Garnell Whitfield stood flanked by members of East Side Parkways Coalition as he announced he is for the full restoration of the Humboldt Parkway where the Kensington Expressway now stands.
What to do (or not do) with the Kensington has had a long discourse at various levels of government for years. Community groups in the neighborhood have long said it tore the area in two, and has led to increased health issues due to vehicle exhaust.
In February of 2023, the Biden administration directed $55.59 million to Route 33 Kensington Expressway as part of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. That's part of the $300 million pledge from the Federal Department of Transportation, and $700 million from New York State.
Several plans were floated in the public engagement phase, and ultimately the state settled on capping a portion of the Kensington from Dodge and Sidney Streets, creating a tunnel. Whitfield, who is making the East Side a focal point of his mayoral campaign, opposes the tunnel.
"As I explored running for mayor, and as I traveled around the city and talked to individuals, to groups, the first issue that always has come up in all of those conversations, was the importance of restoring Humboldt Parkway," said Whitfield. "Ending the exhaust related diseases that have plagued this neighborhood, and reconnecting our city."
Whitfield said just capping a portion of the Kensington doesn't truly accomplish the goal of what he said residents have been fighting for.
"That is why I support a full restoration of Humboldt Parkway. I support fully realizing Olmsted's vision of a connected Delaware and MLK Park," he said. "I support a final end to the unnecessary deaths and disease that has surrounded this expressway for generations, and restoring the parkway. Ending the disease is not possible with the tunnel that's been proposed."
Coalition members have taken that fight to court. They recently were successful in gaining a temporary restraining order that has halted the start of construction on the cap. Their argument had to do with the apparent shortcomings in the state's environmental impact statement surrounding the project.
"I hope that the judge will take into consideration the full breadth of the impact of the [Route] 33 and what the plan entails," Whitfield said. "I hope that the judge will consider that. He's given an injunction, he is weighing in on this, and we appreciate that. We'll wait and see what the judge says."
State Senator Sean Ryan, another candidate for Buffalo mayor, has long been supportive of efforts to re imagine Route 33 and reconnect neighborhoods split by it. He urged the state to use federal funds on the project back in 2021.
Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon, who has not formally announced a mayoral campaign, told WBFO following a judge's initial restraining order ruling in October that he's on board with the NYS Department of Transportation vision of capping portions of the Kensington.
“I think we have to be careful at times that thinking that what we hear from residents may be the majority of residents," Scanlon previously said. "So at this point, I’m okay with us moving forward with the project.”
Ultimately the state DOT has primary control over any project, as it is a state roadway.
