Wilson Park opening on track for 2026 opening

Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy Executive Director Katie Campos believes the construction progress on LaSalle Park is going well. Located on the shoreline of Lake Erie where it meets the Niagara River, the project aims to give families and kids more activities to do. The park looks to add outdoor fields that will need time to sod and grow also.  A project that was introduced pre-COVID-19, the park aims to open to the public by Summer 2026. There will also be Wilson park’s second annual WinterFest from 1-3 p.m. on Feb. 22 with activities for everyone in the family. By Chris Giacobello

Wage hike of little impact among W.S. small businesses

By Richard Miller

            As of Jan. 1, 2025, the minimum wage in New York State has increased by 50 cents. For those working in Buffalo, the starting wage has gone from $15 an hour to $15.50 an hour.

            The wage increase was a part of an initiative by Gov. Kathy Hochul to help the working class afford their everyday needs. Per the New York State Department of Labor, the wage will increase another 50 cents in January 2026.

            West Side small businesses tend to agree that the minimum wage increase is necessary in order for people to keep up with the cost of living. Many were unfazed by the increase because they said they already had been paying employees well above the minimum wage to begin with.

            Diane Lopes, relationship manager for the microloan program at the Westminster Economic Development Initiative, said her clients indicated in a survey that the increase would have no impact.

            “They already pay more than the minimum wage, with salaries ranging from $16.50 to $17.60,." Lopes said. "These clients own retail stores, including women's clothing and bookstores.”

            Dr. Fred Floss, economics professor at Buffalo State University, said the increase in minimum wage would not result in a decrease in success nor fewer workers for small businesses. Rather, small businesses have to focus on restructuring funds elsewhere.

Professor Fred Floss

            “The vast majority of small businesses that go out of business were going out of business before the minimum wage was really a factor," Floss said. "We’ve seen small businesses do things that have actually made some sense and made them more profitable."

            An example can be found in restaurants that had menus of 10 to 15 pages in length, which Floss deemed as "wasteful." A better, more profitable option is to have a shorter menu with standard

            Very rarely do wage increases such as the one enacted this January result in businesses actually having to lay off employees, sources said.

            For many businesses, increasing financial success just comes down to drawing in more customers.

            Jonathon Welch, co-founder of the Talking Leaves Bookstore, 951Elmwood Ave., said  that bookstores are faced with a unique challenge that other businesses don’t have  to encounter.

            “The only leeway that we have in terms of margins is basically increasing sales because the prices are printed on the books that we buy," Welch said. "We don’t have the ability to just raise prices, which is what most people do when they want to change their margins. For us, it’s always a question of trying to cut costs in other ways or increase sales. We do that in all the traditional ways. We do sales by just trying to be a good business that people can trust on rely on.”

            This community-based business model and willingness to adapt is what has kept Talking Leaves as a pillar in the community for over half a century. Welch also is an adamant supporter of wage increases and helping workers afford the cost of living,

            While businesses elsewhere may blame the increase for their shortcomings, many businesses in the West Side seem to understand the importance of employee satisfaction, said Olivia Harbol, business advisor for the Small Business Development Center.

            “I am all for my clients pushing for a higher wage," Harbol said. "That is how they become competitive and get really great employees to stick around and really love the business that they’re working for and want to stay for years.”

Apartments, hotel rooms next on Statler agenda

 

Property Manager Joe Konze, stands in the newly renovated Terrace Room in the Statler Buffalo.  Also renovated were the main lobby and Golden Ballroom were recently renovated.  The major event that led to the renovations was a call from the mayor’s office, in 2022, stating that the mayor wanted to host the State of the City address.  The rooms were painted and plastered giving an updated look but keeping the nostalgic feel that the Statler Buffalo is known for. The next phase, which will begin next year, is to update and renovate the hotel rooms and apartments.  Historic hotel room floors will be on

Golden Ballroom

levels nine, 10 and 11.  Residential units will be on levels three through eight and levels 12 through 18.  The reasoning for this is that the goal was to put the hotel rooms in an area with beautiful views.  The goal for the Statler Buffalo is to have a cohesive ecosystem in which hotel guests and residents can come and go without bothering the other. “We are going to put the hotel in first and then we will do residential above and below,” Konze said. “We are going to have different banks of elevators, meaning the hotel guests will have their elevators and residential will have their elevators.  Residents will not have access to the hotel floors and hotel guests will not have access to the

Terrace Room

residential floors.” Konze is excited for the future of the Statler Buffalo.  “The idea is that while we are doing the renovations to the hotel, we are still able to provide Buffalo with nostalgia, a nostalgic building that people maybe had their proms and weddings at or where they attended a wedding here.  That is what we wanted to do, is get people in the door to host these special days.” 

