Delays in renewing Tifft Nature Preserve’s lease leaves grants on the table

Among all the talk about saving and reviving Buffalo’s waterfront, one stable part of that area has been taken for granted. Tifft Nature Preserve has been at its Fuhrmann Boulevard location since 1976, and this urban sanctuary is one of the city’s biggest green spaces. Although all politicians preach the importance of sustaining Tifft Nature Preserve, the lease on its 264 acres has been lapsed since August 31, 2008. Because of this, Tifft hasn’t been able to apply for vital grants because foundations require proof of an active lease, leaving a potential $100,000 in funding on hold.

“We’re trying to go after grants and continue to improve Tifft for the benefit of the public,” says Mark Mortenson, executive director of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, which also runs the Buffalo Museum of Science.

It’s not a matter of money—Tifft leases the land from the city for just $1. Any lease renewal for city property must go through the Office of Real Estate, within the Office of Strategic Planning in City Hall. From there, the renewal is passed to the city’s Law Department, where the terms of the lease are hashed out. Mortenson has written two letters in the last year to take action on the lease renewal, but both letters went unanswered.

John Hannon, director of the Office of Real Estate, says as soon as Tifft’s lease came up for renewal, he sent it to the city’s Law Department. Hannon says there is no hard-and-fast time for the approval process; some take longer than others and the arbitration process can be lengthy. Alisa Lukasiewicz, head of the city’s Law Department, says there are “ongoing negotiations.”

Since then, Councilmember Mickey Kearns has taken up Tifft’s torch and has been instrumental in making sure the paperwork gets pushed through to renew the lease. Kearns says he would like to see the lease renewal process “streamlined.”

Tifft had to close its doors in 2005 during the county budget crisis. Since then, the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences has been working diligently to keep it open. Mortenson says Tifft receives financial help from numerous local foundations in addition to support from the city and county. But the Friends of Tifft, a nonprofit group of volunteers, has been instrumental in keeping the park operational.

“Tifft Nature Preserve has been viewed as the focal point for an environmental and sustainability center in terms of waterfront area to serve the region by telling story of the water and the surrounding environment,” says Mortenson.

Kearns indicated that other Buffalo institutions have had trouble with renewing their property leases through the city, such as the Buffalo Philharmonic and its lease on Kleinhans Music Hall. Richard Doran, director of marketing for the BPO, says the “situation is being resolved to our mutual satisfaction.”

Kearns also mentioned the Buffalo Naval and Military Park. Executive Director Patrick Cunningham says the park’s lease has actually been lapsed since 1999 through a special agreement with City Hall to continue to operate until the waterfront area construction was completed. During that time, Cunningham says local and state grants were put on hold because foundations needed proof of a current lease. The Buffalo Naval and Military Park’s lease was finally approved and extended 10 years on Friday, February 20.

The grants currently on hold for Tifft Nature Preserve are one from the DEC for wildlife preserve management and a greenway grant focused on longer-range projects for building up Tifft’s capacity and sustainability. “We know how important Tifft Nature Preserve is,” says Kearns. “It’s such an asset and something we’re proud of.”

—ellen przepasniak