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Post Info TOPIC: Greenway commission censors citizen --Why?
Anonymous

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Greenway commission censors citizen --Why?
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Greenway meeting is no place for censorship

Thursday, October 13, 2005

On Sept. 26, the Niagara Greenway Commissioners met to continue planning for the Lake Erie to Ontario greenway along the Niagara River, a continuous system of parks and other developments suitable to a greenway. These meetings are open to the public and provide the opportunity for citizens to speak.

When a member of the Niagara Frontier Wildlife Habitat Council began to speak, however, she was quickly silenced by the acting chair of the Commission, Richard Soluri, who is also the Mayor of Lewiston. She skipped to the closing sentence of her prepared comment and read it over his insistence she would not be heard, over his declarations that her subject matter was inappropriate, dealing only with a “local issue.”

Soluri may have correctly anticipated that she was about to make critical remarks about his actions regarding a Lewiston wildlife refuge, well within the greenway corridor and, based on these actions, about his lack of qualifications to be a commissioner in the first place. His wishing not to hear uncomplimentary remarks directed his way was an insufficient reason to deny her the right to speak.

It’s unfortunate that some comments made in public forum might make others uncomfortable, but this needs to be accepted in the interest of citizen participation in a process important to our region. We sincerely hope that the right to be heard is not infringed upon in future meetings. Most of what the NFWHC member would have said, had she been permitted, which expresses the consensus of the NFWHC membership, is as follows:

“Last year, the Niagara Frontier Wildlife Habitat Council (NFWHC) received reports The Niagara Sunday Flyers, AMA Chapter No 778, a model airplane group, were flying their planes adjacent to the Wildlife Refuge established at the Lewiston Plateau with New York State grant funds. Members of NFWHC, Pheasants Forever, R.O.L.E, and the Niagara Frontier Entomological Society met with Mayor Soluri and other members of the Village Board advising them of the inappropriateness of the activity and the disruption the planes cause for wildlife.

They presented the Village Board with scientific evidence from the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Audubon Society, the US Fish and Wildlife, and other experts stating that flying these planes near the Wildlife Refuge is harmful to nesting birds. The Board remained unconvinced and shortly thereafter erected a sign stating the Plateau is the permitted site for eight-member group’s activities.

Furthermore, Mayor Soluri is currently allowing over two acres of this same refuge to be used as a construction debris dumpsite. As you can see from the pictures, they not only inappropriately piled debris, they stripped the land and established berms. It resembles the first step every commercial contractor performs at a new development site.

We understand the Commission has a code of Ethics to which the appointed members are required to adhere. Your bylaws state the Commission desires to work with the citizens and organizations of the representative areas. We also understand an appointment to the Commission is prestigious and we recognize Commissioner Soluri will be more resistant to resigning then Commissioner Sommers was when we requested he voluntarily resign for publicly advocating the development of federal wetlands. 

Because Mr. Soluri and Mr. Sommers refuse to be educated on environmental issues and because a show of good faith is necessary for the environmental citizens and organizations, we are asking this Commission, Ms. Bernadette Castro, and Gov. Pataki to immediately remove Lewiston Mayor Soluri and North Tonawanda Common Council President, Brett Sommers, from the Niagara Greenway Commission and replace them with individuals who will bring balanced environmental representation to the Commission.”

Bob Baxter is a founding member of the Niagara Frontier Wildlife Habitat Council



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Would it be accurate to assume that the writer of this piece posted it to the Forum? If not, why not? Why would this be posted anonymously if it indeed has any merit. I don't understand that type of logic or "behind the scences" activity. I really don't think it's appropriate to censor anyone...But then to complain anonymously is pure absurdity. How ridiculous is that?



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"Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all." Helen Keller "...and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us..."
Anonymous

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These "citizen groups" do their fair share of spin too. Look at the whole parkway-whine "terrorism" thing! Sure dudes.  Ali Mustafah-Hufnagel and Osama Bin-Baxter



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Anonymous

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Why wasn't Ciminelli mentioned in this letter about the Greenway Commission. Oh wait--it just was. Right Jim?

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Anonymous

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Remove Soluri=replace with Baxter. Remove Ciminelli=replace with Hufnagel. Remove Sommers=replace with ?? Castro? Pataki? Who else?


Why don't you just start YOUR OWN Greenwashing Way Commission Jim? This looks just like reinventing the wheel to me!



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Anonymous

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ciminelli is no longer associated with NYPA and never was with the greenway commission. NYPA, however, has a seat on the commission.

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Someone need to get their facts straight.


 


NYPA Home Page

NYPA Notes newsletter masthead





Week of Sept. 26, 2004











About NYPA Notes

NYPA Notes provides periodic updates on the New York Power Authority's statewide activities to stimulate economic growth, promote energy conservation and develop new, environmentally friendly energy technologies.


