South Buffalo Blogger

Friday, October 31, 2008
6:00pm to 9:00pm

Dash St between Remoleno and Macamley Streets
(Off South Park Ave)

This event is open to the public, for kids to Trick n Treat in safety and have fun too

Bounce House and Rock Wall
games and prizes
craft table for the children
Costume Contest
Chinese Auction
baked goods sale

All children that attend will receive a goody/treat bag
proceeds raised will go for future projects for the block club

For more infomration contact Dawn at (716) 805-8985

By: Cindyk. Between the delivery of the new lighting standards and the prep-work on the street this week, the signs are visable in turning years of campaign promises into an actual product. This is good news for Seneca Street.

Hopefully the sidewalks won’t remain looking like this once the streelights are installed:

Kearns and Fontana Offering Assistance to Affected Residents in Contacting Insurers and Lenders

A federal mandate that had previously forced thousands of property owners to carry costly flood insurance on their homes has been lifted by the Common Council’s adoption of new Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the South Buffalo and Kaisertown areas.

The new flood maps were approved by a unanimous vote of the Common Council at their September 2nd meeting. As of September 26th, sections of South Buffalo and Kaisertown where the federal government had long required flood insurance as a condition for obtaining a loan or mortgage are no longer considered part of a “Special Flood Hazard Area” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In all, nearly 2,700 South Buffalo and Kaisertown residents are potentially affected by the changes.

South District Council Member Michael P. Kearns and Lovejoy District Council Member Richard A. Fontana, longtime critics of mandatory flood insurance who had lobbied hard for FEMA to update its local flood maps, recently sent letters to potentially affected residents to notify them that updated maps have gone into effect and provide direction on how to contact their insurance and mortgage carriers with the information they will need to verify whether their individual property has been affected.

“We’ve been told by FEMA that it is up to individual property owners to contact their lender and flood insurance provider to notify them of the map changes and communicate their desire to discontinue or modify their flood policy if it is determined that their specific property has been removed from the flood plain,” said Kearns. “By providing potentially affected residents with a form that they can quickly fill out and mail with the information that FEMA is telling us that lenders and insurance companies need, we hope to save residents time and frustration.”

Council Member Fontana echoed Kearns’ statements, and urged residents to call his or Kearns’ office if they needed any help filling out the forms or had questions regarding how they are potentially affected by the map changes. “We want people to understand that although the maps have changed, that they still need to contact their respective lender and flood insurance provider to ensure that their not paying anymore if they don’t have to.”

Additional information on the new flood maps or the information that should be supplied to lenders and flood insurance carriers can be obtained by contacting either Council Member Kearns at 851-5169 or Council Member Fontana at 851-5151.

COL. WEBER VFW POST #898
2909 SOUTH PARK AVE., LACKAWANNA

SPONSORED BY: MEN’S AND WOMEN’S AUXILIARY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2008
8:00 PM -12:00 MIDNIGHT

LIVE MUSIC BY “ROCK BOTTOM”

Tickets: $10 in advance (call the post at 823-9605 for tickets)
$15 at the door

Beer, pop, snacks included
Split club and raffle
Cash bar for liquor, wine, bottled beer

Prizes for best costumes!!

For further information, contact:
Karen Pulinski, Pres., VFW Ladies Aux. (716) 828-0674

The friends of Cazenovia Library, in conjunction with the Cazenovia Library are accepting non-perishable foods for this year’s Thanksgiving drive at the Grace Church.

Items of donations: Instant potatoes, stuffing mix, Cranberry sauce, Jell-O mix, canned fruits and vegetables, soups, tea bags, paper products, spaghetti/macaroni, tomato sauce, peanut butter and/or jelly and deserts, such as cake mixes, frosting and brownies.

All food donations are being collected at the Cazenovia Library

Library Hours

Sunday - Closed -
Monday 11:00am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 11:00am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 11:00am-7:00pm
Thursday 11:00am - 5:30pm
Friday 11:00am - 5:30pm
Saturday 11:00am - 3:00pm

Monetary donations being accepted at Grace Church

For more information contact either:
Grace Lutheran Church / 174 Cazenovia Street / Buffalo, New York 14210 / (716) 822-0553
The Cazenovia Library / 155 Cazenovia Street / Buffalo, NY 14210 / (716) 821-0564

Please help to bring a warm Thanksgiving dinner to families in need.

Tough to finance heating ahead

Updated: Sep 17, 2008 11:05 PM EDT

(WIVB) - Keeping your own budget in check may prove to be more of a challenge this winter.

The State Public Service Commission said the average heat bill for a house that uses natural gas will be more than $1,300 for the winter season.

That’s up more than 12 percent from last year.

Homeowners using heating oil can expect to see their bills more than double to $3,700 this winter.

This raises many questions for the families on a fixed income and the rest of us getting over paying more at the gas pumps this summer. The increases to groceries has yet to come down and with this news of higher fuel prices to heat our homes, we should be asking our state leaders and elected representatives what their plans are in questioning National Fuel and let them how these increases will hurt the people’s cost of living even more.

Congressman Brian Higgins: Erie County Office
Phone: 716-852-3501
Click here for email page.

