APRIL 2000
Meeting Schedule. We will continue to meet on the 3rd Wednesday evening of each month, at the First Presbyterian Church, One Symphony Circle. The next few KCA meetings are:
If lack of storage space is a problem, containers are available in three sizes: 35 gallon, 65 gallon and the distributed size of 95 gallon. Residents should know that there are options if size creates a problem for storing them. The better weather is just around the curve and most residents don't want to see these blue cans everywhere while so many people are working to improve their property and make this a nicer place to live.
To further the KCA's education effort, at the April 19th KCA
meeting, Bob Battaglia from the
Buffalo Sanitation Department will talk about the new trash can program and listen to
feedback and concerns from neighborhood residents regarding usage. Please
come!
Crime Prevention Training. At our May and June KCA meetings,
we will be participating in
personal and property crime prevention training given by the Buffalo Police Department. More
information will follow in next month's newsletter, but please put down the May and June KCA
meeting dates in your calendar and plan to attend this important training session!
Traffic Calming. A series of meetings have been sponsored by Heart of the City Neighborhoods (HCN), with our neighborhood being well represented by several residents including Bill Lindner and Sue Byron. Through feedback from concerned residents, our KCA proposed traffic calming plan has been modified to remove the barrier at Jersey and Porter. Kyle Nevergold, a transportation planner and nearby resident, performed an analysis of our plan and offered further recommendations which were forwarded to HCN.
A meeting is scheduled for 4/8/2000 by HCN and will be focused on creating a comprehensive plan for traffic calming south of Porter. If a plan can be formulated using 2 or 3 pilot devices, the city will implement them this summer. The Mayor has made it clear that adding green space back to the city is important to him - so street narrowing, while more expensive, could be looked at favorably. Dead ends and diverters are not looked at favorably because they may impede city services including fire, garbage, plowing, etc. Neck downs have never been tried in Buffalo and speed tables/raised intersections are interesting to the city. The KCA has been asked to select one area for a raised platform to be tried at our worst intersection. Most residents agree that the worst intersection in our block club boundary is at Hudson-Cottage-Plymouth.
On a separate note, several residents put forth ideas at the last KCA meeting regarding the
traffic
flow heading towards Kleinhans. A suggestion was made to the city's traffic planning
department to put a line down Pennsylvania St. to Normal to help guide concert attendees to the
Normal St. parking lot.
Nick Bonifacio Attends Last KCA Meeting. Niagara District
Council Member Nick Bonifacio
attended our March KCA meeting and addressed issues from those in attendance. Thanks to
Nick for attending and all of those who spent their time at the meeting!
Symphony Circle Recognition. On April 6, 2000 the Symphony
Circle Steering Committee was
honored by receiving the Greater Buffalo All-America Committee 2000 Civic Empowerment
Award. The award honors community projects illustrating civic partnerships and
accomplishments enhancing the quality of life in the communities of the Erie-Niagara Region.
The award was presented at a dinner and award ceremony held at Adam's Mark Hotel.
Trash Pickup. City of Buffalo residents may set out 2 pieces of large trash per premise every week on the regularly scheduled garbage day year round (weather permitting). The large trash pickup schedule has been set for 2000:
Symphony Circle Update. The Buffalo Olmsted Conservancy
with Ann Angelo hosted a bus
tour on March 25, 2000. All Olmsted's circles in Buffalo were toured, including Symphony
Circle. On April 4, 2000 an overview of the Symphony Circle revitalization project from design
phase to completion was given at the First Presbyterian Church. The presentation was well
attended and the Committee is continuing to work with traffic planning to research the feasibility
of restoring Symphony Circle's center island.
Garden Walk 2000. Many residents from the KCA area have
signed up for Garden Walk 2000.
The Garden Walk attracts as many as 10,000 visitors to our area and will be held this year on
July 29-30, 2000. Even if you have not signed up your house to be on the walk, you can still
help. Last year we set up a neighborhood information/greeting table outside of The Coda
restaurant and we would like to do this again. It's a lively event and your opportunity to
welcome visitors to our area! If you are interested in helping, call Chris Brown, 884-1914 or
Ann Angelo, 885-9503. This year the Upper West Arts Center at the corner of Richmond and
West Ferry will serve as the master headquarters for the Garden Walk.
Orton Gardens. A Mayor's Matching Fund grant was submitted
to create Orton Gardens, a
community garden at 20 Orton Place. We should hear the results of the grant request by May.
Meanwhile, the demolition contractor will be returning to 20 Orton by the end of April to finish
grading the lot off, filling it in and repairing all sidewalks as required. A garden planning
meeting will be held on April 13th, 7PM at the Allentown Association, 232 Allen
Street at
College. If you can attend, please come or call Chris Brown, 884-1914 for more
information.
Also, Grassroots Gardens, KCA's partner in this project, will be sponsoring Transplanting
Days
on 4/22/2000, 10AM at the Botanical Gardens. For info, call Coco, 882-6864.
Symphony Circle/Preservation Coalition Tour. On Saturday,
September 2, 2000 the
Preservation Coalition of Erie County will be sponsoring a tour of our neighborhood. Many
residents and non-residents alike will be attending the tour to learn more about our
neighborhood. Mark your calendar for September 2 and hope you can join the fun! If you have
questions, call Chris Brown at 884-1914.
