fixBuffalo

10/25/2006

Coe Place - Demolition

Learned late Wednesday that a demolition order has been signed for 28 Coe Place. First wrote about this in August - right here.

This property is currently trapped in MBBA hell - that Aaron Bartley and the folks at PUSH Buffalo have been calling attention to and working to change. The right thing to do in this particular case is to release 28 Coe Place from MBBA's callous grip and turn it over immediately to a qualified individual for re-hab and home ownership. This house has some serious deferred maintenance issues, yet I believe after a reasonable investment and commitment by a new owner, especially as Coe Place is adjacent to Artspace, the project will result in tremendous positives for the right individual and the neighborhood.

I'll be gathering the "Friends of Coe Place" together once more - we changed the future of the Hamilton Ward House right across the street at 19 Coe Place a few months ago. I'm confident that a carefully focused and cyber campaign will turn the tide here at 28 Coe Place, too.

Chris Jacobs, our new NYS Secretary of State and Buffalo School Board member, sits on the board of MBBA. Learn more about Coe Place - Coe Place Archive

Full Court Press...begins today. Strategy, support letters and press conference forth coming. Stay tuned...

__________________________________________________________________________
Artspace Archive • Annals of Neglect • BAVPA • Where is Perrysburg? • Broken Promises...
Writing the City • Woodlawn Row Houses • Tour dé Neglect - 2006 • faq • my flickr
buffalo olmsted parks conservancy

Vinyl Antidote...On Michigan Avenue

One of my favorite buildings on Michigan Avenue is this little one at 509 Michigan [google map]. When I took a closer look last week, the house appeared vacant and according to City records was purchased for the tidy sum of $350K last April by the Buffalo Urban Renewel Agency, BURA - the current owner.

509 Michigan is located next to Buffalo's newest historic district, that I first mentioned in January. The first picture in that post shows the back side of 509 Michigan. Various developments along Michigan Avenue October 2005 and December 2005. Lots of changes along Michigan recently. Updated construction pics of the medical buildings first mentioned last December, again soon.

Meanwhile, if anyone knows what's happening here with 509 Michigan Avenue, let me know. Reminds me of pix I've seen of places in New Orleans. Not many cool little spots left as the vinyl invasion and the suburbanization along Michigan Avenue is in full swing.

And a post about this part of Michigan Avenue wouldn't be complete without a shameless plug for my real estate attorney, Loran Bommer - an awesome jazz pianist - who recently purchased the building next door, the former police precinct building [pic] at 485 Michigan Avenue and re-located his law office here from downtown. He can be reached at 842-1222. Great attorney, awesome guy!

Another Day Off...

Located another book by Camilo José Vergara, that I first mentioned on Monday right here so posting will be light 'till Thursday.

Lecture Wednesday evening at UB - 301 Crosby Hall - William Bruder. Begins at 530pm. Free and sponsored by School of Architecture and Planning. Details. Plan to attend.

Mentioned Bashar Issa's project last week - right here - guess Wednesday morning is it! 10am at the Statler. Great mantra at the BSC - Group cherish the past - adorn the present - construct the future. Great link to high places in Buffalo - skyline details. Very good news for Buffalo.

Back in stride on Thursday...

10/23/2006

Back Wednesday?

Blog free Tuesday continues...

Notice that numbers of Firefox users are increasing which is a good thing. Viewing fixBuffalo in Microsoft's IE - even the new 7 - is a painful experience. If you are stuck on a network, put portable firefox on your flashdrive - I do it for school. Works great and the entire blogosphere looks and feels better. Really.

Recently - thank you Sean - introduced to the work of Camilo José Vergara (1944 - ) a Chilean born photographer of American Cities and ghettos. Just spent the past few hours reading The New American Ghetto (1995). Here, Vergara weaves together various dystopian themes commonly associated with movies such as Metropolis (1927), Blade Runner (1981) and Brazil (1985) - which I've yet to see. What seems to set Vergara apart are three decades of photographs documenting the vanishing places in our cities. Motivated by his own loss and personal story, he focuses on Newark, Detroit and Gary, Indiana in The New American Ghetto and presents both poetry and polemic which seems to be a meditation on memory. Really like him. He gets stuff and fully articulates what I see when I walk around my neighborhood and other parts of the City's East Side.

Familiar with Vergara's writing and work or have read any of his books? Would very much like to know. Titles include:

Silent Cities: The Evolution of the American Cemetery (1989) • New American Ghetto (1995)
American Ruins (1999) • Twin Towers Remembered (2001) • Unexpected Chicagoland (2001)
Subway Memories (2004) • How the Other Half Worships (2005)

If there's nothing here 'till Thursday, means I've gotten hold of some of these texts. Interested yet in Vergara? Check out this...

short review of How the Other Half Worships - Ghetto Salvation
two short videos - 5 minutes about the World Trade Center - Twin Towers

BMHA ReUse?

