<P> * American Football League (AFL) championships were earned prior to the NFL merging with the AFL in 1970 . † Date refers to current incarnation; Buffalo Bisons previously operated from the 1870s until 1970 and the current Bisons count this team as part of their history . </P> <P> The Buffalo parks system has over 20 parks with several parks accessible from any part of the city . The Olmsted Park and Parkway System is the hallmark of Buffalo's many green spaces . Three - fourths of city parkland is part of the system, which comprises six major parks, eight connecting parkways, nine circles and seven smaller spaces . Constructed in 1868 by Frederick Law Olmsted and his partner Calvert Vaux, the system was integrated into the city and marks the first attempt in America to lay out a coordinated system of public parks and parkways . The Olmsted - designed portions of the Buffalo park system are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are maintained by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy (BOPC), a non-profit, for public benefit corporation which serves as the city's parks department . It is the first non-governmental organization of its kind to serve in such a capacity in the United States . </P> <P> Situated at the confluence of Lake Erie and the Buffalo and Niagara rivers, Buffalo is a waterfront city . The city's rise to economic power came through its waterways in the form of transshipment, manufacturing, and an endless source of energy . Buffalo's waterfront remains, though to a lesser degree, a hub of commerce, trade and industry . Beginning in 2009, a significant portion of Buffalo's waterfront began to be transformed into a focal point for social and recreational activity . To this end, Buffalo Harbor State Park, nicknamed "Outer Harbor," was opened in 2014 . Buffalo's intent was to stress its architectural and historical heritage to create a tourism destination, and early data indicates they were successful . </P> <P> At the municipal level, the City of Buffalo has a mayor and a council of nine councilmembers . Buffalo also serves as the seat of Erie County with some of the 11 members of county legislature representing at least a portion of Buffalo . At the state level, there are three states assemblymembers and two state senators representing parts of the city proper . At the federal level, Buffalo is the heart of New York's 26th congressional district in the House of Representatives, represented by Democrat Brian Higgins . </P>

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