Allentown on the World Wide Web. The Allentown Association
is now on the Internet! Surf
to their web site at http://www.allentown.org.
Buffalo In Bloom. Be sure to enter your garden this year in the
Buffalo In Bloom contest!
Participation in this city-wide gardening encourages others in our neighborhood to try their hand
at gardening. Entries are submitted in June and judging occurs in July and early August. Entry
applications are mailed in the next water bill, or if you want one sent directly to you, call Chris
Brown, 884-1914.
Great Annual Cleanup. On May 13, 2000 the city will once again host the Great American Cleanup. The KCA would like to participate in this event and clean up the litter in the area. Since our block club area is so large, we will need representatives from each block to contact their neighbors and get everyone involved. We will discuss this issue at the April KCA meeting. Trash bags will be available but we will need to request the amount of bags we require.
On a separate but related note, Joan Diana, of Orton Place, would like to start an ongoing neighborhood anti-litter campaign. With all of the new city projects that are beginning to take shape, (e.g. the Peace Bridge, new Tops, Hope VI, LaSalle and Front Park reinvestment, etc.), we have a great concern that if the litter problem in our neighborhood does not improve, all of the new life that will be breathed in this area may not last. We would like to see current laws be enforced against littering. Not just a boost Buffalo campaign, but a plan that says that we take great pride in Buffalo and we will no longer tolerate or excuse bad behaviors.
Neighborhood residents and others who have a vested interest in the community could go out in much larger numbers than we have now to attack this problem and clean up our streets on a regular basis.
Homeowners or building owners who have graffiti will have to paint or cover it within a
certain
time frame or be given a summons. There could even be a school campaign or a contest where
students will come up with banners or posters promoting each person taking responsibility for
keeping their community clean and free of litter. If you are interested in helping out with this
campaign, please contact Chris, 884-1914.
Congratulations Are In Order! As reported in the 3/16/2000
edition of ARTVOICE, longtime
KCA resident Chevon Davis was recently honored internationally in Vancouver for activism and
fund raising. March 7th was named "Chevon Davis Day" in Buffalo by the Mayor's
Office!
Great job Chevon!!
Housing Update. Several changes in housing have recently occurred. Nick Bonifacio contacted Inspections and has had the owner of 331 Jersey Street cited for multiple violations of the property... 289 Pennsylvania Street was foreclosed on recently and will soon be marketed by HUD... 49 Plymouth Avenue was purchased recently by Iglesia Pentecostal Jesus El Camino Verdadero Church in Brooklyn, New York... 16 Orton Place, 315 Hudson Street, and 89 Plymouth Avenue all recently sold to residents who will live in these homes... 322 Pennsylvania Street continues to have multiple housing violations and has been under investigation by City Housing Inspections. 289 Hudson Street is being looked at by Heart of the City Neighborhoods as a possible acquisition and rehab opportunity... No real news on the depressing abandoned property front - 357 & 359 Hudson St. have had little change and are still boarded up... 364 Hudson St., an abandoned estate owned by a bank, can be had for a song... 370 Hudson St. has had little or no action... 43 Plymouth Avenue continues to be boarded up.. 367 Pennsylvania St. is empty and foreclosed on and will be going up for sale soon.
The saddest of all is the old stately ghost of a mansion at 32 St. John's Place. It burned 2 years ago in April and has been boarded since. The property is currently in City of Buffalo Housing Court. On February 8, 2000 a warrant was issued for the owner of the property. The Judge requested an inspection scheduled for March 14, 2000, but 32 St. John's is close to the edge! The house's roof is unshingled bare plywood, thus unprotected from water entering the interior and wrecking ceilings and walls, causing structural weakening. It is in an accelerated state of decline and close to being doomed to demolition.
We are investigating whether a Notice of Claim should be considered to be filed against any
and
all responsible parties, (i.e. the owner, the bank, the contractor, the Pres. Board, the City, etc.)
Unless events turn differently, the house is going to ultimately be demolished. It would not be
for naught if there were to be some widespread journalistic splash that would help change the
ineffective status quo. Perhaps a mock funeral procession or requiem for a failing neighborhood
beauty or a ceremonial wake could grab some attention.
Welcome Hogan! Hogan Restoration has officially opened for
business at the old firehouse, 310
Jersey Street. A color flyer was distributed stating they were proud to be part of the Kleinhans
Community. We are certainly glad they are in the neighborhood and have done such a great job
taking care of our city's historic firehouse!
National Fuel Gas Meter Issue. A KCA member on Hudson Street was contacted by National Fuel Gas who wanted to install outside gas meters on the front of the property. As most people will agree, the meters are unsightly and if they must be outside, they should be placed in an inconspicuous but accessible location. Because this is a larger issue than just one house, the Buffalo Preservation Board, through the Allentown Association's efforts, have agreed to take this on as an issue. Technically, these meters cannot be installed on the exterior of homes without approval by the Preservation Board as they constitute an exterior change which falls under local preservation code. It is our hope that the lessons learned and participation of National Fuel can be applied to other historic properties in the KCA area that are technically not protected by preservation district laws. As new information becomes available, it will be shared with the community.
Visit our web site on the Internet:
http://kleinhansca.org
Reminder!!
KCA Meeting 4/19/2000 7PM, 1st Church
Bob Battaglia of City Sanitation will be there!