Next Wednesday, March 30, at 6pm, Buffalo ReUse will be part of a discussion at Medaille College about “Leadership in WNY”.

Some points of discussion:

• What goals for community improvement do you and your organization(s) work to achieve? How do these help contribute to building a civic and sustainable future for Buffalo and the region?
• Why do you work toward these goals? What is it about Buffalo’s history that makes these goals important? What is it about Buffalo’s history that makes these goals achievable?
• What perceptions of (or stories about) Buffalo and the region can sometimes be obstacles or barriers to reaching these goals?
• What opportunities and conditions exist to help you and your organization(s) realize these goals?
• Why should students learn to “read” and “engage” in writing the story of their community? What can they do to contribute to the long, hard work of building civic and sustainable communities? In what ways is personal success only meaningful in the context of community?
• What are the personal challenges and rewards of actively engaging in your community and working to make it a better place?

Medaille Website

Starting next Tuesday, November 16th there will be a series of three public meetings to inform city residents about the new zoning code that the City of Buffalo is going to create over the next couple years.

As stated from the Buffalo Green Code website;

The new Buffalo Green Code will be the first opportunity Buffalonians have had in nearly sixty years to establish a new regulatory framework for the development of our neighborhoods.

Zoning is the tool by which we build our communities.  It determines what gets built and where.  It’s essentially Buffalo’s DNA.  The process to re-imagine the city’s future and write a code that matches the community’s vision will be an exciting opportunity for the people of Buffalo.  As this process gets rolled out, over a period of three years of serious work, encouraged that all citizens in every section of the city participate and take an active role.

If you do not know what zoning is, the question and answer section of the green codes website does a decent job covering the topic.  It definitely is a very important tool in creating and maintaining cities and is going to be a key part to Buffalo’s accrued success moving forward.

We have one of the most friendliest and enthusiastic cities out there and it shows as you walk up and down the streets of Buffalo, no matter what neighborhood you are in.  So please come out and continue the support and give your input on our City’s own future.  If you want something done you have to go out and do it.  Things don’t happen on their own. So come out and have a say next week, there will be three different meetings that are held to provide Buffalonian’s an opportunity to have a say in our promising future we all have known this City is capable of.

Tuesday, November 16th, 7pm.   Central Public Meeting

Buffalo Musuem of Science. 1020 Humboldt Parkway, Buffalo, NY,  14211

Wednesday, November 17th, 7pm.  North Region Public Meeting

Bennett High School. 2885 Main Street, Buffalo Ny 14214

Thursday, November 18th, 7pm.   South Region Public Meeting

Tosh Collins Community Center. 35 Cazenovia St. Buffalo NY 14210

Keep up with the Buffalo Green Code’s development by becoming a fan of their facebook page and signing up for the website’s newsletter. Issue #1 is already out. Follow this link to read more.

Just passing this along from Linda at the Board of Block Clubs. It’s important to be a GOOD LANDLORD.

CITY OF BUFFALO
LANDLORD TRAINING
Friday, November 5
8:30am – 4:30pm
At Belmont Shelter Corporation
1195 Main Street
At the corner of Dodge

If you are a landlord or considering property management, don’t miss the opportunity to learn valuable information such as

• eviction proceedings
• mold prevention
• lead poisoning prevention
• funding sources
• housing court procedure
• the role of the police
• inspection procedures
• detecting drug activity on your property
• crime prevention techniques
• fair housing
• rental assistance corporation, belmont resources
• social service information
• leases and the best tenant selection processes

To register, please visit the City of Buffalo’s website.

The City of Buffalo owns the most properties in Buffalo–most of which are vacant. Every October the City holds an auction on foreclosed empty lots, vacant commercial buildings and vacant houses. Many property owners who shop at The ReSource have successfully bid on properties and rehabbed the structures to live in themselves or to earn income as landlords. Maybe this is something you’ve thought of yourself but don’t know where to begin. I encourage you to attend our info-session October 2nd at 2pm. Megan McNally, Cassie Wilson, Michele Johnson, Harvey Garret and Diane Wray will be present to provide strategies, share their personal experiences and answer questions. There are a lot of options for acquiring property in Buffalo–this just one, but it might be the method that works for you.

Join us at 298 Northampton St.

There’s a need from Grace Community Church (175 Potomac Ave) for rides and/or carpooling to this event–not sure how many people. If anyone can assist, please coordinate with Matt Kauffman of the Homebuyers Club–maybe meet there at 1:30pm and then head over to ReUse before 2pm.

Several of our artist friends are exhibiting at the huge BEYOND | IN WNY 2010 art extravaganza this weekend:

Dennis Maher – lover of all things deconstructed, and we don’t mean words and sentences and paragraphs . . .

Carl Lee – our favorite filmmaker; his exhibited work will be familiar to demolition fans . . .

JM Reed – photographer, real estate broker and supporter/advisor of Buffalo housing activists such as ourselves . . .

All three are exhibiting at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College. Opening reception is this Sunday, 2pm to 4pm.

