To all my peeps from Kenmore West, look at what our favorite ass-shaking teacher has been up to. This was the lead story in today's Buffalo news:



A mandate with money to remake the waterfront

Funded by the Power Project, a special panel is developing a plan to link communities along the Niagara River

By NANCY A. FISCHER
NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
10/27/2005
    
Greenway Commissioner Paul Dyster sits on a wall abutting Robert Moses Parkway that separates neighborhoods and tourist areas from scenic overlooks.

As Buffalo and Erie County continue to fight for more relicensing money from the state Power Authority, a new group already is at work, armed with at least $7 million a year from the Niagara Power Project and a mandate to remake the waterfront from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.

Front and center on the agenda is a 36-mile park and trail that connects Youngstown to Buffalo.

And that is just the start.

The Niagara River Greenway Commission, a volunteer group that is being given tens of millions of dollars, will dedicate the next two years to developing a plan to link communities along the Niagara River for environmental protection and economic development. The commission was established by the state.

The commission's vision is expected to include:

Ferry service between Youngstown and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Greater access to the Niagara Gorge.

Revitalized islands and pocket parks along the Niagara River that draw both Western New Yorkers and eco-tourists.

More protection and better views of bird nesting sites along the river.

Better use of and access to the inner and outer harbors in Buffalo.

Many of these ideas have been around for more than a century, since Frederick Law Olmsted laid eyes on the riverfront, then laid out his vision.

"It's not that we're stupid. We're just poor," Greenway Commissioner Paul Dyster said of the riverside visionaries.

If the current planned relicensing of the Niagara Power Project is approved by federal regulators, all that will change. The Greenway will serve as a channel for a portion of the money the Power Authority will set aside during the next half-century in return for a 50-year relicensing to operate its hydroelectric plants along the Niagara River.

Proposed annual payments to the commission over the term of the license include $1 million earmarked for ecological and environmental purposes in Erie and Niagara counties; $3 million through host members of the Niagara Power Coalition, made up of municipalities and school districts in the Niagara Falls area; $3 million through state parks; and a yet-to-be-determined settlement from Buffalo and Erie County.

Dyster suggested the money could be used as seed money, especially for poorer communities that cannot afford to cover matching grants from other sources.

Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, who wrote the legislation to establish a greenway commission, said the Niagara River is the region's greatest asset.

"We have a magnificent waterfront," the Buffalo Democrat said. "It was our intent to establish an entity to coordinate efforts to best utilize the waterfront, with an emphasis on connectivity and improved access."

A dozen or more projects are already started, but Hoyt said that a commission will develop a master plan so communities are working together.

"Naval and Servicemen's Park has seen dramatic improvement as a tourist destination, but the Outer Harbor is undeveloped and inaccessible," Hoyt said. "It's definitely our goal to make the waterfront more people-friendly."

The Power Authority has offered $2 million a year for the Erie County portion of the Greenway.

But the main advocate for a bigger relicensing settlement for Buffalo and Erie County Rep. Brian M. Higgins, D-Buffalo said the Greenway money is just a start to rebuilding Buffalo's waterfront. He's pushing for $1 billion in Power Authority money over 50 years to fully redevelop the inner and outer harbors and build bridges to connect the two.

"The Greenway provides minimal resources for a continuous public-access promenade along the waterfront," Higgins said. "But if anybody thinks $2 million a year is going to accomplish [waterfront redevelopment] in a meaningful way, they're kidding themselves."

The commission will breathe new life into Olmsted's vision of connected parks, according to John Giardino, a Greenway commissioner and a member of the Olmsted Conservancy.

"It's amazing the way we return to good ideas," Giardino said. "We are preserving nature for our future. Olmsted believed that parks were a way for common people to get away from the harshness of urban life."

Dyster, a former Niagara Falls councilman, worked on a plan to open up public access to the Niagara Gorge several years ago. It's a plan that has yet to be realized.

He sat on a fence recently, overlooking the Robert Moses Parkway, which separates neighborhoods and tourist areas from scenic overlooks. He lamented that the spectacular view is only available to those willing to break the law and hop a fence.