                   By Jim Tammaro

Community asked to help keep stray cat population down

Veterinarian Timm Otterson at the Summer Street Cat Clinic, 25 Summer St., has worked with the stray cat population for over 20 years. Whether the cat is an indoor cat or outdoor cat, Otterson says the best practice to help keep the stray cat and feral cat population at lower numbers is to spay and neuter all cats. Community members are encouraged to work with local vet offices and rescue groups to take stray cats they are feeding or partially taking care of in for health checkups and treatments of common illnesses carried in stray cat colonies. The community can also take cats to free rabies clinics hosted each month by the Niagara Frontier Veterinary Society and the Erie County Health Department. By Rylee Shott

Christmas performances add to season's festivities

 

Theatre of Youth staging Junie B in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells this month

By Matt Szucs

    Many West Side Theatres and performing arts centers are choosing to end the year with a Christmas play, and the Theatre of Youth (TOY) is no exception.         

    This year, the Theatre of Youth is presenting Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. Written by Allison Gregory, the play is an adaptation of a book in Barbara Park's popular children's book series Junie B.

    The play's director, Annette Daniels Taylor, said of both of her daughters had grown up reading the Junie B. book series and had also seen this very play at the Theatre of Youth years ago.

    The play follows Junie B. Jones, a first grader who for her class's Secret Santa gift exchange pulls the name of her rival, the tattletale May. Junie decides to set a prank for her, but will the Christmas spirit interfere?

    Ashleigh Chrisena Ricci, who plays Junie B. Jones, is a first-time actor with the Theatre of Youth.

    "This is my first show with TOY and it's going great having a lot of fun getting to play and be silly and make Theatre," Ricci said.

    The play will run at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. .Dec. 14 and 15.

    Lizzie Arnold is the understudy for Lucille/Elf Ellen.

    "One of my favorite scenes to watch and be a part of is the parents' night play. The Columbus night play. Even the scene before it, just the whole like lead into it. All of the chaos, the boats. It's hilarious and it's so much fun to be a part of," Arnold said.

    Kayla McSorley, the executive assistant for the Theatre of Youth, said staging a Christmas play is a tradition at TOY.

    "We always try to find a holiday-themed show to the best of our abilities for the December slot so that local families and students can potentially be experiencing their first-ever trip to the Theatre while celebrating the holiday season with their family," she said. 

    Founded in 1972, the Theatre of Youth is the only professional theater in the area that presents child and family-friendly plays.

   Kavinoky Theatre also has a holiday play underway: Charmagne Chi's Blue Xmas, a PG-13 Christmas Spectacular. Chi is a local performer and comedian, and this performance will be the first full-scale run of the play written by Chi. The play will run at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 21.

Flip It saves the planet, one piece of clothing at a time

 Maria Chayban and Jennifer Holmes, owners of Flip It Reverse It, 515 Elmwood Ave., let environmental awareness guide them in their business of giving longevity to the clothing by reselling and refurbishing vintage and modern unique pieces.  The owners have passion for preventing carbon and chemical pollution by preventing clothing from going to landfills. “Saving the planet. Yes. If we can get people to continue to shop secondhand because there is enough to go around, and you don’t even need to make another piece of clothing,” Holmes says.  Chayban says they are always considerate of the prices and even make special deals for most of their clothing. “We always have a $5 rack available for anyone,” Chayban said. According to First Research, the used merchandise industry in the US includes about 20 stores with a combined revenue of $15 billion. By Emmanuel Rogers

Provisions 139 announces special hours for Dec. 28

Mary Schaefer, director of operations at West Side Community Services, is stocking shelves at Provisions 139, the organization's food pantry at 44 Breckenridge St. The pantry serves residents living in these zip codes 14201, 14209, 14213, and 14222 and is open on Wednesdays from 12-3 p.m. and Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. It will be closed on Christmas and New Years Day. Instead, it will be open on Saturday, Dec. 28 at noon for special giveaways that include prepacked bags of food and other items. Provisions has been serving the West Side since 2021. Schaefer said Provisions does accept donations and relies on FeedMore WNY and a five-year contract with the New York State Department of Agriculture where it receives over $100,000 a year to spend on food grown, raised, and produced in New York State. If you are looking to donate, the pantry can use non-food items like toiletries or cleaning supplies, or food not covered by the grant like sugar, flour, and coffee. By Alex Miley