South Buffalo Blogger

For more than 2 weeks a fire hydrant has been missing at the corner of Seneca & Kingston in South Buffalo.

This morning’s fire on Buffum Street is a good reminder that when an emergency strikes, every second counts. Today as I walked by the missing hydrant again, I wondered how badly the situation would have been if a fire had occured a few blocks away. It was a scary thought.

We’re reminded that in these kind of emergency situations, it knows no time or location, and the best defense besides quick-thinking quick-reacting citizens and firefighters, is the readiness and being prepared. A missing fire hydrant for more than two weeks is highly neglectful on the part of our City of Buffalo.

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?

It was a beautiful day for a Parade. Pictures are posted in random order.

By: CindyK. There’s much hype and political propaganda about the idea of tearing the Skyway down. Politicians are using the idea as campaigning stepping-stones for themselves or others. In my thinking, it’s but one roadway in the City, and I wondered much about the rest of the streets around Buffalo. Or even just my area of South Buffalo.

I can’t see the investing of billions of dollars to take care of a perfectly good piece of infrastructure as the streets throughout the City of Buffalo continue to be neglected over the years. My fight for Seneca Street is just the tip of the iceberg, you could say. For anyone, even the politicians who want the skyway torn down, I ask that you take a good, long look around your own neighborhood and consider which would be a more benefiting priority…. the Skyway or the rest of the City of Buffalo?

Would taking down one perfectly sound bridge help the city more than the fixing of our streets first?

While these pictures aren’t all, it’s a good enough example in asking our elected leaders to take priority over the areas of which they are elected into. I’m sharing with you the neighborhood in South Buffalo, from Indian Church to Mineral Springs, and from Frank St. to North Legion (without reposting any pictures of Seneca Street, which is center-parallel with Frank & N. Legion)

From your own neighborhood or looking at these pictures, I wonder what part of infrastructure is really more important to a political agenda on “commitment to the City” and “working together with the people of Buffalo”… And providing our city with the best possible services to the neighborhoods, all of the neighborhoods, not just the areas that would help a congressman get re-elected.

Imagine having no skyway, but the same neglected streets which get worse after every winter.

How much federal money would it take to redo every street in the city first before thinking of spending all of our hard-earned taxes on just one road?

By: CindyK. It’s very simple, the City of Buffalo Comissioner of Public Works said in June (2008) that the new streetlights for Seneca Street would come “within” a month. He said this while Mayor Byron Brown paid a visit to the Irish Center in South Buffalo.

July arrived and it was said there was to be a 4-week delay. And here we are, the end of August stilling holding on to the promise Legislator Tim Kennedy made more than a year ago about wanting something a little nicer for South Buffalo.

May 2007:

Now when you talk about $300,000 and you think of light standards, we could have got the typical light standards that you see all over the City, or we could have gotten something a little bit better, a little more unique, and that cost over $300,000. But because of this Mayor’s dedication to this project, and because of the work of Congressman Brian Higgins, Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, and Councilmember Mickey Kearns working together this Mayor saw there was a viable project in the City of Buffalo that demanded attention and demanding commitment from his administration and that came in the form of $300,000.

August 2008:
All of this talk about “commitments” and “working together” led to nothing but waiting, like we have for the past 5 years when the community was told by another politician “the money’s in the bank, folks“.

I suppose the taxpayers of South Buffalo can only assume the dozen or so primed streetlights are mere props for a few primary elections coming up.

From this picture, it’s dated from the City of Buffalo “12/04/07″ today’s date: 08/26/08

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

By: Cindyk. For several months we’ve all seen this sign displayed in a vacant lot on Seneca Street in South Buffalo.

Last week I watched as the sign was taken down and hauled away. As of yesterday (8 months to the date), can we assume the plans for the “Future Home of the Chikara Kempo Karate” is now off? I didn’t see anything in the South Buffalo News of when construction is to begin, or if plans had fallen through. Who knows?

Are we to still give “Special Thanks to Legislator Tim Kennedy” anyways?

Compliments of the New York State DOT, Seneca Street in West Seneca is currently undergoing a repave project from the Buffalo cityline outward from the city. I’m sorry to report, the same Seneca Street of South Buffalo still remains untouched. I fear our State representatives saw it a need to fix the suburbs first, while the waiting continues here on this side of the boarder.

Looking in the opposite direction, towards South Buffalo:

By: Cindy K. A few weeks ago I visited the waterfront downtown, I got to see for my own eyes the wonders of development that our taxes are paying for. It is beautiful, and for a time I felt like I was watching the sunset in a different city, that is, until I arrived back in South Buffalo, where the streets are filled with potholes and the streetlights are rusted beyond quick fixes, other than a couple cans of black paint.

I remember thinking that night about how second-rate South Buffalo has become, and I remember thinking how the Congressman & Assemblyman have put all of their eggs into one basket, as per the new Commercial Slip and other harbor projects. When you take a walk down any given street along Seneca though, we get to see vacant/boarded up houses, some empty storefronts owned by the Plaza Group, whom is asking for rents too high for any businessperson to consider. We get to see loss of business, loss of population, loss of pleasure & pride… because years of promises have turned this part of Buffalo into shambles. How much of South Buffalo’s look could be, would be tolerated if in Orchard Park or West Seneca, or Hamburg? Have our politicians created this second-rate South Buffalo?

We get to see a skirmishing to retain County funding for County construction projects never to touch the infrastructure in South Buffalo.

The look and the mood of the waterfront and harbor are furthering of Buffalo’s honor, a boost needed for a very long time, and yet I wonder about the rest of the city. I’d like to believe in the “commitment of working together” that our elected leaders use when addressing block clubs, I’d like to believe that one day South Buffalo will have earned it’s privilege to be among the same vigor and attention currently focused on the waterfront and other harbor projects. Perhaps one day we’ll have to see if a new set of lawmakers can make it all happen for the people of South Buffalo, because the future is looking more desolate than present.

Having lived in Buffalo all of my life, there’s love for this city…. compassion, understanding and sorrow in feeling like there’s so much to do in so little time. Of all though, there’s frustration from the (election grandstanding) lies, frustration from the waiting & wondering when our time will come for new changes, for new focus…. for that feeling of splendor I had as I sat on a bench down at the Commercial Slip.