Youngstown Yacht Club Against Proposed WInd Turbines in Lake Ontario

Please help us by contacting the Niagara County, New York Legislators to voice your opposition against NYPA's Offshore Wind Turbine project and vote on the Niagara Gazette survey, links attached!

Please help us prior to the July 27th meeting of the Legislature.
Thanks for your help,
The Youngstown Yacht Club Board of Directors

The YYC Board is embroiled in a very significant effort to organize YYC Members and others in our community aligned in opposition to the New York Power Authority (NYPA's) Great Lakes Offshore Wind  (GLOW) project.

This project  is opposed by Fort Niagara, the Youngstown Village Council as well as towns or villages of Sardinia, Porter, Oswego, Greece, Hamburg and Cattaraugus County to name a few. The Niagara County Legislature initially supported this project but they are now having second thoughts. They will review this topic again at their July 27th meeting. We would like to have you help our cause by contacting the Niagara County Legislators on the list below and by emailing them to state your opposition to this project.

As mentioneded in [the YYC newsletter], Ripple's, NYPA's stated objective is to facilitate the installation of a wind turbine farm about 2 miles off the shore of Fort Niagara, from the mouth of the river to Wilson. The areas contiguous to this farm and radiating out 1/2 mile in all directions would likely be closed to recreational navigation. This would result in the loss of our Olympic Circle and the site of the Level Regatta. Theses functions cannot be moved further out as the depth of the lake is too great to set the race marks.

This problem goes far beyond the loss of a magnificent scenic vista and natural resource. The electrical power that would be produced by this farm of 450 foot tall turbines is unneeded in WNY so it will be  diverted downstate, as our excess power currently is. As this sporadically produced electrical power becomes available (wind turbines produce at capacity about 30% of the time) the most logical place to reduce output to maintain the needed balance in the grid would most likely be the Robert Moses generation facility in Lewiston (a very green facility).

Nuclear facilities don't spool up and down very efficiently and coal burning facilities like Somerset would have to be operating on standby mode in case the wind  is too strong or too light which happens frequently. The financial incentive to build these wind turbine farms go to the developers who will be chosen by NYPA and will receive long term Power Purchase Agreements  (PPA's) from NYPA guaranteeing the developers a much higher than the market price for electricity. This cost is then born by the rate payers. Tax credits from governments are also part of the incentive to entice developers to build these projects.

Remember the ethanol craze of a few years ago,  again transactions that made no economic sense without massive subsidies. The potential winners here are the wind turbine manufacturers, none of which are in the US. NYPA has spoken of thousands of jobs being created, but they will not be from the manufacture of the turbines. The installation of massive pedestals in the lake bed will require specialists in marine construction this will produce few if any jobs. The staging  port for such a project would have to be Rochester since no port in Niagara County can accommodate vessels of the size required to build out this project.

Here is how you can help.

1) Here is a link to the Niagara Gazette website, at the bottom of the home page is the spot to vote in their poll against the wind turbine project off the Niagara shore.

2) Below are a list of names of the Niagara County Legislators with hyperlinks to create emails directly to the members. Please click on each and state your opposition to the GLOW project. If you know how to copy and paste you can use the same text to each legislator and not have to retype them.

Thanks for your help.
John Reinhold,
Commodore YYC

Niagara County Legislature
Richard A Marasco
809 Vanderbilt Ave
Niagara Falls, NY 14305
285-8897
Richard.Marasco@niagaracounty.com

Renee Kimble
3302 Hyde Park Blvd
Niagara Falls, NY 14305
282-1618
Renae.Kimble@niagaracounty.com

Jason J Cafarella
2259 Forest Ave
Niagara Falls, NY 14301
285-8132
Jason.Cafarella@niagaracounty.com

Dennis F. Virtuoso
2703 Independence Ave
Niagara Falls, NY 14301
284-1582
Dennis.Virtuoso@niagaracounty.com

Vincent M Sandonato
824 91st Street
Niagara Falls, NY 14304
940-2033
Vincent.Sandonato@niagaracounty.com
Danny W Sklarski
2119 Tuscarora Rd
Niagara Falls, NY14304
297-7982
Danny.Sklarski@niagaracounty.com

