Supporting the Elmwood Hotel
What will it take to see a hotel built at the corner of Forest and Elmwood? Will the hotel be built at all? Or will we one day see those corner houses naturally fall to the ground? And if that happened what would the neighborhood see instead of the Elmwood Hotel? These are the questions that we are trying to field on a daily basis. People wanting to know if this project is dead in the water, and if not, what is the holdup? Is this going to be another Buffalo Zoo debacle? Another black eye for Buffalo? Let's hope not.
The hotel developers have done just about everything possible to appease surrounding neighbors. They have bent over backwards to respect their concerns including lopping off an entire story from the proposed build. They have offered to help tenants find new retail space, offered to manage construction to make the neighbors happy, offered to time linen service delivery to curtail traffic, and offered to find overflow parking to minimize parking impact. They have continued to talk about design, while offering to work with immediate neighbors on the backyard treatments.
So where do things stand at this point in time? In court. The lawsuit that was filed alleges among other things that the city rushed the environmental review process, which the city strongly refutes. The group is in front of Judge Sconiers later this month (the 22nd). When I asked hotel developers what could be done to offer support for the hotel, there answer was simple. Continue to spread the word that this is a good project for the city. The defendants were taken back when the suit was filed and would like to know that the community does indeed want this project to move forward.
Talk the talk and walk the walk. If you think the hotel is a good idea then be vocal in a supportive manner. Bring up the issue at block clubs, association meetings, etc. I support the hotel because I believe it will be great for Buffalo.
Would this hotel really be such a nightmare on Elmwood?
It could be a nightmare if Hans Mobius brings bigfoot with him to the Elmwood Strip...
Then again think of the potential tourist draw...
I live several blocks from the corner of Elmwood and Forest and I highly support this new hotel project. I see nothing but good associated with this project. It will benefit Elmwood area businesses and only enhance the neighborhood. There are some people who will NEVER be satisfied and are simply against everything or anything new proposed. Lets get this hotel built.
Lets get the hotel built! This will be the catalyst for the rebirth of the Forest Ave corridor; its time to turn Elmwood Avenue around the corner, and take it to Grant Street.
Please, please build this hotel. The developers were considerate of the local community during the planning process, and the result will be a substantial improvement over the decaying houses that currently occupy that corner.
As a property owner on Elmwood, I'm very supportive of this hotel.
I don't live in the city but I think this hotel is a great project. I've been inside those stores that will be torn down and although they are great, unique little shops, there's no reason they can't move and fill other vacant spaces along Elmwood or move onto Forest Ave which could really use a shot in the arm (the street is a little scary at night going westward past Elmwood)
It would definately help the surrounding businesses and restaurants to have out of towners staying right in the immediate area, not downtown or the 'burbs. Plus, the building is better looking than those ramshackle houses. This city will never move ahead and grow if we keep preventing new buildings from going up. Yes, it is good to be critical to make sure someone doesn't build some atrocity but at the same time, we have to more open-minded to new things instead of trying to preserve every last piece of architecture.
If you want a catalyst for the rebirth of Forest Ave, then the hotel should go around the corner and a couple of blocks west on Forest. I have to admit that I would miss the character of that block of Elmwood if a hotel was built there, and my only question during this debate has bee: why not around the corner on Forest Ave, across from the Richardson complex, closer to Grant (which needs the help)?
This is all about the wickedly selfish vendetta of one woman--the owner of Don Apparel, Nancy Polina.
She is pissed she is losing her dirt-cheap rent and someone else is going to get a chance to make this corner work. Despite the dirt-cheap rent she still ran a lousy business.
She feels it's her god-given right to be entitled to cheap rent to run her unambitious, dusty old shop, so she has to make the rest of Buffalo suffer by trying to hold up this project.
Nancy, drop the godamn lawsuit, suck it up, and if you want to continue to run your store paying cheap rent, move to a street with cheaper storefront rental rates. Stop holding up the rest of us and let someone else have a chance at making the corner of Elmwood and Forest shine.
I am all for this project, let it soar...
what suprises me is the owner of the property who stands to make a good buck on the deal is allowing that stupid sign to remain on his propertyu....remove it!
as to don apparel, does anyone actually go into that place?
There is a small group of about 5 people against this project. That is it! Everyone else is for it. Start building.
