Lackawanna

Lackawanna
—  City  —
Lackawanna's City Hall
Location of Lackawanna in Erie County
Coordinates: 42°49′10″N 78°49′32″W / 42.81944°N 78.82556°W / 42.81944; -78.82556
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Erie
Government
- Mayor	Norman L. Polanski Jr. (D)
Area
- City	6.1 sq mi (15.9 km2)
- Land	6.1 sq mi (15.9 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	623 ft (190 m)
Population (2000)[1]
- City	19,064
- Density	3,104.9/sq mi (1,198.8/km2)
- Metro	1,254,066
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
ZIP code	14218
Area code(s)	716
FIPS code	36-40189
GNIS feature ID	0954863
Website	Lackawanna, NY

Lackawanna is a city in Erie County, New York, U.S., located just south of the city of Buffalo in the western part of New York state. The population was 19,064 at the 2000 census. The name derives from the Lackawanna River. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The city of Lackawanna is in the western part of the county.

Government

The city of Lackawanna has a mayor-council form of government. A councilman is elected for each of the four wards of the city. The mayor and council president are elected at large. Fire and police services are also provided by city run departments.^[2]

History

Originally part of the Buffalo Creek Reservation, the area was not open to settlement until 1842 when the land was sold by the Seneca Indians. In 1851 the town of Seneca was formed, the name was changed to West Seneca in 1852, with the area now known as Lackawanna being called West Seneca or Limestone Hill.

Lackawanna was a center of steel manufacture throughout most of the 20th century. In 1899 all the land along the West Seneca shore of Lake Erie was purchased by the Lackawanna Steel Company. Construction was started in 1900 and the plant began operation in 1903. The Lackawanna Steel Company moved to the area in 1902 later, in 1909, the residents of the area voted to split off from West Seneca forming the city of Lackawanna .^[2]

The Lackawanna Steel Company was acquired by the Bethlehem Steel Company in 1922. With the 20th century growth of the Bethlehem Steel plant, at one time the fourth largest in the world, came the continued growth of the city and its institutions. At its peak the plant employed 20,000 people. It attracted people from many lands to settle here and make their homes. However, the latter half of the 20th century saw the decline of the steel plant and finally its closure.^[3]

In recent years, efforts have been made to convert the former steel plant brownfields to other uses. The site does have a diversity of tenants, some occupy buildings remaining from the former steel plant and a few in newer buildings. These efforts have been opposed by many sectors, as the alleged contamination of the field has been said by some to have caused cancer and other medical issues.^[4] United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ reports are still ongoing and contested.^[5] Wind turbines were built on the former Bethlehem Steel property in 2007. These initial eight 2.5 megawatt turbines will provide power for up to 9,000 households.^[6]

Railroads

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad , originally the Lackawanna and Western Railroad, operated from 1851 to 1960. In 1960 it was consolidated with the Erie Railroad to become the Erie Lackawanna Railway. The Erie Lackawanna Railway operated from 1960 to 1976 until it was absorbed by Conrail.

Notable court case

The city of Lackawanna was the defendant in the 1971 district court decision Kennedy-Park Homes Association v. City of Lackawanna. This court decision forbade the municipal government (Lackawanna) from interfering with the construction of a low-income housing development in a predominantly white section of the city. It was decided that such action would amount to racial discrimination.^[7]

The Lackawanna Six

The Lackawanna Six (also known as the Buffalo Six) are a group of alleged Al-Qaida members, who were convicted of providing "material support" to Al-Qaida. The group was accused of traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the spring of 2001 to attend terrorist training camps.^[8] However, they had claimed that their travel was to Pakistan only for the purpose of religious instruction.

