The Allentown Neighbor - Allentown Association

The Allentown Neighbor
June, July, August 2014
Volume 49, Number 2
Published quarterly by The Allentown Association Inc., 14 Allen St., Buffalo, New York 14202
Phone: (716) 881-1024 Email: allntown@localnet.com Website: www.allentown.org
Allentown farmers’ market set Fridays 4-7 p.m.
The Allentown Association is sponsoring a new farmers’ market 4-7 p.m. each Friday from May 30 to Oct. 31.
It will be in Elmwood Park, in front of the Adult Learning Center on South Elmwood between Virginia and Edward streets. The market is in response to many requests
from residents to bring a fresh, local food option to Allentown, similar to what other city neighborhoods enjoy.
The market will start small, but the farmers and food
vendors will offer a wide variety of locally grown produce
and local eggs along with healthy breads and baked goods.
A unique and nutritional aspect of the market is the inclusion of select restaurants selling healthy prepared food
items that shoppers can purchase to take home and heat for
dinner. Fresh soups, entrees and desserts, all produced with
healthy ingredients, will be offered each week.
“We are thrilled to have such wonderful growers as Serenity Valley Farm and Arden Farms and, beginning in
June, Bread Hive, offering the freshest food options to Allentowners,” said Association President Jonathan White.
“The convenience of the healthy take-home meals from
Quaker Bonnet and others will be a fantastic option that is
not available at other farmers’ markets.
“The location was selected to be convenient not only to
residents but also to the thousands of commuters who drive
down Elmwood or take Virginia to reach the Thruway on
the way home.”
Festival weekend
is June 14-15
Given this year’s brutal winter and
refrigerated spring, it’s probably good
that Buffalo’s unofficial kickoff to
summer ̶ the Allen West Festival and
Allentown Art Festival ̶ will be held
as late as they can be, June 14 and 15.
They’re always staged the second
full weekend of June, and this year
that’s mid-month, as far as possible
from the bad weather.
The Allen West Festival, staged on
Allen and Wadsworth streets from
Elmwood Avenue to Hudson Street, is
the Allentown Association's largest
fundraiser. It’s in its 15th year. It runs
in tandem with the Allentown Village
Society’s much larger Allentown Art
Festival, now in its 57th year.
Association director Gretchen
Grobe and Executive Director Andrew
Allen West Festival is the Association’s largest fundraising event.
Eisenhardt start working on Allen
West in January, signing up vendors,
arranging security, getting permits,
and tending to countless details. As
June approaches, they’re frantic with
work.
Last year, Allen West netted well
over $22,000 to help fund the Association’s many activities in behalf of the
neighborhood. Because it is so important, all Association directors pitch in
For updates, follow on Twitter @AllentownAssoc
to help with the many chores that need
to be done festival weekend.
But help from Association members is also needed. Please call 8811024 to volunteer a couple of hours of
time to help make this festival a success. It can be fun.
Again this year, there will be about
150 booths offering art, crafts, food
and clothing. Live acoustic music will
be performed.
and like the Association on Facebook.
Page 2
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Neighborhood news notes
First Niagara grant to aid start-ups
First Niagara Financial Group is awarding $500,000 in
grants to stimulate small-business growth on the Buffalo
Niagara Medical Campus or nearby in the Fruit Belt,
Allentown and West Side neighborhoods. Grants of
$100,000 each are going to the BNMC itself, the Buffalo
Urban League, the University at Buffalo Office of Economic Development and the Westminster Economic Development Initiative. Nonprofits are invited to apply for the
fifth grant.
Beautification initiatives win grants
TCT crew films in the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site.
Buffalo Garden Walk has awarded two grants to the
Association for beautification projects: $1,000 to help pay
for and maintain flower baskets along Allen Street, and
$200 for landscaping and replanting the “Welcome to
Allentown” structure at the corner of Main and Allen.
Watch Allentown on travel show
The Christian broadcasting network TCT is starting a
Travelogue series and Allentown will be a featured segment sometime this summer. Association President Jonathan White escorted a video crew around the neighborhood
April 28, showing them art galleries, unique retailers, dining and historically interesting places. The network is on
Time Warner Channel 295, Direct TV Channel 377 and
Dish Network Channel 26.
March-April crime statistics are out
There were 6 robberies, 1 assault, 1 burglary, 5 vehicle
thefts and 38 larcenies (mostly car pops) in Allentown from
March 1 to April 22, the Association’s Crime Prevention
and Safety Awareness Committee was told at its May
meeting with B District police officials. In the Kleinhans
neighborhood, part of which is in Allentown, there were 2
robberies, 1 burglary, 1 vehicle theft and 6 larcenies.
Be alert, call police if you see anything suspicious, and
don’t leave anything of value visible in your car overnight.
Allen and Delaware on Parade Day 2013.
Is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade out of hand?
Buffalo’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade brings several
thousand people into Allentown for what should be a family-friendly celebration of Irish heritage and celebration of
winter’s end. Instead it’s becoming an annoyance.
Residents complain about both men and women publicly urinating. This year there was a brawl on Chippewa
Street. A front window was smashed at the Association’s
Over 100 attend the Spring Dinner
The Association’s annual Spring Dinner returned to its office on Allen Street.