Nancy Polina doesn't even have a lease on this storefront. She, and all the effected businesses don't have any leases. They are all month to month! Are they complete idiots? What are they fighting for? Hans Mobius should evict them immediatly! and yes they ARE COMPLETE IDIOTS!!!
What's not to love?
- Privately financed
- Sensitive developers
- Increased tax revenue for the city
- Increased foot traffic for surrounding businesses
- Cooperative hiring of staff with Buff State
- Proposed upscale retail for this part of the strip
Essentially, this is a battle over simple economics and gentrification.
Nancy Polina and the other renters in the affected buildings have been able to sustain their businesses due to the low rents charged by Mr. Mobius. At the same time, they curse him for never improving the properties. Well, you can't have it both ways. Investing in the properties would have resulted in higher rents which I suspect would have limited the ability of these businesses to continue operations.
Secondly, the underlying tone of hotel opposition's argument has been "the destruction of the Elmwood vibe". Meaning that a gentrified, highbrow boutique hotel does not mesh with the existing fabric on Elmwood.
*WARNING, THREAD GRENADE ABOUT TO EXPLODE*
Actually, it does. Can we stop pretending as if the neighborhoods around Elmwood haven't gentrified? That it's some sort of cool hipster commune? Last time I looked, I couldn’t find too many houses in the neighborhood for under $150K while many are selling in the range of $250K and up. Every time I head down there, I see a lot of Moms in $400 outfits wheeling their Nardin educated kids around the expensive little shops. It’s pretty god damn fantastic that it’s happening too.
I hope that the area around Elmwood becomes a Yuppified morass of Starbucks and Patagonia shops. It would mean progress. It would mean that the HOD/Mondo/Don Apparel hipster crowd had moved on to another neighborhood. They would have begun to make their new home the cool and trendy place to be. It’s called gentrification folks, and it’s a good thing in moderation.
If you went to Chicago about ten years ago, Wicker Park was the abolute trendiest and hipster-fied spot in town. Cool little head shops, second hand clothing stores, underground music clubs, cheap beer, and cool lofty apartments. Guess what happened? The Yuppies thought it was cool too. They started renovating apartments, buying the bars, and converting those head shops into Williams Sonoma stores and cutting edge web design shops. MTV showed up and filmed a season of the Real World, lofts went for $300K and the change was complete. What happened to the hipsters? They moved a few blocks up the street to Bucktown and the Ukranian Village and turned those miserable ghetto neighborhoods into the next cool spot. Rinse, repeat.
Let's quit bitching and follow Savarino's lead in finding common sense solutions for all involved.
I cannot see why Mobius hasn't already evicted everyone in those houses. Surely the new owners won't accept transfer until the places are empty. They'd be long gone, if I were the seller.
The location is great for a hotel. Right in the middle of the Shopping, Museum District and Delaware Park. As someone who works in the tourism industry here in Buffalo. We have had several requests for a hotel near the musuems and shopping in this city. When the hotel is completed, we will finally have tourists stay over night or two in this part of town...How great that will be!
I can't understand why anyone would not want a hotel on Elmwood. It's one of the most unique avenues in this city. Just about the only street to go shopping right now, and offers art galleries and museums. This is a tourist destination.
Out of towners bring in out of town $$$ to this area.
BUILD THE HOTEL
Build this hotel now!
If those businesses want dirt cheap rent, then there is a street just a few blocks away that is filled with dirt cheap rent. Its called Grant Street and Im sure that Guercio's would love some neighbors.
Say isnt their a Connecticut Street Business Association and a Grant Street Business Association. Is their a Niagara Street Business Association? Why dont they invite these businesses? Their small and they have low profit margins but they would increase needed foot traffic in those business districts and add to the diversity.
KEEP UP THE PRESSURE FOR QUALITY DESIGN AND QUALITY BUILDING MATERIALS BUT GET THIS THING BUILT SO WE CAN THEN START THE CONFERENCE CENTER (FOR B-P, A-K, BUFFSTATE, CANISIUS & MEDAILLE).
I would have thought the construction on the hotel and B-P would have started in 2006. Whats the delay?
