BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York State's leading civil liberties watchdog has written strong remarks criticizing how the New York State Department of Transportation handled public engagement during their pitch for the Kensington Expressway project.
In a letter submitted to the NYSDOT, obtained by 2 On Your Side, the New York Civil Liberties Union says, among other things, the "NYSDOT failed to demonstrate meaningful public involvement."
The NYSDOT is proposing a 4,100ft tunnel that would span from Sidney St. to Best St. The tunnel would feature a park on top of it that would allow for greenspace, but not the restored Humboldt Parkway that lawmakers had previously promised.
During a community information meeting on Nov. 8, hosted by the East Side Parkways Coalition, blank boilerplate letters of support for the tunnel and cap plan were handed out.
The NYCLU's seven-page letter goes on to say that Department of Transportation was "leveraging their authoritative and discretionary power to pressure laypersons to blindly sign a pre-drafted form" and "raises serious concerns of meeting the strict standards of meaningful public participation.
The NYSDOT has only held three public meetings, according to the project website:
- June 30, 2022: a scoping meeting regarding the different alternative projects the DOT was considering for the Kensington.
- June 20, 2023: a public meeting held at the Buffalo Science Museum regarding the design alternative selected by the DOT.
- Sept. 27, 2023: another public meeting held at the Buffalo Science Museum after the Draft Design Report/Environmental Assessment was released.
The NYSDOT did not hold a specific meeting that laid out why 8 of the 10 build alternatives were rejected. While the details of those decisions can be found in the Scoping Report that was released in December 2022, the public would have had to search for that information themselves, rather than it be presented to them in a public meeting.
According to a spokesperson from the Dept. of Transportation, the agency had robust public outreach.
"We have either attended or hosted over 60 events, or public meetings or block club meetings, we've set up tables in church lobbies, in the library," said Susan Surdej from the NYSDOT.
Surdej also highlighted the outreach center on E. Utica street, which is a first for the department.
But the NYCLU see's it different, according to the letter stating "the NYSDOT presented only one redevelopment option and solicited support of a forgone conclusion of their plan before engaging in meaningful public participation."
The NYCLU letter also draws attention to the environmental concerns, and the shear scale of the project as additional reasons why an Environmental Impact Statement must be conducted.
"The potential risk of worsened air quality alone should trigger an EIS," the NYCLU letter says.
The NYCLU isn't the only organization who have sent letters calling for additional environmental studies of the Kensington project.
Citizens for Regional Transit submitted a letter to the DOT calling for an EIS.
"This $1 billion project should not be decided in isolation," said Douglas Funke, president of Citizens for Regional Transit. "It must consider long-range plans across all modes, especially Buffalo Metro, whose capacity exceeds the number of people now using the Kensington Expressway, even during peak periods."
With the comment period for the Kensington project completed, the NYSDOT and Federal Highway Administration will make their decision whether to proceed with the tunnel, or do nothing. The agencies say they plan to make that decision by the end of the year, or early 2024.
Any legal action filed, however, could slow down the DOT's timeline.