December 2010 Archives

City December 31, 2010 2:00 PM
Gardening in Winter? IN BUFFALO??!
By Liz Lipsitz:

That's right.  Urban Roots is a year round garden center.  The snow is on the ground,  the ground below has frozen, the plants are all asleep under their blanket (at least for the moment.)  So what's a garden center to do in winter?  Well, for a few years now we've been trying to figure that out, we've tried a thing or two, had good results and bad.  We're ready to talk a little about what's going on.

The holidays are almost done, and Urban Roots was a lively holiday store this season.  Living Christmas trees, wreaths and greens, poinsettias and other holiday plants, as well as gifts galore for gardeners, including many local- and artist-made items.  If there's a gardener in your life, you might want to think of us on Valentines Day or birthdays, too.

Indoor gardening is a growing interest for many gardeners and a real passion for some.  It is a wonderful salve for the soul of the gardener
City December 31, 2010 1:22 PM
K-Fashion - It’s A Family Affair
K-Fashion first caught my eye one evening thanks to a series of well-lit windows displaying an ensemble of colorful clothing and accessories. The 'K' in K-Fashion stands for Katherine (Hughes), the young proprietor who recently opened the urban clothing boutique. As much as I was surprised to find such a young-looking business owner on Allen Street, I was even more intrigued to learn that Katherine had been helping out next door at her mother's salon since the age of 16. I soon learned that she was an 'old hat' when it came to her life's passion: beauty and fashion.

Today, Katherine
College December 31, 2010 8:52 AM
Buffalo Niagara River Academy Courses Starting Soon!

This January, college students and environmental enthusiasts will have the opportunity

Real Estate December 31, 2010 12:30 AM
Annual Survey Finds Stable Downtown Office Market

Militello Realty has completed its annual survey of the downtown Buffalo office space market.  While landlords and others anxiously await a decision by HSBC Bank on whether it will remain in One HSBC Center or finds new accommodations on the Webster Block more to its liking, the downtown office market is holding its own.  All may change if the bank leaves its current home, dumping 653,000 sq.ft. of space onto the market that would take five or more years to fill based on historic absorption rates.

Information was collected on 198 office

lifestyle December 30, 2010 5:20 PM
New Year’s Eve at the WNY Book Arts Center
 Ring in the New Year with a great downtown Buffalo view at the Western New York Book Arts Center. The Book Arts Center's 3rd Annual New Year's Eve Party is quite possibly the best place in town to watch the Electric Tower Ball Drop - and more! Groove to live downtempo jazz by featured musician David Kane on the first floor, and kick up you heels to the DJ stylings of Matt Olmsted on the beautiful second floor.

The night would not be complete without the opportunity to bid on artwork in the Silent Auction by regional and national
Recent Photos[ BR Flickr ]
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City December 30, 2010 1:31 PM
Rime of the American Mariner
Rime (n): a coating of ice

Last weekend I revisited one of my favorite spots in Buffalo for imagining "what if"--the foot of Michigan Avenue, where Michigan used to cross the City Ship Canal on a double-bascule bridge (historical image here).  Its removal by the City in 1964 compounded the challenge of getting from downtown Buffalo to the Outer Harbor, ever since.

My earliest visits to the spot were in early 2005, when I was doing a contract for Nicholson and Hall around
City December 30, 2010 1:11 PM
Buffalo & Erie County Libraries Look Forward to 2011
Recently, the Erie County Legislature made a unanimous vote to restore $3 million dollars in funding to the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library System.  Sharon A. Thomas, chair of the Library System, released the following statement in response to this action:

"On behalf of the Library Trustees, Administrators and staff, I am most grateful that the County's governing body has unanimously agreed to restore $3 million in funding for the 37-branch Library System," said Thomas.  "This supplemental funding will allow all communities to meet or exceed New York State minimum
City December 30, 2010 12:41 PM
2010 Most Popular Stories Series: Blue Monk Arrives
Blue Monk arrived on Elmwood this year.  And the Belgian beer oasis generated enormous buzz as the food, drink, location and proven management gave Buffalonians reason to cheer.  When Queenseyes broke the story that Mike Shatzel of Cole's would be opening Blue Monk in the fomer Merlin's location, BR commenters unanimously rejoiced.  And BR commenters rarely do anything unanimously. 

With 515 Facebook shares and more than 7,000 pageviews, the Blue Monk breaking news
City December 30, 2010 11:00 AM
Comment of the Day: Downtown Ghost Town

A furor was set off in local media when Emerson Etem, a member of Team USA in town for the World Junior Hockey Tournament, tweeted that "Buffalo is a ghost town. The worst city ever!"  Etem later apologized but stated an obvious truth: There's not much to do downtown, particularly after 5 PM and you aren't old enough to drink alcohol.  While Canal Side promises to fill in

City December 30, 2010 9:17 AM
Olmsted’s Blank Snow: A Snowscape by Sergio López-Piñeiro, University at Buffalo
By Julia Foy:

Over the past few weeks, Buffalo has experienced, on-again/off-again coatings of fresh snow, marking the beginning of another unpredictable winter season.  This yearly change in temperature and landscape prompts everyone to don wool sweaters, mittens, and fuzzy socks whether they're heading for the ski slopes or planning a sledding adventure at Delaware Park.  As for daily routines, once bundled up, you find neighbors working industriously to keep snow off their sidewalks, driveways, and cars. As a Buffalonian, the sight of snow is commonplace
City December 30, 2010 8:45 AM
Common Council Items of Interest
For those of you who can't make it to the weekly Common Council meeting, following is the briefing. From this week's meeting as provided by the council:

The Council re-passed an amendment it had previously made to the Mayor's Recommend Capital Budget, overriding the Mayor's attempted veto of $450,000 in funding for the Nevilly Court Field Turf Installation Project in the South Council District.