Thank you to Queenseyes for a posting on this topic. I own and reside in a home on Ashland Avenue between Bird and Forest, the area directly affected by this hotel if there is such an area. I could not support this hotel more vehemently if I tried. A part of the reason that I purchased a home in this area of the city was in the hope that this block of Elmwood would see some great progress in the near future. I believe that the proposed hotel is integral to that possibility. I sincerely hope that the developers weather this legal storm. I also hope they know that the VAST majority of Village residents support this great project. It is truly a shame that a small minority of self serving people are trying to derail such a positive development that could certainly become a great catalyst for future growth, especially in that long neglected block of Elmwood. If it will make any difference, I just wrote an email to mailbox@savarinoconstruction.com. Pleeeeease build it soon. I hope we can get an update in regard to this selfish lawsuit after the June 22 court date. Hopefully it will be found to be without merit and quickly dismissed.
I strongly support this Hotel. Build it as the original five story plan.
We live in a CITY. Those opposed should pack up and move to suburbia. Cities are inherently change driven and about diversity.
We are talking about one of the most diverse strips in the city. A Hotel would only complement this. It's actually something that is missing on Elmwood.
This is why people lose hope in Buffalo. Serious, this lawsuit should be thrown out of court immediately. Usually I admire those who are willing to stand up and fight, not in this case this is nonsense. The benefits far out way any personal ideology of those bringing the lawsuit.
Ditto to everyone above...and right on Geek!
i also live right around the corner and i feel just as everyone else does. i think it is a great thing for elmwood and the city.
honestly, i still think the SE corner of Delavan and Elmwood (the gas station across from ETS) is a better location for this type of investment, and the design is less than spectacular...but with that being said this project needs to happen. here's to common sense!
Nancy Polina...
I've given a few tours of Midtown recently to private investors. The place is ready take off. Artspace is breaking ground! Get in touch, I'll show you around...Mondo, too!!!!!
another vote for the hotel here. i own a home 3 blocks from the proposed hotel. --my neighbors who i have discussed this with are all for it too. in fact i don't know anybody who is against it. the only people i know of are the six people on tv a while back walking around with signs spelling hans mobius backwards - and if that is any indication of their argument, how is it that this isn't getting thrown out of court?
The lawsuit is a joke...BUILD IT. Polina represents what was 'old Buffalo.' She could find space elsewhere for comparable rent off Elmwood...for a business that falls very short of being a catalyst for economic growth. The hotel will deliver an instant facelift to one of the weaker sections of the Elmwood Village...and deliver regional/national and even international exposure to the same...not to mention an instant eating, drinking, shopping audience to the strip. Move on Nancy... there 's plenty of time to get settled into a new location before Halloween!
Lawsuits are expensive aren't they? I could think of other ways a small business owner could spend their money. So, to sum up, th e project is on hold pending the results of the 6/22 court date. (?)
Oh, onemore comment, there's no mention of who the developers are and how to contact them with e-mails of support. Another idea, circulate a petition, either paper or on-line, in support of the project and send it to the developers.
PLease give us a way to contact the developer and voice our support.
3824 signatures opposing demolition by Pano of the Atwater House.
110 signatures opposing the hotel.
A pro-hotel petition would no doubt draw more signatures than the anti hotel petitiion.
I hope the lawsuit opposing the hotel fails in court.
I also hope that the business owners opposing the hotel find other spaces to rent on Elmwood or nearby.
The hotel will be a very positive addition to the neighborhood.
Jefferson, the developers are keeping an eye on this thread. But you are right. I will ask if there is an email address that they would like to make available to supporters of the project.
Please build the hotel. Buffalo has come to a point where there should be a law put in place to prevent lawsuits from being carried out that impede development, when the project is so beneficial to the community as a whole. Does anyone know if other cities have something in place that prevent this ridiculous antidevelopment movement. I am so tired of hearing a development project to be followed by many months of antidevelopment lawsuits in our judicial system. I could understand in some situations but in this particular case Ms. Polina is wrong. She is standind in the way of the rebirth of Buffalo, the neighborhood is changing...for the better. Her rent that was stuck in the 80's has not progressed like the surrounding neighborhood. She would be a nice addition to main street but elmwood has simply passed her by. If I was the landlord in this situation I would have evicted her the day that disrespectful sign went up on her property that she rents not owns. Lets hope the developer builds the original 5 story hotel that was originally planned. Does anyone know when they plan to break ground? Hopefully this summer!
The developer is Savarino Companies. You can contact them at:
www.savarinocompanies.com
mailbox@savarinoconstruction.com
Phone: 332-5959
Fax: 332-5968
Would the developer be open to distributing Pro-Hotel window/lawn posters (much like the anti-Casino signs that are found throughout the neighborhood?) I'd proudly display a "Elmwood Hotel Now" sign, and I'm sure hundreds of homeowners and businesses would follow suit.
