Buffalo Rising

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• Posted #Rapper Problems Tour at DBGB's to Buffalo Rising
  By Ann Marie Trietley, Music Columnist:On Thursday May 30, DBGB's will host the #RapperProblems tour, featuring Dao Jones of Saratoga Springs, accompanied by AirlineJay, A.M.J, Austin and Nick Lyon. DBGB's has hosted a variety of up-and-coming hip-hop acts to date, and the #RapperProblems evening will highlight a group currently on tour from Philly to NYC. I spoke with 25-year-old Dao Jones, aka Cole King, about his latest projects and his outlook on today's music scene.BR: Can you tell me about your latest release, "Dao Era," and the inspirations behind it?  DJ: So "Dao Era" is my latest project. It's...
• Posted Preservation Award Winner: The Lafayette to Buffalo Rising
  Preservation Buffalo Niagara is recognizing outstanding preservation projects and those contributing to preservation efforts at its annual awards ceremony May 31, 11:30 AM at Kleinhans Music Hall.  Buffalo Rising will profile this year's winners leading up to the event. The Hotel Lafayette is a seven-story steel frame and concrete building designed in the French Renaissance style and constructed in several phases with five major periods of significance.  The principle building, characterized by red brick with off-white terra cotta detailing above a granite base was designed by Louise Bethune.  Bethune's original building, situated at the corner of Washing and Clinton streets fronting...
• Posted IDA Approves Incentives for Fairmont Creamery Re-Do to Buffalo Rising
  The Erie County Industrial Development Agency (ECIDA) on Monday gave unanimous support for Ellicott Development's plan to overhaul the long-vacant Fairmont Creamery Co. building at 199 Scott Street.  Built in 1920, the eight-story structure was most recently used by the Arctic Freezer Company for storage as a refrigerated storage site for Rich Product Corp.  It has sat idle for the past two decades.Easily seen from the I-190, the building still has the "Coffee Rich" logo painted on one side. The 5277 Group, a subsidiary of Ellicott Development, plans a $14.6 million renovation which includes a new roof, windows and a...
• Posted Time to Eliminate Lackawanna to Buffalo Rising
  By Kevin Christner:Yesterday's article in the Buffalo News makes one thing clear.  Lackawanna, as a municipal entity, no longer has a reason to exist.  When considering geography, there appears to be no reason for Lackawanna to exist as an independent municipality.  Its borders are contiguous to large parts of Buffalo and its heritage is largely the same.I was part of the group that worked with Dave Quackenbush on the Bethlehem Steel Administration Building (see BRO article and photos below) and was one of the two individuals who were able to gain access to inspect the interior.  I can report that Mr....
• Posted Owners, preservationists, developers are out of sync to Buffalo Rising
  BRO submission by David Quackenbush:I read with interest the Buffalo News article (April 30th) about the fire damaged church property on Colvin in Buffalo's Hertel district (see more).  This saga begins with the owners hiring a demolition contractor to take a building down, preservationists saying this should not happen, even referring to the project as a "mockery... that there could have been a very appropriate use of the entire building". An unlikely private entrepreneur saved a part of the complex referred to as the steeple - this was the President of the demo company, Sam DeFranks. One building... three interested entities -...
• Posted Taking Fashion to the Streets to Buffalo Rising
  By Giovanni Centurione: If you happened to be passing through Lafayette Square in downtown this past Thursday afternoon, you may have wondered what was going on. On that day, we gathered a few girls together, dressed them up in the newest attire from two downtown boutiques, Sasmita Batik Indonesia and J. Christian Fashion Boutique (both located inside the Market Arcade Building, 617 Main St.) and turned them into 'living mannequins'. Local photographer Thomas Hicklin captured the scene, while a few helpers, including myself, passed out information and deals for the stores to passersby.  This idea came to me in couple of ways....
• Posted The First Ward: Mark Twain, Fingy Connors & The Sullivan Brothers Volume 1 by Richard Sullivan to Buffalo Rising
  Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Anne Conable:This massive novel is a good addition to the growing collection of well-researched historical fiction exposing another facet of Buffalo's rich base of stories. Illuminating the stories of some of his ancestors, Richard Sullivan has painted a vibrant portrait of the Sullivan family, beginning with the arrival of Mary McGrady and John Sullivan from Ireland in 1850, and the hardscrabble First Ward of Buffalo where generations of Sullivans and many others struggled to make their way in 19th C. America. The book covers nearly fifty years of Buffalo as Boom Town, rise...
