Jayne Park Update
- COM_CONTENT_CATEGORY
"I am posting this essay, of perhaps greatest interest to residents of the Cayuga Island neighborhood, but of interest to everyone following the 2011 election, to try, once and for all, to clear up unfounded fears and rumors about what is and is not happening at Jayne Park. I've been out on the island walking and talking to neighbors, and am concerned that people are getting--and spreading--bad information. City crews can't even enter the property to do routine maintenance like lawn mowing without a new round of rumors getting started. So let's set the record straight.
Early on in my administration, we saw an opportunity to get funding to do restoration and improvement work at the park. After obtaining an initial planning grant in 2000, the City held public hearings and gathered citizen input which lead to subsequent applications for capital funds, first during the Elia administration (2001) and again during the Anello administration (2006). Neither was funded. With funds still available through the Department of State's Environmental Protection Fund, we gave it one more try. The third time was the charm.
Combining the EPF funds with matching City funds, we were able to put together roughly $290,000 for work at the park. The first part of the project was supposed to be a series of public meetings held by the company designing the park to gather public input. This is required by--and funded by--the grant.. This step was necessary because the original grant application had been prepared a decade earlier, and was obviously in need of updating. For example, it referenced the heavy use of the park by baseball leagues, and included features designed to facilitate that use (e.g., an off-street parking lot), when in fact the baseball leagues are no longer using the park.
Just before the City Council was to vote to hire the company to start the process, a story appeared in a local tabloid suggesting the City had some sort of secret plan to implement the 2001 grant application without updating it with new public input. That was simply not true. There never was, and there still is not, a completed, buildable, engineering-level plan for the park. The project has simply never reached that stage. When the City Council saw that there was concern among residents about what was happening, it decided to hold off on funding the contract with the company that was to engage with the community in validating a list of proposed improvements and designing the park.
What has happened since then? First, City staff quickly contacted the Department of State to let them know what was happening and try to keep the funds available for future use, so that we do not lose the grant. (This was successful, but it should be obvious that given the State's fiscal problems these funds will eventually be threatened if they are not used.) Second, I invited people from the neighborhood with different ideas about the park's future to meet with me and other City officials to see if we could work out a way forward. Those meetings were very preliminary and informal, but friendly, and I think productive. (More on that later.) Third, the City has tried to keep up with basic maintenance at the park until decisions are made for its future. Dead trees have been removed, and a tree survey completed. Unused remnants of former ball diamonds that were making it hard to mow were removed. Possible mold problems at an unused cinder block building were investigated. Finally--and unfortunately--stories have continued to be published in the tabloid that appear deliberately intended to spread misinformation and get people worried about the future of the park.
Let's get this straight once and for all: I am not now, nor have I ever in the past tried to "push" any particular uses or projects at Jayne Park. My intention throughout has been to give you, the people, the park that you want; to find funds to make it happen; and to get you professional planning help to get your ideas on paper. What I heard in the meetings in my office was that there was interest in a low-impact, passive-recreation park that would preserve the tranquility of the neighborhood. People I spoke to want to preserve the natural setting of the shoreline, restore native plant species, update the equipment at the kiddie playground, and look at installing a path with benches. Those are all things that could be funded through the grant if that's what the public as a whole decides it wants. There was also talk of trying to use grant funds to demolish the cinder-block building if it turns out to have mold problems. Again, if that's what people want, we'll try to make it happen.
Rest assured, my administration is here to work with everyone to get things done. With your help and support, we will continue our efforts to make improvements at parks in LaSalle and elsewhere. The Blueway, the Recreational Trail, LaSalle Waterfront Park, and Griffon Park Phase II are some of the many ongoing efforts just in LaSalle. Clean waters, healthy environments, accessible waterfronts, and recreational opportunities: these should be a big part of LaSalle, and a big part of our community.
The local tabloid says that "Jayne Park will never be the same" and "Cayuga Island will never be the same." Nothing could be further from the truth. My administration is committed to keeping Jayne Park and Cayuga Island beautiful and peaceful, just as they always have been.
Mayor Dyster Performs First Gay Marriage in New York State
- COM_CONTENT_CATEGORY
Niagara Falls New York re-claims the title of Honeymoon Capital of the World for all couples.
Please support Paul in his run for re-election. Niagara Fall needs a person like Paul to keep it moving forward.
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From the New York Times
N.Y. / Region
By By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
Published: July 24, 2011
Just past the stroke of midnight, 12 years to the day after their first date, Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd were wed in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/gay-marriage-with-a-kiss-and-a-vow-the-day-begins/
From the Associated Press
Midnight vows make NY largest gay-marriage state
CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES
Dressed in their wedding attire, Kitty Lambert, left, and Cheryle Rudd, right, pose for a photo for a newspaper photographer before their wedding in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Saturday, July 23, 2011. The Buffalo couple wants Mayor Paul Dyster to pronounce them married one second after midnight _ the moment the law takes effect and makes New York the sixth and largest state to sanction gay marriage. (AP Photo/David Duprey)
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Gay-rights activists Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd were legally married the very first moment they could be during a midnight ceremony at Niagara Falls that ushered in same-sex marriage in the state and marked a pivotal moment in the national drive for recognition.
