This month’s interview is with Bernice Radle of Buffalove Development, whose office is in Upper Black Rock on Niagara Street. Bernice partners with Michael Plyter (Construction) and Peggy Gans (Broker).

What four words describe your project?

Comprehensive Neighborhood Development

Describe the work you do and the impact you’re trying to make:

Buffalove aims to buy, renovate and rent vacant historic properties in Buffalo in a way that embraces the historic character, ups the energy efficiency while keeping the projects affordable for our community. We have several properties on the West Side that we’re working on bringing back to life. It’s exciting and fun!

What brings you to the Niagara Street Corridor?

We love the feel of the neighborhood.

What are you noticing in Buffalo that deserves more attention?

Small businesses all around Buffalo deserve more attention.

What’s your favorite number & why?

716 … because it’s Buffalo’s area code AND my birthday!

helping out at the clean up

The turn out for our Brush Up Broderick event on Earth Day, April 22nd, was amazing. We don’t have a final count yet, but over 50 folks (including the mother/daughter team pictured above) came out to help us pick up trash as well as weed and mulch all the beds.

The job was fun and easy because of all the help. Everyone was enthusiastic about it. We saw some folks who were just out enjoying the park who were curious about what was going on and joined in. Some told us that they often visit the park and would be happy to help again.

We had lots of wheelbarrows and shovels, thanks to Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and a few neighbors, to move around the mulch but could have used more – who knew?

Could you give us some feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Here’s the link to a few questions.

A big thanks to Buffalo-Niagara Riverkeeper, Rich Products, GoBike Buffalo, East Side Bike Club, Buffalo United Front, Yelp Buffalo, Visit Buffalo Niagara, Buffalo State College, West Side & Black Rock Riverside NHS, Bootleg Bucha, and Community Beer Works.

We’re excited to participate this year, once again, with Jane’s Walk on Sunday, May 7th at 1:00 pm. Meet us at Broderick Park for an illuminating stroll where you can learn about the history and culture of the neighborhood. We’ll take short and refreshing breaks at a couple of our breweries. Stay tuned: details will be posted soon here.

Loving the sunsets on Niagara Street – as seen through the renovation work at the Mentholatum. Buffalo Rising recently wrote up the history of Mentholaturm and the building – check it out here.

Buffalo Rising has several new stories for us about developments on Niagara Street:

Stitch Buffalo will be moving into 1215 Niagara Street. Thanks, Rich Products, for supporting this wonderful organization!

Additionally, the owners of Crescendo have purchased the building across the street at 1485 Niagara Street. We look forward to seeing the designs for this project!

It’s hard not to get excited about the construction happening at the Mentholatum Building, formerly Garret Leather and now owned by Ciminelli. Buffalo Rising published the history of the building this week. Fascinating!

1660 Niagara Street – Public Paddlesport Launch

At the February meeting, Leah Pabst, a Project Manager at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, provided us with a status on the progress being made on the 1660 Niagara Street Project. 

Riverkeeper and the Site owner, The Buffalo Niagara River Land Trust, are partnering to administer this project, which is currently entering the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP).  The BCP process will take approximately one to two years to complete, and after this, the site will subsequently be developed into a public access paddlesport launch, with multiple tiers of habitat restoration over the majority of the site.  Pollinator meadows in the upland area of the site will provide valuable habitat and maintain a natural aesthetic, while the shoreline areas of the site will have riparian and emergent habitat restored in the vicinity of the paddlesport launch area.

BAT, as in Buffalo Alternative Therapies.

We asked owners and operators, Craig Labadie & Neilie Fabian, a few questions about their Niagara Street business:

What four words describe your business?

Affordable Restorative Accessible Inclusive

Describe the work you do:

Providing affordable acupuncture for everyone

What brings you to Niagara Street?

Community, accessibility, diversity of the west side and fantastic, invested landlords

What are you noticing in Buffalo that needs more attention?

The positive impact of immigrants, greenspace and community to Buffalo’s resurgent popularity.

What is your favorite number?

1315, these days…

A man who calls himself “Peatonito” and dresses as a wrestler, pushes a car as he performs for AFP showing an example of his routine in the streets of Mexico City on April 21, 2015. Peatonito is a character who resembles a superheroe trying to raise drivers’ awareness so that they respect crosswalks in the streets of Mexico City. AFP PHOTO/ Yuri CORTEZ (Photo credit should read YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

What does it take to get drivers to respect the law? Patonito came to Buffalo in 2014, all the way from Mexico City, during the CNU conference and took traffic in his hands on Niagara Street, helping people cross the busy, busy street!

Residents and businesses in the Niagara Street corridor are concerned about the excessive speed of traffic and blatant disregard for traffic laws. We’ve seen many crashes and near misses. While we look forward to the traffic calming that will be part of the new street design, enforcing traffic laws now was a topic at our recent general meeting and follow-up board meeting.

Police Chief Barba and Chief Gramaglia met with us and agreed to have increased monitoring. They recommended calling #311 to report issues with traffic (311Buffalo app can be downloaded for more convenient submissions).

We are sending letters to City of Buffalo Department of Public Works requesting more traffic lights at intersections including Lafayette Avenue and Bird Avenue. Constituents are encouraged to do the same.

We are also seeking flashing lights that display the speed of vehicles. This serves two purposes: it reminds drivers that the speed is 30mph on the street and, secondly, records statistics.

How lucky are we in WNY to be perched on the Great Lakes? How important is it to be stewards of our special location? Vision Niagara takes that responsibility pretty seriously on several fronts. We are working to preserve open, publicly accessible green space along the Niagara Street corridor. We participated in Green Code forums to protect our coastline. We support green infrastructure where possible. AND we organize clean-ups of Broderick Park.

Our first one this year is Earth Day, April 22nd from 10:00 am to noon. We’ll have snacks to keep you going! Sign up through our good friends, Buffalo Niagara-Riverkeeper. Meet us at the shelter – you’ll see our banner. Location is the base of West Ferry Street, continue down One Robert Rich Way, turn left after the bridge to get to the shelter.

Volunteers will also receive free admission and a beer ticket to Community Beer Works Anniversary Party beginning at noon, just down the street at Jersey & 7th!

We are thrilled to have sponsors and helpers! Buffalo State College, Rich Products, West Side Neighborhood Housing, Buffalo United Front, East Side Bike Club, CBW, and Bootleg Bucha!

Niagara Street is part of the “Boom in City Living” as reported recently in The Buffalo News. Apartments like the one pictured above at the Crescendo offer lots of amenities in restored, historic buildings. Next up: the Mentholatum just a few blocks down the street. Ciminelli is steaming along with renovations. The corridor is becoming transformed before our eyes!

Affordable housing projects are in the mix, too. Shoreline apartments, near Niagara Square, are under construction. And Regan Development Corporation is renovating the former Buffalo Milk Factory, projected availability Fall 2017.