• Posted Real Estate Rumor: Delaware North Moving to Delaware and Chippewa to Buffalo Rising
  A new 15 to 20 story building may be rising at the corner of Delaware and Chippewa to serve as the new headquarters of Delaware North. The site is owned by Uniland Development and would be developed as a mixed-use building with a hotel component. The Delaware Court site is said to be the leading contender, but it is unclear how the existing building would be incorporated into the new design. Delaware North currently occupies 110,000 square feet in the Key Center on Main Street. A recent advertisement for Key Center states they are currently leasing 100,000 square feet, which...
• Posted Women in the Sustainable Economy Speaker Series to Buffalo Rising
  BRO submission by Melanie Shorey:We are proud to host the another Women in the Sustainable Economy Speaker series on behalf of GreenWorks || Buffalo Niagara. This month's venue is the beautiful Marcy Casino in Delaware Park in Buffalo, NY. On Tuesday, May 21st from 5:30 to 7:00 PM, three more female speakers will join the ranks of women who are coming out as sustainability leaders in the Buffalo Niagara region.Featured Speakers:Paige MeccaPaige Mecca is an active leader in the solar industry. She founded her own women owned business called Allegro Power, an electrical construction company that specializes in solar panel installation...
• Posted It's just about time to Party on the Portico to Buffalo Rising
  For the eighth year in the row, the Buffalo History Museum will be hosting a one-Friday-a-month concert series out on a portico overlooking Mirror Lake and the Japanese Gardens in Delaware Park. It's one of the most intimate and exquisite views around, enhanced only by the premier sounds of some of the area's best musicians. Party on the Portico is also one of the most happening summer happy hour spots, where friends convene to chillax, have a cocktail and enjoy the fantastic scenery of the park-scape. Fridays have never been the same since this summer music series first launched.This...
• Posted Common Council Items of Interest May 14, 2013 to Buffalo Rising
  MOVE SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS TO NOVEMBER - The Council adopted a resolution, sponsored by North District Council Member Joseph Golombek, Jr., showing its support for amending New York State education law to allow the Buffalo School Board elections to coincide with the November general elections.TRICO BUILDING MORATORIUM - The Council approved a resolution establishing a moratorium on the demolition of the Trico Products Building until December 31, 2013 for further feasibility studies on behalf of interested parties.BUFFALO EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING CENTER - The Council adopted a resolution, sponsored by Council Members Richard A. Fontana and Demone A. Smith, requesting that...
• Posted Love Your Mom and Pop to Buffalo Rising
  Submitted by Buffalo First:Buffalo First!'s annual Love Your Mom and Pop campaign returns with a vendor marketplace event will take place on Saturday, May 18th, 10am-4pm, in the lobby of the Tri-Main Center, a landmark Buffalo mixed-use building, home to over 70 locally owned businesses and organizations. The event will feature local food and drink, an artisan and entrepreneur vendor market with 20 vendors perfect for Father's Day shopping, presentation of our social media contest winners, live local music, local food and drink, kids crafts, and an opportunity for our members and business owners to network and build relationships. The...
• Posted 2nd Alternative Energy Cruise Night to Buffalo Rising
  When you think of a cruise night, you usually think of high horsepower, classic cars.  Buffalo Green Projects has thought a little different about what it means to host a "Cruise Night" with an event focusing on alternative energy vehicles and transportation. The event is this Thursday May 16th from 4:30-7PM at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus "Electric Car Lot" on Ellicott at Goodell.  It will feature hybrids, electric cars, flex fuel, diesels, bicycles, scooters and one giant hybrid Metrobus.  There will be representatives from a number of local area car dealers including Northtown, Paddock and Buffalo Motorworks as well as...
• Posted George Caldwell Trio @ Pan American Grill and Brewery to Buffalo Rising
  This Wednesday The Pan American Grill and Brewery is welcoming a very special guest to its Wednesday evening jazz series. In a stroke of luck, the fledgling series has managed to attract the likes of pianist/keyboard player George Caldwell, who has played with some of the most reputable names in the jazz business, including Savion Glover (5yr. intermittently), The Count Basie Orchestra (7yr.), The Duke Ellington Orchestra (3yr.), Apollo Theatre Band (1 yr.), Ruth Brown (1yr.), Panama Francis And The Savoy Sultans (2 yr.), Midtown Jazz Mobile (9 yr.), Fine Line (2yr.), Herman Green And The Green Machine (3yr.) and...
