Author: Great Lakes United

While talking to Tim Tielman and Ward and Maureen Pinkel, it was clear that there could be some quick fixes to the Erie Basin Marina. Have you ever noticed all the people that bring their own grills down to the marina? They tend to set them up on the wood picnic benches along the water. There are many other local parks that offer permanent grills. As long as people are already setting up their own grills, there is a real opportunity to make it easier for more people to cook along the water. Also, we found that people are already…

Read More

It wouldn’t be cheap, but if The City is serious about having a major beach attraction along the Erie Basin Marina, then eventually a bigger plan will have to be put into action. For the time being, removing the driftwood, reconfiguring some rocks and dumping quality sand will work… especially if the beach is to be open by Memorial Day. There is already plenty of sand to get it operational. One idea to get more sand up onto the rocks was to pump it inland from further out… but that would take some studies by the Army Corps of Engineers,…

Read More

It’s almost funny (in a sad sort of way) that there are so many opportunities that Erie Basin Marina offers us. Yet none of the opportunities have been acted upon. Take, for example, the roll-up doors that can be found at the Outlook Tower. Just tell me that there is not some entrepreneur in Buffalo who would jump at the opportunity to sell clams and beers here. And what person with a taste bud in his or her mouth would not clamor to come down to the water to eat clams, drink a beer (Flying Bison?) and sit on a…

Read More

This afternoon a few of us took a trip down to the Erie Basin Marina to scope out the property. Along for the ride were Tim Tielman and ‘beach experts’ Ward and Maureen Pinkel from Urban Threads on Elmwood. Of course we were very keen on discussing the future of the beach that will run along lake, but we were also interested in the rest of the property. We felt that it was important to point out improvements that could be easily made without breaking the bank. From what I understand, The City is gearing up on Monday to come…

Read More

I’m sure that the organizers of the Buffalo Homecoming event will be interested to see the latest Forbes BestOf/WorstOf release. It’s all about the commute after all. If you live in Buffalo, then no one has to tell you how easy it is to get around the city and the area. When I have friends in from out of town they are always amazed that a trip to the airport from downtown can take as little as seven minutes. And though there is some traffic as many downtown workers head out of the city around 4pm, compared to other cities…

Read More

Sometimes being a small business owner can be tough… especially when you are thrown an unexpected curveball. And when that curveball keeps coming at you for two years? I don’t think that many businesses would have been able to handle what the eCafé just went through. For the last 24 months, the café has had to deal with scaffolding in front of its business. This past week the scaffolding was finally removed, thus exposing the eCafé from two years of being covered up. I spoke to co-owner Shawn Shearer who told me that there were some major problems up towards…

Read More

Here’s some good news for Buffalo’s Waterfront. At a press conference earlier today The Mayor and city officials announced the formation of an Erie Basin Committee. The committee was created in answer to many questions revolving around what measures would be taken to make the land surrounding the water more people-friendly. And guess what? We’re getting our Tower Shorline Beach (see story here). I spoke to Committee Member Tim Tielman who was thrilled that The Mayor was looking out on behalf of the people. “We’ve been having discussions,” Tim told me. “And I got a notification yesterday that there was…

Read More

If you’ve been waiting for chow chocolate on Main Street to open the wait is almost over (see original post). chow has secured all of the licenses and permits that it needs to open its doors on Monday. I stopped in to check on the recent build-out progress a couple of times and am happy to report that the place looks great. Not only does it look great, the sweet selections are truly incredible. One look around the business and it is clear that the owners have done their homework. The edibles are out of this world. From handmade nougat…

Read More

After seeing the success of the Main Street road construction in the University District, and the effect on the surrounding business community, it’s good to see the progress continue. I spoke to Councilman Mike Locurto about the continuation of the Main Street project (from Hertel to Morris and then on to Amherst Street) and he sounded pleased that the progress was underway. “They are not doing as many islands as the University District,” he told me. “But there will be a few, and it’s going to have the same look and feel. I think they did a good job in…

Read More

While making my way down Main Street yesterday I found that the city’s latest Tim Hortons had opened its doors (see original post). The doors of the coffee and donut shop were very busy too… it appeared that people had been anxiously waiting for this corner (at Court Street) to come back to life. I must say that the absence of a business at this location was very noticeable and it’s nice to see some action there again. Apparently there were others who felt the same way, because right outside the Main Street door a musician and a hotdog cart…

Read More