For Immediate Release: February 3, 2012 Contact: Erich Weyant (ECHDC) | eweyant@esd.ny.gov | 716.846.

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95 Perry Street, 5th Floor Buffalo, NY 14203 P: (716) 846-8200 F: (716) 846-8262 www.eriecanalharbor.com

ECHDC SEEKS PROGRAMMING FOR THE B UFFALO RIVER

Agency seeks to activate the existing features, public spaces and water along the Buffalo River. The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) today announced its first steps for activating the Buffalo River corridor. The agency is seeking a Program Coordinator to solicit proposals from organizations and groups interested in holding an event or series of events along the Buffalo River. Proposals will be evaluated by ECHDC staff and the citizen-volunteers who sit on the Buffalo River steering group, under the leadership of ECHDC board member Julie Barrett O Neill. The River steering group was initiated in late 2010 as part of ECHDC s mission to revitalize Buffalo s waterfront, and is comprised of a variety of stakeholders from the River corridor. These stakeholders were asked to join the steering group in recognition of their efforts to redevelop and remediate the Buffalo River and to provide more public gathering and access points. The Buffalo River is about connection, said ECHDC board member Barrett O Neill. The river is the physical connection between the exciting changes taking place on the Outer Harbor and the burgeoning Canalside district on the Inner Harbor. It is the social connection for the First Ward and the Valley, communities that are home to numerous businesses, social organizations and neighborhoods. Its grain elevators connect us with Buffalo s great industrial heritage. Most importantly, the water and banks of the river itself allow us to connect directly with the environment and to discover that Buffalo is a great place for outdoor recreation. Our goal is to support and augment the existing infrastructure and programming occurring along the river, knitting them together and connecting them to the Outer Harbor and Canalside, further energizing the entire waterfront. The coordinator will be required to solicit programming proposals and present the results of the solicitation with recommendations to ECHDC. The programming season will run from May 1 through November 1. Programming, defined as any one-time or regularly-scheduled activity or event, performance, concert, festival or social gathering, will be limited to Buffalo River. The coordinator will be responsible for administering a minimum of 30 events. Organizations interested in submitting proposals should be established and have demonstrated experience in effective outreach and event coordination as well as knowledge of Buffalo s market for urban and outdoor programming, in particular waterfront and/or waterside programming. Full details regarding this RFP are available here. Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation is a subsidiary agency of Empire State Development, whose vision is to revitalize Western New York s waterfront and restore economic growth to Buffalo based on the region s legacy of pride, urban significance and natural beauty. ###