Environment DEC
From the July 2004 issue
Agreement Reached on New Niagara River Greenway Commission
Governor George E. Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced that they have reached an agreement on legislation that will create the Niagara River Greenway Commission. This commission, first called for by the Governor in his 2004 State-of-the-State Address, will aid in the planning and development of a greenway of interconnected parks, river access points and waterfront trails along the Niagara River from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.
The Niagara River spans 35 miles, from Lake Erie at Buffalo to Lake Ontario at the site of the historic Fort Niagara in Youngstown, NY. Currently, the Canadian side of the Niagara River has a continuous green space along its shores managed by the Niagara Parks Commission.
Under terms of the legislation, the commission will be responsible for developing a plan that will do the following:
- Designate specific boundaries of the greenway
- Create an inventory of existing park and other lands under state, corporate and municipal jurisdiction
- Identify other lands that can contribute to purposes of the greenway
- Recommend how the greenway could be connected to upland and interior communities to promote linkages to the river
- Evaluate how economic development activities proximal to the greenway can support and complement it
- Identify ways for the commission to work with municipal, state and federal agencies, corporations, not-for-profits, and private property owners and interests
- Make recommendations for ongoing operation and maintenance of the greenway
The commission's draft plan will be subject to public comment and hearings and must be approved by the municipalities within the designated boundaries of the greenway. The plan then shall be submitted to the commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation within two years of the effective date of the act for review and approval.
Commission Responsibilities, Structure and Activities
The commission will be responsible for establishing: 1) a local government advisory committee, consisting of the chief elected official of each municipality adjacent to the river, and 2) a citizens' advisory committee, consisting of various interest groups. Activities of the commission will be coordinated with each municipality's park, cultural, and local planning activities. The commission will not have the power of eminent domain.
The commission will be made up of 14 voting members, with eight appointed by the Governor. Two of the eight will be appointed upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the New York State Senate, and two upon the recommendation of the speaker of the New York State Assembly. Each of those appointments must be comprised of residents of a municipality adjacent to the Niagara River.
In addition, six voting members of the commission will serve "ex officio." They include the secretary of state, and the commissioners of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Economic Development, as well as the chairperson of the New York Power Authority, or their designees.
Each of the appointees will serve a term of four years. The members will receive no compensation for their service, and the Governor will select a chairperson for the commission. The commission will meet at least once every two months until approval of its plan by the commissioner, and will meet quarterly thereafter.
