[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11398]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      MAKING THE VISION A REALITY

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, Buffalo's Inner 
Harbor has undergone a startling transformation. This summer, Canalside 
will host over 1,000 public events, drawing in a million visitors.
  The same possibility exists for Buffalo's Outer Harbor. The Erie 
Canal Harbor Development Corporation will host public meetings, 
starting tonight, to support public discussion about the future of the 
Outer Harbor.
  The successful growth of Canalside has been attributed to Federal 
highway dollars and the New York Power Authority's $279 million Federal 
relicensing settlement, which is now financing the reconstruction of 
Buffalo's long-neglected waterfront.
  Likewise, putting in place the infrastructure to bring western New 
Yorkers to the water's edge at the Outer Harbor will open it up to 
public access and private development. A good start would be to remove 
the structurally deficient Skyway Bridge and to build a new pedestrian-
friendly Buffalo Harbor Bridge, which is now in its final stages of 
environmental review.
  Buffalo has several waterfront master plans. Each say the same thing: 
Get to work.
  The attraction to Buffalo's waterfront is the water itself. It is our 
responsibility to build the infrastructure to make that vision a 
reality.

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