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R VERR CK    TIMES







     Vol. 6 No. 6                                                                 Thursday, May 14, 2026                                            Covering the Northwest Corner of Buffalo

     Common Council gives approval for


     redevelopment of Voelker’s property


       By Amber Healy
        t’s been a little more than a year
        since  the  bulldozers  came  for
     Ithe  former  Voelker’s  bowling
     alley at the corner of Elmwood Av-
     enue  and  Amherst  Street  in  Black
     Rock, and on Tuesday, the Buffalo
     Common  Council  gave  the  green
     light  for  the  next  chapter  of  the
     property.                     An early rendering of the proposed apartments at Voelker’s. The
       After years of negotiations and land at Amherst and Elmwood has been cleared for the project.
     discussions  with  neighbors  and
     community groups, the council vot-  spots in the initial phase of construc- SAA|EVII,  for  being  willing  to
                                   tion,  Golombek  says,  technically, work with residents to compromise
     ed unanimously Tuesday afternoon
     to approve a planned unit develop-  the  property  could’ve  been  turned on  the  proposal  for  the  property,
                                   into a 24-hour drive-through, which adding that more parking spots are
     ment (PUD) zoning application, in-
     dicating  the  developer  can  now  would have created even more traf- now  included  than  were  originally
                                   fic and disturbance in the neighbor- called for in response to neighbors’  MOVE-IN READY: A variety of bird houses were displayed at the
     move  forward  to  the  next  steps  in
     redeveloping the property, confirms  hood.                   concerns about traffic and on-street  Migratory May presentation.
                                      “The way the land is zoned, they parking.
     North District Council Member Joe                                                          Tips for a bird-friendly yard during
     Golombek.                     could  use  it  for  a  lot  of  different  The project is worth an estimat-
                                   things  that  people  wouldn't  be  too ed  $80  million  and  is  proposed  to
       While some residents have been                                                           Migratory May and beyond
     concerned about the proposed apart-  keen on,” he says.      function as “an economic catalyst”
                                      Golombek  credits  developer for  Black  Rock,  project  manager
     ment building on the property, fea-                                                           By Amber Healy              kinds of birds a person wants to see
     turing  230  units  and  96  parking  Connor  Kelley  and  his  firm, Connor Kelley, regional director for
                                                                  SAA|EVI, said last fall. The propos-  ooking to attract more feath-  during  a  session  of  the  Alliance’s
                                                                  al includes one, two- and three-bed-  ered friends to the yard this  “Migratory  May”  speaker  session
     Black Rock Arts joins celebration                            room  apartments  for  a  variety  of  Lspring, summer and into the  Tuesday evening.
                                                                  income  levels  with  rent  prices  ex-  fall? Focus on native plants, provide  “We  are  on  an  international
     of Robert Creeley’s 100th birthday                           pected  to  be  between  $700  and  plenty  of  safe,  covered  access  to  birdway of importance,” McCooey
                                                                  $1,800 per month, he said previous-  food  and  shelter  and  avoid  using  said.  “It’s  a  designation  for  wet-
        By Amber Healy                                            ly.                           any  herbicides,  pesticides  and  in-  lands, and wetlands help protect a
             new  exhibit  opens  this                               Don’t  look  for  construction  to  secticides on the lawn.  lot  of  bird  species.  The  migration
           weekend  at  Black  Rock                               begin  right  away,  however,  as  the  Anne McCooey, president of the  that comes through here annually at
     AArts celebrating the life and                               property  still  must  be  purchased  Black Rock Riverside Alliance, dis-  various times is second to none.”
     100th  birthday  of  Robert  Creeley,                        from the current owner before any  cussed the joys of birdwatching and  McCooey spearheaded an effort
     an  acclaimed  American  poet  who                           heavy equipment begins to roll in,  the importance of being deliberate  several years ago to encourage peo-
     once called Black Rock home.                                 Golombek says.                in  the  plant,  food  and  housing  ple to have their backyards certified
        “He  was  central  to  the  literary                                                    choices made in order to attract the          Continued on page 8
     happenings in Buffalo for a period
                                   Robert  Creeley  (at  right)  and
     of time. He taught at (the State Uni-
                                   Allan  Graham,  during  the  tap-
     versity of New York at Buffalo) for
                                   ing of "Add-Verse,", 2004.     Makers & Masters series begins
     something  like  37  years  and  he
     founded the poetics program here,”   photo by Gloria Graham
     says  Jason  Duval,  that  gallery’s  “There  are  poems  that  specifi-  with Haudenosaunee beadwork talk
     owner.                        cally  reference  those  places  and
        Creeley’s  presence  in  Buffalo neighborhoods.  There  are  a  lot  of
                                                                     By Roxie Harbison                                         the  right  to  sell  beadwork  at  The
     also, indirectly, led to the creation poems that could be more generally
                                                                     he  first  lecture  of  the  Black                        Falls in perpetuity.
     of the Just Buffalo Literary Center about Buffalo, where he makes ref-
                                                                  TRock  Historical  Society  2026                                Beads were purchased from all
     in 1975: Founder Debora Ott came erences to Buffalo, but there’s a few
                                                                  Makers  &  Masters  Series:  Tradi-                          over the world. Jonathan said cere-
     to  Buffalo  because  Creeley  was where  it  gets  very  specific.  That’s
                                                                  tional Culture through Art & Design                          monial pieces were not sold to the
