Elmwood by Banner: Blue
The Elmwood Village, recently designated as one of the Ten Best Neighborhoods in America by the American Planning Association, is located on the upper West Side of the City of Buffalo.
Over the course of the next four weeks, our video camera will follow Elmwood Village Association's Executive Director, Justin Azzarella, through a series of Elmwood Village locations. Each week we'll focus on one of the four colored-coded banner districts along Elmwood Avenue. The districts are designated by blue, green, yellow and red banners, from north to south, beginning at Forest Avenue.
This week we'll focus on the Blue Banner District and take you inside beautifully unique shops and restaurants including Sweet & Dirty, room, Elmwood Village Fabrics, Cose Fini and J.P. Bullfeathers.
Join us in exploring this exciting commercial district, and get to know the various locations and proprietors at each of our stops. With over 200 independently-owned shops and restaurants to discover and enjoy, you'll be sure to find unique and extraordinary furnishings, gifts, clothing and something to sate your appetite.
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scandy
Can we try and get some funds to update some of the signage for the restaurants on Elmwood? Some of the fast food joints have signs that look like they are made of tag board and a marker. If we want to present ourselves as Elmwood Village and a top neighborhood then its time to look the part also. Cheap easy fixes can do wonders for a storefront. For example most of the take out chinese restaurants have really bad storefronts, can anything be dont about this?
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nonono
by all means scandy, lets ask daddy warbucks for a raise in our allowance.
news flash orphan doggie: signage for private business is notnotnot an entitlement or social program, tear up your voters registration until further notice, you have proved yourself unworthy of the priveledge.
"For example most of the take out Chinese restaurants have really bad storefronts, can anything be dont about this?"
try reporting them to the INS, homeland insecurity, the FDA, NYHD, and the better business bureau. the resulting shit storm of paperwork will cover the frontage nicely, and the added insulating R-value will keep my won tons warmer.
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BuffaloSoldier
Scandy: Many communities offer grants for small businesses to upgrade their storefronts and signage. In fact, I believe that has been implemented here in Buffalo in the past. The best point of contact for this type of issue would be the district councilmember who usually overseas such projects.
I'm sure small grants can be obtained from city/county legislature pork coffers or some type of state/federal "Revive Main Street" type of program.
nonono = inferiority complex = irrelevant
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nonono
ButtSoldier,
"Scandy: Many communities offer grants for small businesses to upgrade their storefronts and signage."
Yes little doggie, and those grant funding dollars magically appear every fiscal quarter from thin air! Its all quite fascinating, really. Do not trouble yourself with tired and cynical concepts of distributing scarce public funding where needs are greatest, and resources so precariously scarce.
This great Republic the world has come to know as the United States of Shopping, was founded on just such principles of imposing your esthetic standards based on xenophobic reductionism, and taxing the citizenry to support private for-profit-commerce!
you + her = another MSG headache
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Justin_Azzarella
Hello Everyone!
The Elmwood Village Association (EVA) has offered several very successful Facade Improvement grants. With funding support from NYS Assemblymember Sam Hoyt the Association recently implemented a NYS funded facade and building renovation program for targeted low-income census areas on Elmwood Avenue to the tune of $90,000. Funds were made available in a "Dollar for Dollar" matching grant format. For each grant dollar given by EVA the business or building owner matched at least one dollar. Additionally the Elmwood Village Design Guidelines had to be met by the building owner to ensure that the improvements were in keeping with the character of our mixed-use, urban commercial district. An example of the success of this program is the former Boosing TV building located at 1066 Elmwood Avenue near Bird. Check out the before and after pictures at the link below:
http://www.elmwoodvillage.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=1066%20Elmwood%20Avenue&category=Main
This project received $32,470 in EVA Façade Grant funding with the building owner exceeding the match amount by contributing $46,030! A local small business did the contracting work on the facade bringing NYS tax dollars back to our community. Equally important is the major face lift for a building that was formerly in poor condition and located in one of the more distressed blocks of Elmwood Avenue. For more information on our programs please contact me at justin@elmwoodvillage.org.
Justin Azzarella Executive Director Elmwood Village Association
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icecreamsub
Nonono - I think you need to go outside for some fresh air. All the cabin fever has turned you into a little ornery bugger
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fredrico
I 've been living near Elmwood since 1972 and have loved it. I don't like the banners though. I much preffered the large bouquets of flowers on the poles (used in years passed). They were lovely. I know it's winter and we can't have flowers now anyway but I would love to see the bouquets again this spring
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WhatAboutBob
Always two sides to every story, huh? Maybe we can hear the other side about how the Facade improvements are ONLY are offered to various blocks up and down the street. The funding for this program is not equally avaialble to all business owners/properties. If EV wants the street to look cohesive, then it should offer the funding to every business/property based on the pre set requirements - for the entire length of the the district - rather than scateered blocks. The requirments seem to vary business by business and seem to change according to whom applies for this funding. The Facade improvment money is broken down block by block and some blocks are not eligible. How does that make any sense?
