic is down on the Peace Bridge is because people think you need a passport to cross.
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chris69
Let them buiild it someplace else.
I will stand in support of any protest....Chertoffs demands for an expanded plaza are to high a price.
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j02138
We were all thrilled with those temporary construction jobs that helped build UB in Amherst and Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, right? Or what about RT. 33 that destroyed Humboldt Parkway or I-190 and Skyway that suffocates us all from our waterfront?
Those temporary jobs did so much for a few but exactly what good do they deliver today?
Higgins is all about waterfront access and removing the Skyway but is a hypocrite when it comes to the Peace Bridge neighborhood and Front Park.
Why is Front Park less valuable than the land beneath the Skyway? Why are the citizens that live in this neighborhood less deserving than those trucks that will do nothing more than pass through Western New York; leaving diesel fumes and broken neighborhoods?
What’s going on here with the Peace Bridge Plaza highlights nothing more than a continued lack of creativity and bold leadership… but that is what we have come to expect in Buffalo: never greatness; always mediocrity.
Why not finish Shared Border Management? Is it too hard? Too damn bad. We expect our leaders to solve problems abroad but these same folks can’t even agree on a plan between two peaceful nations. What a sad joke!
Why can’t our two bridge authorities (Buffalo and Niagara Falls); that manage four bridges between Lewiston-Queenston and Buffalo-Fort Erie; better collaborate to help ease traffic flow during peak times? Why? It’s all about the money! Why is a duty free shop so important when space is so limited on the Buffalo Plaza? It’s all about the money!
This is nothing more than a desperate move from the Higgins camp; knowing their Bass Bro waterfront solution is going bad and reelection isn’t too far away. Go for the most expensive, short-term solution; collaborate with an Authority with a history of manipulation; divert attention away from waterfront failure and experience a selfish win at the cost of WNY.
Home, sweet home!
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atypical
Coalition says bridge-crossing delays are myth
Misperceptions borne out of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and SARS-related fears are strangling the potential tourist trade in both the Buffalo Niagara region and southern Ontario.
And, now a bi-national consortium is fighting back, launching a marketing campaign aimed at dispelling perceptions that the four U.S.-Canadian border crossings in the region are clogging with motorists.
The Easy Crossing Council released the findings of a survey it conducted from mid-May through the end of July, showing that on average, the wait to cross into the U.S. or Canada locally is about 10 minutes.
Furthermore, the council is also using the campaign the downplay the myth that passports are needed to enter either country, regardless of whether someone lives locally or in South Dakota. Passports are not required, although the federal government is considering making them a requirement by 2007.
"The perception is that the border is an iron curtain and it is not," said Carolyn Bones, president of the Niagara Falls, Ont. Chamber of Commerce. "There is this gap that exists between reality and perception."
The Council is spending $175,000 -- mainly in such U.S. markets as Rochester, Syracuse, Erie, Pa., and Detroit -- to correct the perceptual myth. The campaign is being jointly funded by the council members including the Niagara Falls, Ont., chamber, Niagara Parks Commission, Province of Ontario, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, the Buffalo and Ft. Erie Public Bridge Authority, the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara.
"The border can't be perceived as a negative and right now it is," said Ron Rienas, Peace Bridge general manager.
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2005/08/29/daily17.html?from_rss=1
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gaustad
That lake is cursed - no one will ever do anything on the waterfront - 50 yrs we have been talking about bridges, condos, musuems, businesses, arguing with all the hairy crotch preservationsists over what piece of land some erie canal scooper took a crap on -
All we have to show for it is a couple of wind mills that don't do shit!
People - there will never be waterfront development in Buffalo.
Sometimes you have to look successful to be successful. Building a bridge would incerease traffic and make Buffalo appear ready for success.
Why does NYC have 95 bridges and we have one? What happened to all that money we were suppose to get from the power authority?
What happend to all the state and federal money Spitzer promised for redevelopment.
The bridge is a prime example of why people don;t move back here - ex pats LOVE to complain about this bridge - it is embarrassing; the topic drives people away.
ANY TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT TOPIC WHICH NEVER COMES TO FRUITION IN BUFFALO, and there are many of them, DRIVES PEOPLE AWAY....... it is negative energy....people don't like to live in negative places, couplpe that with our dreary climate, and there you have it....
As I have said before, we would be better off not even discussing it as it sets expecations too high and only leads to more disappointment.