Saw a convoy of tree trucks on Ferry Street late this morning and followed them to the former BMHA complex on Glenny Drive off Fillmore [quikmap map]. Was wondering yesterday where all the debris was being carted and stored.

Walked around the back of the complex towards ECMC and noticed piles, seriously monstrous piles, of branches and limbs scattered all over the grounds here at this abandoned BMHA complex. Appeared as though this was just a transit point for our lumber storm's debris as truck after truck was either hauling wood chips or tree limbs away.

click image to enlarge

I've been to Glenny Drive before - right here, a few weeks ago and in May 2005 - Revitalize This? Noticed a sticker attached to every truck coming and going from the site. Guess this part of the project belongs to Phillips and Jordan, Inc. Here's a link to the disaster recovery service side of their business.

Sometime in the Spring, I'll return to see what's left behind. Meanwhile, get your free mulch!

Partners for a Livable WNY - October 2006

George Grasser just sent out the October 2006 Partners for a Livable WNY e-mail update. Included is a candidate's report card on urban and planning issues, right here.

George also shared this listing of future Tuesday at Noon lectures sponsored by the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier. Tomorrow - October 24th

Reusing Buffalo’s Grain Elevators as Grain Elevators
Rick Smith of Rigidized Metals

Every Tuesday from 12 - 1pm
free and open to the public
Buffalo Architecture Center, Market Arcade, 617 Main Street

Nice pic here of Rick on top of one. Best map of Buffalo's Grain Elevators. This is all part of Buffalo that I've only begun to explore here and especially here. PresCo tour - "Water & Grain" or "Brews and Pews" moving from planning stages for next summer.

I'll continue to archive previous month's updates in the Partner's Archive.

Flickr Update

I'm a huge fan of flickr - great way to meet-up and share all sorts of pix and information with other people here and 'round the world. Searching for photos in flickr is cool, too. For example all the photos I've tagged with - artspace - come up in a simple search. Very interesting results if you search everyone's photos for the same - artspace - tag. Here are a few of my recent pix that i've tagged as a favorite. Here's the rest.

click image to enlarge

You certainly won't want to miss the Buffalo Flickr Pool for the lastest from Buffalo's finest digiterati. Just noticed this new flickr tool. Lots of additional great flickr applications, right here.

10/22/2006

BAVPA Reconstruction - End Week 16

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October 22, 2006 - Day 119

Despite a few days storm delay, construction workers were in full swing this past week. Appears as though most of the interior demolition is almost done. Dozens of dumpsters filled. Occasionally lights are left on at night and peering into the empty classrooms all you see are empty shells.

At the new Ferry Street main entrance the exterior brick work has started. And while looking at the foundation work in the above pic for the new arts addition, seems like the crew here is pretty much in sync with the work around the corner at Artspace, especially comparing the foundation work for the new units in the rear at Artspace. From the beginning, back in February of '05 when both projects were becoming a reality, I've thought of Performing Arts and Artspace in the same breath, sister projects...feeding on one another as the City's near East side comes back to life.

See BAVPA Reconstruction Archive for additional details and updates.

Artspace Construction - October Update

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While checking out the latest in Midtown over at Artspace I noticed the sidewalks have been removed and the guys are working on the vault area underneath. Learned that the top of the subway tunnel is just below the bottom of the vault which seems to be about 6-8' down.

These days the area behind 1219 Main Street - Artspace - resembles the area across the street from my place at the Performing Arts High School site. See this update.

Keep thinking that the synergies between these two sister projects will have an impact beyond our immediate grasp right now. Three cool places on Michigan Avenue - here and here - that act as connecting buildings between these two major projects. Ideal for live/work and studio space. Interested, let me know. I'll get you in touch with owners. I've set up a showing here, this week, perhaps the best candidate on Michigan for this sort of project.

See Artspace Backyard map for proximity stuff...

10/21/2006

Sweet (Street) Vinyl

Checked out this new build on Sweet Street, Saturday morning. As you can see it sits on the edge of the urban prairie. Hear that the price tag associated with the construction of this house is 160K...first new build on Sweet Street in the last 100 years. That's the steeple from Transfiguration Church on Sycamore in the backyard.

The first pic here is looking North on Sweet from the corner of Stanislaus Street and the bottom one is looking South towards the Central Terminal. Here's the map of the surrounding urban prairie. Mosque on the right and the Central Terminal in the middle down below.

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. Mcguire: Plastics.

See My Vinyl Collection for additional inspiration.

Deconstruction - Day #1

Had an opportunity to stop by 26 Lombard Street this morning, just as Michael Gainer and the crew from BuffaloReUse were getting underway with their first demonstration project.

On Sunday, October 22nd, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., David Bennink from ReUse Consulting will be facilitating a deconstruction training at the site of our first deconstruction, 26 Lombard Street. This training is specifically for folks eager to take to the task of actually deconstructing buildings here in Buffalo.

