Buffalo, NY - The Preservation Coalition of Erie County is seeking a motion for
a temporary restraining order and an injunction against Empire State Development
Corporation (ESD) to halt excavation at and around the site of the Commercial Slip.
ESD wants to excavate the so-called replica slip next to the Commercial Slip and
in so doing, will damage streets and cellars, and remove portions of the historic
cobblestone Lloyd Street uncovered last summer.
|
"We believe the ESD is flagrantly
in violation of Judge Skretney's order"
- Timothy Tielman
|
The Commercial Slip, located at the foot of Main Street just east of Memorial Auditorium,
was the Buffalo terminus for the Erie Canal, and as such should be preserved as a
historical site, according to Timothy Tielman, executive director of the Preservation
Coalition.
"The foundation walls, cellars, and streets that are the remains of the Canal
District, and the canal structure itself, have the potential to be a national historic
attraction," Tielman said. "Nowhere else on the Niagara Frontier does the
tangible and visual infrastructure exist that so clearly demonstrates how the convergence
of water and rail commerce created the great economic boon Buffalo enjoyed in the
19th century."
Lawyers for the Preservation Coalition are seeking the restraining order and injunction
as a result of visiting the site April 19 and seeing that ESD has begun excavations
uncovering and injuring several sections of the slip. The concrete supports for the
railroad bridge that formerly crossed the Commercial Slip and composed part of its
eastern wall, have been uncovered and damaged. Additionally, a section of stone canal
wall has been damaged, as has the foundation wall of an adjacent building; and a
number of large stone blocks which appear to be limestone foundation stones have
been moved. In a historic excavation, these stones would be carefully documented
so they could eventually be replaced in their original location.
The work is underway in spite of a court order by Judge William Skretney, March 31,
2000, prohibiting excavation in areas deemed historically significant by the Preservation
Coalition until a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (SEIS), which includes
research into the historical value of the site, has been completed.
"We believe the ESD is flagrantly in violation of Judge Skretney's order,"
Tielman said. "We strenuously object to the continuation of excavation until
the SEIS report has been received and there has been an opportunity for public comment."
A public hearing on the Draft SEIS must be scheduled during May. Preservationists
are working diligently to raise public awareness regarding the historical value of
the site, and are encouraging residents to speak up to save the site.
"The ESD, which has plans to build three steel-lined boat basins and a new Naval
Museum at the site, is ignoring the fact that -- if this site were listed on the
National Register and appropriately restored -- it could bring Buffalo an economic
boost way and beyond their plan," Tielman said. "There is a booming heritage
tourism industry nationwide, that will far exceed the impact of the local tourism
attracted by the ESD plan."
The Erie Canal, which ran 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo, was built in 1817 to
1824 to provide an easier and faster route to the west. Called "Clinton's Ditch"
after then governor DeWitt Clinton, the canal exceeded all expectations for the income
its tolls raised, and the economic development it brought to cities like Buffalo.
The Niagara section of the thruway roughly follows along the path of the Canal from
the Tonawanda line to its terminus near Memorial Auditorium at Little Buffalo Creek,
where it and a whole neighborhood lie buried under a thin layer of fill.