Gerald K Farnham
5460 Hinman Road
Lockport, NY 14094
433-0703
gerald.farnham@niagaracounty.com

William L Ross
6761 Walmore Rd
Niagara Falls, NY 14304
731-5949
William.Ross@niagaracounty.com

Philip "Russ" Rizzo
590 William St
North Tonawanda, NY 14120
693-9128
Russ.Rizzo@niagaracounty.com

Peter E Smolinski
449 Robert Dr
N. Tonawanda, NY 14120
695-1873
Peter.Smolinski@niagaracounty.com

Paul B Wojtaszek
30 Sherwood Ct.
N. Tonawanda, NY 14120
695-7134
Paul.Wojtaszek@niagaracounty.com

John D Ceretto
685 Cayuga Dr.
Lewiston, NY 14092
754-7066
John.Ceretto@niagaracounty.com

Clyde L Burmaster
2515 Parker Rd
Ransomville, NY 14131
791-3111
Clyde.Burmaster@niagaracounty.com

David E Godfrey
4821 Lake Rd
Burt, NY 14028
751-9606
David.Godfrey@niagaracounty.com

Anthony J Nemi
87 S New York St
Lockport, NY 14094
434-0133
Anthony.Nemi@niagaracounty.com

Wm Keith McNall
739 Willow St
Lockport, NY 14094
434-8070
keith.mcnall@niagaracounty.com

Richard E Updegrove
4688 Day Rd
Lockport, NY 14094
434-2140
Richard.Updegrove@niagaracounty.com

John Syracuse
6091 Condron Rd
Newfane, NY 14108
778-5064
John.Syracuse@niagaracounty.com

Michael A Hill
3464 Stone Rd
Middleport, NY 14105
735-3259
Michael.Hill@niagaracounty.com

Trails The Green Way for America Symposium - The Tennessee Riverwalk Revitalized Chattanooga

20th American Trails National Symposium
Chattanooga, Tennessee ~ November 14-17, 2010

Trails: The Green Way for America
This symposium's theme evokes the benefit of trails to America’s economy and environment. As we evolve toward a green economy, trails are the way for outdoor recreation and alternative transportation. Trails provide access and connections to many of this nation’s most incredible green spaces: parks, forests, and wildlands. Trails are a critical component of green infrastructure within communities, tying homes to businesses, schools, and workplaces, and empowering clean human-powered mobility. Trails support the new American dream which is built upon environmental and economic efficiency. Trails are, very simply, the green way for America.

Tennessee Riverwalk helped spur revitalization in Chattanooga.

By Jim Bowen, Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, and Candace Davis, Chattanooga Convention & Visitors Bureau - Photos by Stuart Macdonald  Click Link HERE.

THE BIKE-PEDESTRIAN WALNUT STREET BRIDGE (FOREGROUND) AND THE
MARKET STREET BRIDGE IN THE BACKGROUND

Now into its second decade of development (initial segment opened May 1989), the Tennessee Riverwalk will form a 20-mile greenway through Chattanooga. It stretches from the Chickamauga Dam to downtown and out to Moccasin Bend, recently designated the country’s newest national park and very first archeological district. Along the way, the trail links parks, green spaces, museums, public art, shops, fishing piers, boating facilities, and miles of scenic Riverwalk along the Tennessee River.

The Riverwalk experience begins at Ross’s Landing Plaza, a novel combination of landscaping, art, and architecture creating a captivating public space that serves as the setting for the Tennessee Aquarium and the Chattanooga Visitors Center. The design incorporates exhibits, artifacts, and legends from Chattanooga’s history and geography.

The Riverwalk extends out over the river and up on to the Walnut Street Bridge, a steel truss bridge built in 1890 that has been renovated into one of the world’s longest pedestrian bridges. The bridge is perfect for strolling by day or by moonlight, and connects downtown to the numerous shops and restaurants along the north shore. The north shore is also home to Coolidge Park, which honors Charles B. Coolidge, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient. It features an antique carousel furnished with animals carved by students of Chattanooga’s Horsin’ Around carousel animal carving school. Children can cool off in the interactive water fountains featuring large animals.

