The NYPA Settlement and the Buffalo Waterfront: Opportunities As We Approach Half-Way Point

Home , Canalside, New York Power Authority

May 3, 2018

Christopher Schoepflin Senior Vice President Empire State Development 95 Perry Street Buffalo, NY 14203

Re: The NYPA Settlement and the Buffalo Waterfront: Opportunities as We Approach Half-Way Point

Dear Mr. Schoepflin:

I write today to commend the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) and Empire State Development (ESD) for the tremendous progress that has made since the inception of ECHDC and, specifically, under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, in the development of Buffalo’s greatest natural resource, its waterfront. In the public discourse about the agency’s work, I am concerned that there is not sufficient awareness of the finite nature of the resources which make the Corporation’s important work possible, namely the 2006 settlement, accelerated and augmented in 2009, with the New York Power Authority for the federal license to operate the Niagara Power Project. As of last fall, about $62.8 million of the proceeds of the NYPA settlement had been spent by ECHDC, and about $92.4 remained unspent.

In terms of time, we are now almost half-way through the twenty-year term of those accelerated and augmented disbursements of $8.5 million annually. As such, this half-way point provides us and the community at-large an opportunity to take stock of the Corporation’s good work to date, but also, and more importantly, to think about what we want to accomplish while this resource is still available to us. The $92.4 remaining available to the Corporation and the community present an extraordinary opportunity which we must not squander.

To that end I convey to you the enclosed report. It is intended to be a starting point to begin a public discussion toward the goal of focusing the Corporation on determining, with robust public input, what goals it intends to accomplish in the second half of its principal revenue stream.

Again, I commend the Corporation for its good work, and I thank you for your leadership. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Brian Higgins Member of Congress

The NYPA Settlement and the Buffalo Waterfront: Opportunities as We Approach Half-Way Point

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation’s future use of proceeds from the New York Power Authority’s license to operate the Niagara Power Project granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Office of Brian Higgins, Member of Congress Washington, D.C. May 3, 2018

Background

In December of 2009, Congressman Higgins and Governor David Paterson announced an acceleration and enhancement of the stream of NYPA funds to be made available to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation for the redevelopment of Buffalo’s waterfront pursuant to the New York Power Authority’s fifty-year license to operate the Niagara Power Project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The net result of this change was that ECHDC would receive $8.4 million per year for twenty years, rather than $2.5 million annually for the remaining forty-seven years of the fifty-year license.

Last year, Congressman Higgins requested and received from ECHDC a full accounting of all of the expenditures made using NYPA proceeds to date. That information informs this report.

Looking Forward

We are now approaching the half-way point of ECHDC’s twenty-year funding stream; as of last fall, ECHDC had so far spent $62.8 in NYPA proceeds; ECHDC is slated to receive about $92.4 million more in NYPA settlement funds through 2029.

It is clear that the Corporation has moved on from the General Project Plan (GPP) it adopted in 2013, as some of the projects enumerated there (e.g., Canalside Hall, the Commerical Slip Parking Ramp) have not progressed, and other initiatives (the newly planned structures at the Commercial Slip) have advanced. Given that the 2013 GPP is no longer effectively the plan for how ECHDC intends to spend the remainder of the NYPA settlement, stakeholders and the general public have insufficient insight into how ECHDC intends to spend the remainder of the settlement. Indeed, from the outside looking in, it appears that such a plan may not exist, and ECHDC is presently advancing a series of worthy projects on an ad hoc basis, with insufficient consideration of what will have been built and what will remain unbuilt when the money runs out.

The $92 Million Opportunity: A Construction Program with Robust Public Input

ECHDC can do a lot of good work with the $92.4 million that remains available to it. But instead of moving along on an ad hoc basis, the agency and the community would be well served by developing a construction program spelling out specifically how ECHDC intends to spend the remainder of the funds. This construction program should be developed with robust, meaningful public participation. Some exemplary and worthy projects which should be considered in this context are listed below.

