monday december 15th 2008
Roberta Lane on Buffalo Preservation
RaChaCha
After the October announcement, at the Market Arcade, of the formation of Preservation Buffalo Niagara, Buffalo Rising sat down with Roberta Lane of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Based at the Trust’s northeast regional office in Boston, Roberta is the Trust’s New York staff person, and also the Trust’s northeast regional attorney.
BR: What is your preservation background? RL: I have a dual degree in preservation and law from Boston University.
BR: How did you discover Buffalo architecture? RL: When I started at the National Trust a couple of years ago, one of the first things I saw in the Boston office was the book Classic Buffalo [by Rochester preservationists Richard Reisem and Andy Olenik] on display. Also, we had a number of prints on the walls showing Buffalo buildings, and people in the office talked a lot about Buffa…
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West Coast Perspective
Downtown enthusiasts and pessimists are focused on the Inner Harbor as Benderson Development with a dollop of taxpayer money is driving the Canal Side project forward. Two blocks to the east of Main Street, the transformation of the area around HSBC Arena is already underway.
Sam Savarino and Chris Jacobs, following First Amherst Development’s Elk Terminal Lofts, saw the potential of the Cobblestone District and the foot of Main Street years ago. Savarino and Jacobs are nearly finished transforming a stretch of Mississippi Street into a mix of office, residential and restaurant space. The final piece of their project, conversion of the former Benlin warehouse, will welcome its first tenants in just a few weeks.
sunday december 14th 2008
Canal Plans Revealed
Elena Cala Buscarino
Today the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) revealed their comprehensive plan for Buffalo's inner harbor. The exciting mixed-use master plan will provide the framework for nearly 725,000 square feet of entertainment, hotel, office, retail and residential uses.
Larry Quinn cautioned the crowd not to think of the retail and entertainment portion of the development as a "lifestyle" center. "This will be all Buffalo," he said, "not a knock-off." He also suggested that the Buffalo history and flavor would be captured in the commercial aspects of the development, while not so much the actual architecture.
"Come December of 2010, January of 2011, we'll have the whole world in Buffalo," Quinn said, referring to the World Junior Hockey Championship Tournament that will take place here.
"We were encouraged by the fact that people love to be on the water," said Quinn…
BlueDevil
Moments ago, the Buffalo Bills completed another collapse and lost to the New York Jets 31-27. With a record of 6-8, the Bills have ensured they will continue their streak of .500 or worse records to 5 straight seasons. Worse yet, the Bills have had one winning season in the past 9 years. But let's not dwell on the negatives of the past decade; let's focus on the disaster that was today's game.
After last week's disaster, Dick Jauron was criticized for consistently winning the coin toss and effectively choosing to receive in the second half. Well, fortunately for him, the Bills didn't even win the toss this week. The Jets won it, opted to receive, and promptly marched down the field to take an immediate 7-0 lead. In a sloppy, lead-changing game, the ineptitude of the Bills coaching staff didn't appear until late in the game. But more on that later.
Despite the immediat…
queenseyes
It's one of the topics that I love arguing with people about - the apparent lack of parking in the city's commercial districts. If you've ever traveled to cities like Boston or Toronto, then you know how difficult it can be to park your car in a commercial district (or any district for that matter). Buffalonians must learn that as the commercial districts continue to grow, parking spaces will in turn be depleted. Are parking woes really that bad around here? If more people shop in the city, it might mean that a walk from a parking space to a destination will be longer. Is it that big of a deal? Or are people spoiled by the massive amount of parking spaces at the malls? Even the malls require a short hike to get to the front door... and from there one must get to the shopping destination of his or her choice. In the end, a walk is a walk and I'd rather be walking out in the fresh …
buffalorising
Howie Greene, Top NY News Examiner for www.examiner.com and Buffalo State College graduate, sent along his latest column that showcases politicians who, in their previous lives, were 'celebrities'. As Howie puts it, "Now for some reason Buffalo, NY has sent an inordinate number of former athletes to elective office." Here's his list from the piece in the Examiner:
Jack Kemp - former star QB for your Buffalo Bills; served as a Western NY Congressman, ran for President; ran for Vice President with Bob Dole. Made "supply-side economics" famous. Had the hair thing going on WAY before Gov. Blogo
Anthony Masiello - former Buffalo Mayor and State Senator; played one season with the Indiana Pacers
Billy Stachowski - South Buffalo State Senator; big star at Holy Cross College; …
Colin M. Reilly
When I think of bowling, I think of Roy Munson in Kingpin, I think of John Candy in Uncle Buck, The Dude in The Big Lebowski, and of course, Homer Simpson. Whenever bowling is mentioned, these images of old, overweight men come to mind. It's no wonder I agreed to write about bowling in Buffalo with some trepidation. I mean we're trying to shed Buffalo's old dreary image and highlight its progress. Even so, I decided to kick off my shoes, slip on the old multi-colored rental slippers and give the ball a roll.
I confess, I had a set image. But I was in for a pleasant surprise. As I walked up to Recckio's Bowling Alley in South Buffal…
West Coast Perspective
Meals on Wheels for Western New York, Inc., (MOW) facing the immediate challenge of raising $67,500 to cover the costs of providing 25,000 additional meals to elderly and special needs recipients in December, is conducting an appeal to raise those dollars. The agency budgeted for 840,000 meals this year, but troubling economic conditions and an ever-growing demand have raised that number to 865,000. In 2008, MOW also experienced a 12 percent increase in the cost of meals.
saturday december 13th 2008
Jazzin Up A West Side Gelato Joint... then on to Grant?
queenseyes
At long last, the gelato storefront (operated by Dolci) adjoining Urban Roots Garden Co-operative is getting a much needed face-lift. When I last stopped into Gelato Ji back in July, I was told that the facade improvement was scheduled to get underway. When I passed by the Rhode Island intersection yesterday, a crew was busy ripping off the front of the storefront in preparation for installing a new glass front. I spoke to Blair Woods, board member of Urban Roots and manager of the building, about the transformation and the funds that made the project possible:
"It was accomplished with a grant from the Facade Improvement Program administered by BERC (Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation). They have designated zones - all o…
Rimas Musteikis
Japan's Silver Beats' original debut was at Tokyo's world renowned Cavern Club in 2002. Since then, endorsements have included rock superstars Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen, Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake and Palmer, Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof and even U2's Bono.
Even those folks that have seen the actual Beatles talk about The Silver Beats' incredible ability to create a true "Beatles experience". Though their English is limited they know every lyric and perform over 160 Beatles songs. Their style is early "Beatlemania" with "mop top" haircuts, matching Black (Ed Sullivan), Tan (Shea Stadium) and Green (Buddokan) suits, "winkle picker" boots, Rickenbacker Epiphone, Gretsch and Hofner guitars, Vox amps and Ludwig drums.
In America The Silver Beats have been interviewed or noted in the San Jose Mercury Sun, Spin Magaz…
