Knowing that Restoring Our Community Coalition has changed its long-standing position from advocating for removal of the NYS Route 33 (Kensington Expressway) and parkway restoration to supporting the proposed tunnel, I was surprised to witness a very different consensus at a recent hearing.
Of the more than 30 citizens who took the microphone, many of the speakers were Humboldt and East Side residents and people of color. Some spoke in pragmatic terms, expressing the belief (and dismay) that this project will move forward with or without community support.
But what was heard most resoundingly was a total rejection of NYSDOTNYSDOT New York State Department of Transportation’s plan, in favor of highway removal and the restoration of Humboldt Parkway.
In this context, there is a decided misalignment between the priorities of the state and those of the community. This is not a billion-dollar investment in the East Side. It is a billion-dollar investment in highway infrastructure, in order to maintain vehicular capacity at the continued expense of the East Side.
I believe, as those who spoke at the hearing do, that the East Side deserves better – to have back Humboldt Parkway, the most spectacular Olmsted parkway in the city. Thus, removing the highway – from downtown to (at least) the 198 – is the only fair and just solution in righting the historic wrong that was–and remains–the 33.
Instead, the state is telling these communities they can never have their parkway back – that it’s this: a tunnel and scrappy park (with inadequate soil depth for large trees) or nothing. But why does the East Side of Buffalo deserve less than Syracuse, Rochester, Niagara Falls and “region central” in Buffalo? In all these places, New York State is proceeding with highway removal (including the at-grade-street replacement of the 198 and disconnection from the 190 and 33).
When it comes to the 33, the state has decide that minor convenience for white, middle- and upper-class, suburban residents matters more than the human health, welfare, economic value and overall humanity of Black and Brown Buffalo and the entire East Side.
The bottom line: The removal of the 33 and the full restoration of Humboldt Parkway must be on the table for consideration, and we must fight for it.
Gregory Delaney is a Clinical Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, the University at Buffalo.