Buffalo Rising

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with Tim Flaherty, the President of Entertainment Events, Inc. and Valerie Witherspoon who wrote Sex n’ The City: A (Super Unauthorized) Musical Parody.

You heard it right. The AKG Art Museum has been named as one of TIME Magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places (https://buff.ly/3A1fwqc)” in 2024 (category – Places to Visit).

It has been a year since we received funding to develop a watershed-wide restoration plan for Scajaquada Creek (learn more (https://buff.ly/46CTqXn)).  In 2023, we began this work alongside local partner organizations to build a Community Advisory Group (https://buff.ly/3Yk8yXt) that is representative of the diverse and unique communities throughout the watershed to guide this project. Our goal is to raise public awareness of this local watershed and create a restoration plan for Scajaquada Creek that is driven by community input and uplifts the needs and concerns of those most impacted by the creek.  (https://buff.ly/3LHrWWK) We have some amazing individuals in the group who all have a passion for where they live and understand the importance of clean, healthy waterways.

Author: Brandon Kennedy, Lead Preservationist & Architectural Historian @ PBN (https://buff.ly/4atdDiZ) Preservation Buffalo Niagara is proud to announce the submission of local landmark nominations for the St. Thomas Aquinas R.C.

Larkin Development is wrapping up renovations to the former Larkin Men’s Club building at 696 Seneca Street into “The City Club.”  The building will include ten apartments, eight one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units, and a small ground floor commercial space fronting Seneca Street. (https://buff.ly/3yhK9aj) (https://buff.ly/3SnQlV2) The brick building fronts both Seneca Street and Swan Street, situated directly behind the fire station located at the Larkin Square intersection. The building has had multiple uses over the years, including a nunnery, Lee’s Tavern, and a men’s club for Larkin Soap Company employees.

Sometimes a name of a business really does sum it all up. In the case of a young entrepreneur by the name of Karina Krantz – a Ukrainian refugee who settled in Buffalo in 1995, along with her family – she wanted to be as direct as possible per to her penchant for living a healthy lifestyle, as well as her love for her hometown.

This coming weekend, you are invited to attend the Buffalo Irish Festival at the Outer Harbor. The festival, operated by the Buffalo Irish Center and the Irish Cultural and Folk-Art Association of WNY, has become a fan favorite, as it is loaded with all sorts of Irish-related activities and attractions, including music, dance, games, and history.

27 Western New York nonprofit organizations are set to share in funding totaling over $645,000, as part of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo (http://www.cfgb.org/)‘s 2024 Competitive Grants process. Nonprofits that vie for the funding must excel in the following four community goals, per Community Foundation’s guidelines: - Achieve racial/ethnic equity - Promote economic mobility through educational achievement for residents living in low-income households - Steward significant environmental resources in the context of climate resilience - Promote regional vibrancy through architecture, arts and culture The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo 2024 Competitive Grants recipients are: • Arts for Learning WNY: $20,000 for Artworks: Hired to Create.

Just what Main Street doesn’t need- another demolished building.  That’s what Health Sciences Charter School is proposing for 1291 Main Street.  The school had planned to convert the 28,000 sq.ft. building into a gymnasium but has determined the cost of the project to be prohibitive.  The school has owned the property since 2013. (https://buff.ly/3WFdUeI) (https://buff.ly/3ShnkKr) From the Application: This structure is non-contributing, not landmarked and cannot be occupied due to its deteriorating condition.  Although purchased with the hope that it could be used on an interim basis for educational purposes while planning to eventually convert and enlarge the building for a new gymnasium/wellness complex, the costs of meeting state education code for student use proved to be prohibitive.

Longlegs ★★1/2 (out of 4 stars) How I … My Mother “Longlegs” would seem to have the ingredients of a horror film that crosses into the mainstream (“Silence of the Lambs” 1991) or at least a cult production (“Blair Witch Project” 1999). Nicholas Cage, an exciting and unpredictable actor (should’ve had an Oscar for “Pig” [2021]), is the arch-villain Longlegs.