10/30/2008

Around Artspace this Saturday

The next neigborhood walk is scheduled for this Saturday. I'll be sharing some recent insights about homesteading success stories in the neighborhood. If Coe Place, Artspace or some of the streets just East of Main Street have captured your attention recently come on over and spend an hour learning about this emerging neighborhood.

Here's this Fall's slide show. Or see all the pics at once - Walking around Artspace on flickr.


Here's the schedule for the rest of 2008, rain or shine. Meet-up is at the Sonice Cafe at 9am right across from Artspace. Here's the map.
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ArtspaceBAVPAWoodlawn Row HousesfixBuffalo flickr
Creative ClassShrinking CitiesSaturdays in the neighborhood

City Honors - Update


While walking around the construction site at City Honors the other day, I noticed that the first of two new structures, the new natatorium, is slowly taking shape on the what was once the school's front lawn. This 40m renovation project is part of the larger one billion dollar Joint School Reconstruction Project, the largest construction project in the City's history - ever.
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LPCiminelli is the lead developer for the city wide project. They're keeping track of progress at City Honors - here. I'll be adding pics to this - City Honors - flickr series on a regular basis in the weeks and months ahead.

If you're a current City Honors student or graduate I'd like to know your thoughts about this project.
Check out the City Honors archive for additional information.
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ArtspaceBAVPAWoodlawn Row HousesfixBuffalo flickr
Creative ClassShrinking CitiesSaturdays in the neighborhood

Partners Newsletter

Here's the latest e-newsletter - October 2008 - from George Grasser and Partners for a Livable Western New York. I've archived previous issues here.
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ArtspaceBAVPAWoodlawn Row HousesfixBuffalo flickr
Creative ClassShrinking CitiesSaturdays in the neighborhood

10/21/2008

Inviting Buffalo

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The Buffalo 'sphere has taken shape over the past few years and reflects growing integration and non-heirarchical ways of reaching and connecting people. While Buffalo Rising and the family of blogs under the WNYmedia.net banner continue to set the pace, there a number of unexpected and welcome surprises that surface. I mentioned Buffalo Ideas last month and have just learned about Inviting Buffalo. The newest addition to the local 'sphere comes from City Hall and is maintained by the Department of Economic Development.

A recent post features a news item from Buffalo First.
Buffalo First will distribute a Local Coupon Book mid-November. The book’s purpose is to root more dollars in the local economy (one dollar spent locally gets re-spent three times more than if it were spent at a chain), make local purchasing more affordable and educate the public about making more responsible purchasing decisions - read the rest.
This is about the coolest thing I've seen from City Hall. No comments yet in any of the posts. So, check it out and add it to your daily list of local sites.
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ArtspaceBAVPAWoodlawn Row HousesfixBuffalo flickr
Creative ClassShrinking CitiesSaturdays in the neighborhood

10/08/2008

Neighborhood Planning Summit

I had the opportunity yesterday to talk with Elizabeth Huckabone, President of Belmont Shelter, about a number of issues impacting the immediate neighborhood around Artspace. I'd stopped in to check out the various displays that were being set up for tomorrow evening's neighborhood summit meeting - details here.
10/22/08...update and follow-up
Check out a series of posts in Inviting Buffalo dated October 17th and labeled
'the future of housing' to see what the evening's conversations included.
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I encourage everyone who is interested in the area that's historicially known as the Hamlin Park, Cold Springs and Masten Park to attend this important and unique meeting. A number of City officials, BERC and LISC as well as Rev. Stenhouse will be addressing a number of important issues that are crucial to this neighborhood's longterm revival.
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If you haven't already read - Midtown: Poised for Renaissance, I encourage you to become familiar with it before attending tomorrow evening's neighborhood meeting. Here, Chris Hawley writes:
Coe Place is the most historically and urbanistically significant street in the Midtown neighborhood. At one time a brick pedestrian pathway, converted to a residential street by a quixotic nineteenth-century skating rink operator, Coe Place is a charming, very narrow street, originally no more than fifteen feet wide, lined with a collection of close-knit Queen Anne-style houses whose singular attributes are unmatched anywhere else in Buffalo.
Here a few additional pics of yesterday's planning posters. Make sure to check out the neighborhood's Cultural Assets that Chuck LaChiusa and the Landmark Society have compiled.
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ArtspaceBAVPAWoodlawn Row HousesfixBuffalo flickr
Creative ClassShrinking CitiesSaturdays in the neighborhood

Bailed - Buffalo Reacts

I received the following video this week as a local response to the Wall Street bailout and the mortage foreclosure crisis.

I'd like to know what you think and how fixBuffalo readers view the current financial crisis. How will this impact exisiting demographic trends in the future?

Video credit - Michela and Eric.
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ArtspaceBAVPAWoodlawn Row HousesfixBuffalo flickr
Creative ClassShrinking CitiesSaturdays in the neighborhood

Around Artspace

I met a few fixBuffalo readers on Saturday for another walk around the Artspace neighborhood. We stopped here on Coe Place and admired the renovation that's happening on one of the East side's most unique streets.
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After examining the rapidly deteriorating St. Vincent's Orphan Home on the corner of Ellicott and Riley, we ended the hour long walk behind Artspace talking about the project's impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
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I'll keep track of my Saturday morning pics - Walking around Artspace - and update this series every two weeks.

Here's the schedule for the rest of 2008, rain or shine. Meet-up is at the Sonice Cafe at 9am right across from Artspace. Here's the map.
__________________________________________________________________________
ArtspaceBAVPAWoodlawn Row HousesfixBuffalo flickr
Creative ClassShrinking CitiesSaturdays in the neighborhood