Ever wanted to look closely at someone's transitional move from the Big Apple to the Queen City on the Lake? I'm not talking about an expat moving home (which is also nice), I'm talking about a gal from The Bronx who found herself in school in Buffalo NY, and during her visit she has decided to log the ins and outs of the city, and how it relates to NYC (through her own eyes). What I like most about the blogger that I am referring to is that she has thrown all preconceived notions out the window and is looking at Buffalo at face value. From her blog called 'From

For the last two years I have been hearing about a pretty neat development project that looked like it might take hold along the Buffalo River. A number of interested parties were talking about purchasing a historically significant Erie Canal-era Freight Depot and turing it into a multi-use building potentially filled with environmental research facilities, water-related start-up companies, and recreational uses. There was a buyer who understood the vision, and the components were falling into place. From what I understand, it was merely a waiting game while the owner looked for an alternate

If you've never been tailgating, then you probably aren't from Buffalo. I jest of course, but not really. Buffalo NY is synonymous with tailgating. We've seen it all and have done it all, at one point or another, at the infamous lot. Or at that other infamous lot. There are a lot of lots to party at before a Bills game, and they're all infamous for the inane behavioral antics of The Twelfth Man - you and me, our cousins, mothers, grandfathers, friends... there's a Bills' zealot in all of us. All we need to unleash our inner-Bills persona is the combined smell of hotdogs, pigskin and beer. 
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Alice Davis looks up at St. Matthew's Church across the street from her home with bittersweet emotions. She is a long-time resident of Moselle Street and was a parishioner before its closing in 1998. Davis has witnessed the building's fall from grace as it sits neglected and open to the elements. Although she is saddened by the ruinous state of the building, she still has hope.

St. Matthew's rises higher than anything in the neighborhood and remains as the crux of a once bustling church complex that takes up an entire city block. The church was

After what seemed to be a lifetime, the wrought iron fence surrounding the fountain at Days Park has been replaced. Last winter a car careened into a light standard and the fountain's fence, mangling a good section of it (yes, even fountains are targets for drivers these days). What should have been a quick fix turned out to be more troublesome than anyone would have bargained for. The historic Olmsted-designed park needed a historically accurate fence, and the search began for a company that could furnish an end product that would not only function properly, but would also look like the original.

Blue Hill Kitchen and Home has opened on Hertel (see back story), and with it the neighborhood now has something that is found nowhere else in the city. Gone are the days of small boutique kitchen stores, for the most part. Instead we find ourselves roaming the aisles of Target and Walmart in search of the most convenient and inexpensive products. Some people might say that you'd have to be crazy to compete with the likes of the big boxes, but I'd like to think that many Buffalonians are different. We live in a city

Buffalo hometown business hero, Perry's Ice Cream, has just relaunched a flavor that pays homage to one of the worst blizzards to hit the region in recent memory. I am, of course, referring to The Blizzard of '77 - a storm that some of us remember and all of us have heard of. It was the 'perfect storm' if ever there was one. It was the storm that put our city on the map for snowy weather, leaving us to wonder (to this day) if we would ever shake the chilling images - many of which appeared on cold and flu medication commercials for years after the storm. 
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By Patrick Finan (Co-op Board Member):
Last Wednesday, more than 200 people gathered in the Nardin Academy cafeteria and gym to eat together, learn together, and grow together while celebrating Lexington Co-op's 40th anniversary at its annual meeting.  At the packed record-setting event, member-owners shared diverse and lively discussion on coop operations, voted for Board Members, premiered a Co-op documentary film and participated in a portion of the meeting dedicated to gathering feedback on the Co-op's upcoming expansion.
This

Meeting highlights include: Common Council waives fees associated with Occupy Buffalo's assemblage in Niagara Square (photo), news on repair work for landmark building Blessed Trinity, lime cleanup at Praxair, and list of Habitat for Humanity homestead properties.
The Council approved a resolution sponsored by Fillmore District Council Member David A. Franczyk requesting that the City of Buffalo waive all fees associated with Occupy Buffalo's assemblage in Niagara Square. Occupy Buffalo is a group of local activists from the City of Buffalo and Western

Re-Tree WNY is putting out an appeal for able-bodied folks to help with a large tree planting this weekend at a couple of City of Buffalo parks.

The planting begins on Sunday, November 6th at 9 am at Schiller Park, which is on the city's east side.   After the roughly 35 trees are planted there, the group will move to Franczyk Park to plant another 35 trees.

