Love it or hate it, the new Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino is coming.  Officials from Seneca Gaming Corporation gathered to officially kicked-off work on the $130 million project last week and revealed further details of what visitors can expect when the casino opens next year. 
"We believe the new Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino will add to the overall energy and excitement taking shape in the Inner Harbor area," said Robert Mele, Chairman, Seneca Gaming Corporation. "Thanks

One of my favorite community gardens is located on the corner of West Utica and 15th Street on the city's West Side. The mural found at the garden is dedicated to one of the founding members of People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) Ray Jackson. Ray was known as "The Voice of PUSH". The piece was painted by a local artist by the name of Risk, and acts as a backdrop to the Good Neighbors Garden - a garden that is highly visible due to its corner location. I found the following wording

It was back in December that I first wrote about the coming of Taj Grill. Yet it was only last night that I finally got an opportunity to try it. Seeing that I'm a big fan of Indian food, I was excited to eat at an entirely new Indian restaurant. Although many Indian restaurant menu's may appear to be similar, the subtle spice variations between chefs can either make or break a visit. Fortunately, my first time visiting Taj Grill will not be my last. First off, the place looks great. Taj is a bit more upscale, and offers plenty

This morning I received an email from a BRO reader who pointed me to an article in the Toronto Sun. The article brought up an interesting idea that revolves around a joint Toronto-US city bid for the Olympics in 2024. Toronto councillor James Pasternak pointed out that, ""Geographically Buffalo and Toronto are pretty close. Detroit and Chicago would be other options as well." The reason that Pasternak is even pondering the thought of a joint bid is due to the lack of visitors to Olympic cities in

Each year stargazers get together to party on top of the Buffalo Museum of Science. The Star Light event draws both experts and novices together to learn about the solar system while mingling with others and enjoying cocktails in a setting that is unlike any other. Star Lights is also attended by the Buffalo Astronomical Association - a group that helps observers to pinpoint objects in the sky using both telescopes and the naked eye. Best of all, the Star Lights fundraiser helps to raise operating money for one of the city's greatest natural assets - Tifft Nature Preserve. Buffalo is very unique

I thoroughly enjoyed attending Artists and Cyclists last evening in Allentown. What I liked most about the event was the interaction between the organizers and the business owners. Each business located within the event boundaries (Allen Street between Franklin and Delaware) came up with a unique twist to play off of the celebration. Allen Street Dress Shop incorporated live mannequins into their window display - one of them was riding a bike.

Work to stabilize the historic Bosche Building located at 918 Main Street near Allen has finally begun.  A hole in the City-owned building's roof had steadily grown in recent years and many feared the building would collapse due to neglect or fall under an emergency demolition.  The City received grant funding through the Restore New York program to stabilize and restore the building's façade.

Greenleaf & Co. is seeking

Gone are the days of the Elmwood Lounge. Well, sort of. The new owner of the restaurant, Mike Milkie, is in the process of updating the interior while keeping the familiar retro lounge much as it was. "These days it's all about the food," Mike told me as he paged through a scrapbook filled with photos of his past restaurant endeavors. "There was a time when I ran ten restaurants at once in Buffalo. I look back at all of this history and think to myself, "Did I really do all of that?"". He did. He did "All of that" and more. I stopped Mike as he paged to a photo of himself standing beside

In less than two weeks, the Brown Administration expects to decide which development team will be given rights to build on the City-owned Webster Block.  Ellicott Development and Castle Mosey are proposing a project consisting of a 140-room hotel, 42 apartments, 110,250 sq.ft. of office space, 8,600 sq.ft. of retail space and parking for 1,089 cars. 

The Sabres owner Terry Pegula is proposing a complex that includes a larger, 200-room hotel, retail and restaurant

Starting Friday night, August 10th the Western New York Offshore Powerboat Association's (WNYOPA) annual Buffalo Poker Run will rumble into the Buffalo Harbor. This year is going to be one of the biggest turnouts ever for the Poker Run and over 80 power boats are expected to arrive from all over the the US and Canada, with over 300 participants vying for top prizes. Each year the number of boats has escalated, and the excitement surrounding the event has grown. This is an excellent way to shine a light on power boating opportunities