Olmsted Vision for Niagara Falls and The Gorge - In His Own Words

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following report, published in 1880, addressed certain concerns Olmsted had for a preservation strategy at Niagara. The report has not been reproduced elsewhere, and is provided here as an NAOP [National Association for Olmsted Parks] “Reprint” [Volume 7, Issue 1] because it contains interesting observations on the specific qualities of vegetation and landscape composition that Olmsted felt contributed to Niagara’s unique and powerful emotional effect. —Ethan Carr

SPECIAL REPORT
OF
NEW YORK STATE SURVEY
ON THE
PRESERVATION OF THE SCENERY
FOR THE YEAR 1879.

JAMES T. GARDNER, DIRECTOR.
ALBANY:
CHARLES VAN BENTHUYSEN & SONS.
1880.

"The few notes which I propose to append to Mr. Gardner’s report will be directed to a single point. There are those, and I fear that most of the people of Niagara are among them, to whom it appears that the waterfall has so supreme an interest to the public that what happens to the adjoining scenery is of trifling consequence. Were all the trees cut away, quarries opened in the ledges, the banks packed with hotels and factories, and every chance-open space occupied by a circus tent, the Falls would still, these think, draw the world to them.

Whatever has been done to the injury of the scenery has been done, say they, with the motive of profit, and the profit realized is the public’s verdict of acquittal. It must be considered, therefore, that the public has not had the case fairly before it.

The great body of visitors to Niagara come as strangers. Their movements are necessarily controlled by the arrangements made for them. They take what is offered, and pay what is required with little exercise of choice. The fact that they accept the arrangements is no evidence of their approval.

The real question is, how, in the long run, is the general experience of visitors affected by measures and courses which are determined with no regard to the influence of the scenery?"

I have myself been an occasional visitor at Niagara for forty-five years. My attention was first called to the rapidly approaching ruin of its characteristic scenery by Mr. F. E. Church, about ten years ago. Shortly afterwards, several gentlemen, frequenters of the Falls, met at my request, to consider this danger, one of them being a member of the Commission now reporting on the subject. I have thus had both occasion and opportunity for observing the changed courses into which the public has been gradually led and of studying these courses and their results.

When the arrangements by which visitors were conducted were yet simple; when there were few carriages, and these little used; when a visit to the Falls was a series of expeditions, and in each expedition hours were occupied in wandering slowly among the trees, going from place to place, with many intervals of rest, there was not only a much greater degree of enjoyment, there was a different kind of enjoyment from any now generally obtained. People then were loth to leave the place; many lingered on from day to day after they had prepared to go, revisiting ground they had gone over before, turning and returning; and when they went away it was with greatful hearts and greatful words.

The change from this to what is described in the second section of the Commissioner’s report has been gradual and, while something must be attributed to modern ease of travel, a greater influx of visitors and to habits of quicker movement and greater restlessness; much must also be referred to the fact that visitors are so much more constrained to be guided and instructed, to be led and stopped, to be “put through,” and so little left to natural and healthy individual intuitions.

The aim to make money by the showman’s methods; the idea that Niagara is a spectacular and sensational exhibition, of which rope-walking, diving, brass bands, fire-works and various “side-shows” are appropriate accompaniments, is so presented to the visitor that he is forced to yield to it, and see and feel little else than that prescribed to him.

But all the time there are some who, because of better information and opportunities, and as the result of previous training,get the better of this difficulty, and to these the old charm remains. Take as an illustration, the experience of the writer of the following passage. It is that of a man who has traveled extensively for the express purpose of observing scenery and comparing the value, as determined by the influence on the imagination, of different types of scenery. It is recorded in a little book (Alpine Flowers, By William Robinson, F. L. S. London: John Murray, 1875) which treats more especially of the scenery of the Alps and of what are designated “nature’s gardens” among them.

