MAY 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:
Mark your calendars and hope to see you there!
»» SPECIAL MAY 2000 KCA
MEETING««
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Crime Prevention Training. On Wed. May 17th, the KCA will be visited by Officer Patrick Swain who will be providing crime prevention training for KCA residents, focusing on property crime prevention and quality-of-life issues. Several residents have complained of loud music being played at all hours of the day and night (in obvious violation of the city noise ordinance) and there have been reports of alleged gang violence and/or drug dealing on Jersey Street, as well as canine and human defecation issues. Please come to the KCA crime prevention/issues meeting on Wed. May 17, 2000 at the First Presbyterian Church, One Symphony Circle, 7PM. If you have any questions, please call Chris, 884-1914. Hope to see you there!
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Firehouse Lighting. On April 20, 2000 representatives from Hogan Restoration met with Niagara District Councilmember Nick Bonifacio and Peter Savage. A number of issues were addressed, but one change that came as a result of that meeting was the planned installation of street lighting on the west side of Plymouth Avenue between Jersey and Porter. According to old maps, there were originally street lights at that location, but were removed for the convenience of the fire trucks and required vehicles. The section of Plymouth between Jersey and Porter is very dark and brighter lighting should decrease any criminal activity in the area. The street lights will be pedestrian-level period Edgewater luminaires, which will also be installed in the Fargo Estate neighborhood. Now we just have to do something about that blacktop where sidewalks and grass used to be . . .
Traffic Calming Update. On April 24, 2000 a traffic calming meeting was held at the Karpeles Museum and was attended by many, including Mr. Bonifacio. The consolidated Lower West Side traffic calming plan was distributed to those in attendance by Laurie Dann of Heart of the City neighborhoods. Yes, there is one consolidated plan that everyone in the committee has agreed upon!! It was agreed that in order to go forward with any traffic calming plans, the committee would have to have buy-in on the plan from Councilmember Barbara Miller-Williams. A date for the next meeting will be forthcoming, probably after budget issues are resolved in city hall.
Orton Gardens. A garden planning meeting was held on April 13, 2000 at the Allentown Association. On April 22, Joyce Berg, Chris Brown, Sue Byron, Janet Fowler and Debbie Olear participated in Grassroots Gardens' transplanting days at the Botanical Gardens, transplanting annual plants started by seed into individual containers for eventual planting into community gardens. On April 30, Cyndy Allen, John Allen, Joyce Berg, Chris Brown and Beth Kauffman cleaned the lot, removing plastic signs along the fence on the north side of the property at 20 Orton Place and removing some rocks and other debris. The demolition contractor is behind schedule filling the sizeable hole left by the house razing and hopes to have the lot leveled by May 19, at the latest. Thanks to all who gave their time and energy so far!
Trash Can Review. At the April KCA meeting, Bob Battaglia and Ed Mahr from Street Sanitation were in attendance to answer any questions or concerns by neighborhood residents on the blue trash container program. According to the city, this was the first post-implementation meeting. A few points from the meeting:
Plymouth Avenue Paving. At a recent meeting, Ann Angelo inquired as to the paving status of Plymouth Avenue due to the street's poor condition. Councilmember Bonifacio responded with various pricing options for "scrape and pave" vs. complete new pavement. A question was raised regarding the liability of NFTA in hastening the wear and tear on Plymouth Avenue due to its frequent use by buses. Although no conclusive outcome was arrived upon, the issue will be raised again in the future as the pavement continues to deteriorate.
Symphony Circle Update. Hopefully everyone saw the Sunday 5/7/2000 Buffalo News FRONT PAGE article on all the developments happening on Symphony Circle. Work is continuing on the Circle, especially research on restoration of the center island.
In the meantime, cleanup and working events have been scheduled to fulfill grant commitments and make our environment even more beautiful! The cleanup dates are as follows:
The date on 8/18 will be a KCA social event in addition to a clean-up. Hopefully everyone can bring a dish to share and we can sit on the music hall ledge and enjoy the beauty of Symphony Circle and each other's company. More details to follow soon...
