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City of Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow announced today the City has submitted an application to be considered or Governor Andrew Cuomo’s $300 million Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) to New York State.
REDI was announced by Governor Cuomo earlier this year due to high water levels and flooding along the shoreline of Lake Ontario, causing millions of dollars in damage and wreaking havoc all along the shoreline. Municipalities, through the REDI program, have the opportunity to apply for funding to repair the damage that has been done due to high water and flooding and can propose new economic development projects along the lakeshore to stimulate the local economy and take advantage of waterfront property.
The City of Oswego’s application requests approximately $17 million to repair damage to municipal infrastructure in the City’s Wright’s Landing Marina and proposes to transform the International Pier into a state-of-the-art boardwalk, while elevating areas of the marina to reduce the risk of flooding, and adding to the amenities currently offered in the marina. Oswego’s application proposes a new fire pit and picnic area, an enhanced recreation pavilion with enhanced amenities, significant investments in repairs to the marina including elevating the marina in certain areas, the installation of sheet piling to prevent shoreline erosion, and the relocation, repair and replacement of boat slips and docks in the marina that received damage in both 2017 and 2019.
“The City of Oswego’s REDI application is a perfect blend of repairing some damage, building to reduce our vulnerability to continued high water and flooding, and proposes drastic changes to our marina to improve our marina and transform into the regional destination we know it can be”, said Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow. “Oswego has yet to fully capitalized on our world class waterfront. Now, thanks to the opportunity from Governor Andrew Cuomo, Oswego has the chance to overhaul our marina, build a modern boardwalk along our pier, introduce modern amenities to our marina for our boaters, and build this area back so flooding is less of a concern in the future. We intend to use the REDI funding to re-imagine our waterfront, building it back better than ever before, and unlock the full economic potential made available by our greatest natural asset”, Barlow said.
City of Oswego Economic Development Director Justin Rudgick said “The REDI process allows the City of Oswego the opportunity to execute Mayor Billy Barlow’s vision of transforming our waterfront and using it as a strong economic asset. We’ve submitted an application that leverages previous investments, draws people to our waterfront, and reduces the risk of more damage to our public infrastructure in the future.”
The Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative was created by New York State in response to damage along the Lake Ontario shoreline caused by high water levels in Lake Ontario. Plan 2014, a water management plan managed by the International Joint Commissioner, has resulted in the higher water levels than normal, resulting in flooding and erosion to property on the lakefront, with most damage occurring in 2017 and 2019.