Along the parade route people drink beer in violation of
traditional location at Hamlin House this year, drawing 102
the
open container law which police are ordered not to try
members and friends on April 29. It opened at 6 p.m. with
to
enforce.
This year, a group even lit an open bonfire on
a cocktail hour featuring hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, folthe
sidewalk
next to the Holiday Inn.
lowed by a buffet dinner at 7:15.
Yet in Boston of all places, the parade is dry and the
Bob Fink, an Association director and chaplain at Hosspectators
orderly.
pice Buffalo, gave the invocation, and President Jonathan
Buffalo’s
parade “doesn’t have to be the drunkfest that
White offered a brief update on Association activities
it
is,”
said
Association
President Jonathan White.
A 50/50 raffle and silent auction raised $1,020 to supThe
Association
has
broached the topic with Common
port Association initiatives.
Council members.
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Page 3
Fun, instructive tours to show off neighborhood
You’ll have several opportunities this summer and fall
to enjoy some healthful walks around Allentown and learn
some fascinating things about the neighborhood’s history
and architecture.
The Allentown Association and the Theodore Roosevelt
Inaugural National Historic Site are jointly sponsoring a
series of two-hour walking tours that residents and visitors
will find enjoyable, educational and entertaining.
“I'm excited because this collaborative effort brings
back a comprehensive walking tour schedule that not only
narrates its preservation evolution, but also provides a
flexible tour schedule,” said Christopher N. Brown, who
heads the effort for the Association.
There will be separate tours of three different parts of
the neighborhood, of Kleinhans Music Hall ̶ and as Halloween approaches ̶ an Allentown Literary Ghost Walk.
Attendance is just $10 for adults and $5 for students. No
reservations are necessary. Just show up at the indicated
starting points 10 or 15 minutes before each begins.
Altogether, there will be 22 neighborhood walks, plus
two tours of Kleinhans and two Literary Ghost walks.
Here are the tours and their schedules:
Allentown East ̶ A tour of North Pearl and Franklin
streets, two of Allentown’s most intriguing residential
quarters, filled with brick mid-Victorian manses designed
in the Italianate and Queen Anne styles, plus Saint Louis
Place and a bit of Edward St.
These streets attracted professionals in the 1860s and
1870s who wanted to combine comfortable suburban living
with proximity to the boom of Buffalo’s commerce. The
tour begins at TR Site, 641 Delaware Ave.
Times: Fri., June 6, 6 p.m.; Sat., July 12, 10 a.m.; Mon.
Sept. 1, 10 a.m.; Mon. Sept. 8, 10 a.m.; Mon., Sept. 15, 10
a.m.; Sun., Sept. 21, 1 p.m.; Mon., Sept. 22, 10 a.m.; Mon.,
Sept. 29, 10 a.m.
Allentown West ̶ Where the northern edge of Buffalo’s original border meets the old New York State Reservation line is a district of small parks, secluded enclaves,
grand and humble Victorian houses, and a fulcrum of Frederick Law Olmsted’s parkway design for Buffalo.
Included in this tour are Symphony Circle, Day’s Park,
and Arlington Park. It begins at the statue of Chopin outside Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle.
Times: Fri., June 13, 6 p.m.; Mon., Aug. 4, 10 a.m.;
Mon., Aug. 11, 10 a.m.; Sun., Aug. 17, 1 p.m.; Mon., Aug.
18, 10 a.m.; Mon., Aug. 25, 10 a.m.; Sat., Sept. 27, 10 a.m.
Allentown Central ̶ This covers Allentown’s most
picturesque and best-preserved streets: Delaware Avenue,
Irving Place, and Park St. Filled with Victorian homes and
lovingly-tended gardens, Irving was the birthplace of
Check out First Fridays this summer
First Fridays Allentown is always fun. Galleries
hold openings, many with live music and refreshments. Bars and restaurants offer specials, and you’re
sure to meet people you know taking it all in.
Mark your calendars for June 6, July 11 (delayed
one week due to Independence Day) and Aug. 1.
June 6 festivities begin with a one-hour free concert by the Canal Street String Band at 5:30 p.m. at
the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic
Site, 641 Delaware Ave. People can tour the TR Site
for free that evening. Allen Street that evening will be
closed to vehicles from Virginia to Franklin streets for
an outdoor art and crafts market. Details of each First
Friday’s events get posted at www.allentown.org and
on www.firstfridaysallentown.com.
Friday, Aug. 1, falls in the middle of the Infringement Festival, much of which is centered in Allentown. Go to www.infringebuffalo.com to check out
events.
Allentown’s renaissance in the 1950s, when the beat generation rediscovered Allentown’s marvelous architecture
and nurtured its reputation for the arts. The tour our begins
at the TR Site, 641 Delaware Ave.
Times: Sat., June 28, 10 a.m.; Mon., July 7, 10 a.m.;
Mon., July 14, 10 a.m.; Sun., July 20, 1 p.m.; Mon., July
21, 10 a.m.; Mon., July 28, 10 a.m.; Fri., Aug. 1, 6 p.m.
