Occupy Buffalo attempts to repair damage to landscape caused by 4 mo. encampment in Niagara Square
BUFFALO, NY - Two days after being rousted by police from the site of their four month long encampment, a handful of members of Occupy Buffalo returned to Niagara Square Friday.
This time, however, they came armed with rakes and garbage bags to begin the process of repairing the damage done to one of Buffalo's most identifiable of public spaces.
The grass on significant sections of the square was laid to waste, under constant foot traffic and tents during the course of their protest.
"All we need is a little cow manure and we'll make this baby shine like a brand new floor!" said Bob McGill, as he raked straw from a barren section of the square where the tent which served as the encampment's kitchen once stood.
And, while some may gain a sense of satisfaction from the idea that those who made the mess were at least trying to clean it up, they did not include Marlene Liberti.
"What they're doing right now is actually just making it worse," said Liberti, a Master Gardener with Buffalo in Bloom, a volunteer group which puts in countless hours every year maintaining the gardens in the square.
"They should really just go home at this point and leave the gardens alone. They're not doing it any good right now," Liberti told WGRZ-TV.
A short time later several City of Buffalo buildings and grounds workers arrived on the scene, informed the protestors they would be taking over the job, and advised them to cease their efforts.
Glancing at the gardens which were trampled over the course of the Occupation, Liberti said, "I am heart sick over this."
Liberti told 2 on Your Side she had come to Niagara Square after receiving an inquiry from the National Garden Festival as to the status of the square, in advance of an event to be held in Buffalo this summer.
"I got a call today (and) they wanted to know if it would be in shape to be part of the festival. There will be bus tours for people who come from out of town and we're down here because they're going to press (with brochures) and we have to see if we can get it into shape."
Under the terms of its previous permit to occupy the square, Occupy Buffalo was supposed to have set aside funds to repair the damage that might result.
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"The money is in the fund, and we do have it, and we will honor our word," said Heron Simmonds-Price, who came to help in Friday's cleanup effort. "There are many people who are interested in not only passing money, but putting their sweat into making the square presentable," Simmonds-Price said.
But according to Simmonds-Price there is less than $2,000 in the fund, and Liberti predicts it will take far more than that to restore the landscaping in the square.
"It will have to be aerated because it's compacted and grass won't grow in compacted soil. This is like clay now. And due to the number of festivals using this space, re-seeding may not even be an option. It may have to be sodded, and that's even more expensive," Liberti said. "But we're master gardeners and somebody told me once we do miracles. So, hopefully, we'll be able to pull one off here."
City Hall Spokesman Mike DeGeorge says the city has yet to determine the amount of money that will be required to restore the landscaping in Niagara Square damaged by the protesters.
Click on the video player to watch our story from 2 On Your Side Reporter Dave McKinley and Photojournalist Bill Boyer.
WGRZ-TV, wgrz.com