Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 75

Thread: Buffalo East Side Development

  1. #1
    Member 300miles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Buffalo
    Posts
    9,612

    Buffalo East Side Development

    Investors take the message to heart that a congregation needs to be a neighborhood
    By DEIDRE WILLIAMS

    A group of 45 people, mostly Muslim, is about to embark on one of the biggest revitalization projects the East Side has ever seen.

    For the last six months, these investors - many of them congregants of the Masjid Zakariya Mosque on Sobieski Street - individually approached the city about buying 59 parcels of vacant, city-owned lots and abandoned homes. The parcels make up a 16-block area around the mosque.

    They were taking to heart a message the mosque's imam has been delivering for the last five years: If people want to be a part of the mosque's school and community, they should be a part of the neighborhood.

    "We encouraged [mosque congregants] to buy houses here and to move into the area," said Imam M. Ibrahim Memon. "When we first moved here in 1993, [homeowners] were offering their houses and $1,000 or $2,000 cash to take it off their hands. Currently, the market value is $20,000 to $30,000.

    "That's good." he added. "People are buying houses and fixing them up, and it benefits the city. It has really, tremendously improved the neighborhood."

    The former church property was purchased in 1993 by Darul-Uloom Al-Madania, an Islamic religious and educational organization.

    Dr. Zulkharnain, an internist at Kenmore Mercy Hospital, has lived on Sobieski Street for the last five years. Now he is interested in buying nine other lots in the neighborhood. "My wife is Polish-American, and I moved here because myself and my wife come from different cultures, and I wanted my children to have some culture to learn from there," he said. "That was my goal."

    Since then, more and more professionals have started taking an interest in the neighborhood, a 16-block area that extends to Broadway, Walden Avenue, Loepere Street and Rother Avenue.

    "There are about three or four more doctors who want to move here and open a practice," said Zulkharnain, who is from Bangalore, India.
    There also is a plumber who wants to set up shop, as well as someone who wants to open an insurance business, said Marlies A. Wesolowski, executive director of the Matt Urban Center on Broadway.

    Professionals are not the only ones among the 45 who want to invest in the community. Many others with low to moderate incomes are looking to buy more than one parcel.

    "This neighborhood has been on a steady decline for years," Wesolowski said. "Businesses have pulled out. There are derelict buildings, vacant lots. There are some bones here, but with a little help, we can put some meat on them."

    To that end, the center, which is a community development corporation, is holding an open house on housing opportunities from 2 to 8 p.m. today. The session is providing the investors and other private buyers with one-stop shopping for information, Wesolowski said.

    Representatives from the mosque and the city's Office of Strategic Planning, the real estate division, and from Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp., the city's economic-development agency will offer advice to individuals who want to start businesses.

    "Usually, with development programs, you develop one by one in the hopes of getting others interested as you go along," Wesolowski said. "But we're looking at interests first, and now we're trying to figure out a plan that meets everybody's expectations.

    "If we can be successful with these 16 blocks, then we'll fan out to include other communities."
    That's something Zulkharnain would like to see.

    "I'm happy here," he said. "The taxes are low, and the purpose of my moving here is being met. I don't have any regrets moving into the area, even though I could move into a bigger and better house. I'm happy. It's serving my purpose."

    http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial...15/1069205.asp

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    1,884
    Good news for a neighborhood struggling to get back on its feet. Churches, temples or mosques- they have always been stabilizing factors in communities. It'll be interesting to see the impact the investment has on the area.

    In the same neighborhood, Broadway Fillmore Alive is seeking a new use or buyer for 950 Broadway, the former Eckhardt's Dept. Store (later Sears). A super building with a ton of potential:

    http://www.buffalorising.com/city/ar...ortunity_1.php

  3. #3
    Member 300miles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Buffalo
    Posts
    9,612
    Great site for both projects...

    Broadway Fillmore Alive
    http://www.broadwayfillmorealive.org

  4. #4
    Member SolarEclipse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Holland, NY
    Posts
    887
    Thanks 300miles for the mention and WCP for the article today on Buffalo Rising. This type of renewal is great for the East Side and we're happy to see progress like this. It's a bit of a rebirth, similar to how the area was formed in the first place.

