MLK splash pad nearing completion

So glad to see this. What a nice addition to the park!

So if the hours end at 7 and it doesnt get dark until 8-9pm who is going to see the lights? Who thought this out? Typical mindless city planning.

This is one of those projects that if done correctly and works...Then it should of been done at the inner or outer harbor....This project would attract people to an area...I know that this proejct wont attract outsiders to this given area and understand that its for the neighborhood....Looks great...If its sunny and mid day I might bring my child

Unfortunately this will be trashed within 2-3 summers. A waste of money at this location.

Nice project. Calling LED lighting and water jets "cutting edge technology" did make me laugh, though.

Great to hear. Any real live photos of the project?

Lets see if the local neighborhood residents take the initiative and actually work together to keep the area clean and maintained. Hopefully it does not turn into a thug hangout with any fighting and gun violence. As soon as that happens it scares off anyone even thinking of visiting the park.

Yes this is in a predominantly black neighborhood, and now it would be wonderful to see a coalition of black volunteers step up to take care of the park, instead of waiting for others to come in and clean the mess. Be proud and take care of your neighborhood and its assets.

Deleted

Ahhhhh...a new canvas for graffiti!

So is that a nay for skating this Winter?

Just remember that the park is in the poorest section of the city. In winter when ice skating is available make sure is usable for the people who live there. It is also going to to take constant maintenance and supervision because it will be a gathering spot for everyone in and out of the neighborhood. There are several parks in the east side that were built and expected to be maintained by the people who live next door. As for the graffiti comments, you can either be afraid of it or work with it, If it happens oh well. If the fountains are vandalized and broken so they don't work anymore, than that's a different story. I'm not a spray paint expert but how well does it hold up in water?

How 'bout we start thinking differently about the East Side?

Perhaps pride of neighbor and neighborhood ought to be exhibited from within the east side first before everyone from outside just blindly chooses to think of it as something it unfortunately is not anymore. Poor doesnt have to mean litter, violence, gang tags painted on buildings, etc. etc. and yet decade after decade we see the same carelessness. I can understand the skepticism about this new investment on the east side and its sad that time after time, example after example, leads to such conclusions. In its hey day, many parts of the east side were NEVER affluent and the homes were modest but the streets were still well maintained and kept up. Neighbors looked out for each other and the majority had a mutual respect for others and the community, taking pride in it. Until that mindset comes back and physical improvements are noticeably made why should anyone change their thoughts on the east side? Sad but true I predict within a week or less there will probably be more gun violence somewhere on the east side and unfortunately can make that prediction for every week of the year. That type of stuff doesnt build community or make someone want to go outside. People become prisoners in their own homes and neighborhoods because its an unsafe mess. I cant make similar predictions in other areas around Buffalo or WNY. Improvement must originate from within just like an alcoholic needs to make a personal commitment to quit.

Why do all the friends of Olmsted Members look like they are all white . It is about time that more African Americans take some pride in their city. Look at the Michigan ave heritage area , it is full of potential but nobody has stepped up to take charge of it.

The comments are this article are very unsavory, and thinly-veiled racism in some cases. To me it just sounds like envy that poverty-stricken neighborhoods are getting something nice. And we should not generalize the entire East Side as a place where no one takes care of their neighborhood. When I drive or ride through the neighborhoods near MLK Park or Masten Park, I see plenty of homes that are kept up, with flowers planted, etc. Sure, there are far too many absentee landlords letting their houses rot away, but there are also many homeowners who do their best with very limited resources, and it is unfair to them to ignore them entirely.

This "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" nonsense gets old fast. The implication seems to be that poor (or black) neighborhoods don't deserve infrastructure improvements from city government until they demonstrate the ability to do the work themselves. Do you need to see neighborhood volunteers filling in potholes on their own dime before you'll approve of seeing a city work crew doing it?

Many of the comments on this thread are ignorant and certainly border on racist.

They don't belong on a site called "Buffalo Rising".

We are better than this.

Great but I always thought:
-Humboldt Park had to many roads.
-The Science Magnet should have been built on the border or nearby to Humboldt Park rather than inside the park
-whatever happened to the Science museum decking over the Kensington

would like to know when the existing Calvert Veaux structure that was moved off of Humboldt Park will be moved back and restored.