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xosder
If you need a certain type of bridge to feel better about yourself or Buffalo, move to Tampa. The original steel arch span that was designed would have been carrying traffic for the last six years and the 60+ year old concrete deck on the existing bridge that is in terrible condition would have been replaced. This would all have been done without ANY taxpayer dollars, whereas the Authority can not fund the cable stayed alternative without Federal money.
While we have been litigating for the past ten years the Niagara Falls Bridge Authority recently quietly added a third lane at the Queenston-Lewiston bridge, that increased traffic and revenue.
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Chief_Psychic
This is a great opportunity for Niagara Falls to capture more of the cross-border traffic and trade. If they had their sh*t together, they would jump on this opportunity and position themselves as the regional logistics center of choice. We should consider ourselves lucky that neither Buffalo nor Niagara Falls has the ability to get their collective heads out of their asses. Build the bridge, or don't build it, I don't care as long as someone in this area makes a decision. It is the fact that ideas and proposals languish for decades that makes me question the viability of our future. These proposals resurface every couple months, just enough to keep the debate alive and keep our hopes up, but not enough action for anything to actually materialize. It is sad, because this area has so much potential, so many resources, existing infrastructure, history, etc; it is a shame to see us struggle so much on the basics.
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atypical
You don't get it folks.
Number One: The lake/waterfront is not cursed. The region is cursed with poor leadership, selfish politicians, and corrupt authorities.
Number Two: They're not building a bridge; they're building a plaza. IF they build a bridge, it is at least 15+ years away. Just ask them; contact Ron Rienas.
Number Three: The folks demanding Shared Border Management are not suggesting that they do nothing: we are simply saying: DO IT RIGHT. The reason Shared Border Management failed was not entirely because of the Canadian/American government - it was because of a self imposed May 1st deadline set by Ron Rienas and the Authority. Just ask Ron. He'll give some BS answer but it is the truth; Schumer can confirm.
Don't confuse one, two, and three.
CONTACT: Ron Rienas, PBA General Manager, rr@peacebridge.com
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TownLine
I’ve really been thinking about the peace bridge lately. It definitely has to be moved up to Grand Island, I think its completely irresponsible to further devastate the riverfront neighborhoods in the city. Also, it would greatly reduce dependence on the 190, maybe to the point where it can be downgraded to a parkway. If you look at some aerial images of western Grand Island and the Canadian areas directly across the river, there is hardly any population. I know there are big expensive homes on the water on both sides, however it is very few that would be directly impacted. Also, there is plenty of space to move the plazas further inland on both sides so that they are not located near any significant population and obstruction to the waterfront is mitigated. I also think you may have a good argument in getting funds for it from the federal government because of homeland security issues. It would be easier to isolate the boarder crossing away from populations.
Then, once that bridge is built, you leave the existing peace bridge for local traffic, bikes and pedestrians. This will really allow Buffalo and Fort Erie to develop a closer relationship and allow the Canadian population to really become a part of the Buffalo metropolitan area.
If the bridge is expanded in its currently location, you’re dooming the 190 to be there forever, it can’t happen. Gotta think forward.
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sbrof
How about we start construction on the bridge but hold off on constructing the plaza until it is towards the end of the phases of construction. It is going to take at least 5+ years to construct any bridge, that leaves us time to re-work the shared border agreement. Any plaza option outside of a shared border agreement will be a detriment to the neighborhood, city and region overall. What is the point of have the extra sliver of Front Park returned with a great neighborhood next to a noisy smelly mass of infrastructure.
It doesn't make sense to build a plaza that we know is second rate, there was a plan done to compare all three options, (north, south, shared) the governments of both Canada and the US supported the results as well as the citizenry.
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Biniszkiewicz
1.What will a new bridge do for us?
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DumpsterKid
Someone wants to build a new peace bridge? Why dont they just come up with a plan and build it? 15 years they've been trying to build. You have how many council members? You had the same amount of council members when the city was 2/3 bigger? You want to build a new plaza and rip up nice houses? Its called the peace bridge, but seems anything but? You still care?
- Outsider / non local.
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Biniszkiewicz
Sorry, hit the tab key and it posted.
1. What will a bridge do for us? Proponents suggest we can build business off the flow of goods. Build the new bridge to capture business opportunities, stop wasting valuable time they say. Opponents say we get nothing but pollution and noise from bringing strings of trucks through our waterfront; let them go to the Falls' three bridges instead.
2. Why build the huge plaza and bridge right here, right at the park? Why not, say, at the International Railway corridor where the Scajaquada expressway meets the 190?