Components of a Construction Program to Remake Buffalo’s Waterfront over the Next Decade

1) DL&W Corridor Trail. $7 million from NYPA Settlement.

The Western New York Land Conservancy is undertaking a public planning process to chart the path forward for the creation of a multi- use trail facility on the NFTA-controlled right-of-way that extends east from the DL&W terminal. This 1.6 mile corridor strings together currently-isolated waterfront park amenities and makes them part of a coherent system for users. As it does, it provides patrons with unique vantages of the Buffalo River and the riparian flora and fauna which are the beneficiaries of a recently-completed $100 million environmental restoration. The corridor also provides the only comprehensive opportunity interpret the region’s industrial heritage by encountering all of Buffalo’s 14 early 20th century grain elevators.

Concepts by Professor Hiro Hata of the UB School of Architecture and Planning.

2) Michigan Pier and at Former Pier Restaurant Site. $8 million from NYPA Settlement.

At its meeting last month, the Directors of ECHDC approved a design contract for improvements to the area between Wilkeson Point and the Bell Slip, including the undeveloped Michigan Pier. The funding for this design is to come from state-appropriated Buffalo Billion funds and NYPA settlement funds. This is an appropriate and welcome investment and this project should advance.

View of Michigan Pier from Wilkeson Point.

View of Wilkeson Point from Michigan Pier. Possible treatment.

3) North Aud Block Development. $10 million from NYPA Settlement.

The North Aud Block is now, and has been for the better part of a decade, a hole in the ground. ECHDC’s plan, last restated in 2013, had been to develop this space into a mixed-use environment that would host local restaurants and other local vendors. In that same year, after having received planning funding from ECHDC and private philanthropic sources, Mark Goldman and his colleagues at the Friends of the Buffalo Story advanced an exciting plan for a mixed-use village at the site. ECHDC’s intentions for this site remain unclear, though early last year the agency made payments to a Philadelphia-based parking ramp consultant for costs associated with this site. The agency should put the private development of this site on the front burner, and consistent with ECHDC’s proposed funding plan for the South Aud Block, the expenditure anticipated here would be gap financing to ensure high quality finishes and public spaces. Consistent with the Goldman plan, they should pursue a mix of uses including period buildings, cobblestone streets and a Canalside public square.

Current conditions.

2013 Plan – Area at left of canal is presently a large pit. 5

4) Erie Basin Marina Boardwalk and Lighting. $5 million from NYPA Settlement.

Since its construction in 1974, Erie Basin Marina has become a major destination for people seeking access to Buffalo’s waterfront. However, the facility’s forty-four year old infrastructure is showing its age. The City of Buffalo deserves support to turn this amenity into a world-class urban waterfront. The boardwalk should be extended along the remaining 500-yard long seawall, and widened. The existing street furniture, from its utilitarian cobra-style lighting to faux-brutalist concrete trash facilities, should be upgraded to contemporary standards. Tangible physical improvements like this were the purpose for which the NYPA settlement was secured in the first place.

Current conditions. 6

Current conditions.

Possible treatments.

Possible treatments at Erie Basin. 8

5) Buffalo Naval and Military Park Investments. $7 million from NYPA settlement.

The Buffalo Naval and Military Park is an important community asset and should be regarded not as ancillary to the development of the waterfront but as central to it. While it is currently a significant seasonal draw, the leadership of this cultural institution has developed a multi-faceted plan to make the park a year-round attraction. In the near term, they have raised funds to improve lighting, safety and interpretation along their main quay, which is the primary walkway between the Erie Basin and Canalside. In the longer term, they will build out additional all-weather exhibit and meeting space to meet the needs of guests in all four seasons.

6) Bridge from Silo City to Outer Harbor. $5 million from NYPA settlement.

The developers of Silo City have proposed a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the City Ship Canal which would provide dramatic views and would reduce the pedestrian distance between Canalside and the Outer Harbor by one mile. Like the other multi-modal transportation initiatives in this report, this project would compete well for federal transportation funding if the pump were primed with a substantial local match from NYPA settlement funds.