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.
tugster: a waterblog 
13 comments
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February 3, 2021 at 12:47 pm
Les Sonnenmark
What!!!??? In elementary school, we all learned to sing “Low Bridge”, and the words haven’t left me in all those decades. Will kids have to learn a new rhyme for Sal and pal? What mule name rhymes with “line”?
February 3, 2021 at 1:42 pm
Jim Gallant
Governors, Senators, politicians of both parties….they all seem to spend much of their professional lives strutting about with their heads planted firmly into their “south sides”! Many have been setting new and even greater standards of buffoonery over the past year, trying out strange, new ideas on the electorate in an attempt to divert attention away from themselves and cover up their own ineptitude in handling the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis. “EMPIRE LINE”? (?!) One would assume the citizens of New York, as well as almost everybody with half a brain and even a smidge of historical respect anywhere else in the nation, would rise up and pressure the Governor of the “Empire State” into a “C.Y.A.” mode, convincing him to change his mind in order to redeem his own political skin. Hopefully, that would mark the END of this idiotic scheme for all time!
February 3, 2021 at 2:07 pm
mageb
You might as well write the Governor too.
February 3, 2021 at 2:08 pm
tugster
That is a good point. Thx, Mage.
February 3, 2021 at 9:14 pm
Martt
Its the Erie Canal. Why the need to rename it? A governor with no term limit. They become empowered. Gets the Tappen Zee bridge named after his father. When travel is ok again I will enroute to New England cross a newer bridge over the Hudson that I will call the NEW Tappen Zee Bridge.
February 3, 2021 at 9:18 pm
tugster
I like a person with ideas, BUT i don’t like all ideas. This is a terrible idea and it needs to be said….
February 3, 2021 at 10:44 pm
MARTT
Concur sir.
February 4, 2021 at 10:01 am
Anonymous
Notice to Mariners
Erie Canal
February 4, 2021
STATEMENT FROM NEW YORK POWER AUTHORITY PRESIDENT AND CEO GIL QUINIONES
“The New York State Canal system has been, and continues to be, a significant driver of economic development for upstate communities and a valuable resource for recreation. As the 2021 navigation season approaches, the Canal Corporation is actively engaging with a wide range of local stakeholders across New York who rely on the waterway to identify their needs.
The Canal Corporation is also assessing and addressing portions of the system’s aging infrastructure. These projects include undertaking efforts to optimize operation of the locks and lift bridges based on usage data when the Canal system opens this spring. As in previous years, the Canal system is projected to operate mid-May through mid-October and no changes are expected to the normal hours of operation.
In addition, New York State’s iconic Erie Canal is not being renamed. The Erie Canal will remain the Erie Canal just as it has been for two centuries.”
February 4, 2021 at 10:11 am
tugster
Thx, anon, for this statement. I did find the “Empire Line” reference in the Governor’s budget statement confusing and disturbing.
February 4, 2021 at 3:55 pm
Lee Rust
It’s a rebranding move. The “Empire Line” motif is consistent with the pending power distribution project known as the “Empire State Connector”.
Between Utica and NYC, the beds of the Erie Canal and Hudson River are to be the underwater route for twin high-voltage DC cables, authorized by the NY Power Authority. The biking and hiking aspects are likely being promoted at this stage in order to put a happy face on a debatable concept.
For the Erie Canal, the sad truth is that historic preservation imperatives and a tiny amount of recreational and commercial traffic cannot entirely justify the ongoing expense of maintaining the ancient canal infrastructure without the extra income and economic benefit from projects like the privately financed Empire State Connector.
The New York City metro is critically hungry for electricity. With the imminent shutdown of the Indian Point nuclear reactors, the most practical source of replacement power is from nuclear, wind and hydro resources upstate and in Canada. Note that the 1000 megawatt generating capacity of Indian Point is exactly matched by the 1000 megawatt transmission limit of the Empire State Connector.
Construction is currently scheduled to begin in 2022, so I would assume that the closure of Indian Point will be delayed until the Connector cables and two associated AC/DC conversion facilities are in place and ready to go.
Current online info about the project is scarce, but here’s a very vague and evasive marketing webpage:
https://empirestateconnector.com
This 2016 newspaper article is more informative:
https://www.syracuse.com/news/2016/04/proposed_underwater_cable_in_erie_canal_would_send_upstate_electricity_to_nyc.html
February 6, 2021 at 8:41 pm
Robert Corby
Stupid idea. The name Erie Canal is iconic and internationally known. The Canal is a National Historic Landmark and renaming it is simply crazy. Is this a way to help conceal plans to truncate the system and destroy the navigability of the easternmost half?
February 7, 2021 at 12:18 am
tugster
Some think it’s the western half that’s doomed.
February 7, 2021 at 6:27 am
tugster
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/erie-canal-season-and-hours-wont-be-cut-nypa-chief-says/article_edbb9c3c-66f7-11eb-906a-8b9394ab11e5.amp.html?fbclid=IwAR1OTpOjgmFVc4zH4r9fuvyjvGSTDQmAn5AQ1YDcXJKfgyHg7jh4wcuq4PU