Author: Courtney Bajdas It’s easy to get swept up in the idea that development equals progress. Over the last decade, I have watched Buffalo’s renaissance slowly gather momentum, including the increase in reuse of older buildings and new developments. The one disconcerting trend, however, is the strong bias toward developers at the expense of residents and neighborhoods. The Zoning Board has gained the reputation of “development first” by granting innumerable variances in spite of a well-thought (and well-funded) Green Code. Now, it seems the Planning Board is joining their ranks. Recently, at the January 14, 2019 public hearing, the Planning Board…
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Sea Scout Ship 1 is pleased to announce that there will an Open House on Thursday, January 17, from 6-8pm at the Buffalo Maritime Center, 90 Arthur Street. Guests will learn about an upcoming sailboat restoration project and hear about the Sea Scout’s on-the-water activities being planned for the summer. Summer seasons in 2017 and 2018 the Sea Scout Ship took trophies in sailboat racing with the Buffalo Harbor Sailing Club’s Tuesday Night Series. During the spring 2018, the group took a donated boat and breathed new life into her after she had spent ten years in a boatyard. The…
Carly & Karcher are back, this time taking you to the 5th dimension with four new plays by local Buffalo playwrights. This one night only event will unlock a door to feature works with a Buffalo backdrop, where everything is not all chicken wings & Timbits. Featuring local talent from multiple theatre companies, this evening of new plays is sure to leave you guessing about the Queen City, as your next stop is… The Twilight Zone. Logistics CARLY & KARCHER PRESENT: THE TWILIGHT ZONE features 4 new one-act plays, all world premieres. Playwrights presented are Heather Rae Ackerman, Benjamin Brindise,…
Author: John S Szalasny It’s not that long ago that Barack Obama pledged an “all of the above” strategy to combat the United States perceived dependence on foreign energy sources. This quickly turned into a strategy of reducing carbon emissions (increasing transportation fuel efficiency standards, rebates for renewable energy, etc.) as he followed the science. It seems that some of the “all of the above” energy sources (oil, natural gas, coal) are key contributors to climate change, and by his second term, he was one of the world leaders pledging his support in Paris to combating climate change. Today, it’s climate…
LaSalle Park, Buffalo’s premier waterfront park, is the focus of a new community engagement project taking place this summer. The Imagine LaSalle project aims to learn more about what park users like about LaSalle Park, what they wish was different, and how they envision the park’s future. Building off of prior plans that have addressed specific needs or areas of the park, Imagine LaSalle seeks to create a broad, community-driven vision for the park based on what people love about LaSalle already and what they dream for the park’s future. If you’re in LaSalle Park over the summer, keep your…
Author: Malachai Miller Bicyclists often claim to be “vehicles” and thereby entitled to roads and rights of motor vehicles. Section 159 of NYS Vehicle and Traffic law define a vehicle. “Every device in, upon, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.” That seems to exclude bicycles. Section 1231 complicates the definition. It says that Bicycles are entitled to rights of vehicles and subject to vehicles laws. So a bicycle is NOT a vehicle but should follow vehicle…
In March, The Blend food truck hit the streets of Buffalo with an innovative take on healthy. Co-owners Tracey Taylor and Allison Kiblin (entry image, left and right) wanted to bring something unique to the area’s streets, parks, and arenas. If you’ve ever stopped by Larkin on a Tuesday, you know there’s no shortage of food trucks to pick from. However, these options don’t appeal to a sports player after a long game, or a triathlete competing in a race. Taylor was sick and tired of eating hot dogs, pizza, and candy from concessions around the country. She explained, “My…
Dear Buffalo, Let’s get this out of the way up front… there are days when I long to be back home. I miss you. Don’t get me wrong, life here in Austin, Texas is pretty great, what with the lack of winter (although we did have a snow day this year… boy, did that take me back!), the endless ways to entertain oneself, the live music scene, the healthy lifestyle etc. Plenty of great reasons to carve out a life down here. But I miss you. You see, I (secretly) keep up with what’s going on back home. I peek…
Written by David Hill Is your smartphone charger cord frayed? Perhaps you lost a button on your favorite shirt. Or maybe your favorite necklace needs fixing. All of these needs — and more — can be taken care of during a repair and reuse fair happening next week at the University at Buffalo. The repair fair is being hosted by UB’s Office of Sustainability as part of the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) Points of Intervention campus tour, which is visiting 12 other universities across the country this spring. The event will take place inside the Student Union lobby from noon to…
Industrial development in Black Rock was driven by two factors: the Belt Line railway and electricity. Many of those industrial buildings are still standing and are finding new use as apartments and commercial space. Two of the buildings at 27 and 37 Chandler Street were purchased by Rocco Termini in December with plans to renovate the buildings into incubator space. They are two of three buildings that were proposed for designation as the Chandler Street Industrial Buildings Historic District (the third being 41-63 Chandler). Preservation Studios started preparing the documentation for such a district and passed their information along. We…