Video (Joe Giovenco, Tommy Vettor, Kate people in it)
Working for Downtown – 25 years
BOMA – 75 years
Rotary – 100 years
Carolyn Murray
James Rafferty
Wayne Bacon
Servicemen and women
Elected officials
Staff
People watching on channel 22
Thanks for taking the time to learn what’s going on in
Buffalo.
FUNDAMENTAL OPERATIONAL ISSUES
Every day of every year the City of Buffalo must deal with
certain fundamental operational issues:
We are making progress on many fronts:
We are meeting our obligations with the Control Board
Every step of the way.
We’ve reduced the projected deficit for ’05-’06 by $45
million.
We closed out last year with a modest positive fund balance
- Reduced personnel:
700 fewer City employees today than1994
Over the years, I cut 30%
40 exempt positions
Buffalo operates with 32 employees for every 1000 citizens
National average is 49
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That’s 17 fewer employees -And that means progress.
In 2004, we negotiated and implemented
single provider health insurance.
Saves over $7 million/year.
2004 was the first full year of one officer cars
Increased visibility
Cut overtime by more than 65%
to its lowest in over 8 years.
Team Fire: Team management concept to oversee Fire
operations
First national search in 125 year history of department
brought us two new deputies (Introduce)
New Fire Commissioner (Introduce)
This is the team that will rightsize our Fire Dept.
With fewer buildings and newer equipment
Full implementation of MMA recos.
We’re making government more accessible with more
programming on TV and our new BERC website:
www.berc.org.
We instituted a new Rental Registry requiring all non-owner
occupied one and two-family dwellings to register with the
City
Allowing us to identify problem properties, problem
landlords and problem tenants.
In 2004, we issued permits that generated over $131 million
of construction value being invested in our City
Up 24% from 2003
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In 2004, we did a better job of collecting money we’re owed.
And this year, our Office of Strategic Planning will be
working with State elected officials and HUD:
Organized effort to put an end to house flipping
And predatory lending
Going after the parasites that eat away at our City’s housing
stock.
We’ve reformed the way the City uses HUD funds
to help neighborhoods access capital
for small businesses start ups
and for housing investment.
Whether it’s with loans to give people a chance
Or a Sales Tax formula that gives us our due…
We’re going to keep on fighting for economic justice
and investment in our City.
We continue to look ahead:
Investigating options as to how we should shape City govt
And continue to find ways to enhance
regional cooperation and collaboration.
We will continue to push Albany for reforms
Because until Albany acts, Buffalo
--and every municipality in NYS –
will not be able control costs.
But let me assure you, ladies and gentlemen:
This City -- This Mayor--- And our countless partners -3
Are not just waiting around…
So many important changes are being made in Downtown
and in our neighborhoods.
Last Spring, I began taking people on our “Seeing Is
Believing” tours
Because I want people to see what I saw.
- Thank you: Working For Downtown
Buffalo Place
These tours have been so successful that we’re going to
begin them again in the Spring
HSBC will sponsor -- Thank you.
There’s a sign up sheet in the lobby.
These tours do more than just give people first-hand look at
some of the exciting projects we’ve got going on in Buffalo.
Their real value, I think, is in giving people an opportunity to
learn that there is a long-term strategy –
And the first completed chapter is
Our award-winning Queen City Hub plan:
That targets investment in key areas;
that builds on our strengths;
that leverages partners; and
optimizes development opportunities
Today, I’d like to take you on a tour – so you can what I see
And what the people on the walking tours saw -A chance to see for yourself
the difference that strategic planning makes
that targeted investment makes
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--and that our enlightened partners are making
in the City of Buffalo.
TOUR
DOWNTOWN: INNER HARBOR
For 1ST time in decades, reinvestment is occurring
on almost EVERY BLOCK of Main Street
– from the Inner Harbor to Canisius –
Targeting the 5 specific areas
outlined in our Queen City Hub Plan.