It also reports on the Authority's efforts to facilitate solutions to New York's energy problems and on its potential benefits to the state as the electricity industry shifts from regulation to competition.


Please feel free to reprint any of the information in NYPA Notes. We hope you find the newsletter informative and useful and would welcome your comments and inquiries (nancy.ames@nypa.gov).


NYPA Calendar

Sept. 27: Power Authority trustees will meet in NYPA's White Plains office, 123 Main St., 11 a.m.

Oct. 9: NYPA is sponsoring the Timothy Murphy 10-K Walk/Run for the Environment, Max Shaul State Park, Fulton, 9 a.m. A Power Authority electric vehicle serving as the pace car in the race will also take part in the Middle-burgh Fall Festival parade,
11 a.m.

 


NORTH TONAWANDA: NYPA to Help Fund Niagara Greenway— Gov. George Pataki announced on Sept. 21 that the Power Authority would contribute $200,000 to aid in the planning and development of the Niagara River Greenway, envisioned as a series of interconnected parks, river access points and waterfront trails along the Niagara River from Lake Erie at Buffalo to Lake Ontario near Fort Niagara. NYPA Chairman Louis Ciminelli joined state and local officials at Fisherman's Park here, where the governor signed legislation creating a commission to help develop the greenway. Ciminelli will serve as one of 14 voting members of the Niagara River Greenway Commission. Pataki, who first called for the establishment of the Niagara River Greenway Commission in his 2004 State of the State Address, said the project would help preserve open space while revitalizing the Western New York economy. Once the commission produces a draft plan for the greenway, it will be reviewed at public hearings. The project will be subject to approval by municipalities within the greenway's boundaries, which have yet to be determined. Creation of the greenway has been included in recent stakeholder discussions concerning the relicensing of NYPA's Niagara Power Project.

FAIRPORT: Clean Air Measures Unveiled for Munis, Coops—NYPA President Eugene Zeltmann announced on Sept. 15 two major initiatives to help the state's 51 municipal electric systems and rural cooperatives improve air quality, cut dependence on foreign oil and make more effective use of low-cost NYPA electricity. One program calls for the Power Authority to join with the systems to evaluate potential energy efficiency projects in their service territories. Under the second initiative, a Green Care Clean Air rebate program, NYPA will offer up to $1,000 to each system for the purchase of electric outdoor equipment such as lawnmowers, hedge trimmers and chain saws. "Along with our growing cooperative efforts to strengthen economic development and promote clean transportation in your communities, these programs will make our relationship a model for the nation of what public power can accomplish at its very best," Zeltmann said in a speech at the state Municipal Electric Utilities Association's 74th annual conference. He said both programs are consistent with energy initiatives and environmental quality policies advanced by Gov. George Pataki.

SARATOGA SPRINGS: Rights-of-Way Programs Earn Awards— The Power Authority has received two awards for its rights-of-way (ROW) management practices along NYPA's 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines in New York State. At the eighth international Environmental Concerns in Rights-of-Way Management Symposium Sept. 13, NYPA received an award from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for being named a "champion" in EPA's Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program. The award recognized the Power Authority's efforts to minimize risk and protect the environment through selective applications of herbicides on its 16,000 acres of ROW that require vegetation management. In August, the Power Authority's innovative use of Geographic Information System (GIS) digital mapping technology earned a 2004 Special Achievement in GIS Award from the Environmental Systems Research Institute, the GIS software developer. The GIS maps the location of NYPA's transmission facilities, the status of vegetation treatments and growth, sensitive environmental areas and various other key elements in ROW management.

MALONE: PV System to Generate Electricity…and Learning— One of the Power Authority's latest renewable energy projects will use the power of the sun to create electricity and enthusiasm at a North Country school. The Malone School District's Franklin Academy will be the first in a new group of public schools to receive a six-kilowatt (kw) solar photovoltaic (PV) system. The project will be paid for with a grant secured by Gov. George Pataki, with state Sen. Elizabeth Little’s assistance, from New York's share of the Petroleum Overcharge Restitution Fund. NYPA will provide the solar panels plus the contract labor to install the $75,000 rooftop system. Besides generating enough electricity to meet the needs of several homes, the panels will produce operational data for a new technology curriculum. Work on the three-month project is expected to begin this fall. The Power Authority previously completed 18 other PV installations at schools and other public facilities. They include a 300-kw project, one of the largest PV systems on the East Coast, atop the Gun Hill Road Bus Depot in the Bronx.

QUEENS: NYPA Honors Inventor of Improved Light Bulb
The Power Authority has teamed up with Queens residents, civic organizations and corporate sponsors to create a fund to honor African-American inventor Lewis Latimer, who, in 1881, invented a new, longer-lasting filament for the electric light bulb. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall presided over a Sept. 10 breakfast co-sponsored by the Power Authority to celebrate Latimer's birthday and help support efforts to turn his 1887 wood-frame home in Flushing into a museum. The birthday breakfast at Latimer House also featured a preview of an exhibit on Latimer's life. One of the electrical pioneers who worked with Thomas Edison, Latimer supervised the installation of electric street-lighting in New York City and other cities in the United States, as well as Paris, London and Montreal.

