If you had $50,000 to invest in the city...

I'd spend it on Valley Forge Elm trees. Most resistant to Dutch Elm Disease.

I'd work with Re-Tree WNY to plant them along Fillmore to finish the Olmsted system.

Actually with $50,000 you could first connect MLK park to Caz Park and Porter to Symphony Circle. I'd say start there because those trees don't really have that many trees.

Then the rest of the money could be put into filling in elm trees in other parts of the park system.

Broken window theory. I know.

$50,000 cash? You could leverage that into a mortgage for at least a $250,000 property (or combined purchase price and rehab loan), I would assume.

I would look for a neighborhood where the investment would make a big difference. That's a bit of a balancing act. Some neighborhoods are so far gone you would be throwing money down a hole. Some thriving neighborhoods don't really need the investment, so you wouldn't be getting as much bang for your buck. But in other neighborhoods, just getting a few houses out of the hands of an out-of-state slumlord could make an enormous difference for that block. Or fixing up a commercial building and getting a good tenant could provide some positive momentum for a whole neighborhood.

good question, for that amount of money I think I would work on sometime similar to Greg's comments. You could get a lot of trees for that kind of money, or maybe strip a bike lane or two. Something near the city's edge to show that work is being done and the city in investing money into itself. Colvin Avenue entering the city is one of the ugliest sights around. But you clean up the street, open up some of the sidewalks to plant trees, add in bike lanes and you could turn around the image of the city for thousands of travelers.

Flip houses in North Buffalo.

One big problem with the housing market in Buffalo is that too many homes have been the victim of botched "improvements" (dropped ceilings, vinyl siding, decorative iron, etc), or they haven't been updated since the 1950s. I've even seen some otherwise gorgeous houses in North Buffalo with the original 1920s kitchens, and they looked rough. Very few houses in Buffalo are in move-in condition, even in the most desirable areas.

Buy a house, update it, flip it, take the profits and buy another, update that, sell it, take the profits and buy another ...

Dan, I would support your notion if by "flip" you mean "remove the dropped ceilings, vinyl siding, decorative iron, etc." If you just mean tear out the old kitchen and put in granite counter tops, I'm less impressed.

I may be kind of unusual in this respect, but I would be a bit intrigued by an intact 1920s kitchen (assuming it had been well-maintained). We looked at a ranch house in the Pan-Am neighborhood that had an intact 1950s kitchen with copper tile splashback, and built-in AM radio and pull-out toaster! We didn't buy it but it certainly made it a memorable house.

jsmith> Dan, I would support your notion if by "flip" you mean "remove the dropped ceilings, vinyl siding, decorative iron, etc." If you just mean tear out the old kitchen and put in granite counter tops, I'm less impressed.

I'm talking about reversing the botched improvements.

A problem with 1920s kitchens is that they lack storage and countertop space. It's possible to give a modern kitchen a 1920s feel with a copper countertop and Arts and Crafts-style cabinetry, lighting and hardware.

Update: Seven friends and I put together $100,000 a piece to set-up a foundation to support grass-roots community projects. We are in the process of submitting the IRS-1023 paperwork and other forms, which is going to cost us about $15,000 in legal fees. We figure the $800,000 in starting funds should allow us to provide a pretty decent allocation for grants and donations each year. Thanks for the suggestions, I really liked the idea of funding the replanting of trees. One of my friends is very active in revitalizing the Scajacuada Creek, so we might start there.

Let me know if you have more suggestions.

@Sho'nuff

That's great what you and your friends are doing. Best of luck!

i would get a tent market started on the waterfront development outer harbor to feature vendors from craft , to fresh produce similar to the Broadway Market. Then, once it started bringing people to the area I would start a Drum circle like they have in Asheville, NC every Friday in the summer When people start to come things start to grow.

I also would model the open market after the one in Ssvannah, Ga on the waterfront. Then i would invite the Broadway Market to the Outer Harbor and call it Broadway market on the Lake. Like Broadway on the Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC.

I'd give it to the guys who run a program called SENSES offering at-risk Buffalo East Side youth a chance to lear useful toks, develop good values, traits and etiquette.

