Newell and crew at BrO have gone the extra mile to turn an idea thrown around on the internets into a more than realistic possibility.
The DL&W was discussed by the common council members as the location for the “Harborfront Market” that is a component of the “Canal Side” plan.
It’s a pretty interesting concept. Obviously the space on the 2nd floor (indoor and outdoor) holds endless possibilities and a market makes sense but there are some issues.
1. Broadway Market. It struggles enough. With downtown as a more pleasant place to be, people who have a choice between the two will choose the new one in a better area.
2. Location. Hidden behind the Arena in an quiet/isolated part of the city…will people notice it? That can be solved easily with the planning of the Canal Side area. Good signange, a metro station at the terminal, and improved landscaping will encourage foot/train/car traffic to it.
3. General demand. What is the demand for a market downtown? I can see it being crowded on weekends in the summer and during the holidays but what about a Tuesday afternoon in January?

I’m not so certain that that location will work unless the Cobblestone District along with the Waterfront and the rest of Downtown attain good density. A new building on the central wharf area like previously discussed by the ECHRC would be more successful at this point in time due to its visibility in a place that people will visit even without a market being there.

That’s my opinion. What do you think?

I’m a sucker for some really good 80’s synthesized, wierd hair/t-shirt wearing, punk. Somehow I never knew about The Smiths until last week and they pretty much epitomize everything I could ever want out of an 80’s band.
Much better than a lot of the stuff that is out there nowadays. No whiny or super-emo lyrics either and that is a big plus in my book.

And if you’re dissapointed that today’s post has nothing to do with Buffalo well then here…The Smiths are from Manchester, home of Bashar Issa. So there.

Long long time ago, I used to not be the only person who did posts here. That guy has moved on to the rap blogosphere. He had some random story about a Rapper, a chinese guy at Target and a black guy and I guess it was supposed to be funny. Anyways, that one story (about a rapper “Young Jeezy”) is one of the most searched posts on my blog and I’ve gotten some interesting comments…

JASMINE ROBINSON says:
10. October, 2006 at 07:12
I LOVE THAT SO ALL YALL WACK ASS NIGGAS NEED TO STOP HATEIN THIS IS JEEZY WIFE SO ALL YALL BITCHS FALL THE FUCK BACK. I LOVE YOU JEEZY.

Followed by this…

melissa says:
5. February, 2007 at 09:00
well i’m going 2 tell u something jasmine robsison jeezy is my baby so shut up and keep ur mouth shut cause tha’s my man aiight and if got a problem then fix it aight and jeezy is my husband aiight he is not urs and he will never be yours aiight stupied hoe

Why is this on my blog? I don’t know…but it sure is funny.

Ah the memories running around in the backyard with a mini-football in hand as a 6 year old pretending to be Thurman…I feel old.
Andre Reed was a snub but Thurman got his well deserved spot in the Hall Of Fame. Just another Buffalo Bill from the 90’s semi-dynasty to get in. His chararcter was an issue to a lot of fans but I wasn’t old enough to recognize any of that. Although like many, I felt betrayed when he signed with the Dolphins of all teams, all has been long forgiven and I look forward to the induction ceremony.

Pro Bowls: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992,1993
Awards: 1991 AP NFL MVP, 1991 AP Offensive Player of the Year, 1991 PFWA MVP, 1991 UPI AFL-AFC Offensive MVP
Honors: NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

Well, maybe thats not always the case (in fact it usually isn’t). My friend Alex wanted to do donuts with his ‘88 Volvo in a big parking lot so we decided on the one near the Larkin@Exchange building. While spinning around and leaving asphalt circles in the snow-coated lot, I noticed a huge brick wall in the back corner of the lot so i said

“Like OMGZ thats FLW’s 1st office building!”

because I’m basically a dork.

So we pulled over and walked around with our friend Abhishek. Not gonna lie, I tried to see if there were any loose bricks…but there were none…but still excited nonetheless (as you can see in the picture)

Afterwards we decided to pull up to Central Terminal.


As you can see, Abhishek knows that its polite to dress like the locals.

I, on the other hand, am just awkwardly giddy.

CT at night is always pretty creepy…which is fun but it was Wayyyyy to windy to walk around though (as you can tell in the picture below)

On the way back we yelled random party slogans as we drove down Chippewa and then took Main Street back up to UB and all agreed that UB was beyond stupid for not putting a campus downtown.

Buffalo might be down, depressing, and decrepid amongst other things but goshdarnit…Buffalo can be fuckin cool as hell while being all of those things…something Amherst can’t.

Augh, finally! Dragon Express got a new window after half a year. Looooking spiffy there, boys!
Now lets never let that happen again.

A big thank you to everyone at BuffaloPlace that helped me out as well as all the people who complained to City Hall.
I know its such a minor thing but ignoring things like that lead to us accepting urban decay on a larger and larger scale at time progresses.

I gotta tell you that Buffalo television media has the lamest studios, graphics, and web appearances I’ve ever seen in mid-major markets…There’s an article on WKBW about a woman who died in a fire in Cheektowaga and I swear to god this is their graphic…

Wow.

Richard Carelli, spokesman for the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts,
“We know that our No. 1 priority for 2007 is Buffalo. We also know that Buffalo needs about $130 million. Whether Buffalo gets all of that money is up to the GSA.”

All signs point to the infamous new Buffalo Courthouse actually
becoming a real building, not just a flashy “award winning” design. Construction as soon as March according to Channel 4, and completion a bit after October ‘08 according to the Bflo News.
Say whatever you want about the way it looks but architectually speaking, Niagara Square will be a pretty interesting space with all sorts of styles from City Hall, to the Statler, to City Court, to the new Fed. Courthouse. In a lot of ways, it will complete the square.

A comment in my last post reminded me of something me and pretty much everyone I know who has lived in Buffalo and DC does…

NAFTA does not equal NFTA. But for somereason I get them switched up A LOT..especially when I’m in DC.

Might not sound like a big deal but it can sound purdy darn funny in the context of a conversation. Try it sometime, you’ll sound especially stupid if you say “I’m not sure if the NFTA is achieving the economic goals it was intended to when it was signed.” when you’re in the Nation’s capital.