———–

Assemblymember Mark J. F. Schroeder: DISTRICT OFFICE
Phone: 716-826-0152
Click here to send a message.

———–

Governor David A. Paterson
State Capitol - Albany, NY 12224
518-474-8390
Click here for emailing.

By: Cindyk

For all the posts I’ve made and pictures taken about the need of fixing Seneca Street’s poor infrastructure, Councilmember Kearns was informed by the Commissioner of Public Works that the repave project promised for this year (just like last year) has been pushed to late next year. As if Seneca Street in South Buffalo can survive another long and heavily-salted winter.

I, for one, am fed up with the promises made and those same promises broken year after year. I am sick of the LIES our politicians have been telling us over the past 10 year to get themselves, or others elected.

From the top-down, I’d like to take this time to personally thank Congressman Brian Higgins for ignoring the emails I’ve sent begging for his attention to the infrastructure frustration facing his elected area. We could flood Caz Park like it used to be, perhaps maybe the Congressman will see our area is just as important as the waterfront. But I doubt it very much!

I’d like to personally thank Assemblyman Mark J.F. Schroeder for being non-existent in his district, and for the outstanding lie told 4 years ago….. “The money’s in the bank, folks”.

I’d like to thank Legislator Tim Kennedy for making promises that the Erie County Legislature can’t (or refuses) to deliver on. “South Buffalo deserves something better”, huh? Exactly how much of Seneca Street in the City of Buffalo is in the County’s budget? Not one red cent.

I’d like to thank Mayor Byron W. Brown who came to South Buffalo last year and again this year with his entire City of Buffalo staff, and who allowed his Commissioner of Public Works to outright lie to the people in this community.

All of these people elected by our votes have let us down. They play politics over what’s right.

News flash fellas….. it’s called a voting booth, not an ASS-Kissing booth! If you can’t live up to the promises you make in your districts, it’s time for the hard-working taxpayers to swing their votes in another direction, since it’s more than obvious the Congressman, Assemblyman, Legislator, Mayor of Buffalo and Commissioner of Public Works can’t get the job done!

Time’s up boys! We have serious problems with the infrastructure in Buffalo and we need serious people in office will to address those issues and actually make an effort to solving said issues.

Who’s tired of the “heads-they win…. tails-you lose” political game?

BUFFALO, N.Y., August 22, 2008 — KeyBank has significantly enhanced and revitalized its South Buffalo branch at 2157 Seneca Street in Buffalo.

The enhancements, unveiled at a ribbon cutting Tuesday, are part of a multi-year, nationwide branch revitalization program now under way at Key. By the end of 2009, several hundred branches across Key’s markets will have received technology upgrades and other features designed to enhance the overall banking experience for clients.

According to Gary Quenneville, senior vice president and head of Retail Banking for KeyBank’s Western New York District, clients will notice a number of new features at the renovated branch.

Exterior features include:
- new rooflines or facades,
- red awnings over the windows and ATMs,
- enhanced lighting and
- upgraded landscaping.

Interior features include:
- new technology that allows tellers to deliver more timely service to clients, and
- large, flat-panel video screens behind the teller areas featuring images from the local community, as well as general banking information.

Architects for the project were Zaxis and Vocon. RP Oakhill Development was the contractor.

“Our goal was to create a welcoming environment for our clients and guests that reflects the spirit of the community we serve and the solutions we offer,” Quenneville said. “Key’s branch revitalization program is a very tangible and visible _expression of our brand, as well as our broader Community Bank strategy, which includes enhancing our delivery channels and developing our employees.”

Key’s branch revitalization program reflects the continued importance of bank branches to consumers and businesses, who increasingly seek a mix of channels so that they have the flexibility to conduct their banking business when, where and how it is most convenient for them.

The 2,700 square-foot South Buffalo branch has five employees who provide a variety of services ranging from traditional retail banking, investment products and private banking to small business banking and commercial banking. The branch also features four teller stations and three employee workstations, as well as a drive-up ATM and free, onsite parking.

The City of Buffalo, in collaboration with Border Community SERVICE of Niagara University, presents:

Ready, Set, Prepare!
Tips for Personal Preparedness

September 17, 2008
7:00pm

Cazenovia Street Area Block Club
Grace Lutheran Church-174 Cazenovia Street

Presentation will run approximately 30 minutes.

Attend the Presentation and receive a free Safety “Grab & Go” Kit!

Emergencies often happen quickly and without warning. Planning ahead will help you to be ready to respond effectively to natural and man-made emergencies. This presentation will cover the basics of emergency and disaster preparedness based on the Department of Homeland Security’s “Ready America” program.

For more information contact Dana Estrada, Community Preparedness Coordinator for the City of Buffalo at 851-4299.

Additional Guest: Chief Brian Strobele - City of Buffalo Police

This is some good news to report. Various road & other infrastructure projects have been approved by the Erie County Legislature, including bridge (re)construction, and bike/pedestrian paths.

Over all, 14 projects were approved totalling $61,255,215.00 in cost (max) estimations. Of that, 10 projects had State & Federal Aid attached totalling $40,790,215.00 while $18,265,000.00 is in (Erie County) authorized bonds.

Maybe with money coming, Seneca Street might finally get some much-needed attention ….