Buffalo Rising Online

I think it is going to raining and snowing in 60 days and it will last for 8 months

if you have nothing nice to say....

Interesting developments - a few years back I checked out a bank foreclosure on Northampton and was amazed at how well-built those homes were.

beautiful area, maybe this should have been included in Neighborhoods of Choice. considering the title, does that mean all the other neighborhoods aren't good enuff?

One of the worst moves the city has done in recent years...allowing Bendersons suburban style Delta Sonic to locate across the street from the new artspace.

This part of the city has a lot of potential. When the Delta Sonic was built I was completely against it. Now that its a reality, my feelings about it have started to change. It appears to be a pretty effficient and clean operation that adds alot of activity. For me, it also challenged my original thought that this area should be turned into an ideal historic, "walkable" community or some sort of new urbanist dream. It seems to me now that this part of main street is unique because of the mix of quaint historic architecture and more irregular utilitarian structures and spaces. For example, many of the buildings near Michigan and Main (I think) have set backs, garage doors or maybe large billboard structures. These very simple buildings, some of which are nothing more than ciderblocks and a couple garage doors are a large part of the character of that place. I also enjoy parts of the intersection of Utica and Main where that storefront church has built a crazy curved facade with bright television screens at the street level right next to that more traditional building at the corner. I think its worth looking at everything that exists there right now with a very open mind. I would hate for folks to immediately try to santize this place.

"One of the worst moves the city has done in recent years...allowing Bendersons suburban style Delta Sonic to locate across the street from the new artspace. "

FYI, city dwellers need to wash their cars too. The Delta Sonic has been an overwhelming success while noone else was investing in that area.

...to add to my post above. My only critique of the Delta Sonic doesn't really have anything to do with the Delta Sonic, but Main Street in that vicinity needs to be reconfigured when Artspace is fully complete IMO.

As an aside: I can't resist commenting on how lovely that photo is: I hear so much dreary whining about our skyline, but that photo, with its cluster of spires and buildings--a vertical harmony of 19th and 20th century buildings all beautifully scaled and rising to a pyramid-- is breathtaking. What a fragile and unique cityscape we have.

Well, "west coast perspective", if you think areas like the one you're highlighting are so special, why are you in California and not helping the revolution? Care to tell us why you've decided to bank your future on California and not Buffalo?

Personal and professional reasons, Genghis. Are you really that interested in me? I'll be back, I can't let my hometown go. Thanks for asking though.

Thanks, that cleared things up completely. Now if only I could find personal and professional reasons to head off to California...

I'm a native New Yorker, and I don't even go to the East Side..It's too run down, poor, empty and I'm not wanted there. (Gay white maile)

I walked this area a month or two ago (looking for property). As posted above, some tall grass/weeds hide a lot of very sound structures. About DeltaSonic... it's clean, and very busy. Who else would have done that project, at that time?

This area, prior to that project, didn't seem to be going anywhere. If the scope of projects you're willing to accept is so limited that it excludes DeltaSonic, then areas like this would not make a come back in our life time.

i can't believe i agree w/ davvid; i too was vigorously opposed to the delta sonic but, in the scheme of things, it's not that bad--and it hasn't really, in my view, negatively effected linwood like i thought it would. now, if we only could take care of the bogus burger king & mcdonald's near utica/main w/ their mammoth parking lots & loud lighting

You're quite welcome, Denizen. Here is some more intelligent stuff: Gee... 50 million dollars of public money to gentrify an especially nasty portion east of Main Street. Utica and Main, yeah, that area is definitely a good place to try to redevelop. Has a lot of character. But just so long as they dont put a GAS STATION there. Because that detracts from the urban, pedestrian nature of this area; pretty much everyone takes the subway and gets off at Utica. Actually when I first came here, I accidentally did get off at that stop. It was so deserted, I felt kind of scared. Now I wouldn't be, because deserted is nothing unusual in Buffalo.

Is there anything else you'd like me to do, Denizen? :)

Forget Main Street, what about Genesee street beyond downtown? Sycamore Street? Broadway? Fillmore? Jefferson Ave. that have alot of empty lots, run down buildings, no security, lots full of trash, and a sense of emptyness that tells you this is "no mans land". Those are the areas worth putting some money into and get NEW Buildings up, better roads/sidewalks, police presence (foot, bike, car) and some marketing for RETAIL, BETTER LIVING Improvements. I just don't understand why we arent doing anything about this problem through out the city.

The East SIde is not a monolith: it has good neighborhoods, borderline neighborhoods, and atrocious neighborhoods.

The East SIde is not a monolith: it has good neighborhoods, borderline neighborhoods, and atrocious neighborhoods.

Agreed, but the percent of each category is the problem.

As long as the city as a whole keeps shrinking in population and jobs (no end in sight for either shrinkage), more and more whole blocks become dominated by vacant houses and criminal activity rather than houses occupied by employed law abiding citizens. It's not just the East Side, portions of the West Side (Massachusetts, etc.) have been like this for years and and recently Black Rock and Riverside are moving in this direction. University Heights not too long ago was a safe neighborhood, but now the part if it east of Main and especially toward Bailey is much more crime infested.

It's hard to imagine how government spending to rehab a few houses and build subsided artist residences will turn things around in Midtown but still I wish it good luck. Realistically though, its hard to save individual neighborhoods when the city itself is declining so much as a whole (outside of Delaware/Elmwood/downtown districts BRO usually keeps focus on).

Delta Sonic is a big plus to the Midtown neighborhood - not only for car washes and gas, but their convenience shop is many huge steps above all the shady corner deli places.

This is good to hear and where is the house in the second picture its beautiful!? And i too am ashamed to admit i havent ventured too far east of main st but its on my to do list before summer ends.

the car wash/ mini mart/ deli is actually a really nice asset to this neighborhood, despite the obnoxiously loud blues they always have pumping through the speakers. Birchfields is nice too unless you're afraid of the occasional drive-by.

I've walked most of the east side within the old beltway with $$$$ camrea equipment on me over the past year. I have yet to be shot, robbed, intimidated, etc. Just keep heaping on the stereotypes and wonder why nothing changes. What you will run into though is a surprising number of holdouts who do take care of thier property, are concerned and dedicated to turning things around.

And then you have those that throw out the gun jokes. They are important too, so lets give them a round of applause for their hard work.

We are shrinking. We do need to land bank and focus our money stategically. Right on the door steps of Delaware and abutting Main St. makes sence to me. A lot of those houses still have the original waincoting, pocket doors and stair cases in tact. They are beautiful and worthy of rehabbing.

My only issue on Delta was that there was no creativity to bring the building up to the corner. Other wise it is a nice new clean property that adds a great service to the neighborhood. Now if only Belmont will take the gates of their fortress windows ;)