The group was arrested in Lackawanna, September 13, 2002, by the FBI. A member of the Lackawanna Cell, Jaber A. Elbaneh, never returned to the U.S. after his trip to Afghanistan. In September 2003 the FBI announced a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He was captured by Yemen police and was convicted and sentenced to a prison in Yemen for involvement in the 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker Limburg off the coast of Yemen. The remaining members of the group pled guilty in December 2003 and were given various sentences in federal prison.^[9]

Jaber Elbaneh escaped from a Yemeni prison in 2006 after joining a successful group prison break and was named as one of 23 people, 12 of them Al-Qaeda members, who escaped on February 3, 2006.On February 23, 2006 the U.S. FBI confirmed the escape, as they issued a national Press Release naming Elbaneh as one of the first new additions, since inception in 2001, to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list.^[10] On May 20, 2007, Elbaneh turned himself in to Yemen authorities on the condition that his prison sentence would not be extended. The incident of the Lackawanna Six has tarnished the city's reputation, but it is recovering.^[11]

In July 2009, it was reported that prior to sending in 130 federal and local members of the Western New York Joint Terrorism Task Force it was suggested that federal troops be used to capture the suspects.^[12] At the time, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld felt that the men should be declared enemy combatants and could have been tried by a military tribunal. President Bush rejected this proposal and the arrests proceded without incident.^[12]

Religious institutions

The city of Lackawanna is home to fourteen Protestant churches, the Masjid Alhuda Guidance Mosque (the largest mosque in the Buffalo area) , ten Roman Catholic churches; one of which is Our Lady of Victory Basilica (OLV), and Saint Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church.

Our Lady of Victory Basilica

Our Lady of Victory Basilica

Our Lady of Victory Basilica, located in Lackawanna, is a National Shrine. Next to Our Lady of Victory (OLV) Basilica is Holy Cross Cemetery. It has been a parish cemetery since 1849, although burials date back to 1830. Father Nelson Baker was responsible for the building of working boy's home (protectory)in 1898. He also supervised construction of an infants' home in 1907, a maternity home in 1915, Our Lady of Victory Hospital in 1919, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Victory in 1926. Father Baker named the Basilica after the shrine of Notre Dame des Victoires in Paris, France, which he visited as a seminarian in 1874. He was in charge of the Basilica and the various institutions of charity until his death at 94, on July 29, 1936.

Father Baker's social programs have evolved into Baker Victory Services, which care for more than 2,500 children each day. Our Lady of Victory Hospital, closed in 1999, is being converted into senior housing .^[13][14] The Homes of Charity provide the funds to continue his social programs through donations, and Our Lady of Victory Basilica had its 75th Anniversary in 2001. In addition, the Catholic Church named Father Baker "Servant of God" in 1987, the first step towards declaring him a saint. In 1999, Father Nelson Baker's remains were moved from Holy Cross Cemetery and re-interred inside the basilica. This was a recommended step for his canonization process. His cause for canonization is under review by Vatican officials.^[15][16]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles (15.9 km²), all of it land. Lackawanna sits on Lake Erie, although the waterfront is occupied by the remnants of the Bethlehem Steel facility. Smokes Creek (named after Seneca Indian Chief Sayenqueraghta who was nicknamed "Old Smoke") runs through the city before it discharges into Lake Erie.

Abbott Road is a major road that runs from north to south through the city. Ridge Road is also a main east to west road in the city.

Adjacent cities & towns

• City of Buffalo - north
• Town of West Seneca - east
• Village of Blasdell - south
• Town of Hamburg - south
• Lake Erie - west

Major highways

• Interstate 90 (New York State Thruway), runs through the extreme southeast corner of the city.

• U.S. Route 62 (South Park Ave.), North-South roadway that runs through the city from Buffalo into Blasdell and Hamburg.

• New York State Route 5 (Fuhrmann Blvd., Hamburg Tprk.), North-South roadway through the city that runs from Hamburg to Buffalo. Busy north-south route for traffic to and from Buffalo.

Demographics

As of the census^[17] of 2000, there were 19,064 people, 8,192 households, and 4,775 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,114.0 people per square mile (1,202.7/km²). There were 8,951 housing units at an average density of 1,462.1/sq mi (564.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.99% White, 9.50% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.30% from other races, and 3.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.08% of the population. The population of whites includes a significant Yemeni population.