Worn trails and carved out steps show that many already have made their own access to the gorge. "People in the City of Niagara Falls have put up with this for two generations," Dyster said of the parkway. "In that time, the Berlin Wall came down, and we still can't get to the waterfront."

Village of Lewiston Mayor Richard F. Soluri is leading the Niagara River Greenway Commission as vice chairman until a chairman is appointed.

He said the relicensing money has brought out all kinds of wish lists, but the commission will offer a master plan and try to connect these ideas.

A hallmark of the commission is local control and local leadership, said Commissioner Michael Cornell, a North Tonawanda resident and a social studies teacher at Kenmore West High School.

"This is a tipping point," Cornell said. "We finally have some momentum."

The major legislative mandate for the commission is to protect the environment and improve public access.

"This [Niagara River Corridor] is a globally significant area," said Commissioner Paul Leuchner, an environmental scientist who lives in Grand Island. "We have not done enough for eco-tourism. It's not just about setting up sites, but also providing signs, tours and telling people why it's there." The division oft funding from this Erie-Niagara Commission, when its 50-year plan begins in 2007, already has some people trying to protect their share of the pie. Some have suggested that the downtown Buffalo waterfront not be included in Greenway funding, but several commissioners reject that thinking.

"This region will grow and prosper when we think about ourselves as a connected community," Giardino said. "Every one of these parks serves our community and enriches the entire community."

Right now I am posting from the library of AU. I have been visiting DC since thursday and am going home tonight. It really has been nice seeing everyone again.

Thursday night was my Leadership Alumni reception. It was great seeing everyone and hearing how the program was going. Apparently all the freshmen knew who I was because in the invitation sent out it said, "Jesse is going to be there." (you know I loved the ego-stroking) I know I am wierd for planning my visit to DC around an organization that I graduated from, but it was only fair for all the times I harped on the Leadership people to go to Leadership events that I go to a leadersip event. Thursday night, I then went out with Jess, whom I stayed with that night, and my old roommate Dum. It was nice to hang out and catch up.

Friday, I visited two my old professors in the morning. It was nice to see them and I wish I would have had more time to talk with them. I then went out for sushi with Jess and Dum. It was the first time I have had sushi. It was pretty good. I also worked on my personal statement for some applications (thanks for your help (e:maureen)). Then I got my left nipple repierced. It actually hurt the least out of any time I got pierced. That probably has something to do with the scar tissue from when I had to take my left nipple piercing out before. The place I went is the same one I got my right nipple pierced at. I figured after having the problems matching my piercings the first time. I should go to the same place that I did before. They did a really good job and I am now balanced once again. That night I stayed with my friend Ilona and we saw the movie Good Night and Good Luck . It was an okay movie. Not great but good.

Saturday, I got to go to Chipotle for the first time in a while. I was craving it sooooo much. It did not disappoint. That night I went to see Bob Dole speak at AU. He was really funny but was pretty bad at answering questions. He never really answered any of them. To be fair there were some quality questions. One question was the exact same question and the one before it (What advice would you have for people who want to get into politics). And the final question was a mother asking for an autograph for her son who is a freshman at AU (how embarassing would that be). Saturday night I went to a going away party for my friend Evan. It was quite fun and amusing. I didn't get to bed til late that night cause I was crashing with my friend Marc who lives with Evan.

Sunday, I went out to breakfast with Marc, his roommate, and my friend Joe. Later, I met up with my friend Heather and we talked about what was going on with leadership. I got updated on the gossip and gave my two cents. Then later that night I went and met with my friend amy and also talked leadership gossip and caught up with her. Sunday night I again stayed with Marc.

Today I went to lunch with Evan. All you can eat Indian. Now I am just checking my email and hanging out on campus. They opened a new art center and my school so I might go and check that out. Our senior gift was a lounge in the center so maybe I will see if it was worth my $20.05.

Overall, DC has been fun, but I do feel like an outsider looking in now. The adjective that best fits how it feels to be back her is intrusive. That is not anything my hosts did. They were all awesome and made me feel soooo welcome in their homes. It just feels like I don't belong here anymore. I guess it is good that I am not there anymore.

Well, I fly home tonight and have to start and finish my Stats homework that is due 8:00 tomorrow morning. Should be fun

-Jesse