And Oh yeah - the "Small local business" doing the work was Johnson n& Sons, which Paul Johnson was a Forever Elmwood/Elmwood VIlage Association Board member for years. Funny how that works out, huh? Maybe the grant was given based on Johnson doing the work? hhhmmmmm.....
Puuullleeesssee.
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happyone
OH, HOW CLEVER YO ALL ARE. More conspiracies uncovered? NOTTTTTTTTTT. Okay, supersleuths... here's the rest of the info. NYMain Street Grant money is only for certain blocks becuase the target the lowest income to AVOID giving to already "finished" areas. Some grant money has been available without restriction onlocation. THAT IS determined by the agency providing the money based on their personal objectives. Paul Johnson is just a local do-gooder who volunteered alot of time to working on the board and in the neighborhood. Please make sure you slander him for that. And the banners have not replaced the flower baskets ( p.s. bouquets are CUT flowers, not ones in soil) Maybe we need some funding to EDUCATE YOU TARDS on how the programs work. But in reality, you'll all just sit in your pajamas scratching your ass in front of the computer and criticize people actually getting things done. Buffalo Rising was created for pro Buffalo folks, not a bellyachers social network.....the only thing that is rising today is my blood pressure. Get your facts, idiots.
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Joshua
Cassandra and Justin - Great promotional movie! I really should check out some of those shops when I look for gifts. Thanks!
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youknow
wab ,get a grip ! and know the facts before firing away. congrats ev on getting this funding spent under the ridiculous circumstances that currently exist in these blocks of ev
paauulleezzee!
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nonono
Whoow there little doggies, easy does it. I make no criticism of the great job done by EVA. I took objection to the statement:
"Can we try and get some funds to update some of the signage for the restaurants on Elmwood?"
I renew my assertion that this tone is presumptuous, intrusive and offensive to ANY small business owner. These are not 'public' signage, trees or garbage cans. What next, matching grant funds or imprinted napkins? No, ' WE ' dont decide what an individual business owners sign looks like, unless it violates an established city code - any more than 'WE' tell you what color to paint your living room - though I feel certain you would seek a matching grant for your Ralph Lauren paint budget.
"With funding support from NYS Assemblymember Sam Hoyt"....though there is no argument that Sam brings home the bacon better than Federal Meat Markets, before we gut another pig to the tune of 90k of our own tax dollars, maybe we could look at the big picture, i.e. failing city schools, growing elderly population in need of housing and care, health care, homeless, and other 'social' programs in desperate need of funds. Or are we proposing cultivating a new class of "small business welfare queens?", in the model of Ralph Wilson and Bass Pro.
Someone has stepped through the looking glass, but I dont think it was me. Keep up the good work Justin, but lay of the pork, its not good for the ultimate health of our region.
"Buffalo Rising was created for pro Buffalo folks, not a bellyachers social network.....the only thing that is rising today is my blood pressure. ".....'happyone'?.....really.....please define 'happy'
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WhatAboutBob
"happyone" - if you would like to "EDUCATE US TARDS" as you so elegantly put it (I do not condone that term).....put your money where your mouth is because us "TARDS" apparently need a lot of educating to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I dare you to put up the funding needed to make people understand how much they are "all working their asses off". I am pretty sure BRO would post your story of your dedication and funding for that project. I would be happy to sign up for your class "EDUCATE THE TARDS" when it goes live. Please, by all means, send me a message when that happens.
By the way - I just love how you degraded all of the parents out there with a disabled child by your "educate you tards" comment. Lovely. I will let my friend who runs a facility for the "tards" how the ignorant prejudices against disabled people still (sadly) exists.
Maybe you should not post while A.) drinking or B.) so angry C.) romantically involved with someone from EV. Any of these scenarios are completely feasible by your angry comments so ironically posted under "happyone". Gosh - that IS irony, huh? LOL
Again - there are two side to every story and last I checked it is America and we are all entitled to our opinion, no matter how much it differs from the next person.
For the "finished" areas as you put it - most of those folks used their own money to make numerous improvements over the years. There were repeatedly denied access to the "grants" because they were in a "nice" area. Ironic, right? They have been penalized for putting all of their hard earned dollars into making the neighborhood and the buildings nice without so much as a thank you (or a grant to do more work) from the "do-gooders" at EV.
Oh - I am wondering if you speak for everyone on the board at EV by calling others childish names (tards/idiots)? It sure is hard to get "donations" in these lean not-fpr-profit times by calling people names. Regardless, I am sure they EV is proud to have a spokesperson such as yourself defending them. I will make sure to take that into consideration when my membership renewal is due.
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Bill3
I never knew these places existed on Elmwood Ave. I don't think I would shop at any of the stores, but they are very unique and sound like they offer a great selection of items that can't be found at any of the malls in the suburbs.
I went to Fowlers last month. It was the first time I ever walked and shopped on Elmwood, even though I lived in the Buffalo area most of my life. I now live in Florida.
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