Kleinhans Music Hall, Inside & Out ̶ Kleinhans, a
National Historic Landmark, was designed by worldrenowned architects Eliel & Eero Saarinen, with assistance
from designer Charles Eames. It is a modern masterpiece,
home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for nearly 75
years. Explore the building’s interior spaces and iconic exterior. The tour begins at statue of Chopin outside the music hall, 3 Symphony Circle.
Times: Sat., Aug. 9, 1 p.m., and Sat., Sept. 6, 10 a.m.
Allentown Literary Ghost Walk ̶ At dusk the houses
of Allentown take on a haunted ambiance. Take a spooky
two-hour October walk and hear macabre tales which inspired Allentown authors such as Mark Twain and Anna
Katharine Green ̶ from the War of 1812 soldier still looking for his stolen skull, to tales of angered ghosts seeking
vengeance against those who defiled their graves!
There will be two versions of the walk: Allentown Central, Sat., Oct. 11, 4 p.m., beginning at the TR Site, 641
Delaware Ave., and Allentown West, Sat., Oct. 25, 4 p.m.,
beginning at Karpeles Museum, 453 Porter Ave.
Page 4
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Restorations show Allentown’s resurgence
By RICHARD R. HAYNES
There’s been a recent spike in Allentown property restorations completed or
planned, all evidence of the neighborhood’s continuing resurgence.
Here’s a roundup:
• The Pilgrim Building, one of Allen Street’s iconic structures, is undergoing renovation into six luxury apartments and one or two spaces of streetlevel retailing.
For decades the four-story building
at 228 Allen stood mostly vacant, only
its second floor occupied by its nowdeceased owners, and its big groundfloor windows covered with trimmed
wood panels that left passers-by wondering what was behind them.
Noel Sutton of Sutton Development
bought the building last year from the
estate of one of the former owners. On
Noel Sutton is restoring the Pilgrim Building, left, and shows his
May 18 he led members of the Allenplans for 364 Hudson St., right.
town Association’s Housing and Historic Preservation Committee through to
see how work is progressing and to explain his site develhad been covered over with wood, but now they are reopment plans.
stored with cut-glass or stained-glass windows.
Sutton said he has been as careful as possible to preKitchens and baths are furnished with high-end modern
serve original interior features that date to the building’s
amenities.
construction in 1893, having original floors uncovered and
The building has been equipped with a sprinkler system
refinished, removing drywall and remilling wainscoting
since 1970, and Sutton has added a new fire-alarm and seand other wood features where necessary.
curity system, as well as updated electrical infrastructure.
Most of the apartment spaces have original cabinetry in
He expects to get rents of $1,500-$1,700 a month, and
pantries and original mantles in parlors.
will target the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus for potenAt the top of the three-flight staircase is a skylight that
tial tenants.
infuses a daylight glow throughout hallways and even into
The ground-floor retail space could be two businesses
the living spaces. That’s because there are windowed tran- or one. In the years 1907-1925 it was the Pilgrim Dining
soms above the entrance doors to each apartment and in
Parlor, which functioned as a speakeasy during Prohibition.
foyers throughout each apartment. Most of these transoms
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Sutton said he is going to have the space cleaned, repaired
and prepped, and will solicit offers from prospective restaurateurs and others.
In the adjacent lot at what would be 226 Allen, Sutton
removed a tree and bushes and is planning six parking
spaces ̶ one for each apartment. A decorative arch with
automated gate would open into the parking lot. This will
require a curb cut and the loss of one parking spot on Allen
Street, but he says that’s far better than adding six more
cars to the parking scrum on Allen.
Sutton is making a presentation to the full Association
board at its monthly meeting June 10 to seek its support
before going before the city’s Preservation Board and Planning Board for approval.
The Pilgrim is not Sutton’s only Allentown project. He
owns the Savoy, a restaurant and upscale bar at 149 Elmwood Ave., and recently acquired 364 Hudson St., a troubled four-unit property that he plans this summer to rehabilitate into a classy two-unit home and then resell.
• The former Immaculate Conception church and rectory at South Elmwood Avenue and Edward Street have
been sold to separate new owners who plan renovations.
The Allentown Association had been concerned about the
condition of the church, which had holes in its roof.
Dennis Maher, a Buffalo architect, artist and teacher,
acquired the church for $35,000. He plans to convert it into
a living laboratory for artistic and architectural experimentation called Assembly House 150, a place he calls “A Center for the Urban Imaginary.” It will house classrooms, a
gallery and studios where artists and skilled craftsmen will
collaborate on architectural and artistic projects.
Developer Wayne Bacon through 144 Edward Street
LLC bought the rectory for $295,000. He plans six to eight
apartments in the three-story, 7,000-square-foot “stickstyle” building, which was built in 1895.
The total cost of the renovation should be about
$700,000, he said.
“It’s a very grand building,” he told The Buffalo News.
“It’s gorgeous. When you go inside, you’ll see the spaces
are large and grand. The woodwork is spectacular.”
• 491 Delaware Ave., one of
the brownstone mansions in the
“Midway” block built in 1898,
has been restored over the past
year and is on sale at an asking
price of $849,000.