There were 8,192 households out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,354, and the median income for a family was $39,237. Males had a median income of $32,063 versus $22,794 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,727. About 13.1% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public

Children in Lackawanna attend school in the Lackawanna City School District. Grades Pre-K to 2 attend Truman Elementary School. Martin Road Elementary School has grades 3-6. In a shared building, Grades 7 through 8 are in the Lackawanna Middle School section and Grades 9 through 12 are in Lackawanna High School section.^[18] Lackawanna Senior High School was famous in the 1960s and early 70s because of its dominant football teams (quarterbacked by Ron Jaworski for some of those years).^{[citation needed]}

Private

Our Lady Of Victory Elementary School, a private school affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, offers education from Kindergarten through Grade 8.^[19] The Global Concepts Charter School, a charter school in the New York State system, offers education from Kindergarten through Grade 5.^[20]

Notable people from Lackawanna

• Father Nelson Baker - A Roman Catholic priest responsible for building the Basilica of Our Lady of Victory. This "Padre of the Poor" established social programs (for orphans, people with disabilities, unwed mothers, etc.), which still serve over 2,500 people a day.
• Rosemarie Bishop - Author of The Moral Vampire Series of books including Search For A Soul , Noah's Garden, Mrs. Pope, and A Brother's Love.^[21]
• Ann Burke - former radio co-host on WGR (Bob & Ann Show, topic Buffalo Bills), was the one of the first female sports radio call-in hosts in America.^[22]
• Dr. Vincent Burke - Senior book editor at The Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Tom Callahan - Play by play announcer for the Nashville Predators NHL team.^[23]
• Sam Cardinale - A professional boxing manager for Lackawanna boxers Dick Topinko, Joe Capuani and Poncho Padilla.^[24]
• Joe Hesketh - A former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1984 through 1994 for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.
• Ron Jaworski - ESPN broadcaster and former quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs.^[25]
• Jack Jurek - A professional bowler on the Professional Bowlers Association tour since 1986.^[26]
• Michael Kogutek - The 1980-81 National Commander of the American Legion.^[27]
• Thomas Kubiak - An actor who has appeared in The Purple Rose of Cairo and Law & Order.^[28]
• Mike Mamula - Defensive lineman at Boston College who was selected #7 in the first round by the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL draft.^[29]
• Connie Porter - An author best known for her books for children and young adults.^[30] Her novel All-Bright Court is set in Lackawanna.
• Ruben Santiago-Hudson - An actor and playwright. He set his musical Lackawanna Blues in the Lackawanna community of 1956.^[31]
• Bobby Scanlon - An Irish-American boxer in the 1950s who grew up in Father Baker's orphanage.^[32]
• Dick Shawn - An actor/comedian/singer who was born Richard Schulefand. His parents owned a store in Lackawanna. Dick Shawn appeared in The Producers and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World among others.
• John Slabyk - A freelance art director and graphic designer who became art director for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. He previously had redesigned the Buffalo Sabres team logo.
• Dr. Lonnie Smith, an award-winning jazz organist who has worked closely with George Benson; he has also appeared with Dizzy Gillespie, Gladys Knight, and Dionne Warwick.
• Margaret M. Sullivan - The current editor of The Buffalo News. In 1999, when she was promoted from managing editor, she became the paper’s first female editor and the youngest female newspaper editor in the nation.^[33]
• Raymond Thorne - An actor who was born Raymond Mihok. He played in films like Playing for Keeps and Johnny Flynton^[34]
• John B. Weber - Became the youngest colonel (age 20) in the Civil War after his appointment to the 89th United States Colored Infantry. He was elected to Congress and served one term from 1885 to 1889. Weber was also the first commisioner of the immigration station at Ellis Island

Photos of Lackawanna

Lackawanna's Veterans Stadium (formerly Ron Jaworski Stadium)

Wind turbines of the Steel Winds project at former Bethlehem Steel plant along Lake Erie

Entrance to the former Our Lady of Victory Hospital

South Park Avenue entrance to Holy Cross Cemetery

References

New York portal

External links

• Official Web Site of the City of Lackawanna
• Brief Lackawanna history
• Lackawanna at the Open Directory Project

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