Sustainable Stewardship: Greening Historic Buildings

Barbara A. Campagna, FAIA, LEED AP

Graham Gund Architect of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Larkin at Exchange Building, 6th Floor, Barton Room
726 Exchange Street, Buffalo NY 14210

Tuesday, April 13
2 – 4 PM

Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) is hosting a free lecture on making historic buildings – and all older building – more energy efficient. As the construction and operation of buildings accounts for more than 40% of the United State’s carbon dioxide emissions, reusing and retrofitting our existing buildings can reduce emissions dramatically.

Barbara Campagna, a Buffalo native, is the chief architect for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She will discuss the National Trust’s Sustainability Program and how the 29 historic sites of the National Trust are integrating historic preservation values with green building practices – from green housekeeping techniques to sustainability master plans to LEED certification for historic rehabilitations. The National Trust’s efforts are demonstrating that conservation and improvement of our existing built resources, including re-use of historic and older buildings, greening the existing building stock, and reinvestment in older and historic communities, is crucial to combating climate change.
According to Barbara, “Older buildings are one of our greatest renewal resources and everyone concerned with the environment should also recognize the value of keeping older buildings energy efficient and viable.”
Read the rest of this entry »

AIAS Freedom By Design utilizes the talents of architecture and design students to radically impact the lives of people in their community through design and construction solutions. Vital modifications are made to enhance the homes of low-income elderly and disabled individuals by addressing their struggles with everyday tasks such as getting in and out of the shower, ascending stairs, accessing cabinets, and  opening doors.

The UB Chapter just finished this project for Gracie, a disabled woman in Niagara Falls. The group of students installed two grab/safety bars in her bathroom and replaced her original basement stairs which were far too steep. In its place, they built a winding staircase that leads to a new landing with better hand rails on either side of the stairs. Next stage: to replace the existing handicap ramp that is too steep.

These students are awesome, and they got all of their building materials from Buffalo ReUse

Last night I watched Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story. I have seen most of his films and I always think there are a ton of though-provoking points that somehow get glossed over or ignored by the movie reviewers and pundits. I heard almost nothing about this movie when it came out, except the usual critics dismissing Moore as a crackpot.  Moore even used a recent incident in Buffalo to drive home one of his examples of capitalism’s failures that resulted in tragedy. But Moore made me aware of something that I never learned in school. You may be saying, “Big surprise, you missed something in school–textbooks are notorious for sanitizing or omitting or altering facts in history” True, but I took all my History and Civics classes seriously and even took AP Government and AP US History and no one ever mentioned anything to me about the 2nd Bill of Rights. Most of us remember the tenets of our first Bill of Rights, namely, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” but this other suggested set were completely new to me.
Since my involvement in the nonprofit world, I have come to know about them through networking with other nonprofit groups and learning the ways in which our missions overlap, especially in the areas of social justice (CEJ & PUSH & PPG), but no one has ever specifically mentioned them in context of a Bill of Rights.

I remember very little about FDR. I remember that he was our longest running president, he died in office and he created jobs for artists and others in a time where no jobs existed, he got through the Great Depression.  In that historical context, FDR drafting another set of rights–an Economic Bill of Rights made perfect sense.  Here they are:

• The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
• The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
• The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
• The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
• The right of every family to a decent home;
• The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
• The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
• The right to a good education.

Wow.  These seem so simple, why do they sound so revolutionary?  Don’t these seem like rights we already believe we are entitled to? and this was six decades ago.  If our government did actually work toward securing these basic rights for citizens–how different would our nation be?  Roosevelt drafted these to ensure equality in our individual pursuits of happiness–because people who are desperately trying to survive–are not truly free.

A group art show presented by CFGB (Community Foundation for Great Buffalo) and FEHR (Family Environmental Health Resources) designed to raise awareness about the issues surrounding safe housing and healthy children.

Call for artists

The art show is designed to show by picture and word, how to be aware of, how to identify and how to protect your children from dangers and toxins in the environment. 

The show will highlight the conditions of and remedies necessary to take an unsafe, unhealthy home and make it a safe and healthy environment for all members of the family, especially children.  Artwork in all medium and written word which embodies the aforementioned themes presented will be graciously accepted for exhibit.

We anticipate works showing the positive themes (good nutrition, safe homes, and active kids) as well as negative themes (deteriorated housing, urban blight, and under-utilized parks).  We invite works that highlight urban problems, and offer solutions for green and healthy homes, in Buffalo and beyond.

Show:  April 16^th-22^nd at 464 Gallery, 464 Amherst Street Buffalo, NY 14207

Hours:
Friday, 4/16/10: 12-6pm
Saturday, 4/17/10: 11-6pm
Monday, 4/19/10: TBD
Tuesday, 4/20/10: Reception time TBD
Wednesday, 4/21/10: 12-6pm
Thursday, 4/22/10: 12-6pm

For more about 464 Gallery:  http://www.mindweb.us/Welcome.html

To offer a piece for the show email to Marcus Weiss at: mindweb.us {at} mac(.)com