Walter McFarlane and Lenny
Alba paid $302,500 for it in April
2013. The original hardwood
floors were ruined, the central
staircase had been cut in half,
wood molding was missing in
491 Delaware Ave. places, the carpeting was worn,
Page 5
Both the former Immaculate Conception rectory,
left, and church will undergo renovation.
fluorescent lighting was everywhere, the windows were
badly in need of repair, and it hadn’t been maintained or
updated for modern use. “It simply showed more than a
century of use,” McFarlane told The Buffalo News.
They did a complete restoration and modernization:
new hardwood floors, carpeting and ceramic tile, recessed
ceiling lighting and wall sconces; a custom-designed
stained-glass central skylight above the central staircase;
new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, new
humidifier and sprinkler systems, a re-coated roof with new
flashing, and a new security system. It also has four new
bathrooms.
The brick exterior of the 6,100-square-foot building was
repointed.
• Roxy’s, 884 Main St., a former bar that’s one of the
last unrenovated buildings on the block between Allen and
Virginia streets, has been sold for $490,000 to Russ Conrad, founder and managing director of Lewiston’s Princeton Equity Partners LLP and to Ron J. Rubino Jr.
They plan to convert the three-story building into a mixture of residential and commercial space aimed at attracting
tenants from the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
They’re planning loft apartments on the top floor and medical offices on the
bottom two floors.
The 6,824-square
-foot former mansion
was built in 1883.
The previous owner
was Bilkim Holdings
LLC, owned by Bill
and Kim Regan,
owners of Mulligan’s Brick Bar on
Allen Street, who had Roxy’s will be apartments and
offices.
leased it to Roxy’s.
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Page 6
School, gallery, several new businesses are opening
By PETE CARROLL
A new private school, Buffalo Academy of Scholars,
has opened in an historic building at 434 Delaware Ave.
The not-for-profit venture is one of several new enterprises
in Allentown, including a new addition to the neighborhood’s expanding concentration of art galleries.
The Academy will have its formal opening in September when it welcomes 10 to 12 students, the first of a maximum of 60 in grades 5 to 12, according to the school’s executive director, Dr. Margaret Keller-Cogan. The school
will develop a customized learning plan for each student,
who will take one-on-one instruction in English language
arts, math, social studies, science, foreign languages,
physical education and the arts. Homework will be completed in school in an “independent learning” class following each formal one-on-one class. Call 464-3244 or go to
TheAcademyBuffalo.org for additional information.
Gallery TGW@497 at 497 Franklin St. is operated by
David Vitrano, a North Pearl Street resident well known to
Allentowners as the owner of an Allen Street antiques business for many years, and later, the Chinese Bakery.
An artist engaged in clay sculpture, drawing and painting, he is a member of the Buffalo Society of Artists and
the Western New York Artists Group.
“I decided I wanted a place to put some of my work
and expose the work of others,” he explained. The gallery
is open from Wednesday to Friday, noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, noon to 3 p.m. Phone: 949-6604.
Raymond James & Associates, a national investment
and financial services firm, has a new branch at 468 Delaware Ave., the new Twain Towers. Peter and Lisa Walsh,
who head the branch, were formerly with Morgan Stanley
Smith Barney in Buffalo. Phone: 768-3379.
Erie County Chiropractic, the practice of Dr. Scott A.
Croce, developer of the Twain Tower at 468 Delaware
Ave., has moved to the new building. Phone: 847-1200.
Employii at 466 Franklin St. offers payroll and other
software services to small businesses. Begun in 2011, the
Susan Lenahan,
CRS, CBR
Associate Broker
2007-2012 Agent of the Year
431 Delaware Ave., Buffalo
susielenahan@gmail.com
www.susanlenahan.com
Your City Expert!
Cell: 864-6757
firm moved to Allentown last year. Mike Hungerford is
chief executive officer. Phone: (585) 727-2003; Website:
www.employii.com; email: mike@employii.com.
Cut It Close, a barber shop at 144 Allen St., opened by
Gabriel Perez, offers all types of hair cuts by three barbers:
Perez, Nick Rodriguez and Paul Humphrey. Hours are
Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Phone: 715-1291.
Allentown Vapors, 70 Allen St., owned by Lydia Ghobrial, offers electronic cigarettes, smoking accessories, incense and artwork. Open Mondays through Saturdays
10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Sundays noon to 6 p.m. Phone:
939-2937.
Vaporize Me, 168 Elmwood Ave., electronic cigarettes
and accessories, opened in May. Hours, Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sundays noon to 6 p.m. Phone: 8002566.
Allentown Nail Salon, 95 Allen St., has been opened
by Ann Cao. Hours, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
Sundays by appointment. Phone: 883-0403; website:
AllentownNailSaolon.com.
Black Cat Vintage, 85 Allen St., operated by Mary
Parker, sells vintage and retro clothing and home accessories. It had previously been at 70 Allen St. Open Thursdays, noon to 5 p.m., Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m., and First
Fridays, 6-9 p.m. and by appointment. Phone: 548-6820;
website: BlackCatVintage@RoadRunner.com.
Tanglewood Salon is the new name of Now Salon, 105
Elmwood Ave. Brooke Herrington has owned the hair salon for two years. Phone: 882-4971; website:
www.tanglewoodsaloon.com.
