By Sean Brodfuehrer
This
article is a long overdue follow up to my Stockbridge
Avenue post. The purpose is to show off and support the pockets of
stability in an area the region has long written off for dead. Dewey Avenue is
a well-kept street in the Central Park neighborhood, a part of Buffalo’s East
Side.
The
majority of the street is owner-occupied, and much care is taken by residents to
keep up the appearance of homes and the streets, overall.
There
is an interesting range of housing types and styles on the street — everything
from a small apartment building, bungalows, to a couple Victorian-light houses.
It is a very comfortable street to travel down, even though it could use some
more trees, an unfortunate problem for many East Side streets. In the middle of
the block is the back entrance to Blessed Trinity Church, which over the years
has done much to support and keep the neighborhood around it stable.
The
church has become a focal point for current and past residents to worship and
come together in support of one another and one of the most extraordinary
structures in the city. While there this, Sunday the congregation was enjoying
an outdoor mass on the Leroy side of the building in the courtyard.
Dewey
itself is not without its problems; the blocks between Fillmore and Main Street
are far worse off than east of Fillmore. There are many vacant houses and those
that remain are not in the best of shape.
It is typical of what you might
expect from being on the East Side, but once you cross Fillmore Avenue it is
like night and day.
It becomes a street where people have stood tall to make the street the best they can.
It is a street that many people call home and not something that deserves
to be lumped into any negative publicity about the East Side.
People
all over the city struggle to make a good life for themselves and their
children. So the next time you hear or watch that news article about violence
and vacancy again on the East Side, remember there are pockets where people dig
in their heels, invest time and money, and keep the peace.