In one fell swoop, the City could have a nice little passive public beach on its hands. Emerald Beach, located at the Erie Basin Marina, is currently closed for business, due to the shortsightedness of Smith Boys Buffalo Harbor (operator) and the City of Buffalo.
In the past, we have seen that this passive beach is a welcome addition to Buffalo’s rebounding waterfront. It’s a welcome amenity for passersby who want to sit on the sand and watch the boats go by. But instead of allowing people to access the beach, it is now closed off to the public, blocked by ugly and unwelcoming metal fencing.
A few years back, there was a concerted effort to clean up the micro beach and open it to the public.
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Even more recently there have been grassroots efforts to clean up the beach, to draw attention to the overlooked waterfront destination.
Unfortunately, there is no longer anyone holding the keys that has any vision, apparently. And that’s too bad, because we have seen how happy this beach has made people in the past.
The whole ordeal is very shortsighted. Obviously the only amenities that are a priority for those in charge are the amenities that make money. It’s a classic example of not being able to see the forest through the trees – people love this beach, and if it was taken care of and open to the public, more people would frequent Erie Basin Marina. More visitors means more money, because families would then stay longer, and eat and drink. In this case, the operators can’t see the value in this very unique waterfront asset.
Clean up the debris, open it to the public, and stop coming up with lame excuses as to why people can’t use it.