JULY 11, 2008

COUNTY LEGISLATOR KOZUB ANNOUNCES OLMSTED PARKS CONSERVANCY PRESIDENT TO DISCUSS PARKS JULY 15

Erie County Legislator Daniel M. Kozub (D-Lackawanna, Blasdell) is announcing that Thomas Herrera-Mishler, President and CEO of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, will present "The Olmsted City, The Buffalo Olmsted Park System: Plan for the 21st Century" to members of the Erie County Legislature's Energy and Environment Committee at the committee meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, in the Legislature chambers on the Fourth Floor of Old County Hall, 92 Franklin Street in Buffalo.

More than 5 years ago, the Conservancy began researching and writing the guiding principles for the restoration and management of the 1,200 acres of Olmsted-designed parkland in Buffalo. The historic Olmsted System includes: Cazenovia, Delaware, Front, Martin Luther King, Jr., Riverside and South Parks and their adjoining parkways and circles. The outcome is the Plan for the 21st Century, a 20-year, project-by-project operations plan for rebuilding the parks, which in turn will help to rebuild neighborhoods and the entire community.

The plan includes: a blueprint for the future of Olmsted's cultural landscape; guiding principles for restoration and management such as protecting and rehabilitating the Olmsted System to restore its historic integrity, brand the system as a unique historic landscape. promote safe, secure diverse and equitable use of the park system, work with partners to ensure meaningful community participation, promote sustainable strategies, ecological diversity, green design and best management practices, expand the system to connect the parks throughout the city and to connect to the Niagara River Greenway, use the parks and parkways as a community and economic development strategy for adjacent neighborhoods, and manage and maintain the system through daily best practices to achieve the historic integrity, public use and sustainable practices.

Legislator Kozub, Chair of the Energy and Environment Committee, said that Thomas will address all of the above and will discuss the cost breakdown of the plan and anticipated funding initiatives.

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