The future of this section of Niagara appears to be in the hands of the private business community. For years the street has been struggling to identify itself as a downtown consumer destination. To a certain extent it has worked, though there are those that will tell you the road to economic stability is long and hard. For business owners like Sammy Buscarino that road (with all of its potholes) is starting to pay off.
Sammy owns Sammy,Aeos Auto Repair, a business that has been around since 1958. Sammy took it over in ,Aeo74 (original location Elmwood and Tupper is still in operation), and when later denied expansion due to the preservation status on his block, opted to take a chance on Niagara. ,AeuIt was one of the best decisions I ever made. At the time (10 years ago) Niagara was in rough shape. You couldn,Aeot leave a car parked outside on the street for fear that within minutes the wheels would get stolen. But the properties were cheap and were still located close to the center of downtown. After buying the building I didn,Aeot have the money to fix up the fa/ssade, then I realized (as others did too) that this was an investment and I needed to take care of it. I took out a loan and got to work on the building. Once people saw the changes that were taking place my business on Niagara began to take off.,Aeu
Once Sammy had his property in order he felt that it was time to get involved in the neighborhood. He started to meet with other local business owners and community leader to press the important issues on the street. ,AeuWe wanted to turn Niagara into a safer street that would give off more of a neighborhood feel. There were talks of switching up the highway light standards for more attractive pedestrian friendly styles. We looked at traffic calming measures that could be implemented. We even researched diagonal parking on both sides. Unfortunately because Niagara is a DOT (Department of Transportation) operated street, none of these improvements were feasible. The mechanicals under the thoroughfare presented a cost concern that prevented further discussions. Mayor Brown and his staff have been meeting with the Niagara Street business owners to discuss their concerns, but as of yet there don,Aeot seem to be any solutions.
Many people like Sammy feel that Niagara is the final commercial frontier; the up and coming business district that will service the thousands of downtown workers who need the everyday amenities that the Niagar Street can provide. ,AeuI have a ton of customers who work downtown,,Aeu Sammy told me. ,AeuThey drop their cars off in the morning and then pick them up after work. I can appreciate what people like Mark Goldman do for this city. It takes a certain amount of guts, vision and smarts. Someone has to take the lead, and I,Aeom seeing more and more people investing in this area now. It,Aeos tough to move into an area that is already hot. It,Aeos time that businesses started spreading their wings into cost effective and cool neighborhoods. After ten years we finally got a Tops Market, and there,Aeos a new law office being built a couple blocks down. Access to this street is gold,AeP we just have to keep filling in the gaps with services that people need. Look over there [pointing],AeP you can see the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building from here. And the Federal Building on Elmwood has employees that need us to be here. When I started off here I had two employees. Now I have nine. I started off using 5000 sq,Aeo in this building and as of today I use up every inch of the space (25,000 sq,Aeo). And I,Aeom running out of room.,Aeu
Sammy is amped about the future of Niagara and discouraged at the same time. He wants the street to have a friendlier look and feel. He sees entrepreneurs like Mike Attardo taking chances downtown and it gets him excited. He sees more business starting to slowly creep its way up the street and knows that it is only a matter of time before the vacant lots and empty buildings fill up. ,AeuWe already have some great ethnic restaurants on the street,Aeo,Aeu Sammy explained. ,AeuWe have some businesses that you can,Aeot find anywhere else in the city. If you want to get from the Peace Bridge to City Hall, Niagara is the street to take. That should say something about its potential.,Aeu
We have a couple phone calls out to City Hall officials, and we,Aeoll be following up with their take on the issue. In the meantime, how about a few BRO suggestions? What should the city be looking to accomplish on Niagara? What sort of commercial strip should Niagara Street strive to become?
Sammy’s Auto 369 Niagara Street in Buffalo 716-854-5441