Last Chance...

I've been following the plight of 1325 Michigan Avenue for years. This past week Houseing Court Judge Hank Nowak had a demolition hearing for one of the most amazing properties in the Artspace backyard neighborhood. Here's the case - index #1250/2007.

A year ago I posted about 1325 - Along Michigan Avenue - and brought hundreds of people by the place on the Saturday morning at 11am Artspace tours of the neighborhood. The property was just brought into Housing Court in November where the owner plead guilty and agreed to the demoliton. Rather sad as the place has been languishing for the at least the past 12 years.

1325 Michigan Avenue is the most unique building - besides St. Vincent's - between Artspace and the new Arts Academy. Behind the roll-up garage door thing is a very cool retail entrance. Two years ago, Chris Hawley identified this location as a former tavern, back in the day in his Midtown: Poised for Renaissance.

There's still time...if you're interested in bringing this building back from the dead, let me know. Hurry!!!

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Sticking Together...

I've been interested in the intersection of certain emerging cultural and policy changes that are beginning to slowly shape the dialogue here in Buffalo, NY with regards to the City's long term economic development. I've been looped into a number of conversational threads, classroom presentations and panel discussions this past year about rust-belt revitalization. I see the Shrinking Cities exhibit that's been making its way across the country and the path breaking work of Buffalo LISC, especially their Blueprint Buffalo as central to the critique about the possibility of the city's future vitality and possible long term viability when we ask the question - What is to be done?

GLUE Co-Founders Sarah Szurpicki (Harvard 03) and Abby Wilson (Columbia 02) are young urbanists who recently returned to their respective hometowns: Detroit and Pittsburgh. They developed the concept for the Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE) during the summer of 2007, as an outgrowth of comparative conversations about their experiences coming home to similarly challenged post-industrial cities.

After posting about this weekend's Smart City programming, I noticed some traffic pouring in from another rust-belt blog, Burgh Diaspora, right here - Rustbelt Network: Critical Mass. So rather than wait 'till Sunday afternoon I listened to the podcast - right here, a very cool conversation between host Carol Coletta and Sarah Szurpicki and Abby Wilson, GLUE founders. They discussed their take on the meaning and importance of the Partnership for Public Good here in Buffalo, NY.

I checked out the entire GLUE site and especially the links to Brookings Institute. Scrolling through their site you'll find the Great Lakes Economic Initiative. Seriously, some good material and policy initiatives impacting our City and region.

While we're thinking about enlarging and shifting the dialog and finding emerging points that intersect beyond our neighborhood, rust-belt city and region we certainly should be looking across the river or lake to a few other places, too. I mean, this is cool!

Looking forward to a Rust-Belt bloggers meet-up, too.

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Smart City - This Weekend

Smart City is a weekly, hour-long public radio talk show that takes an in-depth look at urban life, the people, places, Create Documentideas and trends shaping cities. Host Carol Coletta talks with national and international public policy experts, elected officials, economists, business leaders, artists, developers, planners and others for a penetrating discussion of urban issues.

This weekend...

• In this primary season, change seems to be the word voters most want to hear. Networking is the foundation of trust relationships that make change possible. Our guests this week are deeply engaged in understanding and building powerful networks for change.

• Abby Wilson and Sarah Szurpicki are the founders of GLUE, the Great Lakes Urban Exchange, an online networking and journalism effort to build regional identity and share information among young urban leaders in the region. Sarah and Abby are urbanists who have recently returned to their respective hometowns: Detroit and Pittsburgh.

• Dr. Karen Stephenson is a world leader in analyzing networks for corporations and communities and putting their power to work. Her project for Leadership Philadelphia led to uncovering surprising new sources of leadership in that community. Karen is a corporate anthropologist who has been lauded as a pioneer in the growing field of social-network business consultants. Her consulting firm, Netform, was recognized as one of the top 100 leading innovation companies by CIO.

Listen to host Carol Colletta - list of additional stations/times - 7pm Sunday on WNED - 970 in Buffalo, NY. Past Shows are archived and the newsletter is published regularly.

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Dirty Deeds and Toxic Title

As the mortgage meltdown continues a Business Week cover story focuses on the crisis here in Buffalo, NY and what might be done when the bank walks away.