The Council approved a resolution sponsored by Lovejoy District Council Member Richard A. Fontana declaring the mailing address for the new Federal Courthouse fronting
City December 29, 2010 2:39 PM
New Year’s Resolution Advice From UB
Wondering what the New Year will bring. Looking for a little help when it comes to making a New Year's resolution? Researchers at the University at Buffalo have come up with a Top Ten list of health and wellness tips that should get you off to a good start. Pass the list along to friends and family:

1. Take care of a loved one and boost your own well being. Research by UB assistant professor of psychology Michael J. Poulin shows that helping sick family members can reduce stress and anxiety (click).

2. Losing a few pounds may
City December 29, 2010 12:05 PM
Rocco Termini’s Vision for Downtown Buffalo
By Paul Wolf:
 
The Center for the Study of Art, Architecture, History and Nature sponsored a talk at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library featuring Buffalo developer Rocco Termini. As a developer Termini has renovated several vacant downtown buildings into apartments and office space.
 
Termini gave an interesting talk which highlighted his vision of how to turn around downtown Buffalo. Key points:
 
Real Estate Tsunami - In the next
lifestyle December 29, 2010 11:49 AM
Embracing Winter With Buffalo Nordic Ski Club
With the New Year comes that ritual promise that you're going to get into shape and start working out.  Living in Buffalo can make that a difficult promise to keep with the cold weather and snow.  Instead of paying for that expensive gym membership to stay out of the snow, why not embrace it?  One of the best ways to get into shape is cross country skiing, and Buffalo Nordic Ski Club is Western New York's only club that works to promote this sport in the local area.

"Our tag line since the club was founded in 1980 has been: 'Why hate winter when you can enjoy it by learning
Real Estate December 28, 2010 2:45 PM
Space on the Market: 591 Delaware Avenue

Two floors of unique office space are available for lease at 591 Delaware Avenue in Allentown.  The circa-1899 mansion was redeveloped in 2006 by architects Matt and Chris Moscati.  The 5,540 sq.ft. space became available when former tenant O'Keefe Shaw & Co. went out of business.

591 Delaware provides high-end professional office space integrating the latest sustainable building technologies (LEED certified) within the historical context of the original structure. There is also a two-story residential unit on the

City December 28, 2010 1:58 PM
Economic Development Failure Shows City Should Focus On Basic Services
By Paul Wolf:

Jim Heaney's recent Buffalo News article documents how economic development efforts through the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation (BERC) have failed. A different Buffalo News article points out that in Niagara Falls, the City Council reduced the salary of their economic development chief from $100,000 to $1.00 due to dissatisfaction with economic development
Regional December 28, 2010 12:56 PM
2010 Most Popular Stories Series: New Bills Uniforms Rumor
Does it seem like professional sports teams are changing their uniform designs more frequently than they used to?  That's because they are.  And why do they do this? Because fans get excited about the new designs. They argue about them. They love them. They hate them. And they buy them.  
Nike will replace Reebok as the official NFL apparel provider in 2012 and it's expected Nike will introduce new uniform designs.  Images of the new uniform designs were allegedly leaked about 6 weeks ago and, to fan the flames of speculation, we ran a post which included
City December 28, 2010 11:57 AM
“La Panaderia”
After passing by this new West Side bakery numerous times, it took a 'shout out' from a BRO reader to get me to walk in. In the email, the reader told me that although the exterior of the building was not exactly eye-catching, the culinary delights on the inside were stellar. Upon closer inspection, I learned that there was indeed a bustling little bakery inside of the Ferry and Hoyt Convenience Store and Bakery (that's quite a name), that the residents in the neighborhood had started calling "La Panaderia". Before we go any further, I hope that the owner listens to the customers and renames the
City December 28, 2010 12:01 AM
Boxing Day: Time for a (n)Ice Run

Looking for a way to burn off some of those excess Christmas calories, when I heard that Boxing Day was "dollar admission day" at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens it didn't take long to decide to take a nice leisurely run out to the Buffalo/Lackawanna line.  And wanting to see what might be going on along the lake shore, I planned my route via the Outer Harbor and Ridge Road

City December 27, 2010 7:50 PM
Fashion Maniac: She Wore Black Velvet
FASHION MANIAC TEAM:

Features Editor : Cassie Elsaesser   
All Photography & Managing Editor : Cheryl Gorski
Stylists : Cassie Elsaesser & Cameron Richard  
Makeup : Dani Weiser
Hair Stylist : Whitney Curry
Prop Stylist  : Todd Warfield, Lucy Mancuso, Michael Merisola
Executive Producer / Video Journalist : Richard Renda

She Wore Black Velvet by: Cassie Elsaesser  
 
With New Years looming around the corner, some of us probably
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