  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Buffalo
    Posts
    665
    This is great news indeed! Hopefully some nice infill housing will result from this small resettlement effort. The city and Broadway Fillmore Alive should work closely with this group. A successful collaborative effort could work miracles for this neglected area of the city.

  6. #6
    Member kristop's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Begins with S between Eggertsville and Williamsville
    Posts
    405

    We hope to bring the good pub...

    ...to the Broadway-Fillmore Area....

    Thanks for all of the support....
    Christopher Byrd
    - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    http://indabuff.com
    http://broadwayfillmorealive.org

  7. #7
    Member Linda_D's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    God's Own Country ... the Southern Tier
    Posts
    8,222
    Wow. I taught at St Adalbert's in the early 1980s. I remember looking out from the second-floor classroom windows and just seeing all these small, shotgun houses huddled close together stretching out forever almost. Coming from North Buffalo/Grant Amherst, I was amazed that people could live so close together.

    Well, I got my bearings using GOOGLE maps, and then switched to the satellite view and "zoomed" in. The current emptiness of the area around Adalbert's as shown by the empty lots in the satview is amazing -- and the satview doesn't show which homes are vacant.

    I did notice that some properties had above ground pools, so there are obviously some people sticking it out. I think if the Muslims looking to build a community around their mosque at Sobieski and Stanislaus and the Broadway-Fillmore Alive folks can get their projects (in addition to their hope to market the Eckhardt Building, they also have hopes of putting together a home ownership program) going closer to Broadway, there might be enough mass in that small area to start rebuilding a community there.

    These are the kind of projects that are going to save Buffalo. The neighborhoods with the architectural gems are easy. The East Side is much tougher, but somebody needs to start it. These folks are the real urban pioneers!
    Your right to buy a military weapon without hindrance, delay or training cannot trump Daniel Barden’s right to see his eighth birthday. -- Jim Himes

  8. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Buffalo
    Posts
    665
    http://broadwayfillmorealive.org/docs/plan.pdf

    There is a 72 page redevelopment plan for this 16 block area. Alot of it focuses on rehabbing existing stock and consolidating vacant lots for infill. It advocates reparceling lots at 45 ft width instead of 30 to allow driveways and little more breathing room. The plan even outlines the type of houses that should be built, mostly singles and a few doubles on the north/south streets, and mixed-use corner buildings at the intersecton of east/west streets. Very exciting stuff.

    And yes Linda, these are city PLANNERS advocating a community of modest houses on wider lots, not rabbit warrens of 5 story lofts and tenements, lol.

  9. #9
    Member 300miles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Buffalo
    Posts
    9,612
    Quote Originally Posted by Gabe
    these are city PLANNERS advocating a community of modest houses on wider lots, not rabbit warrens of 5 story lofts and tenements, lol.
    The east-side buffalo rabbits are already organizing a protest of this injustice.

  10. #10
    Member ForestBird's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    473
    Hey. there's room for 45ft lots on the East Side, and the real rabbits will appreciate the extra back yard space! Too bad the West Side wasn't built on 35 instead of 30 ft lots - I'd have room for a driveway

  11. #11
    Member Linda_D's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    God's Own Country ... the Southern Tier
    Posts
    8,222
    Quote Originally Posted by Gabe
    http://broadwayfillmorealive.org/docs/plan.pdf

    There is a 72 page redevelopment plan for this 16 block area. Alot of it focuses on rehabbing existing stock and consolidating vacant lots for infill. It advocates reparceling lots at 45 ft width instead of 30 to allow driveways and little more breathing room. The plan even outlines the type of houses that should be built, mostly singles and a few doubles on the north/south streets, and mixed-use corner buildings at the intersecton of east/west streets. Very exciting stuff.

