City leaders are attempting to increase public access to Buffalo's waterways, long blocked by aging industrial ruins and polluted land.
Credit Daniel Robison for NPR
Over the next three years, a clamshell will scrape the bottom of Buffalo's waterfront harbor, scooping out contaminants from the city's industrial days.
Along the shore of Lake Erie, the rusting relics of Buffalo, N.Y.'s industrial days have long blocked access to the water and posed risks to residents. Now, after decades of inaction, the city is finally clearing a path for the public to return to the waterfront.
Buffalo's approach has been dubbed "lighter, faster, cheaper." Tom Dee has led this effort as president of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., a special state agency in charge of city waterfront property. He says years were wasted chasing grand redevelopment projects, but now the strategy is more homegrown.
Weeks after its founding, the Shale Resources and Society Institute (SRSI) released a study that hydrofracking opponents called flawed and biased toward the natural gas industry. Above, a hydrofracked well and drilling pad in Pennsylvania.
The newly-founded SUNY Buffalo institute issued a study which found a decline in accidents and environmental damage caused by hydrofracking – a drilling technique using high volumes of water, sand and chemicals to extract natural gas from shale far below the Earth’s surface.
The eastern shore of Lake Erie is known as the "Sponge Candy Crescent." During the region's long winter months, this crunchy, chocolatey candy is a mainstay — especially for large gatherings and holidays. But come hot weather, you can't get the temperamental treat.
Ko-Ed Candies sells a lot of chocolate Easter bunnies, candy bars and other sweets, but co-owner Sandy Whitt says her customers mostly crave sponge candy.
Nik Wallenda walks a tightrope in the rain during a training session for his upcoming stunt in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Credit David Duprey / AP
Spectators watch Nik Wallenda practice in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Local officials are hoping the stunt revives flagging tourism.
Credit David Duprey / AP
High-wire performer Nik Wallenda will try to cross the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope this Friday. The seventh-generation member of the Flying Wallendas spent months getting the necessary permissions from Canada and the United States for the cross-border stunt.
Niagara Falls has long been a magnet for daredevils, but strict laws have kept them away for more than a century. That's expected to change Friday, when circus performer Nik Wallenda will walk a two-inch-thick wire above the giant waterfall. It's an exception officials hope will rescue tourism — and the city's economy.
