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Home > Leadership > Mayor > Archive Press Releases > 2007 Archives > September 2007 > Mayor Brown Announces City Grant to Support Olmsted Parks

Mayor Brown Announces City Grant to Support Olmsted Parks

Source/Contact
Office of the Mayor
Peter K. Cutler
Director of Communications
716-851-4841

Contribution taken from $1 million reforestation fund Mayor created in 2007-08 Budget

BUFFALO- The October Surprise Storm of 2006 destroyed or damaged the vast majority of trees throughout the City of Buffalo, including trees in city parks, which encompasses the landmark Frederick Law Olmsted-designed park system. It is estimated that the storm damaged 80 - 90% of the nearly 12,000 trees in the Olmsted Park and Parkway System, which at one time had 40,000 trees.

In an effort to assist the Conservancy in its continuing effort to restore the Olmsted-designed parks to their pre-Storm condition, Mayor Byron W. Brown today announced the City of Buffalo would provide a $202,165 grant that will support the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s reforestation program.

“Every section of the City of Buffalo was affected by the ravages of the October Storm,” said Mayor Brown.  “And our city parks were particularly hard hit by the devastation that occurred on October 12th, 13th and afterward.  The overwhelming and comprehensive damage throughout the Olmsted Parks has had a devastating impact on the City’s legendary urban forest. As the jewels of Buffalo’s urban park system, I believe it is essential that we do what we can to help restore the Olmsted Parks to their pre-storm condition as quickly as possible.  This grant, taken from the $1 million city reforestation fund I created in the 2007-08 City Budget, will help contribute to that important and necessary effort.”
 
The Buffalo Olmsted Parks System is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the ongoing reforestation activity will contribute to restoring the historic natural beauty for which the park system is renowned.  In addition, the grant will enable the Conservancy to invest needed resources into the restoration of community jewels such as the Delaware Park Rose Garden, the Delaware Park Casino Steps, the Soldiers Circle and the Martin Luther King Jr. Park Greenhouse Garden.    

“Beginning with the rapid deployment of city and other resources for the removal of the tremendous amount of debris in the Olmsted Parks in the aftermath of the October Surprise Storm, through the substantial investment in support of athletic field maintenance last spring and culminating in today’s announcement, Mayor Brown’s parks leadership has been outstanding and is indicative of his passion for this unique urban green space,” said Johnathan M. Holifield, CEO of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. “The Conservancy is pleased to continue to grow its relationship with the City of Buffalo, further restoring and beautifying the Olmsted parklands and thus considerably enhancing the city’s one-of-a-kind landscape.”

The City grant will be used to restore the areas of the Olmsted Parks System mentioned above, as well as to provide funding for maintenance and upkeep of reforestation and landscaping projects beginning in 2008.  It is estimated that between 1,600 and 2,300 trees must be planted to return the Olmsted System to pre-storm conditions. Four hundred trees were planted in the spring and another 200 will be planted this fall on November 3rd and November 10th.