• Posted By the Book to Buffalo Rising
  By Suzanne Jaszcz:In addition to all the local film projects that are bouncing around the city as of late, I was recently approached by a local filmmaker asking me if I could promote his web series.  The show is titled By the Book and they are getting ready to film their second season of episodes. The brainchild of director Jim Renzi it was inspired by his favorite genres of TV shows and movies combining police/crime dramas like The Wire, with slacker comedies such as Office Space - all rolled into one show.  What started as a creative way to pass the time while he...
• Posted Bernie Tolbert's 'Mayoral Run' announcement speech sent to local media to Buffalo Rising
  Good morning to all of you. Thank you for taking the time to share this important event with me. Time is precious. The fact that you've chosen to spend part of your weekend with me is appreciated.I want to thank my mother for her introduction. I can't begin to tell you the valuable lessons and many moments of inspiration that my mother has blessed me with. Two that I have never forgotten are these: No matter what it is in life that you choose to be, be the very best, andRemember that when you have no one else, you always have each...
• Posted Preservation Award Winner: Niagara Falls City Hall to Buffalo Rising
  Niagara Falls City Hall was constructed in 1923-1924 in the Beaux Arts style and embodies Neo-Classical Revival architectural details. The exterior building material is smooth ashlar sandstone. The monumental stair at the front of the building and the free standing stair assemblies in the landscape have limestone treads, while the stairs have cheek walls of sandstone matching the building. The entry hall is a two story space with a central skylight made possible by the employment of a light court. The walls of this court are constructed of red colored brick. The building was listed on the National Register in...
• Posted Two Affordable Housing Projects Receive Funding to Buffalo Rising
  Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced $91 million in awards for shovel-ready projects to build affordable housing across the state. The low-interest loans and tax credits will build and preserve 2,060 units of affordable housing and are expected to leverage more than $485 million in grants, loans and private resources. In Buffalo, People United for Sustainable Housing, Inc. has been allocated $3.5 million to continue its efforts to revitalize the west side.  The Mass Ave. Community Homes project involves new construction of 28 rental units on vacant lots and rehabilitation of 18 rental units in 16 buildings (including entry image) in...
• Posted Buffalo's Outer Harbor: Candidate for an Urban Cable Car? to Buffalo Rising
  By Dean Evaniak (DeanerPPX):Buffalo's waterfront is buzzing with development and brimming with possibilities... CanalSide, Ship Canal Commons, Elevator Alley, the Outer Harbor. But the entire area has long suffered from a lack of access. Whether the Skyway stays or goes, it will never be an optimal solution for connecting all these sites that have so much potential. Many are even convinced that Route 5 and the Skyway do more to separate Buffalo from its waterfront than it does to provide access. Automobiles have to follow odd routes, while pedestrians and bicycles are almost completely blocked by meandering rivers of water...
• Posted 7th Annual Elephant Run to Buffalo Rising
  By Jessica Edwards:Who knows your parting wish?If you died at this very moment, are you certain that your loved ones could confidently follow through with your preferred arrangements?Death can be uncomfortable to think about, and even more uncomfortable to talk about. But if you're not making that final decision, then you're leaving it at the feet of those around you. Whether sudden or expected, familiar or foreign, dealing with death is something we all will face.Those "last" requests can be very personalized or simply regarding formalities. One in particular, is a very delicate choice. Deciding to be an organ donor...
• Posted Buy Local Challenge Calls on Area Businesses to Buffalo Rising
  By Kelsey Hanks:The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is challenging employers to grow our regional economy by buying local in 2013.Buffalo Niagara is home to countless employers that provide first-rate products and services, offering a shorter supply chain and proximity to after-purchase services. In 2011, our region spent more than $68 billion on imports. If we had shifted just 1% of spending to locally-sourced products and services, nearly $700 million could have been reinvested into our economy. Area employers expressed a stark need for Buffalo Niagara businesses to look to each other when sourcing products and services. The Partnership created the Buy Local...
• Posted Preservation Award Winners: Central Terminal Sheet Metal Craftsmen to Buffalo Rising
  Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) is recognizing outstanding individuals and projects furthering historic preservation efforts in the region.  This year's Preservation Awards Luncheon will be held Friday, May 31st, at the Kleinhans Music Hall.  Buffalo has been publicizing individual winners over the past few weeks.  Larry Fuchs, Roger Korsh, Andy Adams, Henry Forman, and Robert Stetzko, five retired craftsmen from Buffalo Sheet Metal Workers Local 71, are being honored for their contribution to the on-going restoration of the Buffalo Central Terminal by the Central Terminal Corporation. When asked by a committee member of Local 7 l, these volunteers signed on to...