Our Tour begins at the Inner Harbor Waterfront:
Erie Canal:
This Spring, we begin construction at the terminus of the
Erie Canal
- Tourism
$47 million to bring new life to this cornerstone of
Waterfront cultural tourism.
We’ve already issued RFP for high-end housing at Admiral’s
Walk in the Erie Basin Marina
Soon we’ll select a developer who will create more new
housing in the Erie Basin neighborhood.
Bring more residents, more consumers and more
revenues Downtown.
Shang-hai Reds: Former Crawdaddy’s:
Opened this Fall
$5 million restaurant and destination at Waterfront.
Bass Pro:
Break ground this Spring.
Bass Pro: Investing $57 million – at minimum – of its own $$
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The Aud will go from being one of our biggest eyesores
To one of our best assets –
with a Great Lakes/Erie Canal museum
a hotel
an intermodal transportation center
and parking that will benefit the entire waterfront.
The Buffalo store will be Bass Pro’s 3rd largest
Bass Pro’s first urban experience –
They expect to bring millions of new customers to
their store on this historic site
We’re aggressively pursuing national and local retailers to
join us and create critical mass at this site.
And Bass Pro is getting people to look at Buffalo
in a whole new light.
Elk Terminal:
Building on his success, seasoned veteran Bernie Obletz will
be expanding the Lofts at Elk Terminal
Phase II will create 48 (47?) new gorgeous loft apts.
Phase I Converted formerly abandoned food terminal
into 52 first-class apts
100% occupied.
Bernie went where few went before him
And now he finds others sharing his confidence
in the Cobblestone District.
Benlin:
Savarino and Jacobs are bringing the first new development
to the Benlin Properties at #26 Mississippi
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Housing, commercial & retail –
A real shot in the arm for the Cobblestone District
Carl Paladino and Ellicott Development are looking to turn
warehouses in the Cobblestone District into housing.
This Summer, we’ll issue an RFP to replace the old public
housing at the Perry Projects and transform them into a
high quality neighborhood, similar to Ellicott Town Center
and West Side Hope VI.
Larkin Building: Almost full.
500 BLOCK:
Anchored by the Bellasario (former Bergers Building)
Luxury apts and commercial tenants
Almost full
Carmina & Woods, A&E:
Architects restoring former McDonald’s at Main & Mohawk –
Was an eyesore for over a decade.
Will bring another 26 jobs downtown
Greever’s Building: at Main and Huron
Now known as the 537 Main St. Loft Apt. Renovation
Greg Raywaldt - new owner
Will add housing on top of existing retail
My Challenge to the owners of the vacant buildings on the
east side of the 500 Block of Main Street:
Do something NOW!
600 BLOCK:
Zemsky’s new building at Main and Chippewa: CITY VIEW
Major tenant: National Insurance Co of Vermont
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Appraisal.com:
Taking the vacant building at 620 Main & making it their HQ
Had considered moving to Florida
Expanded operations here in Buffalo Empire Zone =
127 new jobs by January 2007
on top of the 53 jobs that we retained.
Total investment = $2.1 million
At #665 Main, McGuire
Boutique office space is full.
Pierce Building: Ron Alscheimer converting old abandoned
retail building into housing and retail.
THEATER DISTRICT:
Our investments in the Theater District
are helping produce sold out shows
Upgrades to Shea’s, Irish Classical and Studio Arena
Have given these theater companies
venues befitting their art.
700 BLOCK:
Right next door to his refurbished Stokeseed Building
Chris Jacobs reconstructing a building that will house
first class commercial space
Sidway: Clover Management
Leased Out
Last year, we said the Schmidt and Shiveron buildings had
to be dealt with
Today, the Schmidt building is down
Clover Management, building on its success at Sidway,
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Optioned the land and will build high-end apts
That will mean homeownership opportunities
& retail
Keep Up The Pressure so owners will fix the Shiveron site
Staying in this Cluster,
Ellicott Lofts are Leased Out
Phase II: Work already begun on 58 new housing units
With accompanying retail and commercial.
