After years of divisive dialogue and actions rife with controversy, two principal opponents in the decades-long Peace Bridge saga will deliver a joint presentation at the 2013 Conference on the Environment at 3:15 PM on October 4th at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Buffalo. The presentation features Ron Rienas, Peace Bridge general manager, and Kathy Mecca, West Side resident and president of the Columbus Park Neighborhood Association. The two will publicly air their differences and share how recent developments have allowed them to find common ground.
“For years, we have been fighting hard to rid our community of the unbearable volume of diesel exhaust that has caused widespread illness among children and adults in the West Side,” Mecca said. “However, between Governor Cuomo’s churlish handling of all-things Peace Bridge and the gratuitous ramp project that’s being forced by the state and federal government into the lower West Side, we recognized how politics at the Public Bridge Authority is the driving force behind these projects not necessity. It’s really the cadre of Cuomo’s political allies that are behind the latest chapter of this story.”
Rienas and Mecca’s presentation will explore the environmental planning challenges of balancing pollution-producing operations of a vital international border crossing with serious public health concerns facing a poor, minority inner-city community.
The governments of Erie County, NY, and Niagara Region, ON, are the organizers of the 2013 Conference on the Environment, themed, “A Bi-National Sustainability Summit.” The conference is designed to help environmental leaders and the public learn of ways to successfully address environmental challenges common to both the U.S. and Canada. Activities begin the evening of Thursday, October 3rd with a performance by Gord Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip. Training sessions and presentations take place all day on Friday, October 4th.
The conference closes on October 5th with a tour of Love Canal and the Niagara Power Project. Registration ($95) is mandatory for attendance. For full conference details click here.