City of Tonawanda's plans for Young Street

"It really is only a 30-45 second jaunt down in and around that area," City of Tonawanda Mayor Rick Davis said.

Yet that stretch of Young Street is causing uproar in one Facebook "City of Tonawanda" group.

That area between Main and Delaware has been closed to vehicles since January.  Aside from concrete blockers, road blocks and a sign--little has been done.

“Definitely things are moving in the right direction," Mayor Davis added.

That direction, the Mayor said, will be complete if the city is given a $10 million grant by New York state.  The money is going towards an event pavilion, retail storefront and condos.

"It will really bring people in to our downtown, giving them a place to live downtown and hopefully revitalizing our downtown."

Not all welcome the change.  Longtime Tonawanda resident Paul Overton is worried for his safety living in the nearby towers. 

“If something ever happens, here they're going to have a hard time rescue people here, maybe put out a fire here," city resident Paul Overton said.

Mayor Davis said this should not be of concern.  The fire department confirms that they would have full access to the building.

As for businesses, they see the positive.

"Anything that brings more people around, I think, would be just fantastic," Jim Chilton, owner of Water Bike Adventures.

The council won't vote to decide whether this section of Young Street will remain closed to car traffic until the end of summer or early fall.  The city also won't know if they received the $10 million grant until the mid-fall.