I grew up there myself and if you just get the right chances along the way you can transcend your neighborhood-related challenges / obstacles toward growth and abright future.

Mike Weekes

If I had all that excellent monies I would take all the retarded people out to a movies.
Then I wouldn't pick them up becaud I'd be drinkin all the weally good stuff on Chipeewa!

If I had all that excellent monies I would take all the retarded people out to a movies.
Then I wouldn't pick them up becaud I'd be drinkin all the weally good stuff on Chipeewa!

I'd probably use 20K of it to subsidze start-up costs for a few new vendors in the downtown area so they could open stores up which would attract people after 5pm.

The other 20k would go to the Naval Park to be used for the upcoming drydocking of the USS The Sullivans.

We received our approval and letter of determination from the IRS earlier this week, just a few days after one of us lost her job at HSBC. She is moving to Boston to find a new job, she isn't even going to try to make a go of it in Buffalo anymore.

The remaining five of us are going to lunch today to decide if this is even worth it. We are not sure if we can really make a difference in Buffalo or if it would be better to keep our personal share and move away like our friends. I am really beginning to think that they might be right when they say the grass is greener in other cities. I'll let you know what happens..

I am interested as to what happened, it’s not every day you find a group of people who are willing to use that sort of money. That being said I wish I was here early to suggest the following:
That sort of money could go a long way in reworking some of the old terminal buildings in the central terminal complex, or you could buy one of the grain elevators. I would recommend you put a server farm in a grain elevator.

my vote would be for a small business incubator, i would like to see a few more places like the elmwood collective around the area

Use it to get donors to match the funds, to expand hours and programs at local Boys&Girls clubs. I'm not affiliated right now, but have worked in B&GC in the past, and when I looked at Buffalo's budget for its 6 centers, it was pretty low, especially after a lot of federal funding was eliminated. The yearly budget of just one of these centers is half a million. You could double the amount of service on the West Side easily.

It reallly depends on whether the money is used to be spent or used for investment. If for spending, just find a project you like (such as planting trees) and go and do it. As long as it's a benefit for the public, I see nothing wrong, and lot's of right.

Using this apporach, you could also "invest" in the people -- use the money to train kids on basic landscaping so that they learn something interesting, AND you get neighborhood improvement. Always look to keep your costs a low as possible and leverage the money you have to do two or three things at once.

So -- if it's trees you like, try to get the trees as cheaply as possible, see if you can get volunteers to plant them and care for them after planting, and try to get donations to do more of it. Get kids to help you (free labor) in exchange for the training. Get them to research what are the best species for the area, the best ways to plant them, and so on, and it becomes a project. Soon, you will find that the money lasts a long time, and you start getting some donations, some in cash, some in kind, and the project just keeps growing. Apply for a grant and you have a small business started!

The other way to spend money is to invest it. I'll bet that some of the best success stories in Buffalo started on less than $100,000. How much did Five Point Bakery need to get started? How much to open an organic nursery? In Cheektowaga, there is a British shop named the best in the US, and they sell meat pies. It couldn't have been that much to start it.

Good luck!

nice one

Update: There are only five of us now, with a total investment of $475,000. We are just waiting on the IRS to give us their blessing. Our primary focus, this week, is the waterfront. We'll see how easy it is to work with the city and ECHDC.

If I singularly had $50,000 to spend in Buffalo, I would like to purchase one of the remaining homes on Coe Place and begin renovation of the property.

Oddly enough, this street has fallen off of the radar and I know it still requires more attention; I suspect there may very well be five homes on this street in need of rehab and my five colleagues could help to rejuvenate this unique street.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/JNYue0Os55A?rel=0

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I would start EV stations around town. Not only for electric car charging but for all electronics. Stop and charge have a coffee and sandwich and charge up enough to get home. Using wind turbine power or solar energy CHARGATUNITY. Ok when do I get the $50,000.

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/the-sleekest-coolest-parking-garages.html

we need this type of parking garage

I would purchase a series of billboards viewable on expressways heading out to the burbs. I would show a historically significant house in North Buffalo priced around 200K than equally priced homes in the burbs, with the caption: "You could have twice the house, with twice the character in Buffalo, for the same price as a home in the suburbs."

