He came to Western New York on Tuesday to mark a milestone in one local development project, while announcing funding for the next phase of another. Governor Andrew Cuomo says investment in Western New York has made a big difference in the region from just five years ago.
Speaking in Niagara Falls, Cuomo announced that $40 million is set aside for the second phase of redevelopment along the Robert Moses Parkway. A two-mile stretch of roadway will be ripped out along the Niagara Gorge and replaced with greenspace.
"It's in the state budget, fully funded by the state," said Cuomo, who noted that the money is in a previous year's budget, and comes from the state's parks agency. The New York Power Authority has also committed $2 million to the project.
Cuomo called the Robert Moses Parkway a mistake. He and other leaders welcome the removal of the parkway and redevelopment of the land as a new economic opportunity for the city.
"One of the ironies of this is that the people in the neighborhoods that are impacted here, many of those people, I bet you, would not recognize a picture of the view (of the Niagara) at the end of their own street," said Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster. "What a psychological change that's going to be. People in the City of Niagara Falls have almost forgotten that we're a waterfront city, and yet we have one of the most spectacular waterfronts in the world."
Governor Cuomo also called for the renaming of the Robert Moses Parkway. A naming contest is now underway until April 30. Citizens may offer suggestions for a new name. State and local officials will pick a winner, one that reflects the region's natural and historic heritage.
Earlier in the day, Cuomo joined other officials in Buffalo to sign a final beam that was lifted shortly after atop the building that will soon be home to the University at Buffalo's Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
"This is the largest construction project in the university's 170-year history and a shining example of the growth taking place in the City of Buffalo," said Buffalo mayor Byron Brown.
The new medical school is scheduled to open next year.
"When this project is completed, Buffalo will have the finest medical school facility in the country," said Jeremy M. Jacobs, chairman of Delaware North Companies and chairman of the UB Council. "Of course, its success will be based on its people, the faculty, physicians and students who will share knowledge across their disciplines and between theoretical and applied science."
Cuomo recalled the introduction of the Buffalo Billion, the ambitious investment in Western New York that he first announced in January 2012. The governor said he received political backlash from other cities for the expensive commitment. But he says it was the right investment to make.
In about five years, Cuomo said, Buffalo has transformed itself from the butt of jokes about its blight to the model other Upstate cities wish to copy.
"Last night, I'm in Albany in the executive mansion with three cities, Rochester, Southern Tier, Central New York, trying to figure out how to replicate the success of Buffalo," Cuomo said. "How amazing is that?"
