According to Broadway Market district advocates Eddie Dobosiewicz (right) and Marty Biniasz (left), founders of the Dyngus Day celebration and Forgotten Buffalo, the commercial sector once rivaled Downtown Buffalo for shopping. That’s why the two grassroots activists are committed to stabilizing the Broadway-Fillmore-Memorial triangle through a non-profit called Despensata Corp (Sister Despensata was an East Side activist), and their efforts are beginning to pay off. With 100 year-old houses and architecturally significant infrastructure, combined with the Central Terminal and Broadway Market anchors, there is renewed hope for a section of the city that has been in dire need of reinvestment.
The push is on to secure smaller structures one at a time, even if it means that Marty and Eddie pick up distressed properties at City auctions. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is. Sadly, the apparent sense of urgency to protect the building stock comes from a realization that many of the structures are increasingly at risk. “If these buildings are let go for 6-8 months without heat and are exposed to the elements,” Marty began. “Then they start to crumble. We need to get The City to realize that by preserving the infrastructure, it is making a long-term investment into a historic neighborhood. The City needs to divert the money earmarked for demolitions to protect the crucial housing stock. We are starting to rebuild this area, but we need help from The City to join in on the effort.”
Marty and Eddie have been busy educating people on the importance of ‘the triangle’ by hosting tour after tour designed to enlighten the public on the importance of the neighborhood. “We have identified core streets,” Eddie said. “What you are looking at here is one of the most unique places in the city… possibly the country. Look over there… you can see City Hall from here. We have a public market, The Central Terminal, beautiful banks and a post office. These community assets are already here, just waiting for a new generation of Buffalonians to move back in. We’re looking at ways to draw people in to invest. We want to share a vision with young people who may not realize the potential. We’ve uncovered dormant plans for the Broadway Market dating back from the Griffin administration (Cannon Design) that feature an open-air vendor area, designed to open up the market to the street. That’s how it used to be, and that’s how it should be again.” Marty agreed with the sentiments, adding, “What people don’t realize [pointing] is that we had the 1st drive-through bank east of the Mississippi. This historic Polonia district has churches that rival churches in Europe… when John Norquist (Congress for New Urbanism) was here, he commented that it looked as if there were two downtowns, one of them being right here.”
Just picture the vacant Eckhardt’s Department Store back up and operational. Although the current owner reportedly wants 1.5 million for it, the 42,000 sq.’ building still stands proud with all of the mechanicals intact, just waiting for the owner to come back to reality. The fact it, that the Eckhardt’s building, along with The Broadway Market, will someday be an important catalyst for the rejuvenation of the block. Although there is no action yet, you will notice signs of investment emanating from that corner, such as the Adam Mickiewicz Library (Torn Space Theater) and the Buddhist Cultural Center (formerly the Buffalo Police eighth precinct) – many of these success stories had, at one point in time, been on the list for demolition. “It’s amazing to see Buddhist monks walking around the area,” said Marty. “All under the backdrop of two significant architectural bookends, Saint Stanislaus and Corpus Christi. Then you look down Paderewski Drive and onto the Central Terminal… the terminal holds so much potential and has become an anchor for the neighborhood. It’s painful to see the houses on Paderewski disappearing one by one. We’re trying to get The City to safeguard these important streets, to maintain the street’s original fabric so that one day, when The Terminal is fully operational, we have a functioning neighborhood surrounding it and not just farm land.”
Eckhardt’s image: Broadway Fillmore Alive
Coming tomorrow: Broadway-Fillmore-Memorial Triangle: Part 2