But says the author: “The noblest of nature’s gardens that I have yet seen is that of the surroundings and neighborhood of the Falls of Niagara. Grand as are the colossal Falls, the Rapids and the course of the river for a considerable distance above and below possess more interest and beauty.

“As the river courses far below the Falls, confined between vast walls of rock—the clear water of a peculiar light-greenish hue, and white here and there with circlets of yet unsoothed foam—the effect is startlingly beautiful, quite apart from the Falls. The high cliffs are crested with woods; the ruins of the great rock walls forming wide, irregular banks between them and the water, are also beautifully clothed with woods to the river’s edge, often so far below that you sometimes look from the upper brink down on the top of tall pines that seem diminished in size. The wild vines scramble among the trees; many shrubs and flowers seam the high rocks; in moist spots, here and there a sharp eye may detect many flowered tufts of the beautiful fringed Gentian, strange to European eyes; and beyond all, and at the upper end of the wood-embowered deep river bed, a portion of the crowning glory of the scene—the Falls—a vast cliff of illuminated foam, with a zone towards its upper edge as of green molten glass.

Above the Falls the scene is quite different. A wide and peaceful river carrying the surplus waters of an inland sea, till it gradually finds itself in the coils of the rapids, and is soon lashed into such a turmoil as we might expect if a dozen unpolluted Shannons or Seines were running a race together. A river no more, but a sea unreined. By walking about a mile above the Falls on the Canadian shore this effect is finely seen, the breadth of the river helping to carry out the illusion. As the great waste of water descends from its dark gray and smooth bed and falls whitening into foam, it seems as if tide after tide were gale-heaped one on another on a sea strand. The islands just above the Falls enable one to stand in the midst of these rapids, where they rush by lashed into passionate haste; now boiling over some hidden swellings in the rocky bed, or dashing over greater but yet hidden obstructions with such force that the crest of the uplifted mass is dashed about as freely as a white
charger’s mane; now darkly falling into a cavity several yards below that level of the surrounding water, and, when unobstructed, surging by in countless eddies to the mist-crested Falls below; and so rapidly that the driftwood dashes on swift as swallow on the wing.

Undisturbed in their peaceful shadiness, garlanded with wild vine and wild flowers, the islands stand in the midst of all this fierce commotion of waters--below, the vast ever-mining Falls; above, a complication of torrents that seem fitted to wear away iron shore; yet there they stand, safe as if the spirit of beauty had in mercy exempted them from decay. Several islets are so small that it is really remarkable how they support vegetation; one, looking no bigger than a washing-tub, not only holds its own in the very thick of the torrents just above the Falls, but actually bears a small forest, including one stricken and half cast-down pine. Most fortunate is it that these beautifully verdant islands and islets occur just above the Falls, adding immeasurably to the effect of the scene.

I have spoken of the distinctive charms of Niagara scenery. If it were possible to have the same conditions detached from the Falls (which it is not, as I shall show), Niagara would still be a place of singular fascination; possibly to some, upon whom the Falls have a terrifying effect, even more so than it is now. Saying nothing of the infinitely varied beauties of water and spray, and of water-worn rock, I will, for a purpose, mention a few elements which contribute to this distinctive charm.

The eminent English botanist, Sir Joseph Hooker, has said that he found upon Goat Island a greater variety of vegetation within a given space than anywhere in Europe, or east of the Sierras, in America; and the first of American botanists, Dr. Asa Gray, has repeated the statement. I have followed the Appalachian chain almost from end to end, and traveled on horseback, “in search of the picturesque,” over four thousand miles of the most promising parts of the continent without finding elsewhere the same quality of forest beauty which was once abundant about the Falls, and which is still to be observed in those parts of Goat Island where the original growth of trees and shrubs has not been disturbed, and where, from caving banks, trees are not now exposed to excessive dryness at the root.

Nor have I found anywhere else such tender effects of foliage as were once to be seen in the drapery hanging down the wall of rock on the American shore below the Fall, and rolling up the slope below it, or with that still to be seen in a favorable season and under favorable lights, on the Canadian steeps and crags between the Falls and the ferry.

