I missed catching the airport express Metro bus to BNIA recently on my way from Toronto to Florida. So I boarded the local #24 Genesee bus for the 50 minute trip. The excursion provided more than just a means of getting to my flight. It afforded me the opportunity to see, observe and reflect on the sites and landscapes of Buffalo’s east side. The area has special meaning to me as my great-grandfather lived on Pine Street, between Broadway and Sycamore in what was 80 years ago, Buffalo’s Jewish neighbourhood.
Yes I know, the plight of the east side has been discussed on BRO from every angle. So, I’m not here to offer answers to a vexing problem. Instead, I write this piece to ask questions. Indeed, from the window of the bus I saw a staggering amount of poverty – block after block of boarded up storefronts, empty fields and broken sidewalks. But as the bus passed one side street after another, I saw something else – life. Row after row of houses stood face to face on streets that families call home. And I thought, “why so many abandoned stores? There is a neighbourhood of people here. Where do they shop?
Admittedly, I appreciate my question is that of a naive Torontonian, who although has lived in many US cities and is aware of America’s racial and economic divide, still wondered…why no stores in an area where people are still living?
Is it exclusively because of suburban flight? Is it because of the growth of big box stores? Or both? Or other factors?
Much more importantly though, regardless of what factors contributed to Genesee’s decline, where do we go from here? We have all seen that as available commercial properties and affordable housing options west of Main Street are slowly but gradually decreasing, more attention is being paid to the east side. Which takes me back to me and Genesee and the question that trumps all my others…
With so much renewed interest and investment in Buffalo, can Genesee be brought back to life?
