KCA ANNUAL HOLIDAY SOCIAL TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY DECEMBER 21, 2004
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Our neighborhood holiday tradition, the KCA holiday social, will be a "pot luck" affair. Drinks, plates, cups, etc. will be provided. Please bring a dish to share. The event will take place from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM at the First Presbyterian Church, One Symphony Circle. This was a wonderful event last year and is a good time to meet your neighbors and discuss neighborhood topics in a friendly, relaxed environment. The KCA will also bring pizza to the event. Bring your favorite dish to share!

Joe Delaney (front) and Tim Wilkinson
clean up a vacant lot on the corner of Hudson Street and Plymouth Avenue

KCA USES SICA GRANT TO IMPROVE NEIGHBORHOOD
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On Saturday, September 18, 2004 Kleinhans neighborhood residents and board members of Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. joined forces to beautify the neighborhood. Graffiti was removed, weeds whacked, front yards raked and trash was picked up. In addition, the bus shelter at the corner of Plymouth Avenue at Pennsylvania Street was improved. Ornamental plants were planted at the site as well as pavers purchased and will be installed soon. Students from the University at Buffalo also helped out and made minor changes to the bus shelter to improve its water drainage capability. Artist Nancy Gabriel created hand-crafted tiles and applied them to the base of the shelter. These continued efforts will help to make Plymouth Avenue a better place to live! Funds were made possible by contributions to the Kleinhans Community Association and a generous grant from WNY United Against Drugs.

Area youth and neighborhood volunteers
beautify the first block of Plymouth Avenue
thanks to a grant from WNY United Against Drugs

HOUSING WALKING TOURS BRING POTENTIAL BUYERS TO KLEINHANS COMMUNITY
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For 3 weekends on October 2-3, 9-10 and 16-17, Chris Brown, Dinah Gamin, Dave Granville and Mark Goldman gave walking tours to potential homebuyers in the Kleinhans neighborhood. HUD-auctioned homes, homes that were auctioned by the city on Oct. 25-26 and more were all highlighted. People enjoyed learning more about the neighborhood and the exciting housing opportunities that were available. In all, about 50 people took the tour. For more information, click here.

Neighborhood resident Aaron Bartley of 89 Plymouth Avenue also created a web page on houses that were auctioned in October, trying to recruit people from out of town, enticing them with Buffalo's great, historic affordable housing. To check out Aaron's web page, click here.

EFFORTS UNDERWAY TO SAVE 32 ST. JOHN'S PLACE
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The Kleinhans Community Association is assisting Victorian house restorer Al Litto to purchase and renovate 32 St. John's Place. Mr. Litto has just completed an impressive renovation on the Southeast corner of North Street and Arlington Place and is very impressed by St. John's residents who want to save 32 St. John's Place.

On October 30, community residents David Granville, Chris Brown, Isabel Hartenberg and Tim Wilkinson helped Al and his helper Jose put a tarp on the roof to secure the property through the winter. Al hopes to take title to the property by the end of the year and plans on renovating it into a two-unit building. The Kleinhans Community Association and Buffalo Architectural Salvage, a committee of the Allentown Association, Inc. plan to provide volunteers to assist with clearing out the trash from the building. It is hoped that the City of Buffalo will help with providing a dumpster to clear trash from the building.

Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc.'s new
home at 42 Plymouth Avenue was dedicated on July 24, 2004.
From left to right: Hon. Sam Hoyt, NYS Assembly, Cynthia Schwartz, HCN President
Kristy Palumbo, HCN Executive Director, and Dinah Gamin, owner of 42 Plymouth Avenue.
HCN's presence on the street has made a huge impact in just the last few months.

