Back after a three-week holiday break, there was a lot to talk about for this edition of the Buffalo Rising Roundtable, recorded at WBFO studios on UB’s South Campus with News Director Mark Scott. Hear the entire podcast here.
Beginning with the Statler, and developer Rocco Termini’s idea of turning the building into the home base for UB’s School of Law, we talked about the possibilities, and why it isn’t a fit for UB, who has just released their Comprehensive Physical Plan for the three-campus university. The argument for a law school near the courts sounds ideal, until one considers the void this would leave on the South Campus. With the medical schools moved downtown to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus – clearly a necessary plan – the absence of the law school would seriously deplete the beautiful (and getting better) Main Street Campus. For those who argue proximity, what, after all, was the point of the subway, if not to promote ease of travel between South Campus and downtown? UB may not be the answer to the Statler’s fate, but plenty of good ideas have been mentioned here on our forum. As with everything, good intentions are not going to be enough to save the Statler; we know we want it, but we need someone with a plan and the wherewithal to make it happen.
Next we talked about Governor David Paterson’s Sustainable Neighborhood plan. Again, the plan sounds good, the governor’s attention to Buffalo sounds great, and we wait for the plan and the money. PUSH Buffalo seems to be on top of this one, and we’d like to see them get all the help they need – to help us. If the City of Buffalo bled population due in part to the schools, it’s time to rebuild the neighborhoods around the newly refurbished schools that are showing more promise in curriculum and student success rates than they have in some time. It’s a large district, but it’s coming up school by school (City Honors is not the only success story), and the neighborhoods need to be made ready for families who want to take advantage of the upswing. Neighborhood Sustainability is going to happen with neighborhood schools as an anchor, so let’s get those homes ready.
Prospero, do you know it? Newell wrote about this quaintest of neighborhood restaurants you’ll find. With a corner spot at 350 Pennsylvania at Normal, in the shadow of Kleinhans Music Hall, Prospero is the place to be on Buffalo Philharmonic nights or any other. Newly opened by the guys from Provenzo’s in Niagara Falls, it’s sure to be a favorite.
Lastly, Mark congratulated us on our stats here at Buffalo Rising. While we write about everyone and everything else that’s on the rise in Buffalo, it’s good to be included among the successful. Sure, we get compliments on what we do from time to time, but numbers allow us to say thank you in earnest. Here’s a big thank you to our readers and writers.
Image: Nathan Mroz, Buffalonian4life