Niagara Square
Niagara Square | |
|---|---|
| City square | |
 View of the Taste of Buffalo held in Buffalo's Niagara Square, taken from the City Hall observation deck | |
| Design | Joseph Ellicott |
| Opening date | 1805 |
| Owner | City of Buffalo |
| Location | intersections of Delaware Avenue, Court Street, Genesee Street, and Niagara Street Buffalo, New York |
  Niagara Square | |
| Coordinates: 42°53′11″N 78°52′41″W / 42.88639°N 78.87806°W | |
Niagara Square is a public square located at the intersections of Delaware Avenue, Court Street, Genesee Street, and Niagara Street in Buffalo, New York. It is the central hub of Joseph Ellicott's original radial street pattern that he designed in 1804 for the then village of New Amsterdam. It continues to be the nexus of downtown Buffalo.
History
Niagara Square's origins date back to the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763, which ended French domination of the Niagara Frontier and marked the advent of permanent settlement of the area. This trend increased after the Revolution, and in 1804 Joseph Ellicott (1760–1826) mapped a town on the banks of Lake Erie at the mouth of the Buffalo Creek. The site of the city was part of the vast land holdings of the Holland Land Company, a Dutch firm that had purchased most of western New York. Ellicott, who was the local Holland Land Company agent, had earlier in his career helped his brother Andrew survey Pierre L'Enfant's plan for the new capital at Washington.
The influence of L'Enfant's Washington is readily apparent in Ellicott's design for Buffalo (first named New Amsterdam). Niagara Square, located near the lakefront, became the center from which eight streets radiated in several directions. Among the streets passing through Niagara Square was Delaware Street (after 1879 called Delaware Avenue), which Ellicott is said to have named for one of the Indian groups that frequented the portage road around nearby Niagara Falls.
Despite Ellicott's lofty vision for the new city — he said that the site was "developed by nature for the grand emporium of the Western world" — Buffalo remained for the first quarter of the nineteenth century a small village.[1] As Buffalo's wealth and population grew in the 19th century, Niagara Square became a desirable residential address. Mayor Samuel Wilkeson, whose efforts to build the Buffalo Harbor were rewarded when the State of New York selected Buffalo as the terminus of the Erie Canal, built his mansion on the west side of Niagara Square, presently the site of City Hall.
2020 Niagara Square police violence incident
| External videos | |
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 Footage of the incident between a 75-year-old man and officers, filmed by a WBFO news team |
On June 4, 2020, during the George Floyd protests in New York state, a curfew began in Buffalo, and police formed lines to sweep through the area.[2][3]At the Niagara Square, two Buffalo police officers engaged with an 75-year old man who approached them in an incident filled by member of WBFOnews team.[4]Video footage shows the man, later identified as Martin Gugino, approach the line of officers holding batons as the officers moved to clear the square ahead of the curfew.[5]
Two officers push Gugino backward, and he stumbled backwards and fell hitting the back of his head on the pavement, and knocking him unconscious. Officers in the line appeared to walk past Gugino, as he lay on the ground with blood pooling around his head. One officer attempted to check on Gugino but was pulled back by another officer and both continue to enforce the curfew.[5]The victim was taken to a hospital in serious condition where he was treated for a concussion and laceration.[2][3]
The department issued an initial statement claiming that during a "skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped & fell". Video of the incident was uploaded to Twitter and quickly became viral.[4][2]
Investigation
Police Commissioner Bryan Lockwood suspended two police officers without pay, and Mayor Byron Brown initiated an investigation.[2][3]
Response
As a result of the suspensions of the two officers, the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, a police union, expressed its displeasure by declaring on June 5 that it would not pay any legal fees to defend any other Buffalo police officers for incidents related to the protests. The police union's president claimed that the suspended officers "were simply following orders" and "simply doing their job", while also saying that the victim "did slip".[6]
All 57 police officers from the Emergency Response Team resigned from the team, although they did not resign from the department.[7]According to the police union's president, the mass resignations were a show of solidarity with the two suspended officers.[8]On June 5, Buffalo mayor Byron Brown appeared on national TV where he defended police's actions. Brown also claimed the victim received medical attention "within seconds" of the injury.[9]This differed slightly of an early tweet from Brown on June 4, in which he called the events "disheartening" and hoped the city could continue to build on the progress previously achieved to address injustice and inequity in Buffalo.[4]
Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Charles Schumer, the New York Civil Liberties Union and many members of the general population condemned the incident via social media.[4]
Buildings and monuments
The square's transformation from a residential neighborhood to the center of government began in the early 20th century, with the erection of Buffalo City Hall (1929–1931), Michael J. Dillon Memorial United States Courthouse (1935), and the Walter J. Mahoney State Office Building (1928–1932).
This square is also home to the Statler Towers, Buffalo Athletic Club, the Buffalo City Court Building, the Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse to the northwest side, and several other office buildings.
Within the center of the modern square is a large monument commemorating the assassination of President McKinley, who was assassinated in Buffalo during the Pan-American Exposition of 1901.
Gallery
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McKinley Monument and Buffalo city hall (2010) -
Niagara Square from City Hall Observation Deck (2012) -
Niagara Square looking up Court Street with the US District Court on the right and the Liberty Building in the background -
Occupy Buffalo protesters' camp (2012)
References
- ^ LaChiusa, Chuck. "A Brief History of Niagara Square". Buffalo Architecture and History. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
- ^ a b c d Desmond, Mike; Fetouh, Omar (June 5, 2020). "GRAPHIC VIDEO: Two Buffalo police officers suspended after violently shoving elderly man to ground". WBFO. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c Moreno, Edward (June 4, 2020). "Elderly man appears unconscious, bleeding from ear after shoved to ground by Buffalo, NY police". The Hill. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Cohen, Li (June 5, 2020). "Video shows elderly man hitting his head on the ground after being shoved by police in Buffalo". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Video of Buffalo police shoving 75-year-old man sparks outrage". CBC. June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Becker, Maki (June 6, 2020). "57 members of Buffalo police riot response team resign after shoving incident". The Buffalo News. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Licastro, Troy (June 5, 2020). "Entire BPD Emergency Response Team resigns, still work for police department". WIVB. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Ingersoll, Ali (June 5, 2020). "Buffalo Police Emergency Response Team members resign from special position". WGRZ. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ https://www.investigativepost.org/2020/06/06/mayor-defends-police-attacks-their-union/
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