The PBA claims it's impossible to build at the railway site. They say their site is the only viable one. The Ambassador Bridge people say not so, and they're buying up land on both borders (over 100 acres each side). The PBA, in a bid to thwart the Ambassador people, bought a key piece of real estate in Fort Erie which they hope will block Ambassador's plans. And the PBA claims a six mile exclusive border crossing right in Canada which would also block the Ambassador (privately funded) bridge. Why is the PBA so aggressive in blocking the Ambassador people?
3. Why did the Peace Bridge originally get built where it is?
A: Because this is Buffalo's only waterfront precipice. Buffalo is flat as a pancake. But here at this one spot, the bluff is 60' above the water. That's why the bridge got built here. You see, on the American side of the river is a canal. At the time of construction it was necessary to give 100' of clearance over the canal. Start with a shore that is 60' above the canal and you can build a shorter bridge. This isn't the narrowest part of the river, but it does make for the shortest bridge.
When the Peace Bridge was built in 1927, Fort Porter was still intact (it had been decommissioned 55 years earlier in 1872. Congress directed that the former fort be given for public use in conjunction with Olmsted's 'Front'). Fort Porter was built here because the view was spectacular. One could see for miles out on the lake and see far down the river. Front Park, by the turn of the 20th century, was the most popular park in Buffalo (surpassing Delaware Park in use). Olmsted considered it the crown jewel of our park system (not Delaware Park). The Peace Bridge, when built, bridge simply joined Busti Avenue, next to the park and fort. It didn't encroach into the fort or park.
Over time, decade upon decade, the bridge ate more and more area around it's foot and eventually consumed the balance of the former 'Fort Porter' site (the highway, previously 'sheridan drive' consumed some as well). The 'plaza' grew from two toll booths to multiple lanes and inspection booths, customs, admin buildings, waiting areas, etc. Very much changed in vehicular traffic in the last 80 years. The park and fort site were the victims of the steady march of Peace Bridge plaza encroachment.
Today, none of the spectacular view which led to the park's success is obvious. Peace Bridge administration buildings and the plaza consume the land and block the views. Few who visit would have any clue whatsoever that this particular site has attributes which would lead Olmsted to consider it our crown jewel. Few would understand why 5,000 people a day on the weekends would visit the park a century ago.
4. Shared border management would afford us the opportunity to undo much of the damage of the decades. Put the infrastructure in Canada and we could free up much of the 40 or so acres the PBA says it needs on our side. But there is a problem: we cannot get shared border mangagement. Why not? Because the current administration finds it too difficult to work with Canada. They can't find an acceptable way to put our customs inspectors on Canadian soil here and put Canadian customs on American soil elsewhere. So because of that, we have to sacrifice our heritage. Forget the park. Forget Fort Porter. Screw the neighborhood. Canada is too tough to deal with. We can't work with them.
We cannot even get along with CANADA! How hard is it to get along with Canada? If there was one country in the world we SHOULD be able to get along with, you might think it would be Canada, right? First world nation, shares a big border, similar racial/social composition, similar values and history. How hard could it be, right?
But Michael Chertoff says it's too tough, so we have to carve out 40+ acres for a plaza. And the Snooze and Brian Higgins (HIGGINS, for god's sake!) all join in the mantra that waiting for a new president is too distant. We need this now, they claim.
Some leadership!
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chris69
As I said some very well intentioned politicians like Brown and Higgins that are pretty well liked are going to get their noses very bloodied and their reputations very soiled for promoting this against the citizens of Buffalo.
Dear Mr Higgins....I would tread very lightly if I were you or the good will and political capital you have earned is going to turn to animosity very quickly.
All the comments are that people DO NOT want a bigger plaza......under any circumstances so that leaves a few choices....dont build it or build it someplace else.
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Auburner
All very good points but the important question still remains unanswered. If they build a new Peace Bridge will Ted's Hot Dogs come back?
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doc
Back off on the Chertoff slams folks. A great deal of planning has gone into the design of both the bridge and the plaza. One of the main reasons we are back to square one on the Peace Bridge Plaza is because the United States Customs Department want's firearms available to their customs agents. If the US Customs plaza is relocated to the Canadian side of the border that means that there has to be weapons in Canada which the Canadian government does not want (they don't ascribe to the value of "rockets red glare...bombs bursting in air philosophy I guess). So there was a plan to make part of the Customs staging area in Canada US territory so the weapons technically would not be in Canada (a silly delusion). The Canadians would have none of it (and I don't blame them). Chertoff was in town to make an appearance. He probably got into trouble in Washington for dialing a wrong number or something so he decided to travel a bit to take the heat off (kind of like Nixon's visit to China). So the USA will have a plaza. Why should Canada put up with all of our diesel fumes as well as their own? Build the bridge and an expansive plaza and take the buildings needed to make that happen. It will pay dividends in the long run after we are long gone.
