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Small Business Saturday just ended – a time where many people spend their dollars at “mom and pop” shops instead of Amazon or national retailers. We do it each year because communities prosper when dollars circulate in the local economy. However, when once thriving business districts suffer decades of disinvestment, people can’t shop locally.
Economically starved neighborhoods, where residents would otherwise be purchasing food for special meals, gifts for their grandchildren, or even holiday decorations for their living room, are all over Buffalo. Grant Street is a prime example.
I’m a lifelong West Sider. My wife and I are raising our daughter here. What happens to the community matters, and I’m concerned about its trajectory. Unkempt storefronts on vacant buildings, the loss of several anchor stores and a lack of overdue infrastructure improvements make it a challenge to turn this corridor into the thriving business district it should be.
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The West Side Bazaar had to move following a kitchen fire. What used to be chain restaurants and pharmacies are now vacant storefronts. Rust Belt Books is for sale; Paloma Exchange is in the process of closing its doors for good. We’ve lost businesses from Covid, particularly Lorigo’s Meating Place and Albert’s Restaurant after the owners sadly passed away. And now, Rite Aid has also closed its location on Grant.
What happens to the larger Grant Street international corridor if this pattern of abandonment continues? What about other small business districts facing similar challenges?
Despite this, there are reasons for hope. Healing Grounds Co-op has moved into the former Sweetness 7 Café. Plantae Market is open on the same block. HES Properties is building a three-story, mixed-use building on a pair of vacant lots. And the newly arrived immigrant community who calls this neighborhood home has been keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive.
A 2017 study by the nonprofit New American Economy argued that immigrants in Buffalo were a net positive to the economy. They start businesses at a higher rate and added more than $900 million to Buffalo’s housing values between 2000 and 2014.
This community has limitless potential, but it needs more supportfrom both private and public entities. Just a few blocks away on Niagara Street, we see this in action. After millions in investment and attentionfrom a combination of historic preservation subsidies, Brownfield cleanup grants, federal funding initiatives, and private dollars, Niagara Street has been transformed from a commuter corridor to a bustling business corridor.
Small Business Saturday is always a busier time for local businesses around the city. Grant Street is still waiting for its moment of rebirth, but I will continue to fight for itand the many other small business needs in my district. If we’re serious about ushering in a new era of prosperity within our city and breaking down barriers, we’ll make sure that economic success is attainable for all of our neighborhoods.
Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera represents New York’s 149th District.
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