APRIL 29, 2008

KOZUB LEADS EFFORT TO RENAME RIDGE ROAD IN HONOR OF FATHER BAKER

Erie County Legislator Daniel M. Kozub (D-Lackawanna, Hamburg, Buffalo) has introduced legislation to rename Ridge Road in honor of Father Nelson H. Baker.

Legislator Kozub timed his initiative to coincide with the celebration of the City of Lackawanna's Centennial (1909 – 2009). The resolution notes the fact that Father Baker is under consideration for canonization by the Vatican in Rome, a fitting tribute to and recognition of the transformative, and by some measures miraculous, contributions made by this humble man of the cloth, according to Kozub.

"Except for a brief assignment in Corning, NY, Father Baker ministered to the needs of the Limestone Hill community (present-day Lackawanna) and oversaw a faith-based complex that included a church, an orphanage, a protectory for young boys and later, a home for unwed mothers and their infants," Legislator Kozub said.

Beyond his compassionate attention to the most basic needs of the most vulnerable members of society, Father Baker is best known as the driving force and chief fundraiser for the construction of a basilica at the corner of Ridge Road and South Park Avenue in Lackawanna, a place of worship Father Baker said was inspired by Our Lady of Victory.

"It is fitting and proper for a community to designate, or name, a public thoroughfare after a prominent individual, and there are numerous precedents both locally and nationally, including Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, the road leading to Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona," Legislator Kozub said.

In Legislator Kozub's opinion, Rome's beatification and canonization of Father Baker would substantially increase the number of visitors and religious pilgrims to our region, and perhaps one day would make Lackawanna synonymous with Father Baker, akin to Assisi in Italy being forever linked to St. Francis.

"The renaming of Ridge Road to Father Baker Boulevard during the centennial year of the City of Lackawanna (1909-2009) would pay tribute to the memory of this American hero and humanitarian, as well as provide appropriate way-finding to the thousands of visitors who would annually visit his final resting place in Our Lady of Victory Basilica," Legislator Kozub said.

Legislator Kozub affirmed his belief that the anticipated influx of visitors will cast a favorable light on the entire region and will have a significant, positive economic impact on the businesses in Lackawanna, West Seneca and beyond. Tours of the architecturally and artistically significant churches and other houses of worship in Buffalo would see increased attendance as well.

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