Tue. Dec. 10, 2002 6:30 PM
Mark your calendars and hope to see you there!
Neighborhood Matching Funds Help Neighborhood.
The summer of 2002 marked the completion of two important grants used in our neighborhood to
create a community garden,
put up welcome signs and install flower planters on street corners. In 2000-2001, the KCA
received an approximate $3,000
grant, and in 2001-2002, the KCA received a $2,184 grant. In addition, other monies and in-kind
labor and
materials were donated to complete the projects. For a full account of how these grants were
used to improve
the neighborhood, click here.
Symphony Circle Light Standard Reconstruction Nearing Completion.
The restoration of the center island in Symphony Circle - its crowning jewel - is nearing
completion. A stone wall
marking the original size of the center island rises about 4 feet from the ground. On top of the
circular wall is a
pedestal which will hold the reconstructed 5-light standard. A dedication event is scheduled to
occur around
mid-October. One interesting offshoot of this project has been the unanticipated controversy that
the restoration
has caused relative to speed of traffic down Richmond Avenue. Some have decried the
restoration as an impediment
to speeding down Richmond Avenue. Of course, many others are thrilled with the restoration
and happy with the fact
that automobiles travel at a reasonable rate of speed. Buffalo visionary Mark Goldman called
them "fabulous."
KCA Funds Plantings For New Bus Shelters.
The membership of the KCA voted to donate $200 for plants used to complete the bus shelters
on Porter Ave. near
Kleinhans Music Hall and on Plymouth Avenue at Pennsylvania Street. The bus shelters are an
important artistic
component of the KCA neighborhood and should be complete soon. The shelters both are
designed to have a built-in
retaining wall to house shrubs, flowers, etc. The bus shelters were an initiative of the
Pennsylvania/Plymouth
Revitalization Project and designed and built by architecture students of University at Buffalo
professor Brad Wales.
Wales is also a resident of Buffalo's Allentown Historic District.
Historic Walking Tours of KCA Area Big Success.
Chris Brown, president of the KCA, led two walking tours of the neighborhood during the
weekend of August 24-25, 2002.
On August 24, 2002, Brown led about 50 people on a two-hour walking tour of the
neighborhood. People were intrigued
by the history and architectural richness of the neighborhood. The tour was a fee-based tour and
proceeds were earmarked
for the tour's sponsor, The Preservation Coalition of Erie County.
On Sunday, August 25, 2002, a 1-hour walking tour was given to the Outreach Committee of the
First Presbyterian Church.
Members of the church were very interested in the state of the neighborhood and look for ways to
be part of their
geographic community. Both tours presented the neighborhood in a very positive way to many
individuals who will continue
to advocate for the continued health of the neighborhood.
KCA Donates Funds to Repair First Presbyterian Church Bells.
Many of you may have noticed that the beautiful bells that played at the First Presbyterian
Church have been silent. They
are broken and in need of repair. The KCA has donated $100 to help defray the cost of repairing
the church bells. The
First Church is undergoing some exterior renovations and it is hoped that this small amount will
help to maintain the chuch
in its glorious condition and that the bells will return. The First Presbyterian Church has been an
important neighborhood
institution on its Symphony Circle site for over 110 years.
St. John's Place Undergoing Renaissance.
Many wonderful changes are happening on St. John's Place. Two at risk properties seem to have
happy endings. Joe and Connie Vizaro
have purchased the beautiful Queen Anne mansion at 12 St. John's Place and are restoring it.
Last April, community residents
thwarted thieves who were trying to break into the house and plunder it of its treasures. At 3 St.
John's Place, the
building has been foreclosed by its bank and the bank is trying to resell it. Several people have
expressed interest in
buying and rehabbing the property, including one proposed use as a community center/banquet
hall. Others continue to
invest and restore their properties on St. John's Place. Barbara Handschu at 20 St. John's Place is
restoring her porch
and Isabel Hartenberg at 33 St. John's is continuing to restore the house and is looking to acquire
the parcel of land next
door at 39 St. John's Place. One sad note in all the great success stories happening on St. John's
Place... the prospective
buyer of 32 St. John's Place (the fire-damaged building) has backed out of the deal. It seems
certain now that the building
will be demolished. The conclusion of 12 St.
John's Place can be viewed by reading the linked web page.
Heart of the City Neighborhoods Continues to Work on Rebuilding Plymouth Avenue.
