Community Benefits NOT Council Bribery

Mayor Brown, along with Larry Quinn and Jordan Levy of the Canal Harbor Corporation is trying to strong-arm Buffalo Common Council members into approving the transfer of 13 acres of city land considered critical to the Bass-Pro anchored waterfront development project.

The Mayor and Harbor Corporation officials struck a deal regarding the land transfer that they now want the Common Council to approve. The deal was brokered behind closed doors and with no council or community input.

The bait being offered - $1 million to each Councilmember for district improvements.

A quick review of the deal reveals it for the sham it is –

• The Councilmembers will have little input into how money gets invested in their district.


• Nothing in the deal the Mayor and the Corporation want approved is enforceable or binding.

In March of this year, the Common Council voted unanimously to condition their land transfer on the successful negotiation of a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) with the 40-plus member Canal Side Community Alliance.

Please call your Common Council Member today to tell him/her to stand by his/her decision requiring a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) for the Canal Side project.

It is vital that the Council know their constituents are behind them on this issue, which will have a huge impact on our region far into the future.

The Common Council could act this coming Tuesday, July 27 at 1pm to call a special session and vote on the land transfer.

ACT NOW – Tell your Councilperson to support long-term benefits for the Community (Phone Numbers for the Council Listed Below).

• No Special Session. No Land Transfer without community input and until a binding and enforceable agreement is negotiated.

• The Harbor Corporation just initiated talks with the Canal Side Alliance. Demand that the Harbor Corporation stay at the table to negotiate a CBA.

• Congressman Higgins just gave Bass Pro a 2-week ultimatum. The whole project is suddenly in doubt. You can’t transfer the land if you don’t know what it is going to be used for.
  

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT –

Faith Leaders Speak Out in Support of CBA:

Monday, July 26th

11am

In Front of City Hall

___________________________

Common Council Committee Meeting

Tuesday, July 27th

1pm

Council Chambers – 13th Floor of City Hall


For more information contact Micaela Shapiro-Shellaby at 892-5877
Buffalo Common Council Contact Information:
Rich Fontana – 851-5151
Joseph Golombeck – 851-5116
David Franczyk – 851-4138
Michael Kearns – 851- 5169
Demone Smith – 851-5145
Bonnie Russell – 851-5165
Curtis Haynes – 851-4980
Michael LoCurto – 851-5155
David Rivera – 851-5125

If you don’t know who represents your district on the Council, please refer to the chart on the website below:
http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/Home/Leadership/CommonCouncil

Re-imaging Waterfront Development

"Waterfronts around the world are undergoing major transformations. While shifts in industry have left some rusty and dilapidated, many others are being reimagined as thriving public spaces the whole community can enjoy.

PPS’s waterfront program is geared specifically toward working with communities adjacent to waterfronts to develop a new vision for the future. By looking at a waterfront as a series of destinations rather than as a linear space, these places can fit in well with the surrounding communities."

This is a quote from the website of Project for Public Spaces. It is a very good place to stimulate thought about the amazing potential of waterfront development, which is very important for us all to keep in mind as we move forward with our own waterfront development.

Another good place to look is at the city of Pittsburg's riverfront development. In 1999 a group of community leaders organized a task force to create a development plan for their riverfront - and the city listened to them! The result, A Vision Plan for Pittsburgh’s Riverfronts was the winner of the 2002 AIA Honor Award in Urban Planning and Design and the 2002 Merit Award in Planning from the International Downtown Association. The project has been a huge success that has improved the quality of life for Pittsburg's residents and generated billions of dollars for the local economy.

Canal Side Hearing RECAP

Though the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) may be reluctant to hear concerns about the canal side project, Buffalo’s Common Council has been eager to receive advice from the local experts which make up the Canal Side Alliance about concerns over the $300 million development project. The public hearing on Tuesday was the latest effort by the Council to take on the project for further study, and entertain both supporters of the project, as well as those community members with legitimate questions.

The majority of people who spoke at the hearing were in favor of negotiations over a community benefits agreement (CBA). Many people highlighted the merits of green building design in terms of both protecting the environment and reducing costs. A few mourned the lack of an incorporation of historical appreciation in the design. Many more expressed concerns over the importance of a public investment in ensuring good quality jobs that pay a decent wage. Some were against the project entirely, mentioning alternative development strategies that have been followed in cities like Pittsburg, PA, where public spaces lined with small shops and vendors revitalized their waterfront and made the entire city flourish.

And then there were individuals like Carl Paladino, a major local landowner, who lambasted the CBA as a form of socialism. According to him, taxpayers who were doling out hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies and were asking for decent wages or building standards had no right to do so. Such conditions eliminated “competitiveness”. Susan Davis, CEJ ally and economics professor at UB was astute to point out the easily recognizable irony of businesses asking for huge subsidies and then complaining about socialism. She said that really, these folks just don’t want to pay taxes or contribute to the local tax base. Instead, they push for tax-exempt publicly financed bonds. Her comments were met with loud applause.

