Officials call on NFTA to turn over Outer Harbor land

Congressman Brian Higgins and two members of the Western New York State Legislature delegation have sent a strongly-worded letter to the NFTA, calling on the Authority to relinquish control of the Outer Harbor.

Meeting with reporters on the windswept boardwalk by Gallagher Beach Friday, Higgins, State Senator Timothy Kennedy, and State Assemblyman Sean Ryan appealed to the NFTA to turn the title of 300 acres of prime waterfront real estate over to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation, an agency whose sole mission is waterfront development. 

"We want the waterfront to be in the control of an agency that has a singular focus, an exclusive vision [for] waterfront development and public access," said Congressman Higgins.

The ECHDC, said Higgins, has the financial resources and stands ready to spend $11.5 million in immediate improvements on site, including the creation of a sand beach at Gallagher Beach, decorative lighting, clean-up and greening of the land.

The NFTA has controlled the Outer Harbor land for 58 years.