By Mike Farrell:
Despite generations of acquired wisdom, life can still host a repetition of poor decisions.
Whether it's to drink a fifth of Canadian whiskey out of fruit bowl or lose a Bob Dylan song in the embers of a torched relationship, children have been ignoring their parents' advice against such acts for generations. They've heard stories of pain, stupidity or regret, then proceed to make the exact same mistake in the exact same situation. After enough of

Buffalo Sabres netminder Ryan Miller and The Steadfast Foundation will bring a little bit of country into the city with this year's edition of the Catwalk For Charity "Wrangling for a Cause." The event takes place at the Town Ballroom in downtown Buffalo at 6:00 p.m., on Sunday, December 4th.

As the title suggests, the sixth edition of the star-studded fundraiser is a country theme; sort of modern-day Nashville meets the Old West.  As with any event planned by Therese Forton-Barnes of Events to a Tee,

Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) has nominated the Erie Freight House to be designated a City of Buffalo landmark. According to PBN executive director Henry McCartney, "The Erie Freight House is an extremely significant building on the Buffalo River, a rare survivor of Buffalo's early industrial heritage that is incredibly important to our city."

Local preservation officials have been scrambling to save the condemned structure as rumors were flying that a buyer that has the site under contract was looking

Over two hundred young professionals were awed by the magnificence of the Statler last week. As Mark Croce continues to revive the downtown landmark, more and more organizations are flocking to the building to host their events. The Urban Land Institute's Young Leaders Group (YLG) of WNY brought 225 people into the building last week for networking, a tour and a history lesson.

Attendees were marveled by the improvements and continued work by Croce while enjoying the great offerings

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement ordering Samuel Kurz and Central Park Plaza, LLC, the Brooklyn-based owners of Central Park Plaza, to clean up the property that has become a dangerous blight in the heart of a Buffalo community. 

The 19-acre blighted property has been a neighborhood nuisance for many years.  Located at 129 Holden Street, Central Park Plaza was once a thriving property with many commercial tenants, but as a result of the failure of its owners

I moved back to Buffalo in 2006, and over the past 5 years, I've enjoyed the many new discoveries I've made about my hometown that I didn't know about it while growing up, or even during my time away from the area. Over those 5 years, Buffalo has delighted me over and over again with those new discoveries, and every now and then, it even surprises me ...in a good way. Discovering ="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;

For years we've talked about the disconnect between our collegiate/university students and their host neighborhoods. Campuses are built to retain students by offering them everything they need to get by without ever venturing into the city. Last week I spoke to a class at Buffalo State College and asked the students if they had ever heard of Sweet_ness 7 on Grant Street or ever ventured over to Amherst Street. None of them ever had, although they were genuinely happy to hear that there were destinations in both commercial districts that appealed to them. 
After visiting

As work continues at the Hotel Lafayette (see latest update), and developer Rocco Termini solidifies contracts with tenants, the hotel's in-house catering arm is getting underway. Marquis de Lafayette is made up of owners Bill and Molly Koessler (Acqua and Park Lane), a team that has been in the catering business for many years both in Buffalo and NYC. Along with Master Chef Joe Venezia (Executive Chef and Manager of Acqua), Bill and Molly are planning on elevating the city's catering

By now everyone has probably attended an ugly sweater party at one time or another. The crew at Campus Wheelworks has taken the concept of wearing ugly sweaters to a new level. Every day, from Black Friday to December 25, Campus owners and employees are required to wear different ugly sweaters to work. That means that they spend a lot of time thrifting for the 'baddest', ugliest sweaters around. Even the bike shop's mascot 'Handsome Dan' (the dog - photos below) gets into the action. "We have a lot of fun doing this," Co-Owner Ethan Johnson told me. "At some point during the day we all pose for

If you're planning on heading out and getting a Christmas tree this holiday season, please leave the axe at home. Urban Roots is teaming up with Riverkeeper, Grassroots Gardens and Olmsted Parks to, once again, offer up an alternative that can help your home, the city and our planet. Why not consider investing in a living tree? "Living trees improve the air quality of your home," says Patti Jablonski-Dopkin, General Manager of Urban Roots Community Gardening Center. "And eventually your community.  They absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen as well as mediate air temperature and

Each holiday season the Historical Society offers unique ways to give your favorite Buffalonians special gifts that tell the story of our city. This year our friends are featuring one day where you will find Buffalo-themed gifts including a number of Pan-American items. Local artisans will also be on-hand with additional wares. 
On that day, 20 local authors will be signing books - it's a great way to meet the experts who continue to publish on topics such as cooking, neighborhoods, children's books, regional and military history, novels and picturesque coffee-table books.

