It was back in June when I wrote a summation of many of the problems facing Broderick Park - a virtually forgotten waterfront amenity, located at the foot of West Ferry, that has suffered many hardships over the years. The summation was posted after Councilman David Rivera and I spend good part of the afternoon walking around inspecting the downtrodden park (see post). Shortly afterwards we paid a visit to Tow Path Park, located at the foot of Hertel Avenue, in order to document the vast improvements made... if Tow Path could be resurrected, then why not Broderick?

Since that walkabout, Rivera has been busy bringing a number of different parties to the table to discuss the future of Broderick, especially the hierarchy of problems and the costs associated with them. The bad news is that the costs are tremendous... the concrete seawall that runs along the river is in complete disrepair and will cost over a million to fix. The good news is that combined moneys secured by Senator Antoine Thompson ($250,000) and Rivera ($200,000), along with a possible grant from the National Parks Service's Preserve America Program ($150,000) will go towards a series of safety and aesthetic improvements as early as this summer.



While improvements to the park are being made, a Master Plan will be worked on to address the big picture (please remove the parking spaces from along the water's edge and replace with grass, as this is a park for people, not cars). Thanks to ongoing meetings being attended by groups such as Rich Products, WNY Anglers Association, MicroParks, Riverkeeper, US Army Corps of Engineers, Assemblyman Hoyt, Congressman Higgins, North Star, Buffalo Quarters, Wendel Duchscherer, Abaca Press, Buffalo United Front, DWG Planning and Design and BWP/SMD, there appears to be a cohesive push to finally reclaim Broderick. The initial moneys will go toward securing the railings along the channel, adding greenspace at the entrance of Bird Island Pier*, introducing historic waymarking signage, repairing lighting, installing a camera, replacing the picnic shelter and fixing the bathrooms, which will ultimately lead to securing a concession stand tenant.

In the end, the seawall repair will have to be addressed in order to protect the investments being made at Broderick. Potential funds from Niagara River Greenway Commission and the National Parks Service's Network to Freedom Program (the park was a significant station along the Underground Railroad) are being sought to make significant longterm improvements. Riverkeeper grants will ensure that the Master Plan is actually developed. This is very exciting news for Broderick Park and is just the first step being taken towards a series of improvements that will ultimately lead to the park's full restoration.

In the meantime, volunteers can come out on April 17th and attend the Riverkeeper Clean and Broderick Park Stakeholders Work Day. This will focus volunteers on an intensive clean-up of the park in preparation for some of the initial investments to be made.

*I hear that Charles Griffasi has been showing up at the meetings trying to rekindle some of his own visions for Bird Island Pier... go Chuck, Go!