KCA Web Site - In case you haven't surfed to the KCA web site, be sure to check it out! It is available at: http://kleinhansca.org/
The site is registered with major search engines and is linked to major Buffalo sites including buffalo.com. Among other advantages, it gives our community a way to reach out to others outside our immediate area. As an example, an unsolicited E-mail was recently received which said: "Just a note to say that you all have a great web site for your neighborhood up in Buffalo. I'm forever pulling it up and reading through it. Makes me want to move to Buffalo. Good photos. Hope to see more! It's very spirited and optimistic but realistic about the work ahead of you. Seems like there a lot of people there willing and able to roll up their sleeves. I plan to be in Buffalo in early June and will definitely take a tour of your neighborhood. Much success with your work and plans for a better city." -- Stan Horab
Housing Updates. Our neighborhood almost had a new homeowner/occupant... 364 Hudson had a purchase offer submitted by a resident who was going to live in the house and restore it, but the sale was lost to a bid made by a company called Highland Manors. To the best of anyone's knowledge, the company is not local, but used a law firm from the city to engage the sale. The house was purchased for $2500... Also, the home at 289 Hudson, which was being pursued by both a neighborhood resident to live there as well as Heart of the City Neighborhoods to renovate, was purchased for $8500 by Emmanuel Ramos in early May as well as 216 Hudson St.
289 Pennsylvania finally made it to the HUD listing and was placed for sale for $16,500... 317 Jersey was also recently placed for sale for $25,000 and longtime problem house 366 Hudson is for sale for $18,900, but flexible.
Meanwhile, there are many demolitions taking place on the lower west side. There are a few properties which are boarded and abandoned in our neighborhood, and most have been in bad shape for a while now. Brian C. Davis of Councilmember Williams' office defined the Hope VI boundaries being between Virginia and Porter, Lakeview and West Ave., although Brian said that the project is flexible in its geographic boundaries and could be expanded on a case-by-case basis. Our KCA position on the matter is that homes in our neighborhood should not be demolished unless there is a plan acceptable to the community regarding what happens to the land after the house is demolished. The issue of whether or not a house should be demolished and replaced with a Hope VI house would have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Here is a run-down on some run-down houses in our neighborhood from a housing inspections department perspective:
Flower Barrel Update. At the KCA meeting held on 4/19/2000 it was agreed to purchase the replacement barrels that had been damaged or stolen since 1999. Pat Heaverlo stated that she had spotted fine oak wood wine barrels available for $24. On Sat. 4/22 Bill Lindner and Pat purchased the barrels. The replacement barrels shall be situated as follows:
We are making calls to area nurseries to see if they would be willing to donate or give us reduced pricing for flowers to fill the barrels.
Allentown Meeting/Beautification Awards. The KCA neighborhood was well represented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the Allentown Association, Inc. held at the Hamlin House on Tuesday May 9, 2000. Three area residents are on the 2000-2001 Board of Directors: Cyndy Allen of Orton Place, who will be chairing the hot dog stand at the Art Festival this year; Mary Beth Bartlett of Hudson Street, who will be chairing the beautification committee this year; and Chris Brown.
Owners of two neighborhood homes were recipients of the 2000 Allentown Beautification Award: Carl Schade of 38 Orton Place; and Dan Greenway of 325 Pennsylvania Street. Congratulations to Carl and Dan and THANK YOU for adding beauty to our neighborhood!!
Debi Kozlowski and Judy from Hogan Restoration were in attendance and author Mason C. Winfield was the guest speaker at the dinner. Mason gave a talk on an "Allentown Ghost Tour" he is researching and discussed some of the houses he plans to feature on his tour. He called the brick mansion at 71 Symphony Circle/26 Richmond Ave. the "most haunted house in Buffalo, possibly Erie County." The house is now used by the BPO and Mason has a large file of paranormal activity which has taken place there. Mason is still looking for haunted folklore for Allentown houses. If you know of some haunted happenings, let Chris Brown know at 884-1914 and he can get the information to Mason.
Be sure to stop by and see all the exciting happenings at this year's Allentown Alive! event which will be held at the Hamlin House, 432 Franklin St., on Sunday, May 21, 12 noon to 4PM. Bring a friend who may be interested in buying a home in Allentown!
Kleinhans Community Association
c/o 34 Orton Place, Buffalo NY 14201, 884-1914
Visit our web site on the Internet: http://kleinhansca.org
Reminder!!
KCA Meeting Wed. 5/17/2000 7PM, 1st Church
Officer Swain of Bflo Police Dept. will be
there!