All these distinctive qualities—the great variety of the indigenous perennials and annuals, the rare beauty of the old woods, and the exceeding loveliness of the rock foliage—I believe to be a direct effect of the Falls, and as much a part of its majesty as the mist-cloud and the rainbow.

They are all, as it appears to me, to be explained by the circumstance that at two periods of the year when the northern American forest elsewhere is liable to suffer actual constitutional depressions, that of Niagara is insured against like ills, and thus retains youthful luxuriance to an unusual age. First, the masses of ice, which, every winter are piled to a great height below the Falls, and the great rushing body of ice-cold water coming from the northern lakes in the spring, prevent at Niagara the hardship under which trees elsewhere often suffer through sudden checks to premature growth; and, second, when droughts else- where occur, as they do, every few years, of such severity that trees in full foliage droop and dwindle, and even sometimes cast their leaves, the atmosphere at Niagara is more or less moistened by the constantly evaporating spray of the Falls, and in certain situations frequently bathed by drifting clouds of mist.

Something of the beauty of the hanging foliage below the Falls is also probably due to the fact that the effect of the frozen spray upon it is equivalent to the horticultural process of “shortening in;” compelling a denser and closer growth than is, under other circumstances, natural.

Reference is made at page 9 of the Commissioners’ report to a marvelous effect in scenery above the Falls. It is that to which the following account by the Duke of Argyle applies: “The River Niagara, above the Falls, runs in a channel very broad, and very little depressed below the general level of the country. But there is a steep declivity in the bed of the stream for a considerable distance above the precipice, and this constitutes what are called the Rapids. The consequence is that when we stand at any point near the edge of the Falls, and look up the course of the stream, the foaming waters of the Rapids constitute the sky line. No indication of land is visible—nothing to express the fact that we are looking at a river. The crests of the breakers, the leaping and the rushing of the waters, are still seen against the clouds, as they are seen in the ocean, when the ship from which we look is in the trough of the sea. It is impossible to resist the effect on the imagination. It is as if the fountains of the great deep were being broken up, and that a new deluge were coming on the world. The impression is rather increased than diminished, by the perspective of the low wooded banks on either shore, running down to a vanishing point and seeming to be lost in the advancing waters. An apparently shoreless sea tumbling toward one is a very grand and a very awful sight. Forgetting, then, what one knows, and giving oneself to what one only sees, I do not know that there is anything in nature more majestic than the view of the Rapids above the Falls of Niagara.”

FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED

Author Ginger Strand Advocates Free Niagara, Remove the Robert Moses Parkway

Ginger Strand, Inventing Niagara, had this to say about the on-going issue to remove a 6.5 mile section of the Robert Moses Parkway: "Having spent several years researching the nooks and crannies of the Niagara region, I can honestly say that the Niagara Gorge is one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever had the chance to get to know. For a real appreciation of the "great wonder" of Niagara Falls, experiencing the gorge is necessary. I cannot say the same for the Robert Moses Parkway. It's my opinion that Niagara Falls has much more to gain from restoring the natural attractions of the gorge than it does from preserving this highway. As long as the state parks and the Power Vista were accessible, the area would only be enhanced as a tourist destination, and for the locals who love this place, the payoff would be immeasurable. Not only that, but Niagara would once again take a place at the head of the movement toward environmental restoration. It's time to "free Niagara" once again."

You can read other comments on the Niagara Heritage Partnership's website here and learn more about the first Free Niagara movement here.

National Association for Olmsted Parks - Economic Benefits, Parks Practices

City parks are dynamic institutions that play a vital, but not fully appreciated or understood role in the social, economic, and physical well-being of America's cities and its residents. Dating back to the 19th century when Frederick Law Olmsted introduced the first large-scale city parks to this country, these green spaces provided relief from urban intensity for city residents and brought people together across social, economic and racial divides. In the postwar years, when the population shifted away from urban centers, our nation's city parks suffered enormously from disinvestments and many are still experiencing it.

