BUFFALO, N.Y. — With all the back and forth through the years on the Kensington Expressway cap and tunnel project, the $1 billion plan picked up steam last year with the commitment of state and federal taxpayer dollars.
It was reinforced again Tuesday nigh with comments of a top White House adviser.
Go back to the March 2023 Kensington Expressway cover announcement, with a triumphant assembly of state and federal politicians announcing $55 million in federal tax dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill's Community Re-connect program.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said then to the crowd at the Science Museum, "We look for projects like this one where the community has been leading the way, because this is about empowering communities to define their own future. That's what we see here."
Basically, it was the same political tune Tuesday from top White House Adviser Tom Perez on the Kensington project.
"I really think this is a project that we will look back on and look back on with pride, because re-connecting communities is about re-connecting opportunity," Perez said.
And Esterphine Greene, who took over from the late Stephanie Barber Geter as head of the Hamlin Park Community and Taxpayer's Association, told Perez and Mayor Byron Brown at a roundtable discussion that "we are exposed to exhausts and all kinds of other fumes coming from cars on a daily basis. A cap with flowers and trees is a good thing. You have do something with the traffic, and I am grateful to Stephanie, and to the Biden Administration, and to Governor Hochul for making a financial commitment to make this happen."
However, it's not the happy shared opinion of one outspoken resident who has concerns abut the process and impact on nearby neighborhood homes like his.
Terry Robinson told 2 On Your Side: "When I look at the consequence of them talking about blasting with 10, 15, 30 feet of historic homes, and for them to come back with a finding that there's no potential long or short term environmental impact, I say that's ridiculous."
Robinson has been and will be in court to challenge the state approval process for the project, with perhaps more legal action to come according to him.
"There's a bona fide, heavyweight legal firm that is either on the point of retention or has been retained in regard to a class action matter with most — I won't say most — a substantial number of plaintiffs that live within the area," Robinson said.
Channel 2's Nate Benson did ask Perez about the public input process with the understanding that not everyone agrees with the project. Benson asked, "Should the federal government hit pause and make sure all sides are heard before we move forward with a billion dollar project?
Perez replied: "Well, there's been a lot of ... the reviews have been done, and they have been comprehensive, and I would argue that they've been very, very inclusive."
Robinson, who feels residents needed more time to review sometimes modified plans, offered up his assessment of that comment. He said, "When we're talking about things that complex you can't do it in two or three months and call it comprehensive and inclusive. It's a damn lie."
It remains to be seen how any legal roadblocks would impact the pace of the project The State DOT says phase one of this overall three to five-year project will start this fall with work on a roundabout or traffic circle at Best Street near the science museum.
The actual excavation, blasting and retaining wall work to create the tunnel and deck might start next year.