Melting Point, 244 Allen St., Allentown's grilled
cheese eatery with sandwiches priced $2 to $8 and soup to
eat in or take out, opened over a year ago by Mike Kifner
and Matt Yahnke (but new to this column). Hours, Tuesday
to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11
a.m. to 2 a.m. Phone: 768-0426; website:
buffalomeltingpoint.com.
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Page 7
Planners are hard at work
on Allen Street project
There are no major new developments to report about
the Allen Street Extension and Improvement Project that
will transform Allentown’s main street and fortify the
neighborhood’s ties to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus ̶ but the engineering and landscape design team working on it has been busy.
Since February’s public presentation and feedback
forum, they’ve been doing more studies and pondering alternatives.
“There are a lot of conflicting needs to consider,” said
Kelly M. Thompson of Bergmann Associates, the engineer
who heads the project. “We have to be able to be as accommodating as much as possible to parking, bicycles, pedestrians and vehicles.”
The team also has to weigh how changes on Allen
Street might affect adjacent parallel streets such as Virginia, North and Summer streets. She said there are no
plans to make any of them one-way, “but we have to make
sure we’re not doing anything that impacts them adversely.” To that end, the team has been running trafficsimulation models as part of its studies, she said.
There will be at least three meetings this summer of the
project’s “stakeholder” group to get feedback on alternatives under review. Stakeholders include the Allentown
Association, Fruit Belt neighborhood interests and major
BNMC institutions.
A public hearing on final designs is expected in October
for a groundbreaking anticipated in June 2015.
The Allen-Medical subway station will be below
the new UB Medical School.
The portion of the project on the east side of Main
Street will build a pedestrian and bicycle pathway from the
new University at Buffalo Medical School through the
BNMC as far as Oak Street. John Bidell, the city engineer
assigned to the project, said some land still has to be acquired for that pathway, and that making those deals is a
current priority.
There's $4.5 million allocated for the project. The
BNMC portion is expected to cost $1 million. That leaves
$3.5 million for Allen Street, which is probably only
enough to rebuild from Main Street to Delaware Avenue.
The Allentown Association will work with elected officials and others to find the funds to complete the project up
to Wadsworth Street.
You can keep abreast of news about the project at
www.allenstreetextension.com.
The Allentown Association: Serving Buffalo’s Great Historic Neighborhood for 50 years
Incorporated in 1963 as a 501(c)3 charitable not-for profit
community organization. Our Mission Statement: The only
purpose of The Allentown Association is to serve its community. It does that through efforts to beautify the
neighborhood; to encourage historic preservation and
property maintenance; to promote appropriate business
development; to fight crime, and to protect and enhance
Allentown’s unique urban ambiance.
OFFICERS:
President: Jonathan White
Vice presidents:
Brian Gould, Steve Earnhart
Treasurer: Barbara Hart
Secretary: Laine Walnicki
Ekua Mends-Aidoo,
Jim Nash, Andrew Pace,
Henry Raess,
Adam Sokol, Max Stephen,
Jillian Stiefel
DIRECTORS:
Chris Brown, Pete Carroll,
Ed Castine, Caitlin Crowell,
Bob Fink, Gretchan Grobe,
Stanton Hudson,
Kelly Martin,
Ex-officio (non voting):
Richard Haynes, Holly
Holdaway, Elizabeth Licata,
Melissa Osmon
Executive Director:
Andrew Eisenhardt
The Allentown Neighbor
The newsletter is published quarterly; mailed to members and others, and distributed for free at retail venues in Allentown.
Editor: Richard R. Haynes, email: rhaynes15@aol.com
Advertising: rhaynes15@aol.com or allntown@localnet.com
Page 8
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Calendar of Summer Events
Allendale Theater, 203 Allen St. Theatre of Youth’s
new season begins in September. For information and tickets,
call 884-4400, see www.theatreofyouth.org.
Allentown Association, 14 Allen St. Board of Directors
meetings, June 10, July 8, Aug. 12. For information call 8811024 or see www.allentown.org.
Allentown Art Festival, Delaware Ave., Franklin St., Allen St. east of Elmwood Ave., June 14 and 15, 11 a.m. to 6
p.m., sponsored by Allentown Village Society.
Allen West Festival, arts and crafts, Allen St., west of
Elmwood Ave., Wadsworth St., June 14 and 15, 11 a.m. to 6
p.m., sponsored by Allentown Association.
Art Dialogue Gallery, 5 Linwood Ave., Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Joan Fitzgerald, selected works, June 6-24; Art in Bloom, July 26-Aug.
15; Shirley Kassman, small works, Aug. 22- Oct. 3. For information call 885-2251 or see artdialoguegallery.com.
Betty’s restaurant, 370 Virginia St. at College St. “Not in
My Backyard,” art by Chris Stangler, through July 20.
Buffalo Big Print gallery, 78 Allen St. Monday through
Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Recent paintings by Patricia
Dunn, June 6 to Aug. 22. For information call 884-1777.
Buffalo Infringement Festival, July 24 to Aug. 3, dance,
music, theater and poetry at Rust Belt Books, 202 Allen St.,
and 50 other sites, mostly in Allentown. See
www.buffaloinfringementfestival.org.
