Saturday night I hopped on the 25 Delaware bus headed for downtown. I got off at Niagara Square and took in the awesome view of our massive Art Deco City Hall. While Occupy Buffalo was doing their “occupying,” I strolled by them and started to hear the echo of their folk tunes bouncing off the facades on the square. The noticeably vacant streets of downtown started to fill up with people who all seemed to have one thing in common…BAD Holiday fashion! The good news was that I wasn’t going to be the only one fashionably late.
The Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Young Leaders Group of Western New York hosted their first holiday fundraiser. The event was held at the exclusive Mid-Day Club atop the landmark Liberty Building. All the proceeds from this event go towards PUSH Buffalo’s Massachusetts Avenue Park Project. Gotta love the City of Good Neighbors! This West Side project is located adjacent to the Boys and Girls Club on Massachusetts Avenue. A vibrant community space will replace a formerly neglected neighborhood park. This multi-use space will include an amphitheater, refurbished basketball courts, a splash pad, multi-purpose field and skate-park.
Twas truly a night of doubles! The lanterns of the twin replicas of the Statue of Liberty did their usual back and forth twinkle in the nighttime sky. Buffalonians took in views of skylines and sweaters as they heard jingles and mingled. I discovered that Jason Wilson from the ULI Young Leaders Group, who helped set up the event, was definitely not in two places at once. Twas actually his twin brother Joel who was also wearing an ugly holiday sweater!
FASHION TIP: Did you know that if you put a Christmas tree skirt over your head and shoulders it looks like a holiday poncho? Well now that you know I expect this to become the new holiday fashion trend!
Did you miss this event? Don’t fret another great event is scheduled on Thursday, February 23rd in the refurbished Electric Tower Building. This event will focus on the history and reuse of the property with a variety of speakers talking about their roles (developers, architects, historian, etc.) in addition to networking with food/beverage. More information about the event will be made available on the ULIYLGWNY facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/