Yay Shack
Last Friday, Tom Dolina, and I attended the ceremonial ribbon-cutting of the Erie Canal snack shack, ironically dubbed “Clinton’s Dish”. (We’ll have video up shortly.)
Friday’s weather was glorious, and there were hundreds of people outside enjoying the green space right along the boardwalk. The Pride of Baltimore II replica schooner was in town, the naval museum was open, there were some painted Adirondack chairs available for people to relax in – some shady trees helped keep people out of the hot sun – and there was, of course, the shack itself and a small sandy area before representing a “beach”.
It’s obviously a huge improvement over what used to be there, a parking lot, but I was struck by how many people were there given that the only real thing available to do was to just hang out. The shack itself? Perry’s Ice Cream, hamburgers and hot dogs, chips and sodas – usual shack fare, and on opening day it was quite slow and disorganized. It’s nice that it’s there, but it’s sort of a clone of the Hatch.
Reporters listened to the politicians’ pronouncements, and afterwards cornered Congressman Brian Higgins to press him on issues like the Peace Bridge and the federal deficit, and Mayor Byron Brown to press him on the delay with the Naval museum restaurant.
What I wanted to know was – what’s next? The ECHDC has done an awful job of explaining to people and reminding them that, despite all the jokes about the massive self-applause over a somewhat pitiful shack, there’s a lot more to come. Again – people were there with nothing to do; imagine if there was something to do. Imagine if there were shops and a public market, perhaps a few restaurants and bars, or a gallery or museum space. There is such huge potential there, and you kind of have to go down there on a nice day to be reminded of it.
One thing that stood out – when standing around on the boardwalk by the water, the Skyway is absolutely a non-issue. There was negligible traffic noise, and it was far enough overhead that I didn’t even think about it until I consciously sought it out to observe it. It’ll be nice to someday be rid of it, and it’ll be nice to have the at-grade crossing to the Outer Harbor, but its removal is not a prerequisite to developing and enjoying the Canal Side area.
I was also struck by the fact that a snack shack and some deck chairs were, so far, the net sum of the six-figures paid to Fred Kent and his traveling crowdsourcing circus. That right there is some taxpayer money that is owed back to the people.
So, we asked ECHDC President Tom Dee and Congressman Brian Higgins to remind us what’s coming next. When are the RFPs? Why don’t we just sell off the parcels to private developers and let them do what they want, within design and engineering regulations? What is the benefit of having one unified developer at Canal Side versus several different developers, or one for each parcel.
Coming Soon (?)
The snack shack doesn’t deserve the hype it got. We ought not pat ourselves on the back for things that should have already existed – for no-brainers. We should get excited about the stuff that’s coming and frustrated by the fact that the banners had until recently touted Canal Side opening in May 2011. Well, the newly-cobbled streets are open, but we’ve got a glut of cobbled streets with little to do around them down in that area.
The snack shack is definitely anticlimactic.
But, it may bring you down there and you may enjoy a nice stroll along the water, or take a seat in the “sunset chairs” and hang out. As you do so, imagine how great it’ll be in a few years when the city blocks between you and the HSBC tower have re-watered replica canals and loads of shops and restaurants. Seriously, it will be great.
As for the process, the ECHDC is talking about building an underground parking garage underneath the Canal Side development. The area needs it, and the tenants will demand it. By placing it underground, you keep it out-of-sight and it doesn’t become a blight on the area. I predict that this will be the next major source of conflict and strife over the coming months, but a refusal to implement underground ramps will only result in the perpetuation and further propagation of private surface lots in the nearby areas. That’s something we don’t need.
The Buffalo Record 
I spent the weekend in Toronto. On Sunday we waited in line with hundreds of people for about 45 minutes to take a ferry boat over to the Toronto Islands. The islands are essentially one large waterfront park and the place was packed with people.
There is one restaurant that looks a little like Templeton Landing or Harry’s Harbour Place. There’s a snack shack that serves Pizza Hut style pizza. There’s a small amusement park with old Fantasy Island style fairground rides. There are bicycle and quadricycle rentals. There is a playground for children, and a children’s garden themed after the “Franklin the Turtle” books. There is a “clothing optional” beach.
But for the most part, people were just there to “hang out”. There is no mall there. No Bass Pro, Nordstrum, or IKEA. It’s just a very nicely landscaped and well maintained park and people were flocking there in the thousands.
Now obviously Buffalo is not Toronto, but I think we could do worse than emulate this style of waterfront. If the market does not support an outdoor mall on our waterfront then I don’t think it’s a terrible thing to just make it a great place to hang out.
One could argue that we already have that in the Erie Basin Marina (which people seem to forget exists, given all the “I can finally get an ice cream cone on the waterfront” comments), but I think the Inner Harbor is a somewhat more interesting space, with the bridges, boardwalks, and ruins, and with the Naval Park right there.
If there is any shopping, think small retailers and specialty shops. No more silver bullets.
The family and I went down to the waterfront for the afternoon to check everything out and, well, just hang out. We parked near The Hatch and walked all the way to the DL&W terminal. Overall, my impression is that it is definitely an improvement, even if a bit mishmash, but that wasn’t stopping people from enjoying it. The shack had a line of customers, my kids played in the giant sandbox next to it, people were enjoying the chairs, and there was a good amount of traffic making it’s way up and down the path. We snagged ice cream cones at the Hatch and then boarded a 2 hour Miss Buffalo tour around the water for a grand total of $30. On most visits to the waterfront over the years, we’d start at the Hatch and head the other direction towards the observation tower and walk back along the Marina. It was nice to have a different direction to go and different things to see.
So, I’m not sure it’s a 5 politician worthy celebration, but it’s worth a quick happy dance that the area is finally improving after being stagnant for so many years. Hell, I might even go back again this year, when it’s always been a once a year trip. Putting in a few real restaurants down there would make a world of difference. Plenty of room to grow. What would be perfect is to move the NFTA out of the DL&W and utilize all that space for retail/food.
Yes to more greenspace, yes to underground parking. A big no to retail, particularly as envisioned by echdc. Another big no to more residential, the condo enclaves already built are atrocious enough. And when the skyway is finally decommissioned let’s turn that into even more green space ala nyc’s highline linear park (see the buffalo rising sept. 9, 2010 article: “road trip, nyc’s highline” for more info).
Can someone explain why underground parking is such a bad thing?
@jhorn: So you just want parkland? Yay.
One bid for the Donovan Building? The Old Boys Network is alive and well. Herein is the perfect example of why nothing gets accomplished. Can’t wait for Benderson to put a Dollar General on the first floor of Donovan. Hooray for Buffalo.
A few ways to look at this, I suppose:
1. Well, it’s an improvement, perhaps a big one, over the rock-strewn mess that existed for decades. Progress, of some sort.
2. It is somewhat remarkable how easily impressed/satisfied we can be. “…people enjoying the chairs…”? Really? We have been promised so much, yet seem OK when so little (comparatively) is delivered. Yikes.
I’ve come around to the notion that utility infrastructure should be in place, design and zoning regulations spelled out, and “For Sale” signs placed on the lots. I don’t understand the “no retail” mantra of some, especially since the region has no discernible lack of green space for people to just hang out. If a trendy big box, medium box, or small box retailer decided it WANTED to be there (I know, unrealistic, but…), should we stand in the way? Especially if said retailer met the desired design and zoning regs AND purchased/developed the project absent further govt subsidy.