The hearing really became interesting when ECHDC Vice-President Larry Quinn took the microphone. Playing down the controversy surrounding the project as simply a “failure to communicate”, he said that the corporation is fulfilling everything which would be in the CBA already, voluntarily, and they plan to submit their own agreement to the Common Council soon, without community input. His promises, which have yet to be substantiated, included Gold-LEED building standards (the highest level of green building), $20 million for the historical district, and a continued importance placed on minority hiring (which has been at 50% so far). Of course, we have don’t know which building or buildings he is referring to that will be Gold-LEED constructed, and the historic district development which includes fake waterfalls and previously non-existent canals was described by one person who testified as inappropriate and a gross misrepresentation of Buffalo’s history. Quinn also repeated claims that Bass Pro is the greatest and best anchor store in the country, which, as has been well-documented through a Public Accountability Initiative report, is a far cry from reality.

If there is a failure to communicate, as Quinn suggested, perhaps it has to do with a misunderstanding among much of the public of what a CBA actually is. A CBA is simply a set of legally binding standards for a development project that is borne out of negotiations between community groups and a development corporation. It is a mechanism for ensuring that public investment of money creates a benefit for the public, as well as private businesses. Typically included in a CBA are green building standards, local and minority hiring practices, and local business ownership.

Interestingly, the only item that CBA opponents mentioned was the issue of living wages, as if that was what the CBA was solely about. In addition, these same people who were against the living wage provision seemed to have the misconception that living wages would apply to small businesses, and thus made the argument that there is no way that small businesses could be competitive under a CBA. Again, however, the truth is a far different matter. In the initial CBA that CEJ has submitted, living wage requirements would only apply to businesses that hire 20 or more employees, making sure that only those businesses with very large payrolls would have to pay more than the minimum wage. Under such a living wage requirement, small business would actually benefit by becoming more competitive.

The Common Council is still in the process of coming to a decision in regards to the transfer of city land to the ECHDC for the project. Council members in attendance mentioned needing to do more research into both how CBA’s have worked across the country, as well as the types of waterfront development plans which have been successful and the lessons to be learned. The council has already agreed to withhold transfer of the land until ECHDC meets with the Canal Side Alliance to negotiate terms of a CBA. Based on statements made by ECHDC at the hearing, Council Member LoCurto who chaired the hearing noted that the sides don’t appear to be too far apart, which makes it very frustrating that they won’t meet. Of course, the “they” he was referring to is the Harbor Corporation, which refuses to meet with CEJ and the Canal Side Alliance.

July Events

CEJ has deemed July 'Getting Our Money's Worth' month. We have a number of important events coming up related to our local and statewide efforts to ensure greater government and corporate accountability.

Some background: CEJ has convened over 40 local organizations as part of the Canal Side Community Alliance. Together we're calling for legally binding standards on the $300 million development of Buffalo's waterfront. We have successfully won a resolution for the Buffalo City Council that they won't transfer 13 acres of City Land until the Harbor Corporation meets with CEJ and our allies to negotiate standards for the project.

But, the Harbor Corporation continues to stonewall, refusing to meet with our community alliance.

Due to continued concern about the viability of the project, and the Corporation's refusal to meet, the City Council has called a public hearing for Tuesday, July 13th at 5pm. We are trying to encourage people to come to this as the more people we have in the room, the more pressure is put on the Harbor Corporation to come to the table. We would greatly appreciate it if you could be in attendance if you are available. The hearing is in the council chambers on the 13th floor of City Hall.

Second, on Tuesday, July 20th CEJ will be leading a panel discussion on overhauling the state's economic development programs, specifically IDAs. This is part of the monthly Partnership for the Public Good Series. It will be at 237 Main Street on the 12th floor from 4pm-5:30pm.

And finally, with the nation in a recession and Albany embroiled in infighting and scandal, we feel like the competence of our elected officials is more important than ever. So, we will be having State Senate candidates from the 58th, 59th, 60th, and 61st districts come and answer questions from an expert panel and the public on Thursday, July 29th. The event will be held at the Allen Hall Theater on University of Buffalo's South Campus at 5:30pm. The forum will be focused on issues of jobs, economic development, and government reform. We're also in the midst of putting together a voter guide for the 58th, 59th, 60th, and 61st districts that we'll be distributing after the forum.

Turnout for the Candidates Forum is particularly important. We aim to achieve a significant turnout and we really want to demonstrate to elected officials that they need to be prioritizing jobs and sustainable economic development.

If you and your friends can make it to any of the above events, we urge your attendance. Together, we can create the pressure needed for bring about change. Thank you!