• Posted Pamper Mom this Sunday at Statler City's Brunch to Buffalo Rising
  Statler City will be hopping mid-day Sunday with a special Mother's Day brunch.  The historic downtown banquet facility invites moms to be treated to an elaborate spread. Statler City will offer cold salads, classic brunch buffet items and specialty stations, ensuring mom gets whatever she likes on her day. ...
• Posted Disappearing farmland: An issue for One Region Forward to Buffalo Rising
  Submitted by One Region Forward:Since 1970, the Buffalo-Niagara region has lost more than 1,250 working farms, and nearly 160 square miles of farmland - an area four times the size of the City of Buffalo and down by roughly a third from what we had 40 years ago.Why is the loss of farms and farmland a concern for regional sustainability? Because local farms make fresh and healthy foods more securely accessible to family tables in our cities and suburbs. Because locally produced food can have a dramatically smaller "carbon footprint" than food shipped from thousands of miles away. Because farming can...
• Posted Part of Buffalo Billion to Assist with Parkway Removal in Falls to Buffalo Rising
  Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council (WNYREDC) will move forward with the reconstruction and reconfiguration of a one mile stretch of the Robert Moses Parkway, south of Niagara Falls.  For many years, the expressway has been seen as an obstacle between city neighborhoods and the waterfront. This project will fully restore visual and physical access to the various natural and cultural features along the Niagara River and the Niagara Gorge. "The Robert Moses Parkway is an outdated impediment to the growth of the City of Niagara Falls, as well as tourism opportunities in...
• Posted School Board Elections Today to Buffalo Rising
  By Matthew Ricchiazzi: The magnitude of what our city is destined to achieve feels unimaginable today - but it will have seemed inevitable in retrospect.  There is an optimism in our attitude, an energy in our spirit, and a freshness in our thinking that is catalyzing a momentous revival of the highest order.  We are on the brink of transformation, and finally - after decades of decline - we have a wind at our back. But a Buffalonian Renaissance won't happen until we take the first step: liberating families from the stranglehold of a government managed monopoly whose chronic underperformance and dysfunction...
• Posted Preservation Award Winner: Kathleen Mecca to Buffalo Rising
  Preservation Buffalo Niagara is recognizing outstanding preservation projects and those contributing to preservation efforts at its annual awards ceremony May 31, 11:30 AM at Kleinhans Music Hall.  Buffalo Rising will profile this year's winners leading up to the May event. Kathleen Mecca is receiving an award in individual preservation achievement for her decades of work fighting to protect the cultural and historical assets and environmental quality of the Prospect Park neighborhood and Buffalo's West Side. Kathy stands at equal height to a podium on a small stage in a public library to share the story that she has told so...
• Posted Vegas Releases Point Spreads on Every Bills Game to Buffalo Rising
  The Bills have a new coach. They drafted a quarterback with their first draft pick for the first time in franchise history. Despite the new faces, oddsmakers are not impressed with how the 2013 Bills look. In fact, the Bills are favored to win just 3 games. Cantor Gaming, the largest bookmaker in Las Vegas, has released point spreads for every NFL regular season game (except week 17). The Bills aren't favorite to win a game until their week 9 match-up against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs. The other two times the Bills are favored to win: in week 11 when...
• Posted Remembering Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss and the Night the Music Stopped by Cissy Houston to Buffalo Rising
  Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Dorinda Darden:This is a poignant memoir of Whitney Houston, an iconic singer and superstar, as only her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, could tell.  Cissy Houston recounts the joys, pains and tragic end of a life that was plagued by drugs but led by faith. In Whitney's final performance the night before her death as she sang "Yes, Jesus Loves Me," Whitney knew that no matter what, she had her faith.  Houston recounts the life of an extraordinary singer who at times just wanted to be "Nippy," as she was known to...
• Posted Preservation Award Winner: Friendship's Miss Daisy Pumper to Buffalo Rising
  Preservation Buffalo Niagara is recognizing outstanding preservation projects and those contributing to regional preservation efforts at its annual awards ceremony May 31, 11:30 AM at Kleinhans Music Hall. Buffalo Rising has been profiling this year's winners leading up to the event.The Friendship Fire Department (FFD) has restored and preserved the only Silsby Heater along with one of only two operational rotary steam powered fire pumpers in the United States to conserve a true classic of firefighting legends. The FFD's Silsby Restoration (SRP) project is an exemplary historic preservation project from the most rural county in Western New York. The SRP combines...