Clothing store, bakery, wine outlet –
just some of the new attractions
planned for Buffalo’s Flower Market
Much awaited Washington Market has opened to rave
reviews and strong attendance.
Alternative High School on Oak Street is being turned into
29 residential units
Holling Press:
82 units of affordable housing will open this Spring in the old
Holling Press Building
Thank you Eran Epstein for investing here
And also for what you’re going to do
near the Broadway Mkt.
40 affordable apts for lower-income seniors
with retail below
(Thank you for contributing to Video)
The Electric Building, a Downtown Buffalo landmark has
new ownership.
Isaklo is converting building into Class A office space.
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Mark Croce and Uniland Development: turning a parking
lot at 470 Pearl Street (directly behind Shea’s) into a mixeduse commercial building.
Our Queen City Hub Plan calls for exactly that –
Turning parking lots into buildings.
Asbury-Delaware:
Will be open by the end of the year
State of the art entertainment venue & recording studio
Partnership with Buffalo icon Ani DeFranco
Thank Francyzk and Coppola for their leadership
800 BLOCK:
This Spring, Bernie Obletz will begin re-habbing the 800
Block of Main Street across from the Medical Campus
Bringing more housing and retail and commercial space
Transforming abandoned buildings
into valuable property
20 apts and 5 commercial/retail units
Creating an urban village that provides people everything
they need within walking distance of their homes.
A new restaurant is being built at #888 Main Street
Slated to open late Spring
Direct result of the Medical Campus build-out.
1100 BLOCK:
More Medical Campus expansion with the addition of the Ira
Ross Eye Institute
Productive, adaptive re-use of a vacant building
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1200 BLOCK:
On the 1200 Block, Artspace will break ground this Fall
Breitweiser Printing Building on E side of Main (at
Northampton)
Minneapolis-based developer specializing in
creating unique living and work space for artists.
60 unit complex
Turning the biggest vacant building on the block into the
tipping point that will change that neighborhood.
Delta Sonic expansion will finish this Summer
Squire Building at Main & Riley undergoing major
renovations
Literacy Volunteers restoring this iconic building
as it carries out its important mission.
MEDICAL CAMPUS:
So much is riding on the success of the Buffalo Niagara
Medical Campus
100 acres: clinical, academic and research excellence
People think that because construction is still going on, the
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus remains in the planning
stages.
But already, +8,000 people work at the Medical Campus
each day
+200 PhDs
Actively recruiting more people every day.
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The Medical Campus -- and the people who work there -have an economic impact of $300 million annually.
Already.
This Spring, the $24 million Hauptman-Woodward Structural
Biology Research Center will be completed.
And in early Fall,
-UB’s $52 million Center for Excellence in
Bioinformatics and Life Sciences; and
-Roswell’s $74 million Center for Genetics and
Pharmacology will be ready for occupancy.
This Partnership of UB, Roswell Park, Kaleida Health,
Hauptman-Woodward and Buffalo Medical Group
was expanded last year to include
Olmsted Center for Visually Impaired and
Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center
I want to Thank Tom Beecher for agreeing to chair another
great partnership:
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.
That’s sheparding the master plan
for new infrastructure and build-out.
Some of the most exciting research being conducted on the
planet is happening right here, in Buffalo, New York.
And the City is doing it part to help the Medical Campus
integrate with the Allentown and Fruitbelt neighborhoods.
COLD SPRING HOMES:
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Faith-based initiatives: Working with Bethel Community
Dev. Corp
Affiliate of Bethel AME Church,
Buffalo’s oldest African American religious congregation
Rev. Richard Stanhouse, Lamparelli Construction, HUD,
Local Initiatives Support Corp.
Phase 1:
8 single-family affordable housing
on Elsie and Purdy Street
First-time home buyers.
St. John’s Community Development Corp:
Building a hospice for the Medical Campus
Cornerstone Manor: Fulfilling its mission by expanding
So it can better assist
Buffalo’s growing homeless population
of women and children.