With a rainbow-lit Niagara Falls as a backdrop early Sunday, Lambert, 54, and Rudd, 53, were among the first gay couples to tie the knot with the blessing of the state, which last month became the sixth and largest to sanction gay marriage. Couples in Albany, Hudson and Long Island also exchanged vows just after midnight Saturday, kicking off what was expected to be a Sunday packed with weddings.
Lambert and Rudd, grandmothers with 12 grandchildren between them, have been together for more than a decade and had long been fighting for the right to marry.
The couple, both of Buffalo, smiled broadly as they exchanged traditional marriage vows, promising to love and cherish each other in sickness and in health. A crowd of several hundred people cheered as they were pronounced married and shared their first kiss.
"What an incredible night this was," said Lambert, who wore an electric blue satin gown with a sequined train for the midnight ceremony and carried a bouquet of blue hydrangeas. "This was an amazing night. Everything was absolutely perfect."
Rudd, who wore a white tuxedo with tails and white tennis shoes, said she felt "great relief" at being married because now she's "just like everyone else" and has the same rights.
"It feels great: I'm married," she said with an excited laugh.
Mayor Paul Dyster performed the ceremony, which was attended by some of the state lawmakers whose vote last month made it possible.
http://hosted2.ap.org/txash/Article/Article_2011-07-24/id-75d705babebd481fbb0815ca5e9c1ed7/recordType-Spot%20Development
From NPR
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/24/138654069/same-sex-couples-exchange-vows-in-new-york?sc=emaf
Same-Sex Couples Exchange Vows In New York
by Jeff Brady
Kitty Lambert (right) and Cheryle Rudd are married by Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Saturday. With a rainbow-lit Niagara Falls as a backdrop early Sunday, Lambert, 54, and Rudd, 53, were among the first gay couples to tie the knot with the blessing of the state, which last month became the sixth and largest to sanction gay marriage.
Enlarge David Duprey/AP
Kitty Lambert (right) and Cheryle Rudd are married by Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Saturday. With a rainbow-lit Niagara Falls as a backdrop early Sunday, Lambert, 54, and Rudd, 53, were among the first gay couples to tie the knot with the blessing of the state, which last month became the sixth and largest to sanction gay marriage.
text size A A A
July 24, 2011
New York is now the sixth state, along with the District of Columbia, allowing same-sex marriages.
Across the Empire State, couples exchanged vows shortly after midnight. At Niagara Falls, gay marriage activists Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd were wed in front of the rainbow-lit falls just a second or two after the clock struck 12.
Getting married at midnight requires some creative scheduling. Cutting the cake came hours before they tied the knot. So did the dancing, speeches and entertainment. Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster performed the marriage ceremony as several hundred people looked on.
Most New York couples must wait 24 hours after receiving a license to have a ceremony, but Lambert and Rudd received a waiver. They're both grandmothers in their 50s and they've been advocating for gay marriage in Buffalo, where they live, for at least seven years. Lambert says she wanted to be the first same-sex couple to be legally married in New York.
From The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/07/24/First_Marriages_Start_in_NY/
Cheryle Rudd and Kitty Lambert became perhaps the first couple married in the state when they wed at Niagara Falls as a nearby bell tolled 12 times, The New York Times reports. The legendary falls were lit with rainbow-colored lights, while Rudd and Lambert's wedding ceremony was officiated by Niagara Falls mayor Paul Dyster. The brides were surrounded by 100 friends and family members who cheered as Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory" was pumped over speakers.
From Instinct Magazine
http://instinctmagazine.com/travel/niagara-falls-to-go-rainbow-host-same-sex-wedding-ceremony-on-july-25
“This event, which will highlight Niagara Falls on an international level as a premier wedding and honeymoon destination, will serve as a tremendous economic shot in the arm for not only the area’s hotels and attractions, but for the florists, bakeries and restaurants throughout the city," Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said. “Those who come here will see the efforts made by this administration in reinventing our downtown tourist district and be welcomed into a city that will once again reclaim its title as the honeymoon capital of the world.”
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"The Big Moves" - from the Buffalo News
- COM_CONTENT_CATEGORY
Article from the Buffalo News
'The Big Moves' in Niagara County: Will words turn to actions?
By Bill Michelmore - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
Updated: 06/25/08 12:31 PM
NIAGARA FALLS — The city calls them “The Big Moves,” a targeted program of improvements and investments to revitalize the city.
Ten years ago, Niagara Falls looked at the big picture and recognized three big moves. Four years ago, the canvas became more complex and the city focused on seven big moves.
They’ve been on the books ever since, but progress has been slow.
In 1998, the three moves that were seen as critical to the city’s renewal were jump-starting Niagara Falls International Airport, removing the Robert Moses Parkway and building a casino.
“That was the consensus,” Senior City Planner Thomas J. DeSantis said last week. “Then, and now.”
In 2004, Niagara Falls received a Strategic Master Plan that would guide downtown revitalization over the next several decades.
In general, the plan would give the city new life by opening up the waterfront, rebuilding blighted neighborhoods and creating a cultural district.
The 126-page report prepared by Urban Strategies, a Toronto-based international design firm, is replete with words such as vision, strategies and priority initiatives. But they are just words without two crucial ingredients Niagara Falls has lacked for decades: leadership and money.
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