PLYMOUTH VALIANT! BLOCK RECLAMATION PROJECT PICKS UP STEAM
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There were many improvements to the first block of Plymouth Avenue accomplished during 2004:

• 44 Plymouth Avenue - Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. was awarded ownership of the house. Neighborhood contributions and other fundraising efforts in the amount of $2,300 will help to stabilize the property. Plans are in the works to restore this historic circa 1853 home and get it in the hands of a caring homeowner.
• 31 Plymouth Avenue - Traded hands this fall... while the block is sad to see longtime resident and celebrity actor Jack Hunter leave Buffalo, we welcome the new resident, Desiree Ann Ianello-Meek, an owner-occupant moving to Buffalo from California.
• 136 Cottage Street - Joe Delaney, architect, community volunteer and neighborhood resident purchased the stately old brick home at 136 Cottage Street near Hudson Street and has begun to renovate it in earnest. He plans to completely renovate the old house and convert it into 2 apartments. He is currently in the process of putting on a new roof.
• 306 Hudson & 266 Hudson Street - Cathy George, a Bilingual Special Education Professor at Buffalo State College and a native of Trinidad, purchased 306 Hudson and 266 Hudson Street at the City of Buffalo tax auction. Cathy plans on renovating both properties and living at 306 Hudson Street. She was overwhelmed by the architectural beauty of 306 Hudson Street and desired to own it and renovate it. She bought 266 Hudson Street, near West Avenue, for the purpose of having greater control over the street.
• 295 Hudson Street - Through the efforts of Heart of the City Neighborhoods, the Kleinhans Community Association and Housing Court Judge Nowak, repairs are being made to 295 Hudson Street, the small house on the corner of Hudson Street and Cottage Street that has been abandoned for about 2 years. Diana Standingwolf, granddaughter of owner Eleanor Standingwolf is making the repairs to the property. They have cut down the weeds and are making repairs to the roof.
• 21 Plymouth Avenue - Owner Bill Lindner is renovating the property and is hoping to lease the house out soon. He has just painted the house a pleasing forest-green color.
• 23 Plymouth Avenue - Heart of the City Neighborhoods is going forward with its plans to renovate and resell the house. The asphalt siding was stripped from the exterior of the house and renovations are planned by early spring 2005.
• 49 Plymouth Avenue - The home, owned by a church in Brooklyn is currently being renovated. According to recent conversations with representatives from the church, the home was brought to them by Providence and God is commanding them to fix it up.
• 42 Plymouth Avenue - On July 24, 2004, the house was dedicated and Candace E. Church honored. Sam Hoyt and many people attended the dedication. It was also covered by several news stations.

Tour attendees learn about the history
of lovely Symphony Circle and
Kleinhans Music Hall

KLEINHANS NEIGHBORHOOD ARCHITECTURAL & HISTORIC TOURS A BIG SUCCESS
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Four historic walking tours held in the summer of 2004 highlighted the neighborhood:
"Allentown West" walking tours were held on

* Friday, June 18, 2004, 7PM
* Saturday, July 17, 2004 9:30AM

Pennsylvania Street, St. John's Place, Wadsworth Street and Orton Place were all highlighted. About 80 people attended the two historic walking tours. Proceeds benefit historic preservation through the Campaign for Greater Buffalo.

"Kleinhans Music Hall and Symphony Circle" interior and exterior walking tours were held on

* Saturday, August 14, 9:30 AM
* Saturday, October 9, 9:30 AM

About 40 people attended the two tours. This landmark tour that was sponsored by the Kleinhans Community Association in cooperation with Kleinhans Music Hall Management, Inc. and benefitted Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. Plymouth Avenue fund. The tour was very well received and we plan on doing it again in 2005.

Donn Esmonde, of The Buffalo News wrote on November 26, 2004: "With major buildings by Wright and Sullivan and Richardson, with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, with the restored Shea's and the Philharmonic playing at the Saarinen-designed Kleinhans, we've got the cultural goods. It's time the world found out."

For more information on the Kleinhans Music Hall tours, click here.

SECRETS OF ALLENTOWN TOUR OF HISTORIC HOMES SHOWCASE KLEINHANS NEIGHBORHOOD
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The Secrets of Allentown tour of historic homes held on September 25-26, 2004 involved the Kleinhans neighborhood in a big way. 34 Orton Place, an 1885 Queen Anne style house was opened for interior tours on September 26 and many people from the neighborhood volunteered including: Cyndy Allen, Joyce Berg, David Granville and Dinah Gamin. Special thanks to Joe Gerace and Christopher Madson for opening up their homes on the tour.