Great to concentrate on the fountain/splash pad and lighting but any news or report out should really cover the whole picture...because people will read it and want to know more...whats next...when....etc.

With the successes and expansions over at the Life Sciences Campus...Masten Park, Masten Armory, City Honors, Humboldt Park, Science Magnet, Science Museum...these all become MAJOR focal points for attracting investment in the surrounding community.

This is one of the more disappointing dialogues I've ever seen on Buffalorising. MLK park has some great pavilions and some of the nicest tennis courts in the city. I've played there many times instead of watching others play on the crowded courts in Delaware park. I've gotten Ribs from Lee's BBQ and sat and had a nice relaxing lunch at one of the picnic tables.

Every park in almost every municipality has vandalism at some point. I'll tell you how you don't cut the risk is by not investing in the facilities and people taking a stance that they won't go there.

I plan on going to check this place out in all seasons. The naysayers can keep empowering this small minority of trouble makers by hanging out in their safe havens telling everyone whats wrong with the world. This should be a regional asset we can all be proud of, its all our choices what it becomes, not just those in the surrounding neighborhoods.

They were supposed to have finished this last summer.

"up and coming", are you really?

There is nothing about Buffalo that I find more repellant than racist comments from ignorant white people. It is honestly the worst part of coming home. I can accept the lack of wealth, crime, retrograde style, broken sidewalks (or no sidewalks)and overall bleakness but I can't stand the racism that I notice when I'm there.

This story (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdwSJIbomAw) about the arson fire in the First Ward really disturbed me. A refugee comes to this country only to have his home burned down because the dumb fucks of the First Ward are violent and obsessed with race. And now to read a person who calls himself "Old First Ward" on this blog make the first racist comment after an article about a pool, it makes me think of how much room for improvement there is in Buffalo.

Old First Ward and Up and Coming – This is a resubmission of a quote that I directed to a very negative commenter on another issue regarding the Eastside. In its brevity it says so much about your baseless indictment of the MLK neighborhood, the Eastside and its residents-at-large.

There is nothing more dangerous (or tiresome – my note) than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Who wants to take bets on how long it will take for the first drug related arrest? Or dead body found around the basin? Dont deny it, you were all thinking the same thing.

Oh please stop the liberal drama.

People make statements based off experience, word of mouth (ie other people experience) etc.

People behave differently individually and as a group. This is a socialogical and psychological fact.

Fact: Lower incomes have lower test scores.
Fact: Generations of poverty can create a cultural norm of poverty
Fact: Poor neighborhoods with less intact families have lower test scores
Fact: There are certain cultural norms in the african american community where the norms are against academic achievement. Proven comparing African American test scores to test scores from immigrants from Caribbean and immigrants from Africa show markedly less difference with caucasion and other minorities.

Move an individual into a different area and they will adjust to and take on the norms of the majority.

Move a group into a different area and they will either stay to themselves isolated or they will conflict/change the norms of the majority. This is why people fear groups will cause change.

You just cant stick your head in liberal ignorance and expect to inculcate people away from their experiences and perceptions.

This argument about race ignores the fact that institutional racism was the foundation for the problems that still exist today. When I was growing up racism was blatant and in your face, now it is more soft and covert but still limits progress and potential. Poverty is the other driver, African Americans have historically have been less able to accumulate wealth due to a history of being oppressed and limited in opportunities. I know some will argue that is no longer the case but generations of this oppression has considerably impacted the lives of African Americans to this day. It takes generations to build wealth and to provide the grounding necessary for success. African Americans have not had the same opportunities or base of mentors and role models that white Americans take for granted.
There is also a real problem with a culture of violence that some in the African American community embrace. This is by far a minority of people but their impact is great. Some claim this culture was adopted from their roots in the south where violence was and still is much more prevalent.
I wish there was some easy fix but the reality is until we address the issue of poverty in a meaningful way we will be unlikely to make much progress. Racism thrives because many equate the problem of poverty with race, the only way to change tht perception is to reduce poverty.

the corkscrew in delaware park over the 198 is a chronic graffiti magnet, and it is spreading onto the lincoln parkway bridge, but i don't see anyone blaming it on the affluence of the surrounding neighborhood.

How to end the poverty problem in Buffalo:

1) Go to school everyday, and graduate from high school.

2) Upon graduation, get a job. Any job (and there are plenty of jobs out there for people who have few skills but an excellent work ethic and attitude).

