29 Search Results for Gallagher Beach

Sep 16

2015

State kills plan for swimming at Gallagher Beach

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It turns out it’s not safe to go in the water at Gallagher Beach. State officials announced Wednesday they have shelved plans to open the beach along Route 5 in South Buffalo for swimming. The decision marks a retreat from plans announced two years ago by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins and Mayor Byron Brown, who were excited at the prospect of a beach within the city limits. What’s changed? Investigative Post has been reporting on water pollution and and soil contamination at the beach. State officials initially refused to even commit to testing to determine if there were[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jul 16

2015

Water woes at Gallagher Beach

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  Gallagher Beach has a serious bacteria problem. The bacteria counts at the unofficial beach on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor – which local, state and federal officials want to open for public swimming – exceeded safe levels more than two-thirds of the time in tests conducted last summer. The test results are included in a 181-page study Investigative Post recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. The state has not officially released the report to the public. “The results are that this is not a safe place to swim,” said John Finster, a retired public health engineer who used[...]

Posted 9 years ago

May 14

2014

No swimming at Gallagher Beach

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The bottom line is there won’t be any swimming this summer at Gallagher Beach off Route 5 in South Buffalo. Instead, state officials announced Monday that testing will continue through the spring and summer. Last fall, Investigative Post reported about potential water contamination at Gallagher Beach, where U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Byron Brown had hoped to open for swimming this summer. Three weeks after the story aired, the state agreed to test the water, soil and harbor floor. The testing, which was conducted over just a few days in late October, found a couple of potential concerns.[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jan 7

2014

Gallagher Beach exposé voted top story

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Readers voted Dan Telvock’s story on potentially contaminated water at a proposed state beach as Investigative Post’s story of the year. The story, which aired Oct. 3 on WGRZ and published in Artvoice and on InvestigativePost.org, garnered 37 percent of votes in an online poll. Telvock reported that the beach, off Route 5 in South Buffalo, is adjacent to two Superfund sites and that an Erie County Health Department consultant had concluded that opening the beach for swimming was “probably impractical from a public health standpoint.” State officials responded to the report by first refusing to commit to testing the water[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Oct 24

2013

State to test for contamination at Gallagher Beach

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The Cuomo administration has relented and agreed to test Gallagher Beach in South Buffalo for possible contamination before deciding whether to open it for swimming. In fact, crews began work this week to collect water, soil and sediment samples. An employee on the job for Ecology and Environment Inc., the contractor hired to collect and analyze samples, said the testing is the most comprehensive the firm has conducted for a beach. The decision to conduct comprehensive tests follows two Investigative Post stories earlier this month (found here and here) that reported the beach rests in a harbor basin contaminated with[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Oct 16

2013

Cuomo muddies the waters on Gallagher Beach

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A month-and-a-half ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared his intent to open Gallagher Beach near the South Buffalo – Lackawanna border for public swimming. Congressman Brian Higgins is pushing to open the beach as soon as next summer. Not so fast, concluded an analysis by Erie County’s former senior public health engineer. He concluded opening Gallagher Beach for swimming is “probably impractical” because of a raft of environmental concerns. The analysis, coupled with reporting by our environmental reporter Dan Telvock, painted a picture of a beach whose waters rest in a harbor basin contaminated with PCBs and whose neighbors include two Superfund sites that[...]

Posted 10 years ago