With the demolition of the Woodson Housing Units complete, City Honors School continues to fight for the restoration of its prized Fosdick Field – an amenity that was lost to housing yet is still an integral part of its story and fabric. It seems as if the entire community is behind this project, yet there is still no clear signal that City Honors will be the winner of what would be a major victory for the school and the city.
There is a renewed effort to “Bring Back Fosdick Field” with the recent launching of a campaign and website aimed at telling the history of the site, and why it is so important to award/reward City Honors with a plot of land that bounds the campus and was once part of its footprint. If you think about it, the City Honors story is a microcosm of the Buffalo story – a part of the city that was sacrificed for “progress” that now finds itself attempting to heal its wounds via community support.
“Efforts to knit back together the City Honors/Fosdick-Masten Park School campus by obtaining the land formerly occupied by BMHA’s Woodson Gardens continue to pick up speed. Visitors to the campus are now met with a very large sign publicizing a new website that further promotes this endeavor.” – City Honors
See website | If you have not done so already, please consider signing (and sharing) this petition.
Below is a short Q&A with William A. Kresse, Ph.D., Principal City Honors School at Fosdick-Masten Park:
What are the latest efforts to restore the field?
We are excited to announce the launch of our new website dedicated to the restoration of historic Fosdick Field: www.RestoreOurField.org. The site provides everything from a history of the field to a listing of the organizations already endorsing the restoration of field to a link to the petition supporting our efforts.
Who needs to get behind this in order to make it happen?
We continue to have very encouraging discussions with the City and housing authority and how we might meet HUD requirements needed to return the greenspace to the children of our city.
Has anything changed at the site?
The chain link fence was recently removed from the perimeter of the field and Buffalonians are getting their first full view of the field and western approach to our National Register building since 1977.
What are the odds that you’ll get it?
We are confident the field/campus will be restored. Buffalonians are voicing their opinion that the restoration of Fosdick Field is a “no brainer.” The people want this for their city. Restoring this jewel will be one more example that visitors to our city will use to point out that “Buffalo is a city that gets it right.”
What is standing in the way of this from becoming a reality? What else can people do to help?
Everyone appears to be working toward the same goal. Our awareness campaign is to ensure that the residents of our city understand the history of the green space and our interest in restoring it.
What happens to the land if you don’t get it?
We don’t think there are really any other options. The previous development took an important green space from the children of the Buffalo Public Schools and the neighborhood. It also radically altered the orientation of one of Buffalo’s architectural treasures. We can’t see our community allowing this to happen again. Our FAQ section on the website provides additional details.