For more than a week now, Governor David Paterson has been dealing with two political and legal scandals, but Monday, he turned his attention to the budget, holding a town hall meeting in Brooklyn to talk about the financial problems facing the state. Our Grace Rauh has more.
Imagine a elegant June wedding in Buffalo with hundreds of guests. Now imagine finding out just months before the big day that your venue is boarded up. YNN reporter Anne Lithiluxa has more on how the closing of the Statler Towers and its catering company has created a wedding nightmare.
Last week, Chicago Public Radio show, This American Life, discussed the American Psychiatric Association’s long time classification of homosexuality as a mental illness. The show covers the arguments made in favor of the categorization, the activists that protested it, and finally the movement from within the institution that managed to remove homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973.
You can download the show on itunes for 99 cents here, or download free on zshare by clicking here.
Eric Massa is now former congressman of New York’s 29th District. His resignation became effective at 5 p.m. Massa announced his resignation last week and maintains the claim that the decision came from his recurring health problems.
A man accused of trying to murder his ex-wife was arraigned in Erie County Court on Monday. 68-year-old Jonathan Cheek of Wilson is charged with attempted murder, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief.
The family of a Wheatfield soldier killed in Afghanistan is in the process of making funeral arrangements. 22-year-old Alan Dikcis was killed Thursday when his army vehicle struck an IED.
If anything has annoyed me the most in the exciting and gleeful world of Buffalo development, it would most certainly be the uprising and backlash against the construction of a parking garage on what is currently a surface lot for Marine Drive residents.
So I offer an alternative: The Webster Block, the surface lot directly in front of the HSBC Arena.
This is a most perfect site for a mixed-use, “intermodal”, Canal Side parking garage. In some cases, it might even be better than the currently proposed one.
Retail facing Main and Perry with delivery and car entrance/exits facing Washington
Restaurants would do great, seeing as some people have been to Peal Street Grill too much and that Morrissey’s and Benchwarmers might not have a full enough menu or be interesting enough to a more high brow audience attending an arena event.
Retail spaces would also face the Canal Side project and the facility could serve as a sort of Park N Ride for commuters who already park at the southern end of downtown and take light rail closer to their place of work.
Throw in residential, office, and even hotel space at the top and you have great downtown spaces with great waterfront views (as well as views of relieved residents of Marine Drive). It would be like an extremely modest Maple Leaf Square with a heavier focus on parking.
There might be an argument that the Webster block could be used in a more valuable way (sans parking) as well as official future plans on the part of the ECHDC but based on this block’s history and its inability to be developed even after the construction of the HSBC Arena, it would seem like this would be a good spot for a mixed-use parking garage and a good catalyst for further Inner Harbor development.
*Top image courtesy BuffaloRising
Brad Riter, Scott Wilson and Tom Schuh talk about Tim Tebow and take a trip down to the Korner.
UB men’s basketball coach Reggie Witherspoon is in studio for the last half hour.
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UB men’s basketball coach Reggie Witherspoon joins Brad Riter to discuss the Mid-American Conference tournament and the Bulls’ matchup against Miami (OH) on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
After facing expensive environmental cleanups with Hickory Woods and the city's initial Sycamore Village plan, City Hall decided it could avoid similar problems by requiring extensive soil remediation whenever a new home is built on property provided by the city.
They are school administrators, corrections officers and flight attendants, willing to take a chance on investing in one of the most expensive housing developments located in one of the poorest parts of Buffalo.
Buffalo spent $30 million over the past quarter century to help people buy homes they couldn't otherwise afford as part of the city's attempt to rebuild blighted communities.
One free agent visit was all offensive tackle Cornell Green would need. He had other visits lined up after Buffalo, but after his meetings with the Bills staff he was ready to sign on the dotted li...
There is a show coming to Buffalo this Thursday that you should catch. First of all, the venue is Sugar City, one of Allentown's most eclectic venues. That means that it's going to be an intimate show - a real close-up showing of the band Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned. What's interesting about the band is that it started off its music career as a group of internet street musicians, traveling around Albany and posting their performances online.
Anytime someone can tell me that a band that draws comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel is playing at a venue like Sugar City... and that the instruments of choice include trumpets, coronets, a tuba, banjos, a saw and a typewriter... then you can sign me up. Joining in on the action will be Buffalo's Reverend Soapbox and the Rabble Rousers along with Lucubrae. It all takes place in Allentown at Sugar City with the sounds starting at 8pm. Be sure to check out Sugar City website for details.
*Show starts at 8 pm, with the five dollar cover going to support future Sugar City projects. The Sugar City gallery will be open throughout the evening.
Sugar City
19 Wadsworth
Buffalo NY 14201
BRO Submission By Brandon Schlia:
Mohawk at near capacity was a nice surprise for a Sunday night show. That's the fortunate part about a band like Cursive, they're on the fringe of recognition which allows them to operate in the small venue circuit while still packing the room with die hard fans. We watched with a secret pleasure as the Sold Out sign went up and the stragglers were turned away.
The bill featured a cast of well established local musicians. Opening was Paul's Grandfather, a indie-folk band centered on the songwriting of three talented young ladies, Becca Ryskalczyk, Katie Preston, and Karrah Teague. As each took a turn leading, they were complimented by unlikely instrumentation including cello, and a saw played with a bow (that's right, like the tool for cutting trees). Following them was All Of Them Witches, a prog-rock guitar-fest. Featuring members of A Hotel Nourishing and Red Tag Rummage sale, Cameron Rogers, Phillip Freedenberg and Vic Lazar formed an intricate delivery of guitar tapping and turn on a dime rhythm. Most notable was the synced facial gesticulations and finger tapping of Freedenburg. His expressions moved so furiously it almost looked like the riff was coming from his mouth.
Lastly, Cursive took the stage and proceeded to execute one of the best live sets of music I've seen. After 2 bands and all the wait around time, I usually find myself tired of standing in a crowded bar by the time the headliner's set is halfway through. Their performance had virtually no down time. They managed to link nearly every song together fluidly. I was floored by their control over every element in the mix; the way they played on their dynamic options and worked all the rhythmic accents. It was quite clear that they've been doing exactly this for many years and are well versed in the tricks of the trade.
They seemed to favor the older material for their set list, and kept their latest effort, "Mama I'm Swollen," to a minimal. Judging by the level of energy, everyone was quite please with this. But, the highlight of the night had to be "What Have I Done" off the aforementioned record. You could tell that the band has a deeper interest in the songs fresher to them, and Tim Kasher's vocal delivery was powerfully genuine for this reason as he crooned: "the best years of my life were spent waiting on the best years of my life!"
Rather than take the usual five minute break before returning to the stage for the encore, Kasher took a few minutes break to chat, and self deprecate. "I'm usually that asshole at the party who keeps talking to you and you have to think, 'how am I going to get out of here? I'll tell him I have to go to the bathroom." It was nice listening to the mind of a talented artist stream out some consciousness. It also had another noticeable affect, it made him human. Undoubtedly idolized by a room of 300 hundred fans, he maintains his insecurities and it connected the crowd and the artist even more than the music could.
Cursive is reputable for many reasons. They're signed to Saddle Creek, a label responsible for cornering the market on the unique singer songwriter. They've been relentlessly touring, and releasing albums over the course of 15 years, helping to define the indie sound of post-emo. They have the experience, the chops, the presence of mind to make good musical decisions for translating their recorded music into a ballsy live effort. It was a pleasure to have them in Buffalo.
Mohawk Place
47 East Mohawk Street
Buffalo, NY 14203-1706
(716) 855-3931