Change the Buffalo home for sale every other week.

This would be especially effective during snow storms and traffic jams.

good

we have a billion dollar incentive package, why cant we get this? 1 billion vs. 12 million?

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Apple Inc. is investing $304 million in a new campus and more than doubling its workforce in the Texas capital, boosted by a $21 million incentive from a state fund designed to attract high-tech companies, Gov. Rick Perry said Friday.

The investment from the Texas Enterprise Fund comes in exchange for a promise that Apple will add more than 3,600 employees at its new facility in Austin over the next decade, including customer support, sales and accounting staff, Perry said.

"Investments like this further Texas' potential to become the nation's next high-tech hub," the governor said in a statement.

Already the world's most valuable company, Apple's market capitalization topped $500 billion this month and remains above that mark — rarefied air that only a few firms, including rival Microsoft and Exxon Mobil Corp, have ever exceeded.

"Our operations in Austin have grown dramatically over the past decade, from less than 1,000 employees in 2004 to more than 3,500 today," said Steve Dowling, a spokesman for the Cupertino, Calif., company.

This week, Apple unveiled its new iPad, featuring a sharper screen and faster processing chip, though the added features mean the tablet computer is slightly thicker and heavier than its predecessor, iPad 2.

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I would hire experts to devise a plan to shrink the city with control. The city had a plan when it grew, it needs a plan while it shrinks. It is going to shrink if we have a plan or not. We need to lay out a plan so shrinking can be a benefit, not blight.

I'm looking for an investor for an early learning center (daycare) and have been daydreaming about one on the waterfront for years! Let me know if you have done any projects yet!

well that's really good solution

I would create the proposed “Story of Buffalo” amenity, which should include what was to be in the also-proposed Great Lakes/Erie Canal Museum. As well, this Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society Museum, Jefferson Avenue Gallery, and Iron Island Museum, as well as suburban historical society museums should all have a working relationship with one another. (The various local history museums in the city of Rochester don’t talk to each other, nor the disability support agencies, for the most part). Furthermore, a bidder for the “children’s ‘experience’ museum” could and should be The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester.

It was also suggested that there be a “Cheerio’s Museum” on the Buffalo Harbor. General Mills should do this in one of the vacant grain elevators there and this should be similar to how Eastman Kodak in Rochester gave tours of their film making factory and processes there until the late 1980’s. As well, the contents of the former bicycle museum that closed in Orchard Park should go in with the Buffalo Transportation/Pierce Arrow Museum, which should also tell the story of the invention of the automobile and other auto parts in Rochester, the invention of the windshield wiper here, and the traffic signal in Syracuse, as well as automotive manufacturing in all three cities. What was to be in the Great Lakes/Erie Canal Museum could also possibly be part of the existing Maritime Museum at the Francis G. Ward Pumping Station.

The proposed weather and architecture museums and a reopened Niagara Aerospace Museum could go to either the Buffalo Inner or Outer harbors, the Richardson Complex, or two sites in Niagara Falls, namely the remainder of the Rainbow Centre, the NFR land, and any other place in the USA Niagara Development territory. Moreover, the proposed Niagara Experience Center, which should the plans for the failed “Aquafalls” museum. Also, the Medina Historic Railroad should also be extended to Niagara Falls to the west and High Falls in Rochester to the east along the former New York Central Falls Branch right-of-way and should have scenic stops at the waterfalls in Lockport, Medina, and Albion as well.

Meanwhile, a museum for Presidents Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland could go in either of those three Buffalo locations. The DL&W Terminal, with the ticket halls rebuilt, could be home to one or more of the museums as well as other vacant industrial or warehouse structures on the Buffalo waterfront. Furthermore, the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame should include all of what was to be in “Fandemoneum” museum that did not see the light of day, as well as the closed Sports Museum of America, whose contents are in a locker in New Jersey and some of Canada’s sports memorabilia, and be part of a “trail’ of sports museums and halls of fame in and just beyond NYS. This could be located in either expanded space in the First Niagara Arena or elsewhere in Buffalo’s downtown or Inner Harbor area. Also, the International Sports Hall of Fame that was in the Sports Museum of America, should go to Rochester, along with a new National Soccer Hall of Fame that closed two years ago and whose contents are now across the country and part of U.S. Soccer. These can also be in this “trail” as well.