New neighborhoods being created up & down
the spine of Main Street.
Now you begin to see how all this development is connected
How all the pieces fit together
and add value to each other.
It all began with the targeted investment that’s going on in
our 5 strategic investment areas:
1) The Waterfront
2) Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
3) Theatre District
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4) Government/Finance Center
AcQuest: Another parking lot turned into a
beautiful urban Office building
Homeland Security Building
Announced sale of 1 HSBC Center: $100 million
Buffalo’s biggest office tower
Will be biggest single property sale
in Buffalo’s history
Clearly, Buffalo’s Fire Sale days are over.
5) Education on Public Safety Campus anchored by
ECC and the Erie County Downtown library:
Several new buildings at City Campus
for Student Housing, Classrooms and an ice rink.
Within 3 years, most ECC faculty
and the administration will be located downtown.
Congratulations to Bill Mariani and the Trustees for their plan
to convert ECC into a “CommUniversity”
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QUEEN CITY HUB:
These five strategic investment areas are the focal points of
our award-winning Queen City Hub Plan – our vision for
Buffalo’s future
-- our blueprint for Buffalo’s revival:
Targets over $1 billion of investment
$400 million already allocated
Collaboration at its best: UB: Shibley Bflo Place: Schmand
Plan’s design requires us to implement as we plan.
NEIGHBORHOODS:
All this development in Downtown is exciting – but the
growth isn’t just going on in our Downtown neighborhood.
During the making of our Holiday video for Channel 22
to promote local businesses w/ a “Shop in Buffalo” theme,
I took viewers on a tour of retail outlets throughout our City.
We saw up close the vitality of many small businesses
and the power of the entrepreneurial spirit
We saw quality and affordable goods and services
Unique gift items
Available in all of Buffalo’s neighborhoods
Elmwood and Hertel Avenues are commercial corridors
that are alive and well.
Diverse and mixed
Retail and food options
Housing values have almost doubled!
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We’re going to build on that strong neighborhood foundation
-- and expand it to other neighborhoods throughout our City
With:
Small Business loans
Façade improvements
Infrastructure investments
Good planning and design standards; and
Housing programs that create homeownership
New construction
Re-hab when possible
NEIGHBORHOODS
My administration will be focusing on Neighborhoods this
year.
Here are the tools we’ll be using in 2005:
Targeting: Small Business Expansion and Creation
Housing Rehabilitation and Ownership
Citizen Empowerment
For Neighborhood Businesses –
The Empire Zone:
Creating major incentives for small business
development
During 2004, the Empire Zone Program certified 139
companies
For total investment of close to $150 million
Retained 3,336 jobs
Created 1,967 jobs
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Federal Renewal Community Incentives have helped us
bring new projects to the inner city:
We used our entire $30 million allocation of
Accelerated Depreciation Credits last year
(The only city to do so)
And more than $50 million over the last 3 years.
These credits were used when we built:
the two new Tops on the East and West Sides,
the Plaza on Broadway and
the renovation of the Larkin Building.
Last year, the new BERC loaned $3.3 million to 27
companies,
Leveraging $13.5 million in private investment
Creating 461 jobs.
This year, BERC will loan $4 million to small businesses.
CARE:
Starting this Spring, hundreds of business and commercial
property owners will be able to take advantage of grants and
low interest loans through the City’s new Commercial Area
Revitalization Effort (CARE) Program.
The CARE Program targets:
Lower Niagara Biz District, Grant-Ferry,
Jefferson Ave., Broadway-Filmore,
Central Park Plaza & Seneca Street
$3 million in Community Development Block Grants have
been allocated.
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Market studies have been completed for each of the CARE
areas
And at the request of neighborhood leaders, a special
$25,000 forgivable loan to help attract the top 3 businesses
needed for each CARE area:
Example: Jefferson…
BERC will continue to partner with local banks to create a
loan pool to be used to leverage existing funds.