Makes tons of sense on a very intuitive level. We'll be waiting to see if Michael and the crew can turn this project into cash. I know a number of people watching this project as an alternative to the current method of hauling houses off to a landfill.

First posted about this initiative back in September, right here.

Surprise Suspension...

First mentioned last Monday on fixBuffalo, the Buffalo News announced today the surprising suspension of Tom Marchese, secretary to the City's Preservation Board. Seems like there was a difference of opinion as to whether the one million dollar demolition of this City owned building on Niagara Street was necessary. Just happens to be the third grain elevator demolished in less than a year on Byron's watch.

The other two grain elevators - HO-Oats (photo from Sara) and the abandoned City owned and last remaining wooden grain elevator, the Wollenberg. The Preservation Coalition of Erie County has additional details - right here.

Sure would like to know what policies are in place and who decides when to pull the trigger on what, when and why. Perhaps a comprensive audit of other demolitions is in order. Will it happen? Is it covered(up) in Citi-Stat? Anyone know?

10/20/2006

Two down...Six more to go...

Two more bit the dust here in my 'hood near the future home of Performing Arts High School. Both 99 and 109 Purdy were demoed at some point this past week. I'd dubbed the house on the right the leaning house of Purdy. It's been ready to collapse since I started tracking the house, two years ago.

click image to enlarge

Here's my personal list - houses that I've catagorized as public health and safety risks - the list. And the corresponding map depicting the proximity of these houses to the future home of Performing Arts High School. Goal remains to have the remaining six properties demolished before the school re-opens next September. 16 down, 6 to go...

demolition site - 109 & 99 Purdy Street

If you are familiar with demolitions in the City of Buffalo pause for a moment and ask yourself if you've ever seen a wrecker like the one depicted here blocking a City sidewalk. I haven't not even here in the 'hood where a different set of rules apply - see Tale of Two Cities. No fencing, not surprised. Here's what the site looked like Friday afternoon.

Imagine for a moment the same safety conditions existing in the Elmwood Village, South Buffalo or around Hertal. I know, like never!

Buffalo ReUse - This Saturday...

Just in from the folks at Buffalo ReUse...

This weekend will be a busy one for Buffalo ReUse! We hope that you will consider joining us for our volunteer day on Saturday, October 21st, from 12 - 4 p.m., to assist with a house clean-out at the site of our first deconstruction. We will be making preparations to a home on Lombard Street and we're eager to get started. No experience required.

I've been a fan of this sort of project and good to see they are up and running with a demonstration model. First posted about this aways back - Deconstructing Buffalo.

26 Lombard Street [google map]

__________________________________________________________________________

Artspace Archive • Annals of Neglect • BAVPA • Where is Perrysburg? • Broken Promises...
Writing the City • Woodlawn Row Houses • Tour dé Neglect - 2006 • faq • my flickr
buffalo olmsted parks conservancy

10/19/2006

Thursday Night in Toronto

Toronto late Thursday and back to check out the latest from DK PhotoGroup...Orphaned opened Thursday evening at The Hangman Gallery on Queen Street East.

Trying to figure it all out what it means to travel 100 miles and see double matted images of a spot just a few blocks away and abandoned down the street from my house. That DK from Toronto is doing this is bitter sweet. The attention and focus on the former orphan home on Dodge Street, a place I've toured with others dozens of times, is a very good thing. That folks in Buffalo, where we are weaned on architectural heritage, can't manage to fight our way out of a wet paper bag to even properly secure the place is on the whole rather despairing. Good conversations with folks tonite who were wondering if any of my East side neighbors were making the trip up to see the show. Began to explain about zen and our city...

By the time I left this evening more than one hundred people had an opportunity to see images of what's got under my skin, these past few years and just a few blocks away. Tonite several large prints evoked a deep sense of loss and things simply forgotten. Matt's black and white of a school chair especially, just pushed aside, surrounded by empty blackness hit me hard. Steve's shot of a statue shatterd - now in pieces, really - on the chapel floor, hands broken and beheaded, reminded me of what I've read of the carnage left behind in early modern europe. Senseless, random...how we care, and don't.

Each photographer had their own portfolio available providing additional context and scene setting shots so people who are unfamiliar with our abandoned orphan home can see the buildings in their larger context. And once inside the complex - the first building you will see is the Chapel, pictured above in the gallery's front window.

Guys, very nicely done especially the part where you brought a former resident of the orphan home, back to Dodge Street. Wonderful stories last month about the line out back separating the boy's and girl's sides and all the tunnels connecting various buildings.

The Hangman Gallery is about the same size as Buffalo's Gallery 164 on Allen Street and Orphaned runs through November 6th.

Get to know the folks from DK PhotoGroup. I'm sure we'll be hearing from them again, soon.

The Hangman Gallery [google map].