I find it ironic that the owner of Don Apparel does NOT even live in the city! Wow - maybe Nancy Pollina should move her business to where she lives? (Colden from what I have heard)
I feel that this is wasting my tax dollars to have a judge listen to this case.
And who are the 100 signatures? Maybe she caught the people leaving the bars at 4:00 to sign her petition?
Anyway - build the hotel - it will be fantastic for Elmwood Avenue and the City! I Love the plans - I love the location - I love the idea of having my family being able to stay there when they visit from out fo town!
Three cheers to Savarino for staying with it and putting their money into our City!!! THANK YOU!
Cook wrote, "Buffalo has come to a point where there should be a law put in place to prevent lawsuits from being carried out that impede development"
Actually the law (Article 78) under which a citizen can file a suit against the government is a New York State law and the City cannot pass a law to undo a New York State law. (Note - I am not a lawyer but this is fairly obvious).
I believe it is a very good thing that citizens can sue to stop developments undertaken or endorsed by a municipality. Too bad it does not happen more often; most people do not have the resources to hire a lawyer to stop a project. There are plenty of projects that should have been stopped - too numerous to mention here.
The now much heralded project at Virginia and Main was made possible because Tim Tielman (Campaign for Greater Buffalo) sued to stop demolition of the wonderful buildings. The Squier House at 1313 Main Street was saved from demolition. The Erie Canal's Commercial Slip is being saved because of a lawsuit (Tim Tielman again).
One person's "good development" is another person's "bad development.
I hope that the lawsuit against the hotel fails but I am very glad that we have laws that make that lawsuit possible.
leadi wrote, "I find it ironic that the owner of Don Apparel does NOT even live in the city! Wow - maybe Nancy Pollina should move her business to where she lives?"
True, Ms. Pollina does not live in Buffalo. And I disagree with her position on this issue.
But most people have no idea how much Nancy has worked to make Elmwood Avenue a better place. Nancy has, I suspect, done more volunteer gardening on Elmwood than anyone else, maybe as much as all the other volunteers combined. So when you enjoy the marvelous gardens at Elmwood and North, and Elmwood at Potomac think of Nancy. When you enjoy the hanging baskets of flowers, know that Nancy started that project.
She does not live in the City but has contributed more to it, I suspect, than most Buffalonians contribute to Colden!
And another comment, let's not personalize this issue and turn it into an "anti-Nancy Polina" issue. We don't need that. Ms. Polina has a vested interest in the community and as D. Stack pointed out, a legal right to protest.
Well put Jefferson. Although I disagree with the lawsuit, I recognize the right to file.
Just wish she didn't..
I was walking right around there about 2 weeks ago and, besides Don Apparel, only the houses on Forest immediately behind the corner house have signs indicating their opposition to the Hotel. Has someone from Forever Elmwood spoken with the owner of Don Apparel about relocating? Obviously, a lot of her business comes from Buffalo State so she needs to be close to the school. Is there a storefront on Forest that's available? What about the building on Forest that was mentioned in Newell's story the other day? If she gets a suitable, affordable relocation, most of her opposition will go away. She gather a lot more illwill, and suffer for it business-wise, by causing this project to delay for a long period or for the project to be abandoned. What is such a big obstacle that this can't be resolved?
Perhaps Nancy is just OVERWHELMED by the idea of moving her business that has SO MUCH INVENTORY!!!!!
Maybe we need to put together a volunteer group of people that have enjoyed all of her Elmwood gardening efforts, etc & help her!
I really think if those businesses moved just around the corner to Forest, it could be a serious WIN/WIN situation!
that corner is the epitome of the old elmwood that struggled so much through the late eighties and nineties. it at best can be described as a corner for used clothes, bongs and porn. not that i have a problem with any of those items... anyway, its a classic example of the hippies keeping that end of elmwood down. i cant believe mobius is letting tenants who rent, dictate what occurs on his property. Hey hans- i am an attorney and i will evict them for you free of charge! i live in the village and its time it classed itself up a bit. we need owners like room, toro le metro etc that are full time and committed to improving elmwood. not just some part time hobbyists who want to have a perennial garage sale.
ideally it would have been nice if the hotel were located in a vacant spot. But I can see where people would have also complained if it were built on the empty Richardson corner. "They're destroying parkland!" The gas station is UGLY, but then it's a great location for a gas station and would hate to see that go.
developers can only build where the land is available for purchase anyway. It's easy to say "it would be better over THERE" but if the land over THERE isn't for sale, then it's a moot point.
