By Mark Wozniak
Buffalo, NY – A long-awaited settlement has been reached between the New York Power Authority and Buffalo and Erie County.
The Power Authority has agreed to a package worth $279 million over the next 50 years, which will be earmarked for waterfront development. The funds will be allocated to the Erie Canal Waterfront Development Corporation, and to greenway projects in the county.
The offer is nearly three times the original NYPA's "take it or leave it" offer of $100 million dollars over the next 50 years, as part of the renewal process for its federal license to operate the Niagara Power Project.
The Power Authority will also give up the 13 acres of waterfront property it currently uses to store the Lake Erie ice boom.