Casa de Arte, 141 Elmwood Ave., “Spanish Lesson,”
works of Richard Huntington, through June15. “The Mexican
Experience and More,” works by Ben Perrone, June 27 to July
20. Works by Rick Williams, Aug. 2 to 18. For information
call 227-0170 or 240-9248, or see casadeartegallery.com
College Street Gallery, 244 Allen St., works by 20 artists
in co-op, June 6, July 4, Aug. 1. Other dates by appointment.
Open mic for musicians, poets and writers, Thursdays from 7
to 9 p.m. For information, call 868-8183.
First Friday Gallery Tours, Allentown galleries will
have extended evening hours, some with new exhibits and
receptions, June 6, July 4, Aug. 1. See
www.firstfridaysallentown.org.
Indigo gallery, 74 Allen St., Tuesday to Friday, noon to 5
p.m., Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. For information, call 984-9572.
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, 220 North St.,
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, Dictators and Military
Strategists, Fidel Castro, Che Guevera. For information call
885-1986.
Kleinhans Music Hall, JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, June 7, 7:30 p.m. For tickets, call
885-5000.
Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Hotel Lenox, 140 North St.
Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays by appointment. “Portraits in Landscape,” works by Brendan Bannon, through June 25. For information call 882-5777.
Pausa Art House, 19 Wadsworth St., art, music, entertainment café. Closed June 29-July 16. Call 697-9069. See
Pausearthouse.com.
Rust Belt Books, 202 Allen St., for information call 5368337.
Studio Hart, 65 Allen St. Tuesday through Saturday, 11
a.m. to 3 p.m.. For information call 536-8337.
Gallery TGW@497, 497 Franklin St., “ProFound Objects,” beauty in found metal by Richard Rockford and Robert
Then, June 6-28. “Degrees of Intimacy,” sculpture and mixed
media drawings by David Vitrano, July 2 to 26. Painting collages by Joyce Hill, Aug. 1-30. Wednesday to Friday, noon to
5 p.m., Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. Call 949-6604.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
(Wilcox Mansion), 641 Delaware Ave. Hours, Monday to
Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5
p.m. Teddy Bear picnic, July 29, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Half-price
admission for National Park Service Day, Aug. 25. For further
information, call 884-0095 or see www.trsite.org.
Western New York Artists Group, 1 Linwood Ave.
Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.
to 3 p.m. Trilogies XXVI, work of Susan Copley, Ann Stievatter, David Vitrano, June 13-July18; a retrospective of water colors by Marjorie Norton, July 25-Aug. 22; Shirley Kassman, a life’s work, Aug. 29-Oct. 3. For information call, 8852251 or see www.wnyag.com.
The Calendar of Events is compiled by Pete Carroll. Email
submissions to him at pcbonjoura@gmail.com.
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Page 9
Allentowners are leaders in Project Slumlord
Inspire proposed law
to treat unpaid housing fines
as property-tax leins
Allentown residents are at the forefront of Project Slumlord, a grassroots
effort that’s making progress against
irresponsible absentee landlords who
profit from blight.
On the legislation front, State Sen.
Tim Kennedy and Assemblyman Sean
Ryan have introduced a pair of Project
Slumlord-inspired bills. One would
allow the city to enact an ordinance to
treat unpaid fines for housing code
violations on non-owner-occupied
homes as delinquent property taxes. If
these tax liens are not resolved and
paid, the property would become eligible for tax foreclosure.
Officials often have a hard time
collecting fines from absentee landlords, who hide their identities behind
limited liability corporations (LLCs)
and often live out of state or abroad.
By treating unpaid housing code violations as tax liens, these slumlords will
either have to pay up or risk foreclosure.
Currently, when properties are
foreclosed upon and sold at auction,
the city can only keep the money that
it is owed. Any balance sits with the
County Comptroller’s office for five
years, and if unclaimed, goes to the
state.
Their other bill would allow the
city to keep those unclaimed surplus
funds and direct the money to Buffalo
Urban Renewal Agency programs that
help responsible homeowners with
weatherization, home repairs and community development.
Common Council Member Richard
Fontana introduced legislation at the
city level in January that parallels the
state bills. It has the unanimous support of the Council.
Kennedy seeks first-hand slumlord stories
State Sen. Tim Kennedy wants Western New Yorkers to help him shed
light on the need to hold irresponsible absentee landlords accountable.
“Through real-life, first-hand accounts of Western New Yorkers’ experiences dealing with blighted, deteriorating properties owned by irresponsible absentee landlords, we will ensure lawmakers across this state
understand the urgency of this growing problem which is causing serious
harm in otherwise strong and vibrant neighborhoods,” he said.
Tweet him using the hashtag “#SlumlordStories.”
Project Slumlord is now part of an
official task force of the Common
Council and has regular meetings at
City Hall with administrative support
from council staff. Each Council District has representation on the committee, and a list of the worst slumlords in
each district is being compiled in order
to triage the worst cases.
This approach will bring attention
to Housing Court cases that have been
lingering on the docket for years with
little or no resolution. In addition, the
city intends to erect signs of shame at
the properties of offenders, with the
signs identifying owners and stating
that they are contributing to blight and
decay.