    And yes Linda, these are city PLANNERS advocating a community of modest houses on wider lots, not rabbit warrens of 5 story lofts and tenements, lol.
    I've noticed some of your comments over on BuffaloRising, Gabe. A lot of times you're the voice of reason there -- and take a verbal beating for it. I think that Achbek and I have seduced you over to the "common sense" side!!!
    Your right to buy a military weapon without hindrance, delay or training cannot trump Daniel Barden’s right to see his eighth birthday. -- Jim Himes

  12. #12
    Member Linda_D's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    God's Own Country ... the Southern Tier
    Posts
    8,222
    Quote Originally Posted by ForestBird
    Hey. there's room for 45ft lots on the East Side, and the real rabbits will appreciate the extra back yard space! Too bad the West Side wasn't built on 35 instead of 30 ft lots - I'd have room for a driveway
    I think the East Side was originally built on 25 foot lots. I remember visiting student homes, and there was literally 2 feet between the roof of one house and its neighbor -- 4 feet between each house on both sides. The houses were almost always 1 story frame and long because there would be another flat at the rear, usually slightly narrower than the front flat with a tiny plot of grass and a butchek (sp -- Polish for shed) at the back of the lot for the garbage cans and lawn mower. It's easy to see how when these homes fell into disrepair and were abandoned, that a fire in one would spread to several.
    Your right to buy a military weapon without hindrance, delay or training cannot trump Daniel Barden’s right to see his eighth birthday. -- Jim Himes

  13. #13
    Member ForestBird's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    473

    Lightbulb

    Quote Originally Posted by Linda_D
    I think the East Side was originally built on 25 foot lots. I remember visiting student homes, and there was literally 2 feet between the roof of one house and its neighbor -- 4 feet between each house on both sides. The houses were almost always 1 story frame and long because there would be another flat at the rear, usually slightly narrower than the front flat with a tiny plot of grass and a butchek (sp -- Polish for shed) at the back of the lot for the garbage cans and lawn mower. It's easy to see how when these homes fell into disrepair and were abandoned, that a fire in one would spread to several.
    Many lot sizes and such are easily confirmed at: http://www.erie.gov/atlases/buff_94/city_atlas.html (Mine cannot be, because it wasn't subdivided until 1905)

    What I find amazing : that most of the city survived intact, when it was built of wooden houses with WOOD SHINGLED roofing (all cedar, before asphalt came around in the 1930s), kerosene lamps, gas lights, crude electrical wiring, coal stoves and furnaces, etc. All that fire, and so much wood! I think that says something for safety consciousness and the fire department ..
    Last edited by ForestBird; March 16th, 2006 at 12:01 AM.

  14. #14
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    17,449
    A group of Muslims pitching in to help develop the community?

    Where's Pauldo on this? Wasn't he the one who, pretty much, swore up and down that they could never be good citizens??

  15. #15
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    On the East Side of the B~lo
    Posts
    5,150

    Thank you all

    Hi Everyone
    I am thrilled to see all the positive talk about the Fillmore district!
    I have spent the past 3 yrs working in the district and can tell you I fought many a battle against naysayers, peoplewho told me I was wasting my time and others who laughed at me but.....I knew the Fillmore districts time would come and things are progressing so quickly it is truly amazing! Never before was there a time where people are actively searching for homes in the district to live in (we of course always had investors & internet speculators buying in the district) Even vacant lots are becoming a hot commodity!!

    Not only are the Muslims buying in the district there were neighborhood renters seeking to get information on buying property in the neighborhood at the meeting today.


    One thing I want to tell all about the Muslims is they work together to rehab their properties it is not unusual to see young children cleaning up vacant lots and helping to paint the houses,And they are not afraid of rehabbing these properties either, Some of the properties they have taken on were in demo worthy condition by many standards!
    Again I want to thank you for all of your support we really appreciate it!
    WNY's link to the latest deals,printable coupons AND money saving tips!
    www.buffalobroad.com

Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. WNY Anti Development Types Are Causing Povery and Killing the Environment!
    By Achbek1 in forum Morning Breakfast - Breaking News
    Replies: 36
    Last Post: March 13th, 2006, 01:46 PM
  2. Free Buffalo Mayoral Survey
    By Jim Ostrowski in forum Morning Breakfast - Breaking News
    Replies: 39
    Last Post: November 12th, 2005, 12:22 PM
  3. Replies: 41
    Last Post: March 12th, 2005, 09:35 AM
  4. The new fireman structure
    By WNYresident in forum A Monopoly on Our Community Services
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: March 16th, 2004, 02:07 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •