A three-year effort to restore the ecosystem at three city parks.
Funds to install a new scoreboard at Sal Maglie Stadium.
Installation and replacement of swings and playground equipment at several area parks.
A total of $250,000 to support the conversion of a Department of Public Works building at Hyde Park into a new animal shelter for Niagara Falls.
Those and other items are included in a $2.43 million application recently presented to the Niagara River Greenway Commission by Mayor Robert Restaino’s administration. The commission oversees the allocation of green space funds allocated by the New York State Power Authority under its 2017 federal relicensing agreement with seven Niagara County school districts and municipal governments, including the City of Niagara Falls.
The city’s application, which was submitted to the Niagara River Greenway Commission on Nov. 12, calls for the launching of what’s described as a “transformational” parks initiative, with a heavy focus on improvements at Hyde Park, the largest park in New York state outside Central Park in New York City.
In its application, Restaino’s administration proposes using greenway dollars over the next three years to advance the design of three priority ecosystem restoration projects, develop “living shoreline” projects at Hyde Park, improve water quality monitoring and response to harmful algae bloom events and to undertake “required upgrades or replacements” to “legacy” park facilities across the Falls.
The proposal, which the administration indicated was developed with support from the local clean water advocacy group, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, calls for using “nature-based solutions” to recreate a healthy and higher-functioning shoreline environment along Gill Creek and Hyde Park Lake.
The application budget includes items for 11 city parks, with the bulk of the funding requested for numerous upgrades at Hyde Park, including the replacement of the Centennial and Oasis shelters and two other shelters at a total cost of $65,000. Another $26,5000 is earmarked for Duck Island and Little League comfort stations as well as a new John Duke senior center shelter at a cost of $17,000.
One of the largest budgeted costs for Hyde Park work involves a project that’s been a source of controversy — the development of a new animal shelter in an existing building that has for years been used as a storage site for the Department of Public Works.
The administration’s greenway plan requests $200,000 for the “Storage Building (Animal Shelter) and another $50,000 for “storage building (animal shelter) doors.”
Other proposed Hyde Park improvements include:
• Removal and relocation of the old marquee sign and installation of a new sign at Sal Maglie Stadium ($112,000),
• Installation of a new scoreboard for Sal Maglie Stadium ($150,000).
• Repurposing of a portion of the bowling green to a roller skating/ice skating rink ($110,000) and
• Repurposing of part of the tennis courts for pickleball and basketball (a total of $79,000)
The budget also calls for repairs to the park’s remaining tennis courts, volleyball courts and swings and repair and replacement of the playing surface at the inclusive playground.
Various upgrades are included in the budget for Jayne, Gill Creek, 91st Street, Garden Avenue pocket park, Black Creek, Nor-lock Park, Gluck, Liberty, Stevenson and 70th Street parks. Items covered under those requests include installation or repairs of swings, benches, playground resurfacing, slides and other playground equipment and other park-maintenance items.
Absent from the list are any funds for the development of a proposed park at the corner of Beech and Highland avenues.
Beech Avenue Park supporters, including Falls Councilman Donta Myles, have for weeks called upon city lawmakers to allocate funds, either through the Greenway or the federal COVID relief program known as The American Rescue Plan, for the park’s development.
Restaino, City Council Chairman Jim Perry and other city lawmakers have said that while they support establishing a park on Beech Avenue generally, they agree with the administration that greenway funds should be used for upgrades at Hyde Park and other existing parks in the city.
The newspaper obtained a copy of the city’s application from the Greenway Commission this week. The application was expected to be considered for approval by the commission during a meeting scheduled for noon on Tuesday. However, the commission meeting was cancelled with a representative telling the newspaper the group had no business to undertake.
The agenda for tonight’s city council meeting includes a resolution relative to the commission’s approval of the city’s application and for the council’s allocation of power authority greenway funds.
It’s unclear if the item will remain up for consideration by the council considering the cancellation of Tuesday’s greenway meeting.
Myles said he did not see a copy of the city’s greenway application before Tuesday. Upon an initial review, he questioned the use of $250,000 for the Hyde Park animal shelter, which has an overall price tag in excess of $4 million.
Myles said he also wants to know more about the administration’s efforts to consult with residents before developing the application. He noted that the Beech Avenue park proposal, designed with assistance from a consultant paid by the city, garnered support from more than 1,100 residents who signed a petition in support as well as letters of support from city lawmakers, the superintendent of schools and other groups.
“Are they even showing any sign of having any real type of engagement prior to this?” Myles said.