As cities across the country are attracting millions of residents again, the center of this sweeping urban renaissance are newly revitalized parks. They are not only safe and beautiful, but also serve as green engines to help address nearly every critical urban need from health to housing, to education and environmental justice, and countering sprawl to combating crime. This massive movement to rebuild America's forgotten city parks now includes thousands of community partnerships and millions of volunteers.

The Parks Practices Web site has been developed by the City Parks Alliance (CPA) and National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) partnership to assist local parks in meeting their current needs more effectively as they encounter the ever present challenges in preserving, maintaining, operating and funding their parks and in serving their increasingly diverse constituents. Park leaders have developed innovative approaches to address these issues, responding to a changing economic climate where public budgets for city parks have been reduced and the reliance on the public sector grows. The site seeks to highlight the experience of CPA and NAOP members both successes and failures, facilitate a sharing of lessons learned, and provide opportunities for interaction among city park leaders and citizen groups. It is hoped that through this effort there will be greater investment in city parks across the country and a renewed interest in their role as centers of our common heritage. (Source: National Association for Olmsted Parks)

What We Expected From Niagara's Leaders

Leadership carries expectations. We expect leaders to think independently and omit private agendas. We assume the elected will be progressive and well informed. We expect them to include everyone when planning economic development. Leadership actions and closed-meeting decisions affect us all.

When making public statements, we expect leaders to have reviewed the facts. If they have not, then we expect integrity. We expect them to withhold opinion until thorough research occurs.

Here are some facts about the Robert Moses Gorge Parkway (RMP)—the section between Niagara Falls and Lewiston.

Fact: Other than Legislator Renee Kimble, Mayor Paul Dyster, and the Niagara Falls City Council, no elected official, Commission, or Authority in Niagara County has requested information from the Niagara Heritage Partnership (NHP).

Fact: The “recent meeting with concerned citizens to discuss parkway removal” excluded the NHP and their advocates.

Fact: The RMP removal “debate” truly is “the few against the many.” Over 1 million people, tourists, residents, and 80 organizations supporting the NHP proposal, want Niagara Falls and the Niagara River gorge reclaimed, restored, and preserved. They want to experience a natural landscape, a magnificent, scenic wonder.

Fact: The RMP is a cars only, no commercial traffic road. As to the “abandoned section of the former parkway,” that’s a clear example of how and why compromise on the RMP fails.

Okay, “let’s pretend the RMP disappears.” Let’s ignore Lewiston Road, too. That eliminates the DeVeaux neighborhood, Maple Avenue School argument.

Fact: There are alternative routes between Niagara Falls and Lewiston. The I-190 and Military Road (route 265) are major links. Witmer and Porter Packard are available exits into Niagara Falls, also.

Fact: Tourists follow signage. They use the routes indicated.

Fact: The I-190 is “the best and most efficient way to travel” in either direction between Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Lewiston.

Fact: Traffic going north to Youngstown can use exit 25A. Keep left, merge onto the RMP, and continue to Old Fort Niagara.

Fact: Travelers using the RMP bypass every business district in Niagara Falls, including Main Street and Pine Avenue, and they bypass Main Street, Youngstown.

Fact: That cripples business.

Fact: Removing the RMP will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, temporary and permanent.

Fact: RMP removal will reinvigorate our challenged local economy. It will infuse billions of dollars in heritage tourist revenue. A dozen cities that removed roads provided the figures quoted. I’d love to share this information with you. It’s exciting to embrace opportunity and know it includes and benefits us all.

Fact: Removing the RMP and restoring the native species capitalizes on our urban old growth forest, the Underground Railroad, and our Native American legacies as experiential, walkable history sites. This documented approach emulates Oregon’s Wagon Train route and Missouri’s Lewis and Clark Expedition. It involves and keeps tourists much longer than a day or two. It educates.

Fact: NHP acquiesced on their preservation vision for the gorge region. They backed up to the Niagara Falls north city line.

Reluctance to compromise has nothing to do with a “take no prisoner’s mentality.” In actuality, clandestine organizing to keep the road holds Niagara Falls’ businesses hostage.