On September 25, a lecture was held on architect Richard A. Waite and held at the Karpeles II museum, on the corner of North St. and Elmwood Avenue. Waite was a long-time resident of the neighborhood from about 1875-1903 and designed the cluster of homes from 355-361 Pennsylvania Street and made 361 Pennsylvania Street his home. Members of the family traveled to Buffalo from all over the country to attend the event.

To learn more about Secrets of Allentown, visit the website.

GARDEN WALK ONCE AGAIN A SUCCESS FOR KLEINHANS NEIGHBORHOOD
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Once again, the Kleinhans neighborhood was a premier destination spot for the Annual GardenWalk, held on July 24-25, 2004. Several new gardens were on the walk this year and the KCA once again sponsored giving out cool water for walkers and had an information table at 350 Pennsylvania Street were T-shirts were sold and maps distributed. The community is indebted to: Barbara O'Neill, Melissa Klein, Bill Lindner, Michael Miano, Joyce Berg, Dot Brown and Mary Anne Cassidy who helped to staff the information table on both days. Dot Brown also hosted a post-event party at her home at 107 Plymouth Avenue.

The Kleinhans Community Association has applied for a 2005 GardenWalk grant to install a new wooden picket fence in front of Orton Gardens, a community garden at 20 Orton Place. We hope that this will be approved and we can make Orton Gardens even more beautiful than it is today.

Plymouth Avenue is filled with historic structures
like this Second Empire-style cottage built in 1880.

PLYMOUTH AVENUE TO BE FOCUS OF HISTORIC DOCUMENTATION
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The Kleinhans Community Association is working to document the irreplaceable historic structures on Plymouth Avenue between Hudson Street and Porter Avenue (and corner structures on adjoining streets) for publication in an upcoming Western New York Heritage Magazine issue, on the world-wide Internet and possible printed book. If you would like to participate in this project, we’d like to hear from you. We are interested in the following:

• Any old photos or oral history of your home or family as it relates to the neighborhood.
• Photographing the structure’s exterior and significant interior architectural features.
• Examining title searches of your structure.

The KCA supports the owners of 289 Pennsylvania Street
to purchase the vacant lot next to their home to expand
their garden as shown from a recent GardenWalk event.

HOUSE DEMOLISHED ON WEST AVENUE - KCA SUPPORTS PURCHASE BY BLOCK CLUB MEMBERS
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Steve Osterstrom and Patrick Thomas have bid to purchase 257 West Avenue from the City of Buffalo and the Kleinhans Community Association has created a petition and sent a letter to John Hannon, director of Real Estate for the City of Buffalo to encourage the City to sell the property to Patrick and Steve.

Steve and Patrick live at 289 Pennsylvania Street and 257 West Avenue abuts their property. Steve and Patrick purchased their home several years ago when it was abandoned an and eyesore. They have since become owner-occupants and have renovated the property. They and their property are now an asset to the community.

In addition, they have beautified the neighborhood by participating in community projects and have made their own front yard a garden showcase. They have previously won 2nd place in the Ellicott District Buffalo In Bloom contest and have received an award from Mayor Masiello.

For the past several years they have opened their home and existing garden on the Annual GardenWalk, showcasing city living at its best. Steve and Patrick plan to expand their garden space into the yard at 257 West Avenue and the community supports them. It is our sincere hope that the City of Buffalo sells the property at 257 West Avenue to Steve Osterstrom and Patrick Thomas.

FREE LEAD ABATEMENT TRAINING AND SUPPLIES AVAILABLE TO AREA RESIDENTS
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Lead Connections, an innovative public/private partnership dedicated to lead-safe housing in Erie County in conjunction with HUD program sponsors and partners, will be providing free lead hazard control training evaluation, supplies and equipment to property owners throughout Erie County. To be eligible, your property must have been constructed prior to 1978. Supplies are limited and it will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. For additional information, call 888-436-8314 or visit their website.