Boathouses caught in tide of controversy, article (Buffalo News, 2006-05-07).txt

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Boathouses caught in tide of controversy, article (Buffalo News, 2006-05-07).txt

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Historic boathouses and day cottages that range from the rustic to the charming, beloved by their owners and coveted by some others, are the embers of a smoldering controversy in the Lumber City.

The 42 boathouses with fanciful names like Mermaid's Tail and French Quarter sit on a seven-acre site -- which is publicly and privately owned -- at the confluence of the Little Niagara River and the Erie Canal.

They call to mind the lifestyle of a simpler time, when summer's memories were captured by box cameras and 35-millimeter film and there were no rewind buttons.

Imagine the sound of chugging trains and the clink of a rowboat's oars, the taste of an icy Coca-Cola from a corner grocery store where everyone knows whose kid you are. Imagine the sight of gulls and feel of the breeze as you fish dockside.

But the flip side of that picture is not nostalgic. Some people view the area as an eyesore because some structures need repair. And they also view the owners, many of whom do not live in the city, as elitists and obstructionists to plans to retool the area into an anchor for a revamped downtown, one that would bring in more tourism dollars and add to the city's tax base.

In 2002, then-Mayor David J. Burgio proposed a grandiose redevelopment of the site at River Road and Goundry Street -- whose history dates to the 1870s when its slips cradled the Great Lakes vessels that carried the products of the city's lumber industry.

It called for razing the three-acre Boathouse Park -- that includes some 30 boathouses on land leased annually from the city -- and acquiring another dozen boathouses on roughly two acres overseen by the Erie Lackawanna Boathouse Owners (ELBO) and Little River Boat Club.

The rest of the site, which also would have been engulfed, includes the 50-year-old Wardell Boat Yard and a vacant swath owned by the nearby private Island Street Boat Yard that includes an easement for access to the boathouses.

Called Gateway Point, the plan included a hotel, stores, restaurants, condominiums, a canal museum, visitors center and a "toy harbor" for watersports.

>Plan raised concerns

With a price tag of upwards of $10 million, it was seen by city officials as a major boon to the economically ailing city, attracting more tourism dollars and generating more property and sales tax revenues. According to the boathouse owners, the city receives at least $80,000 annually in leases and taxes on the boathouses.

Critics said the plan did not address the considerable costs for extensive foundation work in wet soils; elevating the entire site, which is subject to flooding; the installation of expensive pilings; and at least 2,500 feet of breakwall and new sewers.

Fast forward to the new administration of Mayor Lawrence V. Soos and the latest downtown redevelopment plan.

It says of Gateway Point, "Ultimately the project was derailed by controversy . . . Nevertheless, the Gateway Point project is an example of the type of anchor project that could serve as a catalyst for redevelopment in North Tonawanda."

Both Soos and James Sullivan, city redevelopment director and executive director of Lumber City Redevelopment Corp., the city's development agency, agree that Boathouse Park "is on the back burner."

But that doesn't allay the concerns of boathouse owners.

Don French, president of Boathouse Park Neighborhood Association, noted that the leases of $900 annually for the boathouses on city land -- which the city calls the Weatherbest slips -- have been issued on a year-to-year basis for the past 10 years.

"So there is a reluctance on the owners' part to make major repairs -- like driving new pilings -- because they are in limbo without knowing if the city might take the area," French said.

>Boathouses in disrepair

Charges of elitism have been leveled at the boathouse owners by those who view the site as a private domain, even though a little more than a third is city owned.

But French and a couple of other boathouse owners said the public does have access to the site. French said they run an annual fishing derby, which attracts several hundred people. And a lot of people regularly fish from the point between the two public slip areas.

The city also has the right to do annual inspections, under terms of the city leases, to check for building code violations. The boathouses are not to be used as living quarters and do not have plumbing, for example.

Cosimo R. Capozzi, city code enforcement officer, said many boathouses are in disrepair and in violation of city codes and terms of their city leases.

"We have bad siding, bad roofs, rotted wood. Some have major structural problems," he said, noting a lot of problems stem from a general lack of maintenance.

"A lot of them are being used as living quarters, and that is not allowed," Capozzi said. "We find sleeping accommodations, cooking set-ups, heating and air-conditioning equipment."

Capozzi added, "It's not all the boathouses. There are some that are in good shape and that are very well maintained."

He said when his office notifies owners of code violations by letter "all we get are letters back from the owners saying 'talk to our attorney.'

"We get zero cooperation from the owners."

In addition to paying water bills and their leases, owners of boathouses on city land pay taxes on the structures, and must have insurance with the city as co-insurer. Owners of boathouses on private land pay taxes on the land and structures and also carry insurance. And they maintain gravel roadway areas on their land.

One boathouse owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, suggested that the city improve the dirt and gravel access road, and perhaps add some picnic tables and a gazebo for use by the general public.
>Improvements urged
The Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture, whose executive director, Tim Tielman, spearheaded a public meeting on the boathouse issue two years ago, has offered suggestions that would retain and enhance the boathouses and add to the public access.
These include:
* Adding a cast-iron entry arch reading Boathouse Park and improving pedestrian and bicycle access by reopening the old Erie Lackawanna railroad swing bridge, building stairs up the slope of the River Road embankment and lowering the speed limit on River Road to 30 mph.

* Building walkways over the slip areas providing access to the best water views.
* Preserving crushed stone roadways, which slow traffic, but not adding parking areas, arguing that detracts from the site and noting there is ample parking within walking distance.

* Asking private owners to donate land not occupied by boathouses to a land conservancy or the Niagara County Parks Department to create more public park space, an idea that a member of the ELBO said they might consider.
* Adding pavilions, a public dock, restrooms and fish-cleaning station between the two city-owned slip areas.
* Having the city assist boathouse owners, perhaps with low-interest loans or state grants in improving their property.

The city plans to improve docking facilities at the canal wall near Sweeney Street -- adding electrical hookups, restrooms, and perhaps even shower facilities -- to encourage boaters to stay for several days in the area, visiting cultural attractions and shopping.
It also hopes to buy and partially renovate a historic building at 64-66 Webster St., near the waterfront, and then turn it over to a developer to convert into a boutique hotel and upscale restaurant.
e-mail:Â lwinchester@buffnews.com

Date

2006-05-07

Citation

“Boathouses caught in tide of controversy, article (Buffalo News, 2006-05-07).txt,” North Tonawanda History, accessed March 29, 2024, https://nthistory.com/items/show/2668.