Empire Line @#$!!

Empire Line . . . is that a rail service?  A fashion design?

You’ve seen Erie Canal posts on this blog many, many times.  Erie Canal.  I grew up near that canal and have played and worked on it in different capacities.  Last fall, I biked along the canal from Tonawanda to Waterford, and because of the isolation of the past year, posted virtual bike and boat tour guides.  People from many countries have transited the Erie Canal;  people from even more countries know of this iconic waterway.  A friend told of visiting a classroom in China and seeing a map there that showed the Erie Canal.

Well, the governor has proposed renaming the corridor for boats and bikes through New York as  . . . the Empire Line.   What!@#$#@@!  Here’s the paragraph:  “Reimagine the Erie Canal: Building on the findings of the Reimagine the Canal Task Force, the New York Power Authority Board, which now oversees the Canal Corporation as a subsidiary, will … integrate the Empire State Trail and Erie Canal into a new “Empire Line” system … along the 360-mile spine of the Erie Canal.”

Check out tug Syracuse below.

Should that be renamed tug Empire #1933?

Or take Joncaire aka Daniel Joncaire.… 

Should it be called Empire 1979?

Rename Niagara Falls  . . .  Empire Falls?  For NYS to suggest renaming the iconic Erie Canal is a worse idea than gilding a lily or painting the abalone….  Write your NYS assembly rep.  Write your NYS senator.  Let them know how you feel.

These photos come compliments of a canal sailor.   The sentiments are entirely my own.