In 2005, BERC expects to lend
over $2 million to businesses
(Some of which are already located here
and others who are looking to relocate here)
BERC is partnering with Canisus College on the
Entrepreneurial Assistance Program
Trained +60 entrepreneurs in business planning
EAP Micro Loan Program provides up to $10,000 in loans
to entrepreneurs who complete this course and are eligible
for financing
JOINT SCHOOLS CONSTRUCTION:
Phase I complete
Phase II – 13 more schools
$307 million in technical and safety improvements
Last year, we activated The Mayor’s Livable Communities
Initiative
Targeting the 11 communities and neighborhoods
Where the 9 renovated schools are located
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Strategic focus on targeted areas has enhanced our
revitalization efforts.
And this year, we’re taking it to the next level:
We’re going to focus City bond funds and CDBG funds on
infrastructure improvements in those neighborhoods:
Paving streets
Fixing sidewalks
Trimming and planting trees
To improve the quality of life
for the children who attend these schools -And for the neighbors who live there.
We will allocate and spend +$4 million in CDBG and capital
funds to demolish buildings that cannot be rehabbed
-- and are a blight to our neighborhoods.
HUD has given us a Clean Bill of Health and released $9
million of HOME monies
We’re going to use that $9 million for rehabilitation loans
to qualified homeowners
and to give incentives to first-time homebuyers.
Today I’m announcing our Livable Communities Grant
Program
To encourage projects that produce measurable
physical and visual improvements:
Planting, landscaping, façade improvements,
graffiti removal, parks and recreation or
historic preservation.
Projects that improve pedestrian access to mass transit or
which involve cleaning up neighborhoods are also eligible.
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Our goal is to empower citizens to re-invest in their
neighborhoods.
$100,000 in grants will be available to any block club or
civic/citizen association in the City of Buffalo.
Grants will range from $500 to $3000.
Grants up to $5,000 will be available for neighborhood assns
located in any of our 11 targeted Livable Communities
Neighborhoods.
We begin accepting applications on March 1st.
My challenge to all of you is:
Start planning now
how you can take advantage of these funds.
This initiative will help:
Foster relationships between people
Cultivate connections among groups and
Strengthen the bond between people and
their neighborhoods
It’s a natural outgrowth of Good Neighbor’s Planning
Alliance
Michigan Avenue Corridor: City is working with Ellicott
Good Neighbors Planning Alliance & cultural organizations.
All along Michigan Avenue we’re working to
develop this corridor to enhance Cultural Heritage
Tourism-The Ellis Island for African Americans who came
to Buffalo seeking freedom.
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Strategic planning and beautification efforts have begun to
commemorate this year’s 100th anniversary of the Niagara
Movement (beginning of NAACP)
The City invested $360,000 to renovate the Nash House
BROWNFIELDS:
As we work on getting companies to do business here,
we have to have places for them to set up shop.
I can’t overstate the importance of brownfield reclamation to
our City’s future.
Everything rides on our being able to
clean polluted land up to standard
We are aggressively working
to make former brownfields
shovel-ready for re-development.
That’s why I am so genuinely grateful and truly thankful to
HealthNow
and Alfonso O’Neill White
for deciding to locate Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s parent
company’s headquarters Downtown
To the old Buffalo Gas Works site by the end of 2007
Bringing 1300 employees downtown every day.
That a company known
for its commitment to health and wellness
would choose this site
demonstrates corporate leadership at its best-And speaks volumes about the quality of our clean up
effort.
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Total economic impact = $1.9 billion every year.
Largest private-sector development in DT since 1967
1967 was a long time ago
(I was in my second year at Canisus)
That kind of drought is never going to happen in Buffalo
again.
Because we’ve figured out how to turn our brownfields green
again:
Union Ship Canal: Will reclaim over 200 acres of formerly
uninhabitable land and turn it into office space and light
manufacturing.
South Buffalo/Lakeside Commerce Park
Remediation is being completed in phases
CertainTeed: Is Lakeside Commerce Park’s first tenant
25 acres and hundreds of new employees
Proof positive: If You Clean It, They Will Come.