Project Slumlord is also working
with Community Police Officers and
the Department of Permits and Inspections on improving the enforcement of
city codes.
For starters, Community Police
Officers are enforcing Bawdy House
laws. Landlords who don't comply
with requests from CPOs to manage or
evict problem tenants will face fines of
up to $5,000. Building inspectors are
rewriting the ticket book to be able to
site for specific property maintenance
codes, and the fine and fee schedule
for violations is being revised.
Because blight and crime go handin-hand, police officers and inspectors
are working together for better information sharing. Building inspectors
will be alerted to code violations when
an officer responds to a 911 call, and
inspectors will alert CPOs when there
is evidence of criminal activity observed during the course of a building
inspection.
Allentowners active in Project
Slumlord include Patty Macdonald,
coordinator; Tim and Gretchen
Ashton; Broady Richardson; Beth
Kauffman, and Krista Palgutt, president of the Kleinhans Community Association. Others active include Mark
Legeza and Joe Galvin, micro developers and residents of the Niagara District, and Paul Harris, president of the
South Fillmore Block Club.
They will be attending block club
meetings all over the city this summer
to help all neighborhoods take action
against slumlords.
They’ve put together a booklet
called “How to Fight a Slumlord”
that’s available at
www.projectslumlord.net.
www.bnmc.org
Page 10
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Green Code ends Allentown’s special zoning districts
But it now includes protections against automatic approval of developments
By RICHARD R. HAYNES
The city’s new Unified Development Ordinance ̶ commonly called the Green Code ̶ will put an end to all special zoning districts, including the three in Allentown.
But it won’t change key protective elements that would
endanger the neighborhood’s historic character or automatically open it to potentially disruptive development.
First of all, the Green Code does nothing to alter the
powers of the Buffalo Preservation Board, which enforces
adherence to preservation guidelines in exterior renovations of homes and buildings in historic districts.
Secondly, it mostly retains the categories of businesses
and buildings in the special zoning districts that require a
special use permit from the Common Council instead of
merely going through the normal city permit process.
When a business requires Council approval, it gives the
Allentown Association an opportunity to meet with the district council member to oppose those that seem bad for the
neighborhood or encourage approval of those that seem
beneficial.
The Allen Street District, for example, requires Council
approval for new bars, restaurants, nightclubs, apartment
buildings, tattoo and body-piercing shops and schools or
training facilities. In establishing it in the 1990s, the Council justified its creation by saying:
“The Allen Street District combines a unique mixture of
historically significant architecture together with a viable
blend of small commercial enterprises and this combination
is a material asset representative of a way of life in the city
that should be maintained within reasonable limits. This
district has aesthetic value and is not easily adaptable to
drastic changes in its general character.”
The Green Code has been under development for four
years. Initially, it would have virtually eliminated Common
Council review of any new building or business, something
that alarmed the Association and a lot of other neighborhood groups and council members, too. In the final draft,
Council review is restored.
The other special zoning districts in Allentown that will
disappear are:
• The Special Delaware Review District, which covers
Delaware Avenue from North to Edward streets. It requires
Council approval for auto repair shops, car washes, gas
stations, billiard parlors, nightclubs, restaurants and bars,
laundries and dry cleaners, tattoo and body-piercing shops.
• The Elmwood Avenue Business District, which extends from Forest Avenue to Virginia Street. Businesses in
this district requiring Council approval pretty much mirror
those in the Delaware district, with the additions of commercial parking lots, pet shops and student housing.
The Green Code categorizes nearly all of Allentown as
an “Urban Center Neighborhood” with the designation N2. On all commercial streets of N-2 districts citywide, business uses needing Council approval are:
Bars, assembly halls, schools, rooming houses, stores
that sell alcohol and tobacco, amusement centers, live entertainment venues, open-air markets, outdoor dining facilities, large-scale retailers (over 10,000 square feet), selfstorage and other storage facilities, major vehicle-repair
shops, parking lots and ramps, passenger terminals and
wireless communications towers. On some N-2 commercial
streets ̶ including Allen Street, Main Street in Allentown,
and Elmwood Avenue north of Allen ̶ car washes and gas
stations would also require Council approval.
Missing from these lists are tattoo parlors, bodypiercing salons and billiard parlors, laundries and dry
cleaners, pet shops and student housing. All of those now
will be able to go forward through the normal city permit
process. Among business uses not permitted on any N-2
streets are halfway houses, drive-through facilities, adult
entertainment venues, and kennels.
The Green Code, like any zoning ordinance, also specifies the kinds of structures that can be built in various street
categories, how high they can be, maximum and minimum
lot sizes, signage rules ̶ all that sort of thing. All those
provisions it lists for N-2 streets seem reasonable.
The code calls for commercial buildings to be built up
to the street, with parking hidden to the side or rear, and
with plenty of windows at ground level to attract pedestrians. It will eliminate minimum off-street parking requirements, letting the market determine that. It requires plantings in front of parking-lot fencing.