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Biniszkiewicz
doc: re: "It will pay dividends in the long run"
The question is which course of action would pay better dividends.
Opponents of the Peace Bridge project would assert that the only dividends we get now are asthma, noise and air pollution and increased road maintenance costs. Do we want yet more of the same? Why not relocate truck traffic to a location where ample land is available for related commercial services on both sides of the border (such as the Ambassador proposal)?
Perhaps restoring an Olmsted 'crown jewel' and diverting truck traffic to a more suitable location would pay better dividends to Buffalo in the long run than would building a bigger bridge catering to semis at such a sensitive juncture of park, residences and waterfront. Maybe a Peace Bridge which services primarily automobile traffic as opposed to tractor trailers would be more beneficial to Buffalo and the region.
As to the guns/customs argument, I've heard that before. I think our agency's insistance on carrying guns is silly. I can understand Canada saying no to the guns. But we make other customs arrangements. I hear we manage to make US customs work at international airports like Toronto. How different can that be?
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ChefRoo
If anyone hasn't noticed yet, the Canadians have already built their side of the new bridge approach.
Do we have to wait until they start building the bridge pylons on their side of the border?
It would be wonderful to see the new bridge from the new Wright Boathouse.
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jen
"Do we have to wait until they start building the bridge pylons on their side of the border?"
Yup, pretty much. Build something, build the bridge already.
Actually, no, let Canada do it. It will be done faster and probably better and most importantly, it will actually be built. Then we can all complain about it. *eye roll*
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PBLiz
I would like to thank all of the people who have given thought and support to the plight of the PEOPLE living in the Peace Bridge neighborhood. We have been fighting these issues for so long. This recent development of a plan which expands the plaza into our neighborhood has really hit us hard, as no one has been talking to us, the real residents, the people who this will impact highly. Ron Rienas and Brian Higgins may be new best friends, but are not friends of anyone in my neighborhood. We need your continual support and to get the message out that not everyone just wants this bridge built. To all those who just want to "get er done"-please...think about our lives and our homes. Many of us have a long history with our families in this neighborhood. We have spent thousands of dollars updating and refurbishing our HOMES. We are fine citizens and contributing members of this community. We deserve better treatment than this. Many of us could have left the city, but chose to stay and not leave, as many of our friends and family members have. We wanted to make a difference in the city, live close to the waterfront and downtown. We are not just disposable people who are willing to sit silently by while politicians who want to make a name for themselves decide our fate. Traffic is down! The bridge doesn't have to be built for trucks in our neighborhood. It was never meant for this kind of traffic. Anyone who truly believes there will be economic growth and development in The Niagara St. area because of the bridge, needs to ask why we don't already have it? I own my house with my husband and my senior parents who live in one half of the house. My parents have lived in this house and neighboring houses their entire life. They will be devastated to have to move at this time in their life. Can you imagine never knowing from one year to the next if your house will be taken through eminent domain? Should we fix the roof, should we add a 2nd bathroom, should we landscape the yard? These are costly questions that effect our quality of life daily. I do not know where we will go. I do not know what we will get for our house through eminent domain. If you think this should just be built, you need to come and face all of us at a public meeting. I hope you will be there for us to help us pack up our homes, look for a new house and say goodbye to our neighbors. I hope you will be able to help us pay a new mortgage too. How about walking the neighborhood and talking to us one at a time about our lives! Maybe you could take the historic tour and learn a little Buffalo history from our neighborhood. Can you just forget about the history here? Will I show my grandchildren someday that this bridge plaza was where your grandparents lived and their grandparents lived? Let's just think about this...I should give up my house for some construction jobs or maybe just so you can commute faster to your nice 2nd home at one of the summer beach communities. The PBA would have built a bridge 10 years ago if we hadn't forced the environmental impact study through a lawsuit. We did the dirty work our own public officials couldn't do, but wanted to. Now we have new public officials -Spitzer, Higgins and Brown -who don't know who we are or where we came from. They are going to find out much about us in the next few weeks!
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PBK
please keep your support coming to save our beautiful historic neighborhood. Get on your bike or get in your car and drive over to this community. See for yourself. This is our position: No expansion, No bridge, Not here.
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