A while back I wrote about an unusual new house being built on Bird Avenue in the Elmwood Village (see post).  That story garnered a predictable set of pro and con views on the radically contemporary design (mostly pro).  Now we can unveil the finished product - inside and out.  The new house was built on the site of a house that had burned 10 or so years ago.  That house was taken down before this house was planned.  The burned house was basically a carbon copy of its still existing

It's 2011 and 'pond' hockey fever is finally taking hold. Instigated in years past by the Labatt tournament, and more recently fueled by the Buffalo Pond Hockey Committee, the outdoor winter sport, which had been virtually nonexistent, is alive and well in the city. Yesterday, committee members gathered at the Parkside Lodge in Delaware Park to build two skating rinks - one will be dedicated to hockey

In the last year, the Larkin Center of Commerce has made huge strides forward in the redevelopment of 701 Seneca. This week they celebrated their progress with a party featuring a lecture by one of the leading Larkin Company experts, Jerry Puma. He joked that when the Larkin family wants to know about their own history, they come to him.

The partnership between Jim Cornell, Peter Krog, and Gordon Reger has produced some incredible results at the massive complex. The most obvious transformation

The transformation of the Statler takes another step forward next week with the opening of a new club- Rendezvous.  Owner Mark Croce says the venue will be "the most spectacular niteclub Buffalo has ever seen." 

Workers are putting the finishing touches on the club prior to its debut Wednesday night.  The evening before Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest nights for local bars.  Rendezvous will be a big one.  The 12,000 sq.ft. club will have a capacity of over 600 patrons. 

The compromised Art Deco décor of the old Rendezvous room

Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Taylor Harding:
Clive Barker -- synonymous with horror and all things nightmarish -- started a new project in 2002. Barker wrote a young adult novel called Abarat. It is not a light whimsical tale but it is as close to it as anything that Clive Barker has written. It is a tale of a young girl, Candy, who hates her small, middle-American town. Yet, she is transported by a key to a world where hers was the past and there are islands that represent each hour of the day. There, she encounters

Tonight from 7-11pm, the Guerilla Gallery is hosting an event for a local art project featuring portraits of some of Buffalo's tattoo society. There will be food and musical entertainment provided by DJ Keith Harrington (PROJEX). 
Buffalo Brands is a local art project featuring the portraits of some of Buffalo's tattoo society. It is an expose of skin art culture revealing style, community, rebellion and flesh fashion. The project attempts to portray a sneak peak into the art under peoples' clothing from every walk of life and across Buffalo's vast neighborhoods. The art

As we gear up to hit all of our favorite shopping destinations this holiday season, don't forget to support the fledgling boutiques, restaurants and gift shops that are new to the city. It can be easy to fall into ruts when we all have our favorite places to purchase presents, but if you're not out there exploring, then you're going to miss out on some very unique items. Fierce Accessories has opened on Elmwood, and owner Junide Brice is excited to introduce her fashion accessories to an adventurous clientele looking for stylish trends ranging from interchangeable magnetic Miche bags to the latest

Fashion Maniac: Keeping tabs on Buffalo's fashion industry, including models, catwalks, retailers, designers, stylists, visual merchandisers and jewelers. 
The Vampire's Kiss: The Legend, The Myths, and The Fashion of Vampirism by Phillip D. Johnson Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who are said to subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless

Buffalo First! knows how tough it can be to be a small business. It also understands the importance of keeping your money circulating in the local economy - something that doesn't happen when you shop at a chain or (especially) on the Internet. If you must shop at a chain this holiday season, at least do it in person at a business that hires locally. But... if you really want to make a difference, and you want to support the local economy, why not start by attending one of the 'shop local' seasonal events coming to a neighborhood near you? 
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