BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Amid ongoing proceedings regarding the controversial Kensington Expressway project, East Side resident Terrence Robinson has also been fighting against the state's $1 billion plan to transform a portion of Route 33 into a six-lane tunnel.
The project was announced in May 2022.In October, a judge granted a temporary injunction, putting the project on hold.
"It's very personal. Seven decades, and the memories of my grandfathers, of my brothers, sisters, neighbors," Robinson shared.
Robinson prepared his own legal case against the project, presenting arguments before Justice Emilio Colaiacovo Friday. He claims the state did not adhere to proper procedural requirements, leading to an incomplete environmental assessment of the project.
"We believe that the Environmental Quality Review Act of New York State, the seeker, requires them to do certain things that they designed, they engineered from the back, from the outset, to evade and that's why it is a cluster all the way through and will continue to be problematic," Robinson said.
He said the design of the project ignores the needs of the community and the neighborhood he lives in.
"The Department of Transportation, though, has the full facts. They recognize that this thing is a cancer alley, that it's a concrete alley, that it has erased the history of the people along Humboldt Parkway," Robinson said.
During closing arguments in November for separate proceedings related to the project, attorneys for the East Side Parkways Coalition also argued that the state's assessment of the environmental impact on the neighborhood is insufficient.
In response to these claims, a state representative defended the process.
"This was an extremely thorough [environmental assessment]. The DOT looked at all the environmental impacts that it identified through analysis, and at the end of the day, I don't believe there would be a different result through an [environmental impact statement] process," Patrick Omilian said.
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Robinson said he will continue fighting for his community.
"And we're gonna win," he declared.
Justice Colaiacovo reserved his decision on this case but stated he would issue a decision on all Kensington Expressway proceedings in a single document as soon as possible.