Heart of the City Neighborhoods is committed to purchasing and rehabbing 15 Plymouth Avenue
and is working hard
to acquire 306 Hudson Street at the northwest corner of Plymouth Avenue. They are also
looking to lease space on the
block to oversee the rehabilitation of the block. Many positive changes have occured on the
block this year, including
the beautiful exterior painting and restoration of 314 Hudson at the northeast corner of Plymouth
and Hudson Street. 18 Plymouth
also received significant repairs as the owners, Jan Hoopengarner and Maggie Reeves, prepare it
for habitation in 2003.
Garden Walk Huge Success for KCA Neighborhood.
Thanks to all neighborhood residents who opened their gardens on the Annual Garden Walk
during the last week of July.
The KCA once again sponsored an information table outside of The Coda Restaurant and gave
away fresh drinking water
to weary walkers. Thanks to Candace Church and Dinah Gamin for donating their water cooler
and to Joyce Berg, Beth
Kauffman and Melissa Klein, Bill Lindner and others for manning the information table. The Garden Walk is a great
boost to the KCA neighborhood.
Neighborhood Residents Welcome New Area Businesses.
About 30 residents had a dinner on September 6, 2002 to welcome the new owner of The Coda
Restaurant into the
neighborhood. Also, the KCA had worked to stop the expansion of a deli business at the
storefront on Porter Avenue
at Normal Street and as a result, the storefront has recently been rented to a Christian Bookstore.
KCA Residents Open Homes for Annual Secrets of Allentown Tour of Homes.
Milly Castro at 303 Jersey Street and Dawn Drummer of 330 Hudson Street are opening their
homes to thousands
of Western New Yorkers on Sunday September 22, 2002 as part of the Allentown Association's
annual tour of homes
fundraiser. This is a very important event as it educates people about the joys of owning a
Victorian home
in some of the region's oldest neighborhoods. As there will be two structures in the KCA area as
part of the tour,
we expect lots of visitors to the neighborhood. The tour will kick off at the Plaza Suites, 534
Delaware Avenue, the
circa 1889 mansion built for Mayor Phillip Becker and designed by Richard A. Waite, longtime
KCA resident who lived
on Pennsylvania Street between Orton Place and Symphony Circle. For more information, surf
to the official
Secrets of Allentown Web Site.
Traffic Calming May Debut on Pennsylvania Street.
It appears as though funding will be made available from NY State legislator Sam Hoyt to
implement a trial portion
of the traffic calming plan (a planning process that the KCA was part of) later this year or early
next year. The
plan that may be funded is the neck down devices on Pennsylvania Street to slow the speed of
cars traveling down
Pennsylvania Street.
KCA Works to Clean Up Graffiti from Neighborhood.
Carlos Benitez, VP of the Kleinhans Community Association has procurred a grant to help clean
up graffiti in the area.
In addition, an inventory of graffiti was taken and reported to city officials, who are working to
clean up graffiti
throughout the area. Some graffiti is located on private homes, and letters were sent to all
owners of private homes
giving them a consent form to allow the City of Buffalo to attempt to clean the graffit from the
building. We hope
that all these efforts will help to clean up the graffiti in the neighborhood.
Historic Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Concert on Symphony Circle Lawn Great Success.
On Tuesday, July 16, 2002, the BPO played on the lawn of Symphony Circle in their first free
public concert
on Symphony Circle in their 60 years being at Kleinhans Music Hall. The concert was well
attended and everyone
enjoyed themselves. We hope that the BPO will continue to offer concerts for the neighborhood
in future years.
Several KCA-area Properties Scheduled to be Sold at Public Tax Foreclosure Auction, October
28-29, 2002.
There will be a number of properties sold at public auction. They include:
-
ADDRESS, OWNER, WIDTH, DEPTH, PROPERTY TYPE
-
257 HUDSON GERWITZ,GREGORY 00063 00059 TWO FAMILY DWELLING
-
258 HUDSON GERWITZ GREGORY R 00040 00125 TWO FAMILY DWELLING
-
306 HUDSON SADOWSKI HENRY J 00040 00110 APARTMENT
-
357 HUDSON GERWITZ,GREGORY 00028 00000 TWO FAMILY DWELLING
-
359 HUDSON WIEWIORSKI MARIAN 00026 00000 TWO FAMILY DWELLING
-
364 HUDSON CHAMBERS,GREG 00035 00125 APARTMENT
-
370 HUDSON BUFFALO ERIE PROPERTIES 00030 00125 THREE FAMILY
DWELLING
-
383 HUDSON MARTINEZ CESARIA 00032 00114 TWO FAMILY DWELLING
-
299 PENNSYLVANIA SELBY,JANET C 00025 00133 MULTIPLE RESIDENCES
-
328 PENNSYLVANIA HAWKINS,THEODORE 00035 00120 APARTMENT
-
20 PLYMOUTH PONTIKOS,MICHAEL S 00070 00040 TWO FAMILY DWELLING
-
491 PORTER GIAMBRONE,LOUIS J 00030 00032 ONE FAMILY DWELLING
-
19 WADSWORTH BRUSSELL JEFFERY K 00025 00123 APARTMENT
-
45 WADSWORTH TY-JACQ INC 00025 00096 ONE FAMILY DWELLING
For more information, visit the City of Buffalo Property
Foreclosure Web site.
