Kaisertown has a special place in my heart — it was Buffalove at first sight. After moving to Buffalo five years ago (and being trained as a Buffalo Tours docent two years before that) I explored pretty much every nook and cranny of the city, often on distance runs. Because exploring is half the fun of distance running, right? But Kaisertown — on the West Seneca line, and surrounded by expressways and the Buffalo River — had eluded me. So one sunny, crisp fall Sunday afternoon I put on my running shoes and headed east on Clinton Street.
After passing the Clinton-Bailey Market, I went through an underpass, and felt like I’d gone back in time. Clinton Street, Kaisertown’s “Main Street,” was a relatively dense, cohesive, mix of housing and storefronts, surrounded by residential streets. And, unlike the bombed-out sections of Clinton I’d run through on my way there, there was activity on the street. People were out and about. I’d been listening intently to a Bills game on my headphones, but something made me take them off. As the afternoon had warmed to near-summer temperatures, windows and even doors were open all through the neighborhood. And through those windows and doors I could continuously hear the Bills game, from seemingly every television and radio in the neighborhood. It must have been a lucky Sunday, because the Bills won that game. And when they did, I heard whoops and hollers and car horns. It felt like some of the once-strong neighborhoods and small towns in both New York and Pennsylvania that I was fortunate enough to glimpse and experience as a small child, before urban renewal, suburban sprawl, and highway bypasses drove stakes through their hearts.
What, I wondered, helps keep that sense of community alive in Kaisertown? Good, solid neighbors, for one: since that time I’ve met some of the great people involved in the Kaisertown Coalition. And also its parish, St. Casimir’s. I first saw St. Casimir’s church, one of the most architecturally magnificent churches in Buffalo that many have never seen, on another run. I knew it was there, but on a side street, and when I came around the corner and saw it in full splendor, it took my breath away. There is plenty to read and watch online about the grandeur of St. Casimir’s, but nothing can prepare you for seeing it in person, in its neighborhood context.
And there is the challenge for St. Casimir’s parish and church: how to keep it an open, intact, and vital presence in the heart of Kaisertown? Kaisertown, while a great neighborhood, is one of Buffalo’s most remote. While retaining some of the charm of decades gone by, the urban revitalization wave hasn’t bolstered it yet, and so some of its institutions are hanging on by a thread (and not just churches: while running I stopped in a Kaisertown corner tavern for a pop, and found just a bartender and one customer, both of whom appeared to be in their 80s). St. Casimir’s parish has been in danger of closure for at least a decade. In fact, not long ago its status was briefly reduced to an oratory, meaning it would only be open for special occasions and not regular Masses, before returning to full parish status. Currently, it is under the strong leadership of Father Czeslaw Krysa, who will be celebrating Mass Sunday. But what is the future there? If St. Casimir’s parish was to close, that would be a stake in the neighborhood’s heart. If the church was to be deconsecrated, what other use could it have? This is a very large, architecturally intricate church. Yet keeping such a church open, heated, and in repair is expensive.
All these things have me very excited about bringing the Buffalo Mass Mob to St. Casimir’s and Kaisertown. This is a church, a parish, a neighborhood, and community that deserve our support and attention. Even if only for a day, your presence and support can make a difference. We look forward to seeing you and all our Buffalo Mass Mob friends in Kaisertown on Sunday!
Buffalo Mass Mob VIII will take place on Sunday, January 18, 2015 at Saint Casimir Church’s 10:00 AM Mass. 160 Cable Street.
More information on Buffalo Mass Mob can be found by visiting www.BuffaloMassMob.org. See Facebook.