Northwest Community Workshop

Riverside,
Black Rock,
Grant/Amherst,
Hertel/Military

Riverside

Assets: Riverside Park; Niagara River; Riverside HS; School 60; School 65; Flying Bison Brewery; Businesses along Tonawanda and Ontario; Engine #26; Riverside Park; J.H. Williams park; Churches; Strawberry Island.

Strengths: Riverside Park; Niagara St.; strong residential streets Beatrice, Henrietta, Evelyn, Seabrook, Belmont, Albemarle, Elgas, Briggs, Crowley, Fuller, Philadelphia, Prairie, Oregon; Convenient and walkable neighborhood center - Tonawanda St. and Ontario St.

Weaknesses: Vacant lots and abandoned buildings; delis selling drug paraphernalia and alcohol; I-190 cuts of access to river; absentee landlords; brownfields; disinvestment along Ontario St.; vacant storefronts along Tonawanda St.; lack of investment in Shaffer Village Housing; Niagara St. and Ontario St. is too auto-oriented.

New directions: Develop more neighborhood green space; redevelop Shaffer Village to fit character of the neighborhood; develop business centers in place of large dilapidate buildings and brownfields; invest in bike paths; transition to more one-family homes; develop more mixed use-along Ontario St. and Tonawanda St.; make commercial plazas less auto-oriented; provide more parking, but behind buildings.

Black Rock

Assets: Towpath Park; Squaw Island; Boat Launch; churches and religious centers; Hungarian Social Hall; Black Rock Heritage Garden; local restaurants; Erie Canal Locks; Market Park; International Railroad Bridge.

Strengths: Strong residential streets - Dearborn, East, Peoria, Garfield, portions of Guernsey and Thompson; Niagara St. business district.

Weaknesses: Vacant lots and abandoned buildings; absentee landlords; drugs; I-190 cuts off neighborhood from the river; storage businesses out of character with the neighborhood; illegal dumping; pornography store; auto-oriented retail.

New directions: Use abandoned rail corridor for recreation and open space; covert land along Arthur to green space; redevelop corner of Rano and Tonawanda to include retail as well as industrial; use Black Rock Academy for neighborhood school or youth facility; strengthen retail along Niagara St., but minimize parking impact.

Grant/Amherst

Assets: Wegmans; art studios; Tops Plaza; churches; bike paths; informal green spaces; Buffalo State; local businesses; Legion Post 1041.

Strengths: Strong residential in core of the neighborhood - Germain to Reservation; strong residential off on Elmwood - Woodette, Beaumaris, Elmview; Amherst St. Businesses; Businesses at Elmwood Ave. and Amherst St.; access to recreation - bike path and parks; Access to grocery store - Tops and Wegmans.

Weaknesses: Drug activity; too many multi-family houses; brownfields; graffiti and disinvestment; vacant buildings and lots.

New directions: Strengthen mixed-use at Grant and Amherst; build new commercial up to sidewalk, zero setbacks; develop an urban business center along Chandler; increase investment in bike paths; develop a mix of medium lot residential and green space behind Tops Plaza; connect Buffalo State and Wegmans with a pedestrian bridge.

Hertel/Military

Assets: Rebecca Park; local businesses; Renovation Church; Grabiarz School; police station; Northwest Community Center; Extreme Wheels; Post Office; Cantalician Center.

Strengths: Strong residential blocks - Rebecca, Clayton, Ruhl, Kofler, Sayre; stable businesses along Hinman; neighborhood businesses at Hertel and Military.

Weaknesses: Disinvestment in Jasper Parrish, LaSalle Courts and Kissling Properties apartments; drugs, vacant buildings; vandalism; poor lighting along streets.

New directions: Develop more residential behind Home Depot - like Rebecca Park; develop traditional mixed-use along Hertel, west of Elmwood; fill in Hertel west of Military with urban business center; develop green space at Elmwood and Hertel; create formal green space behind police station - dog park, playgrounds.