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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 08, 2011                                             

CONTACT:
Erich Weyant (ECHDC)
eweyant@empire.state.ny.us |
716.846.8258                                                                                           

ECHDC BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECEIVES REPORTS FROM SUBCOMMITTEES TASKED WITH

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

Committees embrace “Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” ethos, while at the same time considering
long term development opportunities.

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation’s (ECHDC) Board of Directors received initial
reports today from the three subcommittees charged with initiating activity on Buffalo’s
waterfront this summer. The committees are: Historic District (Jordan Levy, chair), Outer Harbor
(David Colligan, chair), and Buffalo River (Julie Barrett O’Neill, chair.) ECHDC Chairman
Jordan Levy called for the creation of the subcommittees after an intense period of public input
that included six “Open House” style meetings, a public hearing and hundreds of comments from
the community.

Chairman Jordan Levy’s Historic District committee recommends the opening of a café on the
ground floor of the Naval Museum. In addition, the committee encourages a variety of food
vendors on the southern portion of the Central Wharf. Bathroom and shower facilities will be
constructed for boaters using the docks. The committee is also studying the feasibility of laying
down a temporary asphalt bike lane in order to connect the Central Wharf with the existing bike
trail that extends behind the DL&W building and down to Festival Park. Long term plans for the
district call for a mixed use neighborhood that is connected and integrated with downtown
Buffalo and incorporates commercial, residential and cultural uses. The committee includes
developers, preservationists and event planners.

“This is the place where Buffalo began, and its reinvigoration will be the key to our future,” said
Levy. “This area has already made great strides with the opening of the Commercial Slip and the
Central Wharf, as well as our successful summer programming. We are going to build on that
success with expanded programs, food and facilities.”

Board member David Colligan leads the Outer Harbor committee, which brings together
entrepreneurs, landscape architects, outdoor enthusiasts, and urban planners. Plans under
consideration for the Outer Harbor include the creation of Lakefront Meadows Park, a sand
covered Gallagher Beach, opportunities for vendors, establishing a water taxi to the Inner
Harbor, and improving the existing infrastructure of docks and breakwalls.

“What makes the Outer Harbor so exciting are the almost limitless possibilities that it presents,”
said Colligan. “We have the ability to create quality greenspace, increase facilities for boaters,
and create opportunities for small businesses - and that’s just the beginning.”

The Buffalo River subcommittee is headed by newly appointed board member and Executive
Director of Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER, Julie Barrett O’Neill. Short term plans will focus
on providing support to activities and projects already underway in this bustling corridor. She
emphasized the need for branding and marketing, trail connections and heritage interpretation,
grain elevator revitalization, activities and programming and bridge interpretation.

“The Buffalo River is the natural connection between the Historic District and the Outer Harbor.
What distinguishes this area is the fact that it is a real neighborhood, filled with people who are
already working hard to create a vibrant place,” said Barrett O’Neill. “Branding this area will
help to establish it as a unique destination in the minds of Western New Yorkers and will
buttress the work already being done by the residents of the district. In addition, we are looking
at ways to improve the signage and wayfinding materials. Finally, looking towards the long term,
we are going to convene a meeting of all of the grain elevator owners on the river. These
structures will loom large in any long range planning, and dialogue among their owners is
essential.”

ECHDC President Thomas P. Dee noted that the Cultural subcommittee has received over 45
applications from groups that are interested in participating in programming at Canal Side this
summer. He stressed that once that once the Board of Directors has evaluated the ideas from the
subcommittees and made recommendations, the staff of ECHDC will work quickly to implement
them.

Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation is a subsidiary agency of Empire State

Development Corporation whose vision is to revitalize Western New York’s waterfront and
restore economic growth to Buffalo based on the region’s legacy of pride, urban significance and
natural beauty.

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