It also restricts satellite dishes from the front or corner
sides of houses unless certified by an installer as absolutely
necessary to access a signal ̶ and it requires that unused
dishes be removed within 30 days. And it says that to the
maximum extent feasible, solar panels must not obscure
architectural details or features.
All-in-all, the Green Code streamlines the process of
approving building permits while still protecting neighborhood character.
Buffalo last updated its zoning code in 1953 and its land
-use plan in 1977. The final draft of the new code is expected to go to the Council in July to take effect six months
after it is signed into law. You can read the code and get
more information at www.buffalogreencode.com.
The Allentown Neighbor / Summer 2014
Page 11
June 19 fundraiser to help
maintain Days Park
Everyone in Allentown is invited to attend a chicken
barbecue Thursday, June 19, to help the Olmsted Parks
Conservancy maintain historic Days Park.
The “Grillin’ for Grass” fundraising event begins at 3
p.m. and ends about 6:30. It is sponsored by the Days Park
Block Club and Elmwood Village Charter School, and will
be held on school grounds.
Tickets are only $10 in advance or $12 at the event.
All the money raised will go to the Conservancy to be
restricted for Days Park projects.
Days Park was one of Buffalo’s first
public parks, donated as perpetual parkland by its namesake, Thomas Day, in
1859. In 1887, Frederick Law Olmsted
redesigned the park, adding trees and a
fountain.
Until the Great Depression, Days
Park was a beautiful and welcoming
greenspace, featured on 19th century
Thomas Day postcards. Unfortunately, as the urban
landscape changed in the mid-20th century, so did the park,
losing its trees, many of its families and its sense of refuge.
Extraordinary acts of ordinary people rescued Days
Park, beginning with Warren Day Ferris, the donor’s descendant, who sued and won to keep the space whole in
1957.
A decade later, college student David Urgo convinced a
farmer to donate 60 wild oak trees and the city’s Parks Department to plant them. Thirty of those trees survived into
1987, when the Days Park Block Club was formed and began working to restore the park and the surrounding homes.
The club raised funds by selling baked goods, plants
and T-shirts, and by winning government and private support. It pressured the city to enforce housing codes and provide better police protection.
Restoration included gardens, recreating the Olmsted
design for the berm at the west end of the park, adding doz-
The University at Buffalo Men’s Crew Team volunteered April 5 to clean up Days Park.
ens more trees and installing a Victorian-era fountain, replacing the original, which had been taken out in 1923. The
replacement was stolen in 1995, replaced again in 1999,
and then silenced for a year in 2010 after a car knocked
down part of the surrounding fence and landed against it.
So the block club swung into action again, working with
the Conservancy and Common Council Member David
Franczyk to replace the fence with a custom wrought iron
replica of the 19th century original. Last year, the Conservancy planted 50 native shrub roses around the fountain.
In 2012, Elmwood Village Charter School took over
and renovated the former School 36 building on the park,
assuring a non-commercial, neighborhood-friendly use of
the site. Last month, the school broke ground on a $2 million expansion to be completed in 2015.
To buy advance tickets to “Grillin’ for Grass,” and help
maintain one of the neighborhood’s loveliest residential
enclaves, contact block club president Dee Murphy at
murphydee@roadrunner.com, or Mary Simpson at
mary.simpson@outlook.com.
For more information on Days Park and the city’s other
Olmsted parks go to: www.olmstedinbuffalo.com.
Allentown will be center of Herd Fest music festival June 20, 21
Buffalo’s local music blog, buffaBLOG, is organizing a
new music festival June 20 and 21 that’s centered in Allentown and will showcase the talents of some of the area’s
best and hottest bands.
Herd Fest, as it is called, will bring together more than
40 bands represented by several record studios, music collectives and arts organizations.
The Allentown venues on board are Duke’s Bohemian
Grove, Nietzsche’s, College Street Gallery, and Allen
Street Hardware. At Nietzsche's on the night of Friday,
June 20, the festival will include an instrument donation
drive to benefit Music is Art, a non-profit group that works
with student musicans.
Wristbands costing $20 provide access to all performances. They and more information are available at
www.buffablog.com.
ALLENTOWN ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP FORM
NAME: ____________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________________________________
TELEPHONE: __________________________ EMAIL: ____________________________________________
If business, name of manager or owner: _______________________________________________________
Please select a contribution level:
□ Benefactor
□ Patron
□ Contributing
□ Sustaining
□ Business
□ Family
□ Individual
□ Student/Senior
$1000
$ 500
$ 250
$ 100
$ 50
$ 40
$ 35
$ 20
Optional activities/committees you’d like to help with:
□ Beautification
□ Crime prevention
□ Housing/Historic Preservation
□ Membership/PR
□ Business development
□ First Fridays
□ Nomination to the board of directors
□ Allen West Festival (adjacent to Allentown Art Festival)
□ Hot dog stand at Allentown Art Festival
□ Secrets of Allentown (annual tour of homes)
□ Special events/50th anniversary events
All contributions are tax-deductible. Please make a check payable to: The Allentown Association, Inc.
Mail to: Allentown Association, 14 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14202.
Please feel free to enclose a note with any ideas you have for improving the neighborhood, or suggestions for
strategies you think the Association should be pursuing or additional activities you think it should engage in.