I would also change the current and proposed expressways and bridges to Canada, use on of NFTA's harbor terminals for another ferry to Canada, the other for a new home for the Buffalo Fire Museum, that would also be the home for the Edmund Cotter fireboat.

If I had $50,000:

First, I will visit the “CEO space” before deciding what to do. Once you’re there, you may have find more than $250,000 dollars.

If you are looking for real estate investment, that is the number 1 place you should be going before joining any partnership.

You may have to return a couple times to get yourself wet in the water. ( there is one fee, $15000 including hotels to stay there and conference lifetime at the first time. The second time you just need the hotel and food expense)
I have met the CEO of the CEO space, Berny Dorman, he is a brilliant and modest man. I met him in Chicago for another conference. (I never went to CEO space, but my friend went and he did not want to come back! )

So one night in Chicago, we all have a discussion the business direction for each individual present together. There was a great artist before me presneting her work to him - Water Art. While she was asking him for advice, it was an exhilarating conversation.

Then it was my turn, I go ahead and present him my ideas. Well... the only thing I had was a dozen glossy paper which I had my design on. So my first sentence to him started with, "Probably after you seeing her work, my art may ....." He look at me very very sterm, and he said with a great strength "Never NEVER put down your own ideas" – and I know he means it. After that, he tells me what direction my art should go. He has no judgment. I could not believe he was treating every business as a potential opportunity. Google him, he really loves what he does.

Now if $15,000 was used on the CEO forum, then $35,000 dollar would be used for launching my design and products. With CEO forum, to get investors, you will have to agree to pay them back with certain interests in 2 years periods of time. Of course, you go to CEO space, not just for investors. There are so many skillful people and connection to expand products and revenue - this is the most interesting thing why you go there for! One is – Home Shopping Networks!

Now for anyone, who never had any business, perhaps you can start with their videos on YouTube, it is free! :) I would not say everyone figure out what to do when they go there. If you have the mind of entrepreneur, you will find your way. I met one guy, 26 years old, has a fitness center in NYC, and he only had a paper in his hand and more shy than me, and he went to CEO space and got investors to pay him, and his business to expand for next two years. I asked him how many people he talks to? Hundreds! That is why we go there for. :) It is a very supportive environment.

If you have finance to do that, it will be a greatest gift! :)

Good luck to everyone!

I'd suggest them to give it to the NFTA. The cutbacks hurt many people, myself included.

If it was an investment to make money for the investors and create jobs I would enlist the right people for a specific kind of Festival; $50k upfront would be a legit start.

If the $50k was going just to make Buffalo more attractive to visitors (in theory an investment for the area in which to bring in more dollars from outside the area)then I would help the guys with the idea build a reproduction of the world record ice maze from the original Powder Keg Festival. Put it down near Canalside near where it was originally built (if they would allow it)and add to the critical mass needed to create an influx of visitors, and local revenues.

If this isn't completely hypothetical, then if you are considering other people to invest send me a PM (if you can on here...).....

I do have something in the works near the waterfront. I am looking for an investor. PM me if you're interested. Whatever you decide, I hope it works out!

The idea for a for the Buffalo Bills along the Buffalo waterfront sounds nice in some ways. However, there is no need for a new convention center, as the current Buffalo Convention Center has just been renovated and the Niagara Falls Conference Center opened not long ago to replace its predecessor. As for retail, Buffalo, just like Rochester and Syracuse and other Upstate cities, already has a glut of empty downtown retail and office space. Also, millions were spent to build Ralph Wilson Stadium 40 years ago and millions more spent to renovate it in the late 1990’s. Therefore, if there should be another new stadium, not one dollar for it should come from taxpayers.

There do need to be more museums in Buffalo and Niagara Falls for tourism at the same time of bringing back manufacturing and innovative research there and to the rest of Upstate New York. Such a museum could go elsewhere to Buffalo’s downtown and Inner Harbor, perhaps connected with the Sabres, or with Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park. It should also tie in with the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, showing their local sports history, as well as take in both local sports memorabilia, which was to be in the shelved "Fandemoneum" and also have the restaurant that was to be part of that, similar to the new restaurant in the Buffalo Naval Servicemen's Park, as well as the national sports memorabilia of the short-lived Sports Museum of America in Manhattan, whose contents are in a storage locker in New Jersey, plus Canada's sports history and memorabilia.

Meanwhile, the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center and Hall of Fame of the Women's Sports Foundation, which had a short-lived permanent home in that also-short-lived museum in Manhattan, should also get a new permanent home, but in Rochester, side-by-side with a new home for a re-formed National Soccer Hall of Fame of U.S. Soccer after the original one closed in Oneonta, NY two years ago. Keep in mind the halls of fame for ice hockey, football, baseball, wrestling, boxing, basketball, volleyball, harness racing, baseball, Little League, weightlifting, and lacrosse are all within driving distance of both cities an within or just outside Upstate New York.

Another space that has been in the news lately is what to do with the rest of the Rainbow Centre in Niagara Falls that is not occupied by Niagara County Community College's new Culinary Center. Either this or the vacant land owned by Niagara Falls Redevelopment should be occupied by the proposed "Niagara Experience Center," which should include a new energy-efficient wintergarden and waterfalls that was to be included in the shelved "Aquafalls" up there. Also, the Medina Historic Railroad should also be extended to Niagara Falls to the west and High Falls in Rochester to the east along the former New York Central Falls Branch right-of-way and should have scenic stops at the waterfalls in Lockport, Medina, and Albion as well. Plus, the proposed Wizard of Oz themepark should be built on the site of the also-vacant Summit Park Mall just outside the "Cataract City" limits.

As well, the newly-renamed Buffalo History Museum, Jefferson Avenue Gallery, and Iron Island Museum, as well as other current and future local history museums in the city of Buffalo and suburbs should all have a working relationship with one another. (As should the a few different local history museums in Rochester).

The proposed weather and architecture museums and a reopened Niagara Aerospace Museum be at either the Buffalo Inner or Outer harbors, the Richardson Complex, or two sites in Niagara Falls. Meanwhile, a museum for Presidents Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland could go in either of those three Buffalo locations.

Down on the Buffalo Inner and Outer Harbors, there should be a “Cheerio’s Museum” As well, the contents of the former Bergwardt Bicycle Museum that closed in Orchard Park should go in with the Buffalo Transportation/Pierce Arrow Museum. This, as well as the proposed Great Lakes/Erie Canal Museum, which should happen, should all tie in with each other and proposed railroad museum, plus the Maritime Museum, which is at the Francis G. Ward Pumping Station. The Buffalo Firefighter's Museum should also come to the harbor and occupy either the DL&W Terminal, with the ticket halls rebuilt, or one of the two terminals, all three of which the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority should vacate, while the Great Lakes/Erie Canal Museum occupies the other. Meanwhile, one terminal should be kept to have a new ferry to Canada on the route of the former Canadiana, while there should also be a new second span of the Peace Bridge (that and the expanded plaza north of the current one, not south, to preserve the seven historic structures), as well as new bridges from Route 198 (Scajacquada) and Sheridan Drive (Route 324), with 198 and 33 made into parkways/boulevards west of the Thruway and the same with the current Interstate 190 between Michigan Avenue and Sheridan, intergrated with Niagara Street.

Also, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5 museum, which was also turned down from the Inner Harbor, should go to along the river or Lake Ontario waterfronts of Youngstown, NY, Rochester, or Oswego, or the Inner Harbor area of Syracuse, where Onondaga Creek meets Onondaga Lake.

I basically agree with sbrof, more trees, a few biking/jogging paths and cleaner streets.

Hello everyone

I would advise them to donate it to small non-profits around Buffalo who could really utilize the money to help the community. There are so many Buffalonians in need and finding organizations who are really doing great work with those people and communities need the help.

www.peaceprintspm.org for example

or the heartfoundation.org