Buffalo City Court Prosecutor Cindy Cooper

On Dec. 17 in a windowless Buffalo courtroom, Cindy T. Cooper, a prosecutor for the city, buzzes among a dozen men in suits, cutting deals. "You've got to unboard [the house], go in, and clean it out," she tells one. "If all the repairs are done quickly, I wouldn't ask for any fines." To another, she says, "the gutters weren't done right," and asks to see receipts for the work. It's "Bank Day" in Judge Henry J. Nowak's housing courtroom, more typically a venue where landlords and tenants duke it out read the rest...

Here's a podcast between Business Week executive editor John Byrne and senior writer Michael Orey. Sound track courtesy of Radio Head - House of Cards - here via YouTube.

A couple related posts - Scourage of a Beaten Down Buffalo from a September 2007 New York Times article, where we learn that Buffalo has the second highest per capita rate of vacancy in the country. Housing Court in Cleveland from September 2006 where local activist Michele Johnson and Housing Court Judge Henry Nowak visit with Cleveland's Housing Court Judge Pianka. Last year Judge Nowak presented at the National Vacant Properties Campaign first annual conference in Pittsburgh - Reclaiming Vacant Properies.

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Failing the Grade?

Frequent fixBuffalo readers have been seeing some of the amazing dereliction here on the City's east side that co-exists with the largest construction project in the City's history - the one billion dollar Joint School ReConstruction Project. My first attempt to address and understand the the complexity of this phenomenon was here - School House Project, March 2005...

The public health and safety problems confronting BuffaloPublic School students and neighborhood residents surrounding recently renovated Buffalo Public Schools is extraordinary. In public health terms it would be called an epidemic. Here, very little attention is paid to the role of abandoned, boarded, derelict and vacant houses. From an effective and smart urban policy perspective the continue reading...

From my office window I still see this house at 1466 Michigan Avenue.

This is the view from the front porch, looking towards the new Arts Academy, less than 100' away.

The City of Buffalo has owned this house for two years. When you click through the archive of posts/pictures about 1466 Michigan Avenue you'll quickly see that the Dept. of Real Estate has missed an amazing opportunity. I remember when the house got a new roof seven years ago - like what ever happened to an effective marketing strategy. Lots cheaper than the eventual demolition of a 3/3 double that is now going to dust and will end up in the landfill over the line in Lewiston, NY.

Posts about this 1466 Michiagan Avenue include: October 2007 - February 2007 - April 2006 - and this picture from January 2005!

Just a house, or a pattern of neglect and missed opportunity? Like to know...

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Photography and the City

I've been interested in the work of Camilo Vergara and the how he's documented subtle and dramatic shifts in some of our most desperate cities. First mentioned him in October 2006, here a few months later and recently here while thinking of St. Ann's over on Broadway.

Just learned via MIT OpencourseWare, in the Urban Studies and Planning section that a course - Sensing Place: Photography as Inquiry - has a selection of eight videos. The second one features Camilo Vergara.

Same guy suggested back in the 90's that 12 square blocks of downtown Detroit be converted into an 'American Acropolis' and be presereved as a skyscraper ruins park. Interesting guy and take on industrial ruins as we continue to struggle with our own 'shrinking city'.

Follow that October 2006 link for additonal material about Vergara's work or follow these links on my delicious.

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City Honors - Reconstruction

I'll be tracking the reconstruction of City Honors on a regular basis. fixBuffalo readers may remember my weekly series involving the reconstruction of the Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts - see archive. Both projects are part of the largest construction project ever undertaken in this City - the one billion dollar Joint School Reconstruction Project.

Here, I'll be posting pics and presenting various issues involving this amazing project, two blocks east of Main Street. I've always viewed these decisons - Merriweather Library, Artspace, Performing Arts and now City Honors - as part of a $100m investment in the arts and education; an intelligent and necessary string of projects that are essential in reconnecting and revitalizing the City.