In the Community: The City of Niagara Falls received a NYPA electric TH!NK vehicle, the last of eight electric vehicles (EVs) presented by the Power Authority in Western New York communities, Sept. 21. The other EVs went to the Town of Niagara; the Lewiston police department; Kaleida Health and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, both in Buffalo; and the Village of Youngstown….The Power Authority co-sponsored two New York City events: the 16th annual Ecofest, an environment-awareness festival, and the fifth annual celebration of the Revolutionary War Battle of Harlem Heights, Sept. 19…..NYPA electric vehicles were on display at the Yonkers Riverfest, Sept. 18, and the Schoharie County Youth Bureau's Parking Lot Safari at Howe Caverns, Howes Cave, Sept. 15….The Power Authority presented 20 surplus computers to Port Chester High School, Sept. 9. The donation brought to more than 250 the number of computers, each completely refurbished with a new operating system, that NYPA has provided to schools throughout New York State….The Power Authority will permit bowhunting for deer on limited areas of its Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project, North Blenheim, from Oct. 15 through Dec. 19. An exam required for proficiency certification was held on Sept. 7. A total of 100 permits were scheduled to be issued via a lottery drawing on Sept. 24.
 

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Do not go where the path may lead - Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail: Emerson
Anonymous

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Sorry Jimmy boy: www.nypa.gov/press/NYPA%20Notes%202004/nn040926.htm


NORTH TONAWANDA: NYPA to Help Fund Niagara Greenway— Gov. George Pataki announced on Sept. 21 that the Power Authority would contribute $200,000 to aid in the planning and development of the Niagara River Greenway, envisioned as a series of interconnected parks, river access points and waterfront trails along the Niagara River from Lake Erie at Buffalo to Lake Ontario near Fort Niagara. NYPA Chairman Louis Ciminelli joined state and local officials at Fisherman's Park here, where the governor signed legislation creating a commission to help develop the greenway.


Ciminelli will serve as one of 14 voting members of the Niagara River Greenway Commission.


You really are a puke.



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Anonymous

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I attended the last two greenway meetings.


FACT: Ciminelli has been replaced as nypa CEO. (There was also a press release in the paper stating he is no longer the ceo) I don't remember the woman's name, but SHE was at each meeting. She sat at the u-shaped table configuration in the front to Soluri's left.  


FACT: The big blurb posted above is over a year old. Look at the date.


FACT: NYPA does have a seat on the Commission, it is not ciminelli.


FACT: I also saw how that woman was shut down by Soluri. This is a commission who states they want input from citizens and yet refuses to let them speak.


FACT: There's a meeting today, 3:00, Beaver Island State Park. Go and see for yourself. Speak up about your  issues. Let's see if you'll be allowed to say anything.


FACT: Press attends.



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I'm reading this thread for the first time, and finding it hilarious!


Ali-Mustapha Hufnagel indeed!


Give me Robert Moses Parkway removal, and seventy dark-eyed virgins to seal the deal!


And that anonymous poster - take him outside and cut off his hands!




-- Edited by Jim Hufnagel at 14:34, 2005-10-18

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"If you promise not to pray in my schools, I promise not to think in your church"
Anonymous

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maybe a one-eye blind "that women" anonymous poster - take him outside cut off his hands!


try


 



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Anonymous

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infidel

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Anonymous

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FOUL INFO --Why?
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"Fact:" Old Chinese sage XioxioChung once wrote in 1966: Anonymous cannot post "Fact."


>I attended the last two greenway meetings.


 We'll run right out and get that attendance list, I. (psst-Is this like those virgin 'eyes?')


>FACT: Ciminelli has been replaced as NYPA ceo. (There was also a press release in the paper stating he is no longer the ceo) I don't remember the woman's name, but SHE was at each meeting. She sat at the u-shaped table configuration in the front to Soluri's left.


 This is really funny! Mixing apples and ceos. All it needs is a dosee-doe! 


"SHE?" lolCrackmeuplol! Press release was only for NYPA and not the GRWC seat. Glad (you/i?) remembered the place settings--"She was there, honest she was!"  LOLmystery SHE-rah?


>FACT: The big blurb posted above is over a year old. Look at the date.


WHY can't YOU POST ANOTHER ONE?


>FACT: NYPA does have a seat on the Commission, it is not ciminelli.


The above in its entirety is called a 'Strategic Misrepresentation' and DOES NOT MEAN that the man is off. Only that the NYPA has someone new. Show that the Pataki appointment was soley NYPA linked. Nice spin but Show It then.



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