The fact that the developers have gone out of their way to alleviate local concerns is really what won everyone over. It's a sign that they want to add to the neighborhood and become part of it. (unlike the casino developers that answer people's concerns with Threats)
The fact that it can be a real pain in the ass to build in vibrant cities scares away alot of big companies. Cheers to Wyndham and Savarino for strongly sticking with it and pursuing this project.
In the 'burbs it's easy to build lowest common denominator crap because it's a built environment people tend not care about unless it's on their own street.
Hopefully the judge hearing this stupid lawsuit has atleast half a brain and throws this out of court right away.
Build the hotel already!!
The Don Apparel woman should just move those dusty, old, moth-filled items over to the vacant building where Plate-O was if she likes that corner so much.
Build the hotel !
A minor thing also to consider is that there would be less drunk driving if a hotel was there. There are a bunch of bars, similar to a smaller Allentown or Chippewa, but no hotels.
Other benefits include spurring growth of Buff State as well as possibly increasing interest in the old Asylum (a highly unique piece of history).
I'm still waiting for STEEL to tell me how I should think.
Where are you David S?
Dont forget that this section of town needs a conference center with Buffalo State, Medaille, Canisius, Bristol Myers Factory, A-K and B-P all in such close proximity.
They should be starting the demolition NOW! No one has really explained the holdup. It cant be the lawsuit? Is it really the lawsuit? Their month to month....the eviction notices should have gone out in March.
Yes Dan Sack - Nancy has done quite a bit for ELmwood and the gardens and has done a great job at those.
I do not get the " I won't budge without a legal fight" attitude..there is no lease, the buildings are and have been in disrepair for many years (since my MOM went to Buff state!!!) and an available space right around the corner that Paul Johnson owns and is willing to get some good tenents in there asap.
For a previous comment about Don Apparel being "overwhelmed By moving so much inventory"...how about they do what every other business does when moving??? have a "Moving Sale"? It is standard practice...again - why so much resistance from Don Apparel? It should not take volunteers to help her move or sell her stuff...that is the business owner's responsibility. I have yet to hear about another business on Elmwood looking for "volunteers" to help with their Business and there have been several business relocations over the past year that I can think of.
If Don Apparel spent half as much time looking for a space, running a sale and moving into a new location as she is making childish signs and holding protests for about 10 people, and waging legal battles, then her business might be doing fantastic right now.
Let me ask - why would any business owner WANT to keep their business in a building that is literally falling apart at the seams? Particularly when there are GREAT landlords like Paul Johnson looking to rent nice space right around the corner?
We don't need some snooty "upscale" new chain hotel on Elmwood Avenue. There's already the locally owned Travellodge Motel on Main Street, and plenty of small motels along Niagara Falls Boulevard, which have much more character than some sterile chain hotel owned by outsiders who could care less about Buffalo.. Boutique hotels are just a passing fad, anyhow. Buffalo must keep it real!
(rolleyes)
This hotel is a fantastic idea. Currently, when my family/friends come to visit, they have to stay on Chippewa (not exactly the most older people-friendly night spot), Main (not the best night spot at all), or a few other scattered locations, but they can't stay in their favorite spot in Buffalo--Elmwood! This is a perfect location for a hotel, and while I like the idea of putting it further down on Forrest to benefit Grant St. as well, I understand that a developer might not be as keen on investing there. This lawsuit won't hold things up forever--if the developer filed an environmental impact statement, which they should have if they had any sort of good legal advice, then there's nothing to worry about.
But for those people who were advocating eviction of the tenants, they could still sue even if they were evicted and it would only give them greater standing grounds that they have already been impacted financially by the development. So they may as well stay until a judge dismisses the suit or finds in the developer's favor, or in a worse-case scenario, until the judge orders the developer to file an EIS and they do so (could take a while if that's the case). Can anyone find out what the specific grounds are for the lawsuit (no EIS filed or just disagreement w/ the EIS' conclusions)?
And I love the idea of signs and a petition to show our support, so the project moves forward even with this holdup.
"There's already the locally owned Travellodge Motel on Main Street"
um, frankly, you'd have to pay me to stay there: are you serious?
