Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Protestors with signs reading "No Toxic Tunnel" and "Restore Humboldt Parkway" congregated on Bailey Avenue in Buffalo on Friday, as Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the green light from the federal government to move forward with the $1 billion Kensington Expressway project.
"Their rallying cry is: 'Reimagining the Kensington.' There's nothing reimagined when you put a concrete cap with some grass on top of a narrow stretch of highway," said Michael Gainer of the Eastside Parkways Coalition.
"The governor called for something courageous, there's nothing courageous about a cap that goes three quarters of a mile that will not be extended. There is no phase two of this project. The Scajaquada Creek drains there, this project is going to offer limited connectivity and nothing but decreased health outcomes for the community."
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For months, members of the East Side Parkways Coalition and collaborating groups have been analyzing the the New York State Department of Transportation's Draft Design Report/Environmental Assessment plan to build a tunnel and cap over a three-quarters-of-a-mile stretch of the Kensington Expressway between Sidney and Dodge Streets.
They have analyzed environmental data, transportation data, and the community's responses during the public comment period. They have gone door to door speaking with residents, have attended the DOT's hearings, and have sponsored numerous events to educate the public and gauge public opinion.
"It's illogical and immoral," says Terrance Robinson, a resident of Humboldt Parkway. "This is a failure of leadership at all levels of Government. Despite overwhelming evidence that the tunnel will just continue to harm local residents, our state officials are choosing political expediency over community health and increased quality of life for the East Side of Buffalo."
Not to mention, Robinson believes it is illegal. He doubts that there will be shovels in the ground to start this fall, as mentioned by Senator Tim Kennedy on Friday.
"I almost guarantee that won't happen, because it's an illegal determination. It's a ridiculous statement to say that you could do something of this magnitude in this scope with no environmental damage or effect. I think that, number one, she's short circuited the legal process. We're scheduled to have a hearing next Wednesday, on the Article 78 that we're doing, and that's going to go forward, it's going to expand because now you've included the federal government, which means that there's environmental justice, equal protection, and a number of other legitimate legal issues that have to be resolved before they can move forward on this."
So, what will does the coalition do next? Short answer- continue to advocate for the restoration of Humboldt Parkway.
"The DOT will immediately write off restoration as creating all kinds of problems with the [transportation] grid. And the reality is, the problems that exist in the grid today are the same problems that will exist if the 33 Expressway is removed. The removal of the expressway and full restoration does not create any new problems in the transportation grid. It highlights the ones that need to be addressed, but it doesn't create new issues. What it will do, however, is put large amounts of cars onto commercial corridors, which means economic investment for those corridors, jobs for those corridors and long term wealth accumulation for east side neighborhoods. That's what this project could be leveraged to do," said Gainer.
Betty Jean Grant, former Erie County Legislator, states, "If our State officials choose to "stay the course" in their pursuit of a tunnel that has been flatly rejected by the community, our work will continue. We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that a fully restored Parkway is attained. It is the only solution that results in improved community health and strong neighborhoods and commercial districts."