Homeowners Invest in Neighborhood With Housing Improvements.
Once again, homeowners in the neighborhood show their commitment to the neighborhood by
continuing to improve
their properties. Most notably, Brenda Parrish and Deborah Goldpenny have done a remarkable
job renovating their stately
old home at 82 Plymouth Ave. Many others have improved their homes through painting and
other restoration activities.
KCA Receives Award, Membership Up.
After nearly 15 years running, the Kleinhans Community Association is still going strong. Many
new residents have
joined and "old-timers" have renewed their dues. The impact of the KCA is being recognized by
the United Way on
September 22, 2002 as the KCA is being recognized for their block club best practices model
award by United Neighborhoods, a United Way Agency. The Best Practice Award for Model Block Club
is presented to the Kleinhans Community Association for "serving as a model of a successful
block club organizing." The award will be given at 6PM on Sunday September 22, 2002 at the Allen
Hall Auditorium at the University at Buffalo South Campus (3435 Main Street). Please come!
KCA is Officially Represented in Important Neighborhood Conservation Initiative Event
National Trust for Historic Preservation
&
Mayor Anthony Masiello present
The Buffalo/Pittsburgh Community Exchange:
Toward a preservation, economic development and
community conservation strategy
Featuring: Stanley Lowe
Vice-President for Community Revitalization, NTHP
Vice-President, Preservation Projects, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
7:00pm – 9:00pm
WNED Broadcast Center
In April. 2002, Mayor Masiello led a team of Buffalonians on a four day exchange to Pittsburgh,
PA. Funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Exchange was designed to
expose the team different approaches to preserving the urban fabric. Join us to hear Stanley
Lowe's perspective on preservation and for a public discussion based on the Exchange and its
impact on Buffalo's VISION for preservation, the ORGANIZATION needed to implement the
vision, and the RESOURCE STREAMS required to deliver both.
“Stanley Lowe is one of the foremost authorities on historic preservation in the country. His use
of historic preservation as a tool to revitalize Pittsburgh's Manchester neighborhood has made
him on of America' genuine preservation leaders.
Richard Moe, NTHP
Directions: WNED Broadcast Center is at 140 Lower Terrace, directly south of Adam’s Mark
Hotel. Parking is available in the WNED-TV lot. The nearest public transportation link is Metro
Rail Station at Church St.
For More Information 851-5077.
KCA Proactively Fights Crime Activity.
On September 6, 2002 in a rare occurance, there was a shoot-out in the vicinity of 39, 42 and 44
Plymouth Avenue. The
community quickly rallied and has appealed to Buffalo Police Commissioner Rocco J. Diina and
Save our Streets Coordinator
Tiffany Perry to address the underlying problems at these properties. It is envisioned that a
comprehensive sweep of
these houses, which have long troubled the area, will remove the criminal element from the
dwellings. Nearly 20
people signed a petition asking for resolution to these troubling concerns.
Neighborhood Elicits Nostalgic Memories.
At the Annual Garden Walk, Michael Franco visited Orton Gardens and remembered that 16
Orton
was his old family homestead. He was glad that the house had been purchased by Diane
Drummer and Susan
Persico and is in the process of being restored. Michael Franco dug up his old family photo
album and found
a photograph from nearly 50 years ago of his mother taken on the steps of 16 Orton Place.
Michael writes:
"All of our family has fond memories of the fun and love we had at this address. Hope the new
owner has the same!"
It is also important to note that the Kleinhans Community Association bids a bittersweet farewell
to
Mrs. Josephine Villa, who lived at 15 Plymouth Avenue for nearly 60 years. The house
has been in the
Villa family for nearly 80 years. Mrs. Villa has moved to Delaware Avenue and her family
homestead will be acquired
by Heart of the City Neighborhoods to receive some updates and then readied for sale for a new
generation.
Former resident of 16 Orton Place, Mrs. Alice Franco, in this circa 1950 photograph.
10 Orton Place can be seen in background at left.