LTV in South Park:
200 acres will be cleaned up & ready for development
I want to publicly commend Steelfields and thank them for
meeting their obligations
Two years ahead of schedule!
Sycamore Village: We’re cleaning the soils this Spring
so that our development partners can continue housing
construction in the Pratt-Willert Homeownership Zone.
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HICKORY WOODS:
This year, we will be prepared to offer $1 million of HUD
Home monies
To current property owners who want to move
and to new homeowners that want to live
in Hickory Woods.
We will also clean Boone Park this summer, so kids in that
neighborhood have a place to play.
PEACE BRIDGE:
One of the most exciting successes of 2004 occurred last
month, when we nailed the opportunity to be first in the
nation –
to usher in a revolutionary change in US immigration policy
with the Peace Bridge Shared Border Initiative.
Right here in Buffalo, New York.
It took a long time, but we were ultimately successful
Because didn’t blink
and we never gave up.
Finally convinced everyone:
US Customs, Canadian Customs, the PB Authority,
Transportation and security officials from both countries
And both cities.
Schumer
Redekop
That’s a lot of layers of bureaucracy – But this Shared
Border Initiative should be a reminder to everyone of the
importance of never giving up on what’s right.
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Because now that we finally won permission to move the US
customs function to the Canadian side of the border,
We can shrink the size and scope of the American Plaza.
Huge win for Buffalo.
This Spring, the Interim Plaza will be built
Moving tolls, Duty Free to Canadian side
Will expedite movement of cars and trucks
Lessen environmental impact on lower West Side
Create more user-friendly system for moving
cars and trucks off the Plaza.
Includes Neighborhood and Front Park improvements:
Enhance livability in and around this Olmsted
neighborhood
Creating a Gateway Community at Buffalo’s border crossing
The City made sure that the process of choosing a new
bridge design was opened up so that the public had access
& opportunity for input and comment.
Soon, we’ll select the jury that will choose the Signature
Bridge design, Great Gateway and Plaza.
And while it’s true that the Peace Bridge project is taking
longer than any of us like – getting it right is what’s most
important.
The next bridge will last +100 years and we need to get it
right
And Buffalo is getting it done right.
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PARTNERSHIPS:
We don’t have all the answers. We don’t have enough
money.
But we do have partners – and partnerships make all the
difference.
We do our best work
and accomplish our finest successes
in Partnership.
NFTA:
Let’s not forget that the NFTA,
partnering with the City and the County
are announcing soon the Master Developer who will
begin to bring a mixed-use neighborhood
to our biggest asset, The Outer Harbor.
OLMSTED CONSERVANCY:
The Parks consolidation with the County brought us a new
Partnership with the Olmsted Parks Conservancy
Bringing private sector resources to this jewel
Debbie Trimbell
Victor and Corrine Rice
HOUSING COURT:
Buffalo is working closely with Housing Court and with Judge
Henry Nowak and community leaders.
Orders to Vacate and new foreclosure procedures
have enhanced our ability to fight blight –
And collaboration with the Court is stronger than ever.
Last year, City inspectors forwarded over 2,000 cases to
Housing Court.
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WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD:
In partnership with the County, the WIB is helping people
find jobs and get training at the Buffalo Employment and
Training Center
Helping people from all over Erie County look for work
Helping people – even those with jobs – upgrade their skills.
The City of Buffalo always looking for new ways to
collaborate with people and organizations
Wi-Fi: City is working with Infotech Niagara, the ECIDA and
others to expand the "Wi-Fi" (Wireless Internet) program
throughout downtown, to the waterfront,
within City Hall and in our neighborhoods.
Free wireless internet access will allow anyone with a laptop
or a PDA computer to surf the internet
down at the Erie Basin Marina.
People can stay connected -- indoors and out -Without wires or cables. For free.
Did you know Buffalo has the 5th most extensive
fiber optic network in the world?
