monday november 24th 2008
Guercio's Is A Savings Grace
queenseyes
Did you know that Guercio's on Grant Street is one of the best places to get inexpensive groceries in the city? The reason I mention this is that many people consider the authentic market the best place to go for produce and the experience, but rarely do you hear about the savings. You might think that quality produce would actually cost more. Or that a small market might not have the buying power of a bigger market. First off, if you are looking for produce, you're might be looking at saving $2-$3 a pound on certain items - for example, the savings on the bell peppers are notorious when compared to other markets. Often times we'll hit up Guercio's before heading to any other market in order to find the freshest, least expensive goods. From there we'll wrap up the shopping at Wegman's for the items that we know a small market can't stock. It might add up to two stops, but it's worth it every time. My girlfriend puts it this way:
"You can't get much more local than shopping at Guercio's…
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RaChaCha
And just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday!
The UB Office of Parking and Transportation has announced a new Rideboard service available to UB students through Good Going Western New York. Students may post to the Rideboard to share rides home for Thanksgiving, to the airport, or even to a special event.
Good Going WNY is a free ride matching program created by the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council and is open to all UB faculty, staff, UB affiliates—and now students.
To use the Rideboard, visit www.GoodGoingWNY.com, enroll with University at Buffalo as your “employer/school” and choose your commuting preferences. Log in and click on the “Rideboard” tab to post a message.
According to Jessica Biegaj, coordinator of UB’s Campaign for the Community, students should be sure to read the important…
queenseyes
Do you remember a few years ago when they had that crazy 'festival of lights' around the jogging track at Delaware Park? That was pretty bizarre... but the idea of a Festival of Lights is a good one. Some day I would hope that Buffalo could pull off a classy downtown light festival - we are the City of Lights, are we not? Of course Elmwood Avenue puts on a good show each year thanks to the business owners who like together to show off the neighborhood. But what about other parts of the city? Some neighborhoods put up holiday flags on the light standards. Others carol up and down the streets. And this year, one neighborhood in particular has opted to go for the gusto. Yes Santa, there will be a Festival of Lights this holiday season.
Some of the neighbors in the West Side's Cottage District are busy organizing a neighborhood Festival of Lights. I first spoke to community member R…
West Coast Perspective
Planning for the South Buffalo Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) is progressing. Over the past nine months, the City of Buffalo has undertaken an in-depth analysis of approximately 1,900 acres of strategically located brownfields, underutilized properties as well as industrial and open spaces in South Buffalo.
On Wednesday, December 3rd, the City will present to the public and stakeholders the various land use options for the study area. It will be held at the Buffalo Irish Center, 245 Abbott Road. The event includes an open house from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, a presentation from 6:30 to 7:15 pm, and a workshop from 7:15 to 8:30 pm.
queenseyes
As of this morning, the Rock Harbor Commons (RHC) website is online and room reservations are being taken for '09. The site includes the most recent version of a virtual walk-through tour so that the 350 future student residents can see what the building will look like as well as the layout of the rooms. Links on the site include a download-able resident handbook along with the an RHC application. This is an exciting time for Black Rock - to see a former brownfield transformed into a privately financed student village. RHC is just Phase One of the Rock Harbor Village plan - the building comes complete with a Commons Center boasting a café , student entrepreneurial offices, food court, fitness center, game/recreational room, big screen TVs, 24-hour security, Wi-Fi, monitored private parking, and eco-friendly shuttle buses.
Each Ro…
West Coast Perspective
A group of young risk-takers are planning an urban garden on the west side and will be selling their bounty on site. Prep work is underway at the organic farm and it promises not to be your run-of-the-mill tomato, lettuce and green bean patch. The project at the northeast corner of Vermont Street and West Avenue will be much more.
“Curbside Croft” will be an urban farm (croft = small farm), the idea of Matthew Barnhardt, Justin Fundalinski, Brandon Majewski and Emily Gadanyi. All are college graduates and work in the landscape design field. Their goal is to create a close relationship between the neighborhood and the farm both as a food source and informational resource.
sunday november 23rd 2008
A Functional Neighborhood Branding Effort
queenseyes
While heading down Richmond Avenue, I spotted this at the corner of Manchester Place. It's a heavy-duty flower planter branded with the side street's initials - MP. Over the last couple of years I've seen some very unique planters, including one made from the stump of an October Storm tree (see here) and another made from artistically reconditioned car tires (see here). There have been others... and they are all unique in their own ways, but for all intents and purposes the one seen here is (at least in my mind) perfect.
The design is simple. The colors blend in, yet pop at the same time. The materials are durable and the initials add a branding mark to the neighborhood. I like the way the planter is elevated off the ground - I can see bul…
queenseyes
If you're into vintage shopping... you know, the thrill of the hunt... then we have the perfect shop for you. The shop's location is just like the merchandise that you'll find inside - obscure and definitely not on the main drag. Ragamuffins is located on West Utica between Elmwood and Delaware across from the vast amounts of parking lots that have turned the neighborhood into a 'paved paradise'. Fortunately, the North side of the street has remained relatively intact... and that's where you will find this quirky handpicked, hand-me-down oasis.
Even though Ragamuffins is new to the Elmwood District, the shop has been around for close to a decade. It's owner, Gina Vallone, decided to pull up roots in the University District to test the waters closer to Elmwood (but not on Elmwood). By doing this, Gina was able to triple the size of the interior footprint, thus increasing threefo…
Huewayne Watson
ValoreBooks has changed its name to Bucks4Books, and with that change, it continues to bring new and innovative ways to make it easier, less time consuming and more profitable for college students to sell back their text books. The Buffalo based company was founded in 2002 by a group of Western New York college students looking for a better alternative to on-campus bookstores.
Staying true to their slogan “A Refreshing Text Book Experience,” Bucks4Books made it their mission to provide students with many key advantages to the buyback experience. After having to wait on long lines, many on-campus bookstores often turn students away if their books are no longer being used by a professor at their school. However, Bucks4Books has the ability to buy them back since it is likely that some other professor at another college may still be using the book.
No matter where a student …
saturday november 22nd 2008
The Burchfield-Penney Art Center Opens Minds
queenseyes
Earlier today we took our first walk through the brand new Burchfield-Penney Art Center. By the end of the visit I must say that I was a bit disappointed. Why? Because after walking through the entire complex, I found myself wishing that I had gone to the membership gala the night before. That was when thousands of members/supporters came together to revel in the glory that is The Burchfield-Penney Art Center.
The art center experience certainly lives up to all the hype that has been building for the last couple of years. From the sweet time-lapse video show that greets each visitor, to the 'flower blobs bloom' room, the 31-hour (straight) grand opening is a multicultural and ageless showing of art, space and time. It's a modern day journey through the work of regional artists the likes of no other. Around every corner there are sights and sounds presented in a 'real live' form…
