On August 30, Governor David Paterson signed the Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Policy Act, giving Assemblyman Sam Hoyt an important victory in his longstanding fight against urban sprawl.  Since he was first elected 18 years ago, Hoyt has been an advocate of smart growth.  "The unplanned sprawl has destroyed our city for years," Hoyt said.  "Not just our city, but all upstate cities."  

The concept of smart growth revolves around investing in existing infrastructure, especially in the downtown areas, rather than pouring money into building new infrastructure,

This is the eleventh Fashion Maniac piece in the series. Check out the other shoots to see the national trends and where to find them locally: United We Stand @ Tifft Nature Preserve, bathing suits on the Spirit of Buffalo, James Scissorhands, kicks and handbags

Submitted by Susan Marie:

Here's a homegrown response to the growing call for education reform and accountability.

Future Schools Network, a small WNY non-profit organization with a 15-year track record of providing innovative student-centered programming, just did something that no one else has done, at least not in New York State. They received a rare "quality" certification for a 2nd time for providing leadership, career and service learning programs to area students.

The Promising Practice certification, received last month, comes from a

The Cobblestone District is certainly one of Buffalo's most historical districts, tucked away in the lower section of downtown, just southeast of the Inner Harbor.  The neighborhood has been experiencing a revival over the last several years, including the ongoing redevelopment of Canalside, as well as the conversion of former warehouses into mixed-use commercial and residential buildings with nearby restaurants. It seems rather fitting that the oldest--and once abandoned--neighborhood just became the new home to Buffalo's only design firm specializing in the

On a recent tour of the Larkin District (stay tuned for more), we stopped in to check out the former bank building being converted to the offices of Young + Wright Architecture.  The history of this fine building, and its present rehab, have been well-covered by Chris Hawley at his Hydraulics

By Zoë Lavatelli:

I don't think I will ever cease to marvel at the breadth of arts and culture that Buffalo has to offer its residents. Founded in December of 2007 by Rob Leach, the community organization called "SwingBuffalo," has been growing ever since its inception. In the words of Rob Leach's wife and assistant organizer, "Swing Buffalo is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the enjoyment of authentic, historical forms of swing dancing." These forms of swing dancing were wildly popular from the 1920's through the early 1940's, and include Lindy

Photos and Text by Joe Cascio:

This is the first in a series of stories about cool, interesting and sometimes dangerous jobs.

When most of us get up in the morning and start thinking about the day ahead and where we'll spend it, we have a pretty good idea what our cube or office looks like and how it won't change from minute to minute or day to day.  When Fred Laurich gets up in the morning he has an idea of what his office is going to look like, but knows it will change minute to minute and for sure day to day.  
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There couldn't be a better way to enjoy the last weekend of summer than by taking a leisurely cruise up the Niagara River and through the Black Rock locks at 10:00 a.m. this Sunday, September 5. Join docents of Buffalo Tours and the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper on the Miss Buffalo on a two-hour tour and learn about the history and environmental issues of this natural wonder, right in our backyard.

Why is it incorrect to call the Niagara a river? How many light houses are there? Can we see any remnants of the original Erie Canal? And how many species of gulls can be found along the Niagara?

The American tells a story about an assassin in search of his own soul. George Clooney plays Jack, who poses as Edward Butterfly, an American photographer on assignment in Europe.  While evading a recent hit on his own life, he takes cover in a remote village in Italy to execute one final mission: custom build a rifle for Mathilda, a mysterious sniper who requires a specific weapon. Hauntingly, Jack eventually finds himself befriended by the local priest and in love with a prostitute.

The essence of this story is classic, it takes a deep look at the inner makings of a man in the

After posting on quality of life issues last week, and featuring a tree surrounded by asphalt at the Evans National Bank driveway at Delavan, I received an inspiring email earlier today. Even though it was City property, Mike Lucchino, owner of the neighboring properties (he also owns Elmwood Taco and Sub), took it upon himself and ripped up 6'x6' of asphalt surrounding the tree. Tomorrow he is having the bed mulched.

Not only will Mike not have to deal with a dead tree in the future, the

Maria Merlino spent an inordinate amount of time in the Chippewa bar district in her early twenties. She was not your typical overzealous patron; Maria spent her Buff State years running some of Buffalo's premiere party spots.  She helped to open and manage Mark Croce's first major project, the Coliseum (1996) and after 5 years decided to take a parallel leap to Delaware's Red Room to help run the show there.

