In the first post of this series, I highlighted a common Buffalo problemotoo many communities within the city lack proper neighborhood names, instead relying on amorphous geographical designations or generic street intersections.
Here is a prime example of how this problem leads to confusion and apathy about where one lives, as illustrated by a comment by Jessica from the 1st post:
The true mystery is what the North and Summer street areas just above Allentown are a part of. Some Allentown Association person told my friend who lives on Summer that she didn’t live in a neighborhood at all!
It’s my belief that residents may take much more pride in their ‘hoods if they adopt relevant yet flattering names that cover smallish areas. iI live in Symphony Circlei sounds a helluva lot better than iI’m over on da West Side.i The former sounds much more inviting to potential homeowners and less to vagrants and drug dealers.
In addition to iWest Side,ia big pet peeve of mine is the antiquated iDelaware District.i Back in the day it basically meant the posh parts the WS where WASP elites lived and Catholic ethnics didn’t. Today, its only relevance is in the Common Council district by that name, which happens to span both the WS and NB.
Much of the DD has been swallowed whole by the newish iElmwood Villagei distinction. The latter formed organically in recent decades from a close-knit area with common values and culture. It became more than just a istrip.i Some parts of the DD, more toward Delaware and Main have been left behind with a unique designation. This all gives back to the area highlighted in the quoted comment above.
I’m particularly thinking of the area just north of Allentown, along Linwood, Delaware and Elmwood, centered around North and Summer St’s, where a plethora of large apartment buildings define the surroundings. It’s certainly nothing resembling a iVillage.i I always thought of the area as iMidtown,i a term now used to describe a stretch of Main St. near the upcoming Artspace project. I think Midtown should be expanded to include this inamelessi part of the WS I just pointed out. I’d be all for a neighborhood that spans both the East and West sides of Main. Now, THAT would be truly symbolic of a iNew Buffalo.i
The LWS is a historic and exciting downtown area that is showing signs of renewal in certain pockets. That name is a bit too broad, however. iWest Villagei is a step in the right direction. Taking a cue from the DC playbook, the rapidly improving streets around Kleinhans should adopt the aforementioned iSymphony Circlei moniker as a neighborhood marker. Buffalo has plenty of nice circlesotime to start taking advantage of them!
Again, it’ll point out my issue with the broad term iNorth Buffalo.i This could mean anything from Riverside to the University District. From the last post’s comments we learned that the neighborhood around Hertel between Delaware and Parkside was once called iNorth Park.i Clear evidence remains of this from obvious landmarks like the North Park Theater and North Park Academy. Why not call the neighborhood iNorth Parki once again? It sounds much better than iOver in da Hertel area der.i
Are we even ready to face up to this issue? Perhaps Buffalo’s pervasive over-reliance on cars prevents too many residents from paying much attention their immediate surroundings. But there are parts of the city where people really do care.
I’m obviously not into using any sort of top-down method to impose silly names on long-established areas. Rather, I think this should be brought to the attention of residents and let them vote on names they would feel best represents their nabe. Ideally, it will be residents, not realtors who make these choices. Though, there is nothing wrong with making suggestions to get the ball rolling.