A Regular Reader Writes...

With the spot light on Belmont Shelter recently and their plans to demo the Ward House on Coe Place having been de-railed a regular reader - out of state - of FixBuffalo just passed this along, a link to Belmont Shelter's marketing strategy for 30 new "vinyl victorians" here on the City's near East Side along Michigan Avenue. In today's Homefinder.

30 new homes for rent on near East Side

Belmont Shelter Corp. is now actively seeking interested, potential renters for 30 new, near East Side. Nearing completion, the houses are being constructed in an area bounded byJefferson Avenue and Dodge, Ellicott and Northhampton streets.

The neighborhood is conveniently located just minutes from downtown, the Kensington Expressway and public transportation. Twenty-five three bedroom and five four-bedroom models are offered and feature attached garages, maintenance-free exteriors with decorative window shutters, high-efficiency furnaces and electronic security systems.

All of the homes are also fully carpeted and come equipped with appliances, including a full-size range, refrigerator, and washer and dryer....read the rest.

I thanked him and asked him about his interest in Buffalo. He writes...

My interest in Buffalo is that I grew up there and am very interested in Buffalo getting off the mat and back into the fight. Whenmy youngest daughter graduates from high school, I intend to move back. I'm also a subscriber to your "Fix Buffalo" e-mails and have been a subscriber for about 9 months. You commented positively on a post that I wrote several weeks ago about the racism in Buffalo in the 1960's as practiced by my father and his cronies and how this racism and fear, manipulated by real estate agents, led to today's suburbanities mispercptions about the city.

On the article that I linked you to, I think that renting these"vinyl victorians" whether it's strictly rental or rent-to-own is not a strategy that the city should advocate. What happened to the city's idea that homeownership creates pride in what a person lives in thusleading to regular maintence and upkeep that stabilizes neighborhoods, maintains neighborhood housing values and leads to a lower crime rate? I'm also more than irked that the Buffalo News mentions this situation only in its Home Finder supplement after its very recent series on poverty in Buffalo.

Thanks for responding to my e-mail. I appreciate it and, please, continue your good work.

Here's what Belmont's "vinyl victorians" look like. Rocco Termini from down town gated community loft fame is the builder. Yawn... And here's Termini's earliest work in Buffalo. Yuk!

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