what happened to the neighborhood

i grew up in town and left in 1967 for the navy and never returned. my folks owned a hotel-restuarant (hotel williams) on the corner of Williams St %26amp; Lewis. as i remember , it was across the street from the stockyards. can anyone tell me what has happened to the neighborhood?

what happened to the neighborhood

Dav,

I am afraid that you would be a little shocked. Unfortunately the east side of Buffalo has succumbed to dispair caused by unemployement, drugs, gangs, and crime. I am not an east sider but I used to take the William st. bus from downtown to my apartment in Cheektowaga in the early 80%26#39;s-you could see the area decline on a day to day basis. The central terminal closed in 1979 and the area has been going steadily downhill since way before that. There are virtually no stores left just empty buildings. There are a few bright spots though, they have built a few new subdivisions off William street with modern suburban style homes-they are their own communities and they seem to be doing okay-I think a lot of police officers have settled in them. I am hopeful for the city, there are a lot of decent people living on the east side of Buffalo and they are trying to save their community.

I don%26#39;t know what your backgound is but this may interest you Christin Baranski (the actress) just narrated a documentary about Polish immigrants in Buffalo and how they settled on the East Side. It was on PBS and it was called Polonia-

You may be able to pick out a few memories.

what happened to the neighborhood

buffalogirl,

thanks so much for the reply. my grandmother was german and grandfather polish - came to the usa in the early 1900%26#39;s. he owned a small printing co and then worked for the morning paper, i believe it was the courier express?? bought the bar on williams st with my mom and dad in the late 1940%26#39;s, sold it and bought another one near the broadway market. it%26#39;s sad to let a city run down that way. here in new england, most of the towns and cities that have waterfront have realized what an asset it is and have refurbished the old mills and buildings into condo%26#39;s and small business%26#39;s and many youg people have moved back into these areas. there needs to be a real committment($$$) from the city to get developers interested in building. many cities have suffered this way and have come out of it so there%26#39;s always hope. i%26#39;ll look for that PBS show. thanks so much.

dave

yea the east side is pathetic and scary and western new york is being affected negatively by the people who live and the activities that happen there. a total lost cause. fortunately there are excellant community leaders in the east side who are helpful in stopping the growth of scum. first ring suburban communities like cheektowaga and amherst have taken a step to stop the filth that happens in the east side from penetrating our neighborhoods and thank god for that. our surburban police forces dont take kindly to the activities that happen in buffalo.

but,

-deserted building are finallybeing renovated into condos downtown

-chippewa isnt the red light district it used to be: it has nightlife that rivals any city%26#39;s

-there building $1M+ estates in clarence and ski chalets in ellicottville

-we still have world class museums (currently at the albright knox is an exhibition of modern chinese art on lease from the chinese government -buffalo is the only us city stop-)

-theres always niagara falls

and im ranting on now so i guess ill say buffalo is a great town and im done

Dav,

It sounds like your family was part of the very fabric of this area. It grounds you to realize how young people came to this country and influenced so many generations after them, just by working hard and surviving. The broadway market is still here and still in operation, although it really only booms at Christmas and Easter. More on that PBS special-it turns out the Christine Baranski%26#39;s grandfather helped build St. Stan%26#39;s church, as members of the community and business owners, it is likely that your family and hers rubbed elbows sometime in the past. Here is the link I don%26#39;t know if it is available on video-

www.wned.org/Productions/Polonia/default.asp.

As far as the future of Buffalo, we have a political system that is so firmly entrenced in croneyism and entitlement that it would be hard to break through, but people are trying. I%26#39;m going to hang around and see how it all works out.

Dave,

If you%26#39;re feeling nostalgic, try this website:

http://www.biniasz.com/pages/2/index.htm

Compiled by a Polish East Sider who%26#39;s now a local marketing manager. He has a page on there of old taverns in Buffalo/Polonia. Maybe you parents%26#39; place is on there...

What is the best thing about Buffalo???????

The roads leading out of it....

wow, you must have a lot of spare time

I guess what I would like to know Mr. Keilbasa is;

why come to the Buffalo Forum if you have nothing of interest to say?

I think most people who frequent these forums have enthusiastic and intelligent things to contribute. Most are respectful of other people%26#39;s homes, even if they want to share a bad experience or a different opinion.

There is always some guy who has to bring every one down.

I consider Buffalo my home.

Perhaps the Toronto forum is a better place for you.

Kol:bassaking

Leave the cheap shot humour at other forums!

Be helpful or be gone.

I work downtown and spend a lot of time on the East Side -- a lot of that time shopping at the Broadway Market. It gives you a community feeling you don%26#39;t get at supermarkets. I%26#39;d just like to point out that the East Side is still worth visiting for its spectacular architecture... especially the elaborate churches, like Corpus Christi, at the corner of Clark and Kent (haha) right next to the Broadway Market; St. Gerard%26#39;s at the corner of Bailey and East Delavan, which is a slightly scaled down model of St. Paul%26#39;s-Outside-the-Walls, a famous basilica in Rome... and St. Stanislaus, also near the Broadway Market, and Blessed Trinity, a fabulously beautiful church on Leroy Street. All these churches are still open, though who knows for how long. They can hold their own against any churches in Europe.