Published: January 14, 2008 06:19 pm            

YOUNGSTOWN: Making waves along the waterfront

Long-awaited construction made possible by state grants

Youngstown’s identity is tied to its waterfront.

That’s why officials in the small village on the Niagara River are excited about the nearly completed docks project off Water Street.

“To accommodate all the things there you really need a very welcome, very safe, full-facility waterfront and that’s what that now becomes,” Village Mayor Neil Riordan said. “Over the years erosion caused a lot of the things supporting the front pier to decay or erode.”

The village applied for two grants for the project starting five years ago, Deputy Village Mayor Fred Stephens said. Overall, the village received $190,000 from the state and matched those funds with its own money.

“It’s about 95 percent complete,” Stephens said.

The pier had been built about 25 years ago with concrete blocks sold by Hooker Chemical Co., Stephens said. The site’s waterfront park had old weeping willow trees and was poorly landscaped, he said.

The project extensively renovated the area: there is a new pier and the weeping willows were taken down. The park was sodded, new benches were purchased and brick walkways were laid down.

Lights will be placed on granite pillars and a small building which will include heated bathrooms and a passport identification station is currently under construction. New trees will be planted.

“It’s going to give a nice kind of visual improvement to the area,” Village Engineer Robert Gallucci said. “And really show what can be done in the future with all this greenway money communities are getting.”

The site is used extensively in the warm months by fishermen, sailors and those who just want to sit by the lake, Stephens said. It will be completed by the time the village’s numerous fishing tournaments begin in May.

It will also be showcased during the Level Regatta in July — the largest freshwater regatta in the country, according to Riordan — which brings as many as 450 boats to the Niagara River. A smaller regatta is planned for August.

“The upgrade will benefit residents and visitors alike,” Stephens said.

The new docks are now in much better condition to handle the possible traffic that would come with a cross-river ferry service between the village and Niagara-on-the Lake, Stephens said.

Niagara County Legislator Clyde Burmaster, R-Ransomville, said in November that the only thing remaining to make the ferry a reality by summer 2008 was a rubber-stamp from Canadian officials.

At that time, Burmaster said that U.S. customs had signed off in general agreement with the idea and that several ferry companies had expressed interest in the project.

But it’s less clear now how Youngstown would accommodate customs, who are looking for a building with more space than currently exists in the immediate area, Village Trustee David Gifford said. A customs station would need a retention area for possible illegal aliens, headquarters for staff and male and female bathrooms.

“It would be great,” he said of the ferry. “But you’ve got to sense that (customs) weren’t pining on doing it any time soon.”

Burmaster did not return a message left on his phone Monday.

Whether or not the ferry becomes a reality in the coming months, officials say the pier is still safer and a more welcome place for boaters.

“The only thing that has to be installed is the final lighting and some landscaping tweaking and finishing off of bathroom facilities,” Riordan said. “It’s going to be a very welcome place for anglers and boaters, and hopefully in the long term, a fast-ferry service.”

        

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