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When we talk about Partnerships, I have to point to the
Queen City Hub:
The Plan itself is a model of collaboration
UB: Shibley, Buffalo Place: Schmand – and the City
The plan is the direct result of those Saturday morning
summits
100s of people hungry to share their ideas
Buffalo’s Queen City Hub is a direct result of your input.
Last month, our plan won the nation’s highest planning
award from the American Planning Association
We won because we built on our strengths:
Olmsted, Ellicott, the water
We won because we focused on our goals -And because we collaborated
and created the plan together
One of the most important reasons
our Queen City Hub plan works
is because it never had to be sold.
The public bought in from the start
Because the plan is OF the people
People must always come first.
And children are at the front of the line.
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One of my proudest accomplishments
is having re-establishing the Police Athletic League.
The PAL has led the way for public-private partnerships for
the past decade.
Sue Gonzalez, Executive Director
Safe, supervised recreation +20,000 children each year.
Volunteers
People contributing their time, talent and $$$
In 2003, when others dropped the ball on planning for First
Night, it was the PAL that saved the Ball Drop.
This year, PAL is jumping in into save the Gus Macker 3 on
3 charity basketball tournament.
Joining forces with Kids Escaping Drugs.
Together, they’ll make sure that the Macker stays downtown
the third weekend in June (June 25-26).
This year, PAL is re-inventing Winterfest,
By bringing on a new Partner:
Niagara Frontier Auto Dealers Assn
Thank you Paul Staziak
Winterfest On Wheels:
Moving downtown
In conjunction with the Auto Show
(weekend of February 12- 13)
Thousands of people coming Downtown already
Free family fun, music, fireworks
INDOOR children’s activities!
Traditional Chili Cookoff and lots of great food!
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Keep America Beautiful:
Buffalo won Best Great American Clean-up
Collaborative model for the nation
Volunteerism at its best
Block clubs, GNPA, neighborhood groups -All stakeholders in a variety of Cleaning & Greening Projects
Jim Pavell
Mayor’s Impact Team
Mike Cacciatore
Elizabeth Triggs – neighborhood cleanups
Rosa Gibson – Thanks for your passion and your
contributions -- And thanks for being in our video.
Challenge to all Buffalonians this month
And for the rest of this winter
-- And all winters to come -Shovel your sidewalk!
Shovel your neighbor’s!
AWARDS:
Just last week, Buffalo was named one of Expansion
Management Magazine’s top 50 Best Places in America to
expand or relocate a business.
USAir magazine, American Style Magazine, The Atlanta
Journal Constitution, The Washington Post, the New York
Times
All positive, national exposure
Proof that we’re on the right track.
Buffalo won on one of 25 Active Living By Design grants
from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Neighborhood Business Groups:
West Side Business and Taxpayers Assn
Greater South Buffalo Chamber of Commerce
Forever Elmwood
Hertel Avenue Business Assn
South Buffalo Alive!
Heading East
Many more…
All getting involved.
Participating.
Helping shape their neighborhoods
And Buffalo’s destiny.
My final challenge for today is for you to take your own tour
Check out what’s happening for yourself.
Take a different route to work.
Take a walk at lunch time.
Go exploring on a weekend…
And see what I see.
You’ll see a new Buffalo –
You are our City’s ambassadors – Buffalo’s champions
You are the key –
Everyone here today is getting a pin
that’s the key to the City –
Wear them with pride!
Help us tell Buffalo’s story.
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At your seat, there’s also a cd of a presentation we made at
last month’s 3rd Annual Life Sciences Networking Luncheon
and Update.
It’s different than the video you saw here today.
The take-home cd is geared toward enticing people
in the Life Sciences field to consider moving to Buffalo.
If you know anyone who’s looking to come back to Buffalo,
Send it to them!
We need them and we need you!
Seeing IS believing
Take a tour and you’ll see that the State of our City is
improving in some very exciting ways.
And I urge everyone to take a fresh look.
Thank you.
Questions.
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