Species will vary between gingkos, oaks, ivory silk lilacs, honey locust, and London Planetrees.

Volunteers are encouraged to dress according to the weather.  

Get ready to rev your green engines, the West Side is now home to a car dealer that specializes in selling energy efficient vehicles. Partners Andre Sadoff and Dan Sciolino have moved their sales operation into a former Chrysler dealership and showroom that was built in 1922 at 202 Rhode Island Street. "The original terrazzo showroom floor is still intact," Andre (photo right) pointed out to me. "As are the original tin ceilings in the offices." Even the exterior of the building is in great shape. "We're planning on fixing up the building and restoring as much of the original character as possible,"

Many times we happen to read about Buffalo's refugees and immigrants or we view them from a distance. In recent years we have had the opportunity to interact with some of the refugee populations, as they open businesses, integrate into the school system, and move into our neighborhoods (or we move into theirs). For the most part, Buffalonians tend not to interact with our newest neighbors, mainly due to language barriers. This past summer was the first time that I saw some of the Burmese population starting to explore Elmwood Avenue, and that was a welcome sign that meant that they were beginning

Beginning early next year Buffalo may begin to implement its very own bike share system which has the potential to be on par with some of the greatest in the country. The program is envisioned to begin in some of the densest core neighborhoods including Allentown, the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus, and downtown central business district.

A comprehensive plan for the system has been created by students from the University of Buffalo in the undergraduate Environmental Design program. The class is under the direction of Dr. Alex Bitterman as part

By Tom Murdock:
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership, which is about to host a kickoff celebration for the area's young professionals, has released its Accelerate Upstate Action Agenda, the culmination of a two-day summit held (featured here on Buffalo Rising), where almost 300 community, business, and government leaders converged downtown to draft ideas for Upstate's future. The

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra presents the following concerts and events for the month of November:
 
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - 7 PM
BPOvations Concert Preview Lecture: Russian Nationalism
Amherst Audubon Library
Paul Ferington, conductor
The lives and music of two great Russian patriots who brought heightened respect for Russian symphonic music to the concert halls of the world. Concerts Previewed: Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky (Nov. 19-20), Tchaikovsky and Strauss (Feb. 11-12), and Prokofiev's Fifth (Mar. 9-10) 
 
Thursday,

If you stop to think about all of the inspirational developments that have taken place on the West Side in recent years, it's only natural that the West Side Community Collaborative and the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors (BNAR) held a press conference and tour this morning to tout the upswing. 
When I think about developments that have helped to spur on the West Side, I think of the restored Richmond roundabouts (please replace the cobra street lighting on Richmond), refugee markets, Morning Glory, Urban

WNYSEA's Bernice Radle emailed me a few minutes ago with a bothersome query that might not have an cut and dry answer. She wanted to know why so many local restaurants and cafes stop selling food so early in the evening. "It's kinda annoying and really upsetting to me," Bernice wrote. "Because so many places have TONS of people there drinking beer, with no food service. I really wish more establishments were open for longer hours... the same with retail. If everyone stayed open on Friday and Saturday nights until 10pm, Elmwood would be hopping with people buying things. People would come

James Howard Kunstler, author of several books (both fiction and nonfiction) on the the folly of our system of sprawl development and the coming danger of peak oil, gave the key note address to the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference at Sheas Theater a little over a week ago.  
Kunstler also has a weekly internet podcast (posted each Thursday at kunstlercast.com) hosted by Duncan Crary.   Last Thursday's program was recorded on the thruway, the day after the key note as Duncan and James headed back

By Max Crinnin:
As a resident or visitor of Elmwood, one appreciates the walkability of the area. Friends, families, and even strangers occupy the sidewalks together and enjoy the beauty of a village atmosphere in the big city. This beauty exists in the best cities of the world and should exist in a greater part of Buffalo. Luckily, plans are being made.
On November 1st the "Urbanism is Sustainable" forum will be held at Hallwalls starting at 7pm. Hosted by WNYSEA, the forum is free to the public (donations

We in Buffalo love to celebrate. Whether it's our sports teams or our food, there's always time to party when it comes to the things that we love. For five years now, Grassroots Gardens has been giving to Buffalo in ways that are unmeasurable. Once a year the organization lets loose and invites supporters to come together to rally around the worthy cause. The better the event does, the more community gardens we see sprout up around us... many times the gardens are planted in abandoned lots, which tend to transform a neighborhood for the better. This is a worthy cause, and one that helps our city