Selling Our Streets: No Cheer for Cheerios

General Mills, the global food giant and maker of Cheerios, has filed an application with the City of Buffalo to buy the dead end portion of Michigan Avenue between Ganson Street and the Ship Canal.  This map, part of that application shows what one of world's largest food companies wants.  Here's the street shot showing the portion of Michigan Avenue General Mills wants to buy.

The sale of this City street should not go forward.  In every neighborhood City residents are fully engaged in reversing 50 years of bad urban planning.  Waterfront access is part of citizen engagement in the process of reclaiming the City from past planning abuses.  As seen in the last photo this portion of Michigan Avenue once connected Kelly Island to Fuhrmann Boulevard. The City removed the South Michigan Street Bridge in 1964.

The recent sale of City streets on the City's East Side to large corporations has plenty of precedent.  Trico bought Burton Alley between Main Street and Ellicott.  Trico moved to Mexico two years later.  Kaleida bought this portion of Goodrich Street between Ellicott and Michigan Avenue.  Below is the site of the former Michigan Avenue Bridge.

The application that General Mills submitted is before the City Planning Board and is on the agenda for their April 10th meeting. This part of Michigan Avenue at Ganson Street is in South District.  Currently South District is without representation on the City Council as former Council Member Micky Kerns has moved on to the New York State Assembly. Please voice your concern and help stop this application from moving forward.  Connect with Council President Richard Fontana and Mayor Byron Brown today.   This application must be rejected.

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