3) Do not get pregnant while you are single. It does not take rocket science to figure out how not to get pregnant.

4) Get married. A couple with high school degrees and several years of work experience should be easily earning $35,000, which is decent money in Buffalo.

5) Rent the cheapest 1BR apartment you can find in a safe area. Save up for several years.

6) Then have a baby.

That's it. 95% of poverty in Buffalo would be eliminated, with no government assistance!

Rubagreta - There would be poverty in Buffalo and across the entire US even if every person had a master's degree and everybody was married before they had children.

Actually, a glut of degrees would contribute to that circumstance, since the abundance would greatly devalue them job-wise.

My Dad used to live in this neighborhood. If I remember correctly this isn't as much a new addition as much as it is returning it to what it was before it was trashed by residents.

And it's too easy to chalk things up to economics. It was a low income area back then as well but people had the self respect and motivation to take care of what belonged to them and what was around them. Income and education has nothing to do with it. Whether poor or rich you can clean up and care for your surroundings. Growing up my parents didnt make much money and we had some lean years financially but we respected what we had enough to actually take care of it.

I hope I am wrong but, while I am all for improving the area, until the mindset of the area changes it will just be another structure that will fall into disrepair over time and dismantled.

Is there any irony that one commenter is repeatedly making a stereotyping negative generalization about Buffalonians based on his anecdotal personal encounters?
davvid>"I hear more racist comments in Buffalo (always from white people usually about black people) than anywhere else I have been so far."

Now, if anyone on here stated that same kind of negative generalizing but substituting some other behavior and group of people, all based on personal anecdotal experiences with individuals of some group... well, the reaction might depend on the group.
And he didn't retract it when Spock disagreed with it … only "guessed" there's other places where people have similar behavior as Buffalonians, still assuming a lot based on a small sample size of Buffalonians he's met.

Also, we see another commenter GTO's repeated negative generalizing against people of a political philosophy with which he/she disagrees.

Yet in this long thread nobody condemned either of those two.
WTbasketball and I joked about GTO, and Spock politely disagreed with davvid, but nobody's reaction was to condemn or criticize with words like "ignorant" or "unsavory" as were said about some others.

Maybe I'm the only one who sees some irony in all that.

I'm not saying these things are all exactly the same, and I'm not assuming anything either way about what any commenters in this thread, those I mentioned or any others, really deeply believe.
I can't see into anybody's soul the way Bush said he could with Putin's.

But it's interesting to notice similar patterns along with differences in reactions.

In regards to GTO's comments that went unchallenged, it doesn't seem like it's worth the effort to engage someone like that.

Second, I found the racist comments a bit strange. If I found myself in the company of people making racist comments, I'd find new friends (or do with out).

I may be greatly over stating in the next bit here... but I think those on the right are a bit overwhelmed by the leftward shift our leadership is taking. They won, that's fine. So rather than argue, I think there's a bit of withdrawing that's taking place. Economically, I think it's bad for the country. You see it in the various financial markets. The right has kind of picked up their toys, and gone to their room.

The left needs the right. The right...well, not so much. I'm all for BRL saying there needs to be a bigger middle class. But in this environment, I don't see it happening. I'm in a position where I'm involved in hiring, and we will bend over backwards to automate something before we'll consider bringing in another body.

It's almost as if we've been told by the left long enough that we're greedy bastards, that we're beginning to act the part. We argue that to create wealth, you need to expand the pie. The left says, no, we want a bigger slice. Rather than argue about it, we're protecting our slice, and not being too proud of it.

My success has little to do with public policy. I like what I do, and I do it 16 hours per day. I'd prefer to create wealth for others, but that's not the system that won this past election. I (or people like me) can grow the pie, but we've been told were not needed. I'm fine with that. Let's see where we are after 8 years of this.

Great, more of the 'you didn't build that'.

Listen, I'm conceding, your side won. I'm part of the 'far right crazies' ...really? I pay taxes (part of a small local business that pays millions of dollars in taxes), don't take any subsidy (of which I could qualify), have created good jobs, have nice apartments I rent to happy tenants in a building that was abandoned before I purchased it. But I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.

You won. Now go fix poverty. Go create jobs. Build the middle class. I have an idea how our side would do that. I hope you know what your doing.