• June 30, 2008
• September 12, 2008
• October 30, 2008
  
• November 14, 2008
• January 13, 2009
  
• March 13, 2009
• May 11, 2009
• June 2, 2009
• September 11, 2009
  
• November 6, 2009
  

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Two Sides of Main Street

fixBuffalo readers will remember MJ's amazing aerial photographs of Buffalo, NY that I've posted as Air Buffalo and Air Buffalo Part II. Just found this one...two very different sides of Main Street.

click to enlarge

In the foreground is the City's near east side. That's Artspace off to the left and St. Vincent's orphan home, in the center.

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Byron Responds

Finally got my hands on Byron Brown's response to Jake Halpern's recent Wall Street Journal article about development and economic issues here in Buffalo, NY. The following letter appeared in the Decemeber 11th issue of the Wall Street Journal.

click to enlarge

The full text of Jake's December 1st article is available here - Delivering Redemption.

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Bethel Update

Drove by Bethel Headstart's new building at the corner of Woodlawn and Jefferson yesterday morning and noticed the Savarino sign hanging on the fence.

Clicking into this Savarino link, noticed that Foit-Albert Associates are the architects, too. No renderings on either site.

If anyone knows more about this, let me know.

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Delivering Redemption

A few fixBuffalo readers passed along Jake Halpern's recent Wall Street Journal article about Byron and Buffalo, NY. If you haven't read Jake's take on Buffalo, you should.

I grew up in Buffalo, New York, which may best be known as a place that people like to leave. Indeed, since 1970, the city has lost almost forty percent of its population. In some parts of Buffalo, this never-ending exodus has created a landscape worthy of the great post-apocalyptic thrillers of our times – films like Escape from New York or 28 Days Later. As kids, my brother and I would explore these modern-day ruins, venturing into crumbling train terminals and abandoned factories where moss carpeted floors, rainwater gushed down empty hallways, and peeling wallpaper rustled in the wind like the frayed bark of birch trees. Of course, Buffalo has plenty of inhabited and very well-maintained neighborhoods. I have lived in a number of cities around the world and I’ve never seen a street more lovely than Delaware Avenue, in Buffalo, with its grand old mansions, stately carriage houses, and immaculate gardens.

No matter how one spins it, however, the fact remains that Buffalo is in trouble. Abandoned houses are such a problem...read the rest.

Very cool comment stream about Jake's article about Buffalo in a recent BuffaloRising post and don't forget to check out his take on various contemporary cultural issues from his site, Jake Halpern.

I noticed that our Mayor responded with a letter to the editor, last week. As soon as I can locate it on-line will make it available.

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New Bethel Building...Update

Checked out progress at Bethel's new building here at the corner of Jefferson and Woodlawn.

Place looked like this just a few weeks ago. Rev. Stenhouse is doing this project. Will continue to watch what's happening here.

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Vinyl Foreclosure Sale

A few more 'vinyl victorian' foreclousures crossed my desk this week. Went and took a look at two of them on Saturday afternoon.

The first one here at 404 Madison is just a block away from the new suburban dreamscape at Sycamore Village. Originally sold in 1994 for $86000. It's currently assesed by the City for 65K and today the asking price is $27,000. Expect it to finally sell in the mid to high teens.

This 'vinyl victorian' foreclosure is located at 757 Woodlawn Avenue. Place originally sold for $84,500 in 1998 and is currently assesed by the City for 54K and the asking price today is $45,000. Similar homes in this part of Buffalo have been re-selling in the low to mid-thirtes.

If you haven't visited Sycamore Village yet, here's the archive. I've been keeping track of a number of additional 'vinyl victorian' foreclosures in the same area - here and here. I mean why buy a brand new 'vinyl victorian' in Sycamore Village, when you can buy one for about 10% a block or two away?

Anyone see a pattern developing?

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Another Save!

I checked on the Lyth Cottage over on Harwood Place yesterday afternoon.

16 Harwood Place was recently sold to a local guy during the City's special September 22 auction. The sale price, $3800 - yes, thirtyeight hundred! Fortunately he's already taken some steps to seal the place for the winter.

The City previously owned it for the past 10 years. Here's some of the fascinating historical details and story of - 16 Harwood Place.

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Byron's Discount Card

Saw this on Jefferson Avenue today.

Called this afternoon to see what the program is about. Anyone know who's paying for the billboard? Has anyone spotted these signs in other places? Let me know.

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