     here  and  his  poem,  “Love  Comes kind of a cool thing.”
                                                                  on  May  7  was  Haudenosaunee                               public  but  were  sold  within  their
     Quietly,” inspired her to follow suit.  Creeley was known for breaking  Beadwork.    Grant  Jonathan,  the                own  territories.  (Some  ceremonies
        “She was a huge fan of Robert from norms and traditions when it
                                                                  scheduled  speaker  was  unable  to                          are private i.e. The Longhouse cere-
     Creeley  and  she  came  to  pursue  a comes to how poetry is presented on
                                                                  attend so his sister in law, Angela                          mony). It was tradition to put their
     degree  in  Buffalo  because  he  was the page, emphasizing “breath” and
                                                                  Jonathan stepped in and gave a great                         name and date on a creation to make
     teaching here,” Duvall says.  delivery in the written word, Duvall  lecture.  She  was  accompanied  by                   it easier to trace these pieces rather
        Creeley remained an active per- says. “Creeley’s poetry broke from
                                                                  her husband Tom Jonathan, Chief of                           than by patterns and style. There is
     son  in  The  Queen  City’s  literary the past with its emphasis on direct,
                                                                  the Tuscarora.                                               no  Niagara  tribe  or  reservation.
     world until he left the area in 2003; unfussy and, at times, conversation-
                                                                     The mastery of Haudenosaunee                              “Niagara Style” is really Tuscarora
     for 13 of those years, he lived in the al  language  and  its  focus  on  pro-
                                                                  beadwork has been around for gen-                            style, she said.
     former firehouse at the intersection foundly  intimate  themes  around
                                                                  erations.  However,  they  recently                             Besides passing down the tradi-
     of Amherst and East streets.  relationships, memory and the pass-  suffered  the  loss  of  several  crafts-  were of clear or white beads. After  tional  beadwork,  Jonathan  said  in
        While it might seem strange, or ing of time. I find his writing to be                    The Civil War the colors came out.
                                                                  men  including  Chief  Leo  in  2021                         order  to  keep  their  language  alive
     a  little  out  of  character,  for  an  art intensely human and highly, deeply               She  said  some  of  the  popular
                                                                  and the retirement of Rosie Hill who                         today,  children  get  Tuscarora  lan-
     gallery  to  be  centering  an  exhibit emotional.”                                         “whimsies”  (what  the  Europeans
                                                                  taught master beadwork classes.                              guage and culture classes everyday
     around a poet, there’s a throughline  This is not the only event cele-  The  Six  Nations  Confederacy  called them) were card cases, purs-  from third grade up.
     in  “There’s  Things  (an  exhibition brating Creeley’s centennial: “UB’s                   es,  picture  frames,  pin  cushions,
                                                                  includes Mohawk, Oneida, Ononda-
     for/about/around  Robert  Creeley)” Poetics Program worked for nearly                       needle  cases,  wall  hangings,  etc.
                                                                  ga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora
     that  carries  over  from  the  other a year to organize a two-day event,                   Every part of the design is done by
                                                                  tribes. There are three historic styles
     events hosted at Black Rock Arts: ‘For  Love:  A  Centenary  Sympo-                         a  ‘specialist,’  insuring  that  every-
                                                                  of  beading.  1)  Mohawk:  bigger,
     There’s much to be inspired by in sium for Robert Creeley.’ It begins                       one got paid.
                                                                  unique  and  colorful;  2)  Seneca:
     Buffalo, a community in which art- on May 21, Creeley’s 100th birth-                          Inspiration  for  designs  came
                                                                  more  geometric  shapes,  small  flat
     ists  hold  a  commanding  presence day. Word got to these folks about                      from  animals,  plants,  insects  and
                                                                  beads and sold at Niagara Falls; 3)
     among  those  who  appreciate  their our plans for a Creeley-themed ex-  Tuscarora:  raised  beadwork,  not  locations  like  Niagara  Falls,  New
     work.                         hibition.  They  invited  us  to  be  in-                     York State Fair or sentiments such
                                                                  flat,  not  symmetrical,  by  a  rope
        There are references to different volved  in  the  planning  and                         as “Thinking of You.”
                                                                  stitch or hump stitch or by sewing
     familiar neighborhoods in Creeley’s promotion  around  the  symposium                         All the land adjacent to Niagara
                                                                  beads  over  beads,    3-D  style  also
     work,  Duvall  says,  naming  streets and related events. Black Rock Arts                   Falls was at one time owned by the
                                                                  sold at the Falls. Jonathan said that
     and landmarks that are instantly rec- has assembled a program of docu-                      Porter family. Jonathan said the sto-
                                                                  during  the  Civil  War  beads  were
     ognizable  to  people  who  know  of mentary  and  experimental  films  hard to come by so most creations  ry goes that the Tuscarora rescued a
     his time here.                                                                              Porter son and in thanks were given
                                                   Continued on page 2
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