Besides which, that's not exactly walking distance to the Elmwood/Forest intersection. And that goes double for Niagara Falls Blvd, most of which isn't even in Buffalo, technically.
I'm not concerned about the lawsuit, it will likely fail. As for the delay, I'm not sure we're in some huge hurry or anything. "This too shall pass..."
eac - didn't see the eyeroll?
And what's wrong with places that have monthly, weekly daily, and hourly rates? ;)
Ah, the "eye-roll..." My bad.
I interpreted it literally rather than sarcastically- it could fairly have been either. This can be a difficult medium for inflection & subtlety.
Though a basic command of html tags (largely unknown among commenters in my observation,) really helps.
And to validate your observation, I have NO command of of html tags.
Ignorance is bliss, and in this case, I am a pretty happy guy.
I would give you a crash course, but, not all tags are enabled for comments- in particular, the ones I need to show tags without them being active.
But I think they're worth knowing: Ignorance is sometimes simply ignorance- a limitation to be exceeded.
Enough so that I've asked Schneider Digital about having examples set in the sidebar by the comments.
In the short term, the comments section at this site has the sort of thing I've asked S.D. to add- scroll though the comments to the section where you add your own. All you really need are the tags for italics, bold, and links, though strikethrough, underline and
can be useful, too. Use the preview window to see if yours are working before sending- that's what it's there for, in fact.Ah, well- strikethrough and underline are also disabled, it seems, though they do show up in the preview window. Odd.
One can get by with the four that work, though.
I would definitely put a support the hotel sign up if one existed!
lol dan, your right, lets just pull out the mothballs again and put buffalo away for another 30 years...
...travel lodge, as if!
Meredith wrote:
"This lawsuit won't hold things up forever--if the developer filed an environmental impact statement, which they should have if they had any sort of good legal advice, then there's nothing to worry about."
Well, the City waived the requirement for an EIS, which is the basis for the lawsuit.
The City accepted the development plan, modified the zoning, and waived the need for an extensive EIS.
Buffalo's Common Council, Planning Board, Mayor of Buffalo, Byron W. Brown, Savarino Construction Services Corporation, Hans J. Mobius and his son Hans S. Mobius owners of the properties at stake, Pano Georgiadis, owner of Pano's Restaurant on Elmwood, and Cendant Corporation, the parent company of Wyndham Hotels are among those named in the suit., which can be found here.
"
Pollina et al. v. Common Council of the City of Buffalo et al., Index No. I-2006-3885 is seeking annulment of the City of Buffalo's rezoning and site plan approvals for the hotel. The complaint is based on the following:
If the case is heard in court and a continuance provided or injunction delivered, the entire process could drag out for 6-12 months.
Is this the message we want to send to developers? That a privately funded project that undergoes a transparent and community oriented review process has no chance of success due to the influence of 6 or 7 people?
Just wondering if anyone here sees the irony of demolishing a Six Nations/Native American tax paying gift shop on the corner of Elmwood and Forest for the sake of an arts and croissants hotel, while at the same time bemoaning the demolition of an abondoned eyesore, in a nowhere section of the city.
As a Seneca and a resident of the Elmwood Village for over twenty years the "no tell motel" is a horrible idea.
Any updates?
"I have to admit that I would miss the character of that block of Elmwood if a hotel was built there, and my only question during this debate has been: why not around the corner on Forest Ave, across from the Richardson complex, closer to Grant (which needs the help)?"
What a great question. WHY does this hotel just have to be built so close to one of the most upscale residential neighborhood in Buffalo? It just doesn't make any sense to me. Where else in Buffalo are they selling houses for 250k? Does it make any sense to DECREASE the value of the homes that surround that property, all in an effort to "improve" Buffalo? Move the project a few blocks down Forrest and we can improve ANOTHER block of Buffalo.
I can't believe I missed this article. I am utterly shocked by the amount of people who are supporting this project.
We HAVE one of Buffalo's best neighborhoods in Elmwood Village. And why do you think that is? Welp, I've lived here for 6 years and I feel that our hood consists of people who love this city . For the majority of us who actually LIVE here, I see people who support local businesses everyday. Building some hotel will absolutely ruin the charm of Elmwood--the same charm that brings people HERE! It's bad enough we have Starbucks, Burger King, and Subway in our area of town. A funky little bed and breakfast would have been a better plan, IMHO.
If I wanted to live in a cookie cutter, suburban neighborhood, I'd go move there!