Currently, well established, Maria is the number one ranked regional Growth Hormone Therapy Manager for a large global health care company and wants to reciprocate.  "I

After sitting exposed to the elements for a better part of the summer (see post), the windows on Our Lady of Lourdes Church have been boarded up. Thankfully, after sending emails and placing phone calls to Councilman Curtis Haynes, he stepped up to the plate and reached out to the guardian of the building. Days later new plywood was up and the church is now secure for the fall and winter season. There is still a small upper window that needs to be boarded up, but it is so small that it should not present a big problem.

There is another bike group hitting the roads these days. It's not Critical Mass, or the Midnight Madness gang, or the Lazy Randonneur Club. It's The Angry Bees, a group of cyclists that departs from Allentown every Wednesday at 7pm. They meet at The Hive just around the corner from Hardware. The group looks to have around 50 members, many of whom wear yellow shirts with wide black bee-like stripes. Their ultimate destination is McCarthy's Pub in the old First Ward - an extremely bike-friendly watering hole.

For those people who feel that these cycle groups can get a bit out of hand,

When you live in a city that was once known as The City of Trees, you shouldn't feel bad when someone calls you a tree hugger. It can be tough to watch concrete being poured over tree beds, or a crew of hacks taking down branches on your street. Then again, you can't you can't save every tree. Sometimes you have to let some trees go in the name of progress. The frustrating part is not knowing - the times when you find yourself scratching your head and wondering why a tree-lined street was mowed down. In a perfect world (or even a far-from-perfect world) Buffalo would have a City forester to call

What happens when you mix two people who are good with kids and like to fix bicycles?  An environmentally focused art program that engages kids in the creation of bicycle sculptures! The results of which will be on display at the Grant Street Gallery on Friday September 3rd from 6:00-9:00pm, located at 220 Grant Street (at Lafayette Avenue).

This project was conceived at the Gloria J Parks Community Center by Arts Coordinator, Alissa Corby and Program Director, David Harter, both Green Options Buffalo volunteers.  

The students, who ranged in age from six to ten

This year's Mass Appeal fashion show is taking on a different twist. Designers and fashion boutiques are being asked to dress it down for once - the concept is based on a timely favorite... wearable art. That means that fashion gawkers will rejoice in seeing some totally unusual and original works of art being worn by some of Buffalo's hottest fashionistas. Designers are being asked to incorporate 'found' objects into the clothing. Ever witnessed a pop bottle cap vest strutting down the runway? Or a model sporting real headlights? This could be the year.

The fashion show has sold out

Here's a stretch of road that could use some real help. West Delavan Avenue, from Main Street to Delaware Avenue could, and should, be altered to become pedestrian and bike friendly. If you think about it, this is the connection between Canisius College and the Elmwood Commercial District. The four car lanes could be downsized to two. The elimination of roadway would mean that a sidewalk could be added to the north side of the street that runs along Forest Lawn Cemetery. Bike lanes could also be added.

Why is this important? For so long Canisius College (see dorms in photo) has been

Update on 120 South Park from Tim Tielman:

"By next Wednesday an engineer and an architect will have gone through the building. An engineer already has done exterior survey, and submitted an affidavit that the building is in no danger of collapse; some minor masonry work which might take a crew one day to accomplish is all that needs to be done. Unfortunately, the owner seems determined to continue the steps toward demolition; a crew is there now disconnecting subsurface utilities. Presumably they have city permits

Although the Hydraulics neighborhood continued to thrive into the twentieth-century, by the mid-1900s, the area faced increasing economic difficulties.  Like the city of Buffalo as a whole, job loss, declining population and the aging of the transportation infrastructure began to cripple the Hydraulics neighborhood.

Times were quickly changing in Buffalo during the post-World War II era.  By the 1940s and 50s, the city's railroads and factories, which had been constructed nearly a century earlier, were rapidly aging and becoming obsolete.  Buffalo also suffered from a series

A Flock of Seagulls, The Romantics, Dramarama, When in Rome, Animotion and Gene Loves Jezebel... that's the line-up for the Hello Yesterday concert being presented at LaSalle Park on September 18th. Not a bad line-up for LaSalle Park, the city's premiere outdoor concert venue. It's an all-day concert event that also features a lip sync concert of course. The posters are around town and the buzz is starting. We've seen a lot of rock, blues and jazz this summer - now it's time to go back in time to the land of new wave hairdressers and power pop, featuring