By Chelsea Butkowski:
464 Gallery's 4th annual members exhibition promises to ignite and illuminate the local art scene by honoring its' member artists in an entirely new way. Tonight, Friday, August 3, Gallery owner Marcus L. Wise will unveil the inaugural issue of a quarterly local arts magazine, Spark, alongside brand new works by the likes of members Max Collins, Chuck Tingley, and CHOW Art.
The ad-free Spark will showcase artistic talent, both literary and graphic. It will feature comprehensive stories

By Tivona Renoni:
As a part this month's First Fridays Allentown on August 3rd, GO Buffalo, the Allentown Association, and the Infringement Festival are hosting their first ever "Artists & Cyclists".  "Artists & Cyclists" will close down Allen Street to motor vehicles between Franklin and Delaware Avenues from 6-9pm. People are instead encouraged to walk, cycle, or take public transit to First Fridays art walk and Buffalo Infringement Festival events.  
In addition to making this portion of Allen Street safe for artists

As the Bills training camp progresses, there have been heartening signs all over the field, especially as many of the walking wounded are returning to full health.
Oft-sidelined center Eric Wood, who has been limited to individual drills during his slow, careful road to recovery, was finally taking snaps with the first team. Yes, he only took two, but it's still a sign things are progressing. Stud running back Fred Jackson is reporting no lasting effects from the broken leg that sidelined the 31-year-old's career best season in 2011 and Steve Johnson is running routes

By Todd C. Clark:
I hope everyone has noticed the number of news reports about pedestrians being seriously injured or even killed by cars lately. 
In my hometown of Lancaster, there have been several accidents this summer that have taken the lives of innocent pedestrians. The most recent accident being Monday morning when a 18 year old girl was fatally struck by a car while waiting for the bus on Broadway, near Penora. It is sad to see these stories when it is mostly a result of careless driving. 
After

One of the most underrated buildings in Buffalo's collection of great architecture is the General Mills building located at 54 Michigan Avenue on an isolated spit of land between the Buffalo River and the City Ship Canal.  Even though the building is visible from downtown Buffalo it is easy to miss among the tangle of grain elevators and the Skyway.  It is a wonderful mid century high rise factory that cannot be truly appreciated until you get up close and begin to see its wonderful subtle detail and streamlined forms.  This factory is of course the source of that wonderfully

The following was written by a Buffalonian who currently lives out in Las Vegas. He recently reached out to me to express his frustration at wanting to move back to Buffalo, and his inability to do so. He is a teacher with a family who tells me that in order to land a teaching job in Buffalo the schools are requiring him to be on-hand as part of the interview process. As you will read, that is something that is not possible for him to do. It always bothers me to hear that one of our own is attempting to move back, but can't manage to make it work. Here's the story that he tweaked in order

St. Luke's Mission of Mercy has received Buffalo Planning Board approval to construct the Gospa Village project, a complex serving single moms and their children.  Up to eighteen single-family homes will be constructed on vacant lots on the block bound by Oberlin Avenue, Walden Avenue, Ruhland Avenue and Sycamore Street across from the St. Luke's campus.  A shared educational and gathering space for residents is planned for Sycamore Street.  The Buffalo Common Council has approved the sale of 18 City-owned properties needed for the project.  Scheid

As I spend more time in the Larkin District these days I'm beginning to notice how visitors interact with Larkin Square. Of course it's great to see the Wednesday evening concert series roll in each week, but at the same time Larkin has figured out how to entertain visitors with the simplest sorts of attractions. One stroll around the square will reveal some of the different games and activities that are available for visitors to interact with. Take Hula hooping for example. Earlier today I came across a grandmother hooping

The City of Buffalo is currently footing the bill for repaving Main Street between Humboldt Parkway and Delavan Avenue. Crews have been working since last week to remove the worn out asphalt and are preparing to lay down some new lane markings today. Unfortunately, those new markings will not include bike lanes.
Any roads, new bridges, etc. in Erie County that are receiving federal money must be reviewed by the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC) for a number of different reasons, including an evaluation to see if bike lanes are feasible.

When kayaking or boating down the Buffalo River, what goes through your mind? Do you think of the industry that was built along the shores? Or the pollution that left it un-swimmable for so long? Maybe you think of the clean-up that is underway that will one day, in the near future, leave the waters a heck of a lot cleaner... maybe even swimmable. Me? Often times I think of what it must have been like when the Seneca Nation called Buffalo Creek this land home (and later the Buffalo Creek Reservation home). It must have been a magical sight to experience the pristine waters and lands. That's