By Staff Reporter
BUFFALO — Albany put money into two new parks on Buffalo’s East Side on Wednesday. The two deals were built very differently.
In Broadway-Fillmore, Empire State Development broke ground on a $2.3 million rebuild of Sears-Paderewski Park, turning three city-owned parcels, including an abandoned paved lot, into a playground, stage pavilion and green space. The state’s share is $1.2 million.
The same day, in the Larkin District, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $6 million state grant for Millrace Park. That park will be owned and operated by a private nonprofit, Millrace Park Inc., and is designed as the first phase of a development plan that its backers say will draw $50 million in private investment to the surrounding blocks.
Both parks will be open to the public. But they show two ways the state pays for public space in Buffalo, and the questions taxpayers might ask about each are different.
A developer’s park, mostly paid by the state
Millrace Park will sit at 822 Seneca St., bordered by Seneca, Lord and Seymour streets, and is slated to open by fall 2028. Plans call for a playground, mini-golf, tetherball, bocce, a tennis court, restrooms, a lawn and shaded seating.
The project costs about $8 million. The state’s $6 million, administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, covers three-quarters of it. The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation is giving $1 million. The Zemsky Family Foundation is contributing $1 million, which the state says includes the land, soft costs and ongoing maintenance. National Grid added $250,000, and the city will handle surrounding sidewalks and curbs.
“Investing in such a creative public space like Millrace Park while encouraging private-sector investment in nearby properties is the best of both worlds and exactly the type of project that public and private partners should work together to build,” Ms. Hochul said.
The governor’s office ties the park to the Larkin 2040 plan, a three-phase build-out by Larkin Development Group. Phase 1 pairs the park with historic restorations, including an 1869 home on Seneca Street and a new headquarters for Oxford Pennant at 775 Seneca St. Phase 2 adds rowhouse-style housing and food and hospitality businesses. Phase 3 includes a mid-rise residential building and a boutique hotel. The state says all of these projects are next to or adjacent to the park.
“After years of planning, the next chapter of the Larkin District mixed use development begins today,” said Kayla Zemsky, Larkin Development Group’s chief executive. “We love Buffalo and are so proud to have been investing here in Larkinville for the past 25 years, but more importantly, for the next 25 years.”
The Zemsky name carries weight in state economic development. Howard Zemsky, whose family’s company has led the Larkin redevelopment, co-chaired the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council and later served as president and chief executive of Empire State Development under Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to ESD.
Wednesday’s announcement did not say which state program the $6 million comes from, whether it was awarded competitively, or what public-access terms will bind the nonprofit owner. Those are standard questions when public money builds an amenity on private land that also raises the value of the owner’s neighboring property. The Buffalo Chronicle has asked the governor’s office and DASNY for those details.
“Millrace Park is a great example of how State funding can support neighborhood revitalization while encouraging additional private investment,” said DASNY President and CEO Robert J. Rodriguez.
A city park, kept up by neighbors
The Sears-Paderewski project runs the other way. The land is the city’s, and the money comes in smaller pieces from more sources, according to ESD’s announcement: $630,000 in Downtown Revitalization Initiative money through the Department of State, $600,000 from ESD, $416,400 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, $375,000 from Erie County, $230,000 from NewCity Parks and $50,000 from the Buffalo Sewer Authority.
Construction began in late September. Playground installation should finish this fall, and the rest of the work in spring 2027. Long-term upkeep will lean on volunteers: the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is enlisting block clubs and community groups through its Adopt-a-Park program to maintain the community garden and flower beds.
“For too long, parks in neighborhoods like Broadway-Fillmore have been overlooked,” Ms. Hochul said in ESD’s release. “Today, we are turning the page by transforming Buffalo’s Sears-Paderewski Park into a vibrant hub of recreation, culture, and community life.”
Fillmore District Council Member Mitch Nowakowski said the project “reflects what happens when we listen to the community and invest in what residents want and deserve.”
“Every Buffalo neighborhood deserves a welcoming park where children can play, families can spend time together, and neighbors can get to know one another,” said Mayor Sean Ryan.
The questions that follow the money
Neither park is a bad idea. Both replace vacant or underused land in neighborhoods that have waited a long time for investment, and both drew support from Buffalo’s state legislators, Sen. April N.M. Baskin and Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes.
But the comparison raises fair questions for Albany:
- Access. Sears-Paderewski will be a city park under city rules. What written guarantees of public access, hours and free use come with $6 million in state money for a privately owned park?
- Selection. ESD’s release lays out where each Sears-Paderewski dollar comes from. The Millrace announcement does not name the state program or say whether other neighborhoods competed for the money.
- Upkeep. The Zemsky Family Foundation has committed to ongoing maintenance at Millrace. At Sears-Paderewski, maintenance depends partly on neighborhood volunteers. Who pays if either arrangement falls through?
The Buffalo Chronicle will report what the state and the parks’ sponsors say.
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