Below is a letter that Cassandra Hayes, President of the Heath Street Block Club, has sent to area legislators in regard to the proposed storage facility at the site of the old Dash’s on Kenmore Avenue.
You can download an editable version of the letter to revise as necessary. If you would like to send the letter on to our local elected officials, you can find their contact information on our “Who Represents Me?” page.
March 6, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to think about the public meeting that was held Tuesday, February 24 at City Hall, Common Council Chambers before I sent this out. I also wanted to watch the news on television about Dash’s reuse plan before I sent this out.
On February 24, at 1 pm in the Common Council Chambers, 11 representatives from our community met to voice our concerns regarding the Reuse plan for Mr. Dash’s building located on Kenmore Avenue. Channel 2 at 5:30 that evening said that a few residents were present. What the TV station did not realize is that this was a cross section of our community. There were black and white people from both sides of Main Street. People ranged in age from 20’s-70’s. There were men and women. Most but not all were retired. People who had to work and seniors who could not stand the cold could not be there. But in a one month period, from December to January, we collected 300 signatures from people who wanted to stop the planned storage facility. These petitions and emails were sent to our councilmen and mayor. These people that were there represented the people who could not come. We could have gotten more signatures and will get them when the weather is more conducive to pounding the pavement.
All 3 local TV stations and the Buffalo News were at this meeting. I thought it was interesting that neither Mr. Dash nor his lawyers were interviewed on camera by any of the TV stations. At this public meeting, one of Mr. Dash’s lawyers said that “once the green code was implemented by the Common Council, Mr. Dash would be able to put a storage facility in as that area would be designated for this use”.
Channel 4 stated the next morning that “Mr. Dash intended to go forward with an application for zoning change”.
This is a high traffic area. The city is investing money in a “Rails to Trails Project” that will link Main and Kenmore Streets for bikes and pedestrians. Kenmore Avenue is being revamped for biking and better driving. How does a storage facility benefit this community? In a negative way, it creates a space for opportunities for drug activities to take place as well as other safety threats like robberies, etc. How many people will feel safe using a bike trail that is very close to a large and lifeless area such as a storage facility? There is the potential for hazardous material to be stored in there, along with sheltering homeless vagrants. This presents a safety hazard to the community.
Is it true that the Green Code will allow this area to be used for a storage facility or that Mr. Dash is indeed now going forward with an application for changing the zoning laws, no matter what the community wants? The City of Buffalo wants to create pedestrian friendly, walkable communities in our city. This storage unit would be less than 100 feet from the Rails to Trails project. How does this facility help make our community a “bikeable” and “walkable” community or help this community to grow? It is not right for City Hall to rezone or support the Green Code if it doesn’t benefit the citizens of this community. Per Mayor Brown “Buffalo is a bikable city which will have over 80 miles of bike lanes by the end of 2015”. Some of this will be located less than 100 feet from a storage facility which will detract from our area and could provide hazards that do not exist right now.
Why is this going to be allowed on Kenmore Avenue in our community? Is it going to be allowed on Hertel Avenue? Is the property on Hertel going to be rezoned to permit storage facilities or will the Green Code allow structures like this on Hertel?
I am a concerned citizen who is sending this to you because I want to keep my community safe. Please feel free to contact me via email (chayes197@gmail.com) if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Cassandra Hayes
President
Heath Street Block Club