Author: Hobin73

In this week’s segment of the Buffalo Rising Roundtable (Podcast) with WBFO News Director Mark Scott, we talked about the mayoral race for the first 12 minutes, and then Newell made an endorsement for his choice of mayor. We also discussed the XXX video store that closed on Chippewa, along with the face of change on the street and improvements that are needed moving into the future. What does it take to make a district thrive, and how can the main players work together to make it happen?Mark brought up the subject of the Buffalo Public Schools and Dr. James Williams’ convocation…

Stop, Look and Listen is a poetry series that takes place on the third Saturday of each month from 2PM until 4PM at the Impact Artists Gallery, 2495 Main Street (in the Tri-Main building.) There is at least one feature each month, with fifteen slots for open readings. The Stop, Look, and Listen poetry series is co-hosted by Lynn Ciesielski who has been writing and performing her poetry in Buffalo for many years and has recently released a CD of her work. Ciesielski will host the next reading with Marek Parker on September 19th from 2 to 4PM, and…

This mixed-use building on York, corner of West, was purchased by D’Youville College in their acquisition sweep of the West Side neighborhood that surrounds the college. The landlocked institution has been spreading out, specifically on York, Plymouth and West, in order to acquire much-needed land for parking, dorms and a new pharmacy school.D’Youville purchased this building, now vacant 2 years, for $90K, and according to a neighborhood block club source, put another $20K into remediation efforts for asbestos and mold. But recently, the restaurant/apartment mix showed up on the City’s demolition list and was put before the Preservation Board. Granted a…

I got a frantic from-the-road phone call from Buffalo ReUse founder Michael Gainer last night in which he stated, “I did not moon the board, so whatever you hear, it’s not true.” “Hold on a minute,” I said, “this is the first we’re hearing about it.” “Well, not me,” Gainer said, “but I don’t know where it’s coming from.  I heard it was in ArtVoice.”  Gainer explained the long-standing rumor, saying that months ago, a friend of a friend, upon meeting him said she needed to ask him something.  The something was a question about whether he’d actually mooned the…

This morning, Mayor Byron Brown and Councilman Mickey Kearns met up for a full-scale debate at WGRZ’s Channel 2 Studios in Buffalo.Moderated by Channel 2’s Pete Galivan, the topics included crime, jobs, new green initiatives and business development. The answers given by both candidates can be seen in a series of videos. The first is embedded below, and the others can be found at WGRZ.Mayor Brown’s initial statement included a nod to the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. He stated some strides he has made as mayor, then chided Kearns for voting against equipment for police and fire personnel…

This began as an interview that became a romance, and then there is this whole other documentary. Lucky us, we get to see 15 years of Paul H-O’s interviews (including Sherman’s) this weekend at the Burchfield Penney…and we get to speak to the filmmaker/one time love object of Cindy Sherman.Cindy Sherman is that wonderful photographer (model, actress, filmmaker, etc.) whose favorite subject is herself, but herself morphed into others – so much so, that even when we know we’re looking at her…well, sometimes we feel we don’t know at all. Other times, there’s enough of her peeking out to make…

Is it time to push for reopening Genesee Street? We all know frequent commenter Queen City thinks so. But is re-establishing a key spoke in Joseph Ellicott’s radial plan worth the cost and will it be a significant boost to downtown? Queen City posted a reply to the latest construction update of Genesee Gateway, asking to see the “real picture,” the unfortunate design errors of cutting off one of Buffalo’s main streets: “I personally wish they (BuffaloRising) would stop showing these particular photos of the Genessee Gateway. Why? There can be no discussion of the Genesee Gateway without a picture showing how this…

CityView Property’s Genesee Gateway project at the intercept welcome of downtown Buffalo is rapidly speeding toward completion. Windows have replaced boards, while scaffolding is in place with workers fixing outer walls and brick facades. A giant crane is spotted, towering over the circa-1850’s historic building landscape, bringing steel to the mid-block gap in the Genesee Block’s urban fabric. Steel is starting to rise in the center of the long-anticipated project where a new infill structure will provide elevator access to the floors of the adjacent historic buildings. Dozens of construction workers are on site each day. CityView expects the $12 million project will be completed by…

I find that defining the word “cool” is difficult due to its being so subjective. I will, however, be so bold as to endeavor to qualify a piece of real estate as cool no matter what the semantical issues may be. After much deliberation, wherein I weighed all sorts of attributes such as size, shape, interior, cost, and any seemingly superfluous pleasantries, I’ve decided to stick to what I know best, my neighborhood. I walk past 23 Wadsworth Street, next door to Sugar City (19 Wadsworth, also for sale), nearly every day, which brings me directly to its coolest feature; it is unbelievably…

Uniland’s largest and most recent development is receiving its signature sign, being developed by Wilcox Signs. Crews began installing the lighted letters on Thursday, spelling out the Avant name for the sleek, mixed-use building on Delaware Avenue. The letters are a mix of six-foot and seven-foot high LED-lighted pieces, gracing the top of the once bleak elevator tower. During the day, the letters will appear black, while at night, they switch to a bright white. The sign is being installed on the south face of the building. Previous renderings have shown the sign multiplied on all three sides of the…