It's about qualifying for grants, not putting plaques on street corners.

And geez, no one said it was more historic than anywhere else in Buffalo. I'd settle for being recognized for being as historic as anywhere else in Buffalo, instead of being ignored like it has been in the past 4 decades or so.

Looks like Clinton is ramping up her Senate re-election campaign!

Monorail, ask and ye shall receive:

http://broadwayfillmorealive.org/2.0/intensive-level-historic-resources-survey-of-broadway-fillmore-neigborhood/

Clinton Brown & Associates identified 479 historically or architecturally important buildings in the district.

Einstein, I lost a whole long post in response to your last reply and I don't have time to rewrite it, but the gist of it is that Buffalo (Broadway Fillmore as much as Elmwood) needs a comprehensive preservation and demolition plan that unites all the individual preservation causes, as well as necessary demolitions.

Until that occurs, the only choices to affect change are the individual causes.

"mmiller - Agreed, one priority doesn't mean the other has no value and must wait. It's not meant to criticize your efforts of course, but just a context to consider when public funding priorites are considered. It seems a lot of the public discussion about Buffalo focuses more on buildings than people is all. Not blaming you for that. It's wide spread and has been going on a long time. "

No, I didn't take it as criticism, Atwater, I respect your points of view. They're usually very fair and honest and hard to disagree with. I make my points more for others who may not understand them as well as I think you already do!

mmiller - Agreed, one priority doesn't mean the other has no value and must wait. It's not meant to criticize your efforts of course, but just a context to consider when public funding priorites are considered. It seems a lot of the public discussion about Buffalo focuses more on buildings than people is all. Not blaming you for that. It's wide spread and has been going on a long time.

Is there a Superdelegate in the Broadway - Fillmore area? I am surprised to see Senator Clinton working on anything that has to do with her current job. This is a welcome surprise.

Is the plan to save and preserve a few of the more historic sites as islands in the sea of decay?

I agree about the housing stock, but what is the solution? Should we petition the Mayor to focus and concentrate demolition efforts on this one area of the city, or should we go the other way and ask him to focus on another while attempting to relocate residents here? Is anyone looking at the broader solution or just site specific renovation and renewal?

I know this sounds negative; however that is not my intention. I would really like to know what the average Buffalonian can do to change this area. Most people in the city and suburbs avoid this area of the city, what can we do to change the perception through meaningful and calculated change? Is this effort already underway or is this a good place to start?

What is the plan for Broadway - Fillmore?

This area has a lot of history and tremendous potential that is wasting away due to neglect and apathy. Do we have a plan that people can latch on to? I am heartbroken over the destruction and devastation, but I honestly don't know what I can do besides volunteering at the Central Terminal. It seems like this is probably the least, or one of the least, desirable areas to live in the City of Buffalo, what needs to be done to reverse this?

I like what David Torke has done with the near East Side, and I like what Broadway Fillmore alive has done, but I don't believe that it is enough to really enact meaningful change and growth in the area. If someone wanted to get involved, what would you recommend? What is the long term plan and how do we achieve it?

I agree with you Tomg.

I'm not going to take any one person to task or debate them on their misrepresentation of what our Senator has done or not done for the City of Buffalo and Western New York, but suffice it to say that she has never forgotten us here and that she continues to set us as a priority. Her local staff, New York staff, and in Washington work tirelessly daily at her behest to accomplish an aggressive set of priorities for/and with us. Go on her Senate website and see the work she has done; talk to our local leaders, and keep an open mind. Far to much cynicism permeates our collective minds when it comes to seeing what actually exists all around us! Personally, I want to thank the Senator for her work promoting Buffalo and the Niagara Region- even if Andrew Rudnick sees it differently!

Monorail: "That was quite a long time ago. How can this be made relevant to people today? What does historical nostalgia do for people who live in this neighborhood today?"

It is relevant today. The area still contains Vietnamese, Muslim and Latino immigrants. Why not encourage it to continue being the affordable area for immigrants?

Well, there are several efforts that need help: St. Ann's on Broadway, the Sattler Theater is being restored and they need help, the terminal of course.

I think that this is step #1 and then we can work with area and neighborhood groups to develop a workable demolition and preservation plan. Unfortunately, not everything can saved.

Currently, we are in the loop with the demo lists that go before the preservation board, so we can see what's upfront on the list and lobby for taking it off, if necessary.

"I think those are the kinds of things Monorail is suggesting are more important funding priorities than preserving buildings. That's not to say preserving buildings has no merit, but it's expressing a relative priority. "

Do you stop one effort and wait for the other to begin?

People are always more important than buildings, but often they're harder to help with volunteer efforts. I think that both need to occur simultaneously, but I'll let someone more qualified than I, take up those causes.

Yes buildings provide 'potential of new jobs', but I think Monorail's point is those buildings aren't likely any time soon to help many people currently living in B-F. The problem is, this question Monorail asks is difficult to answer:

What can be done to help better the lives of those people who are stuck living in the B-F area?

Many people might answer 'education', but public school spending is already rising through the roof.

What else? Maybe push for some new charter schools to be allowed in B-F? Funding for an adult literacy program in B-F? Or to somehow help seniors who live there? I think those are the kinds of things Monorail is suggesting are more important funding priorities than preserving buildings. That's not to say preserving buildings has no merit, but it's expressing a relative priority.

Any vacant storefront or commercial building offers the potential of new jobs for the people in the neighborhood. The Central Terminal at one time employed over 1,000 people, many directly from the neighborhood.

"True, every neighborhood has a history and some relevance to somebody or some group but as Monorail suggests the east side was not, is not, and probably will never be a "cornerstone" of Buffalo."

Pretty much every immigrant group began by living on the east side. That makes it very much a "cornerstone" in my book.