AMSTERDAM — The Amsterdam Boardwalk project was awarded a $150,000 grant by the Canalway Grant Program which made $1 million in awards for projects to honor canal heritage and improve trails.
According to a news release, this funding is also part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $763 million Regional Economic Development Council awards.
The New York State Canal Corporation made the announcement on Wednesday of the $1 million in grants.
The Amsterdam Boardwalk project is a key component of a $30 million brownfield revitalization development and part of the City of Amsterdam’s recent designation as a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative community. This project will include an elevated pedestrian boardwalk and community space adjacent to the Erie Canal and connect new neighborhoods and developments on Amsterdam’s historic south side to the Mohawk Valley Gateway Overlook pedestrian bridge.
Other projects awarded funding include:
∫ The Seneca Chief Replica was awarded $150,000 to create a historically accurate replica of the Seneca Chief, the pocket boat that led the flotilla for the 1825 official opening of the Erie Canal and carried Gov. DeWitt Clinton from Buffalo to New York Harbor. The boat will be built at the Inner Harbor in Buffalo in full public view.
∫ The Newark Trail Connector will be awarded $150,000 to improve 1.6 miles of Erie Canalway Trail that is currently too narrow, lacks wayfinding signage and is susceptible to erosion. The trail will be widened and outfitted with lighting between the Edgett Road Bridge to the Port of Newark and downtown business district.
∫ The Fairport Canalside Accessibility project was awarded $150,000 to go towards new docks accessible to the disabled to be installed, along with an accessible kayak launch, regraded boat ramp, observation deck, wayfinding, an information kiosk and new lighting and landscaping. Upgrades will be made along the south bank to include a new park that will feature an interpretive heritage trail to celebrate the Erie Canal bicentennial.
∫ The Fulton Canal Corridor project was awarded $150,000 that will be used to help construct two multi-use trails along the Oswego Canal, the Pathfinder Canal Towpath Trail and the Canalview Bridge Walk Trail. This will add to work that has already been completed in the village of Fulton, such as the Indian Point Landing gazebo and the downtown Canal Landing marina, gazebo and park.
∫ The Lockport Locks Sculptures will be receiving $125,000 to create 14 life-sized bronze sculptures that will honor an iconic 19th-century photograph of Erie Canal lock tenders on the steps of the old Flight of Five locks in Lockport.
∫ $95,359 will be awarded to the New Trail Signage throughout the canal corridor to identify water trail access points, historic sites and canal infrastructure that can be visited during a water trip.
∫ $29,575 will be awarded to the Ithaca Waterfront to improve the Cayuga Lake waterfront. The project will include housing, seawall construction and new boat slips. Also being developed are public promenade, a connector path to the Ithaca Water front Trail and electric car charging.
