As visions become clearer for the future of Buffalo's Skyway, some people who live in the area wonder how the nearby Marine Drive Apartments could be impacted.
- New York State announced winners of a concept and design competition to reimagine the Skyway Corridor
- The winning concept contained renderings of "future mixed-income housing" at the site of the current Marine Drive Apartments
- Officials with Empire State Development say there are no current plans for the public housing complex
Earlier this week, the state announced the winners of a contest to reimagine the area around the bridge built in the 1950s. The top idea suggests removing parts of the Skyway and creating an elevated park. Design renderings also show future mixed-income housing on the site of the current Marine Drive Apartments across from Canalside.
Joe Mascia has lived in the public housing complex for 20 years and is a former resident commissioner with the Buffalo Metropolitan housing authority. He applauds the work to build up the waterfront, but wants to make sure people who have low incomes aren't pushed out as the area continues to change.
"Housing like this is needed. Where it is, I'm sorry it's been here a long time," Mascia said. I don't want to hear that we should tear them down, get rid of them, those people should move."
Like the Skyway, the Marine Drive Apartments were built in the 1950s. It has 616 units. A basic one-bedroom apartment rents for around $300 per month with utilities included.
Residents pay based on their income, but the complex operates without federal or state subsidies, relying only on the rent collected from the people who live there.
"I can tell our tenants unequivocally we're not tearing down their buildings," said BMHA Executive Director Gillian Brown.
Brown added that the BMHA, which owns the apartments, had nothing to do with any design plans for neither the Skyway competition nor any discussions about building new housing on the property.
"My board of commissioners and the mayor of the city believe that there should be a diversity of income levels on the waterfront," Brown said.
Any major renovations to exterior or interior of the Marine Drive buildings would be an expensive proposition, according to Brown.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Spectrum News in a phone interview that any specifics in the winning proposal are not set in stone as the state studies the next steps.
"Just because they picked one design, they picked it for the creativity of the park that was created. I'm sure the actual plan will be different than what was put forth in any one application," Cuomo said.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, one of the judges of the Skyway competition, declined to comment.
Laura Magee, a spokesperson for Empire State Development, responded with the following statement:
It is important to note that City of Lights, the winning idea from Aim for the Sky, is a source of ideas and not the a blueprint for specific action. The state may even draw upon ideas from other submissions for the proposed project.
More specifically, the winning design is a “future vision” for the Corridor, and except for the public infrastructure components, should not be viewed as an imminent construction project. City of Lights sets a 20-30 year vision for how the Corridor might evolve in character and land uses if changes to the transportation system—like removal of the Skyway—would be made. There are no current plans that would advance any of the real estate components in the City of Lights vision, including any changes at the Marine Drive Apartments, which sits on property owned by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority and would need to be advanced by that agency.
The infrastructure components of the proposal will be subject to a full public Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process to analyze, assess, and disclose the anticipated social, economic and environmental impacts of the proposed project before making any decisions to undertake, permit, or fund the project.
