What
are your interest/hobbies? Softball, poetry, creating flyers
What
interest you about the West Side? The culture is what interest me
the most. So many different backgrounds brought together just makes me want to
learn more about the local business and what they have to offer.
What
are some of your previous work experiences in the communications field? Public relations chair for SUNY Buffalo State United Students Government, social media chair for NYPIRG
By Kadija Bah and Deshawn Bolden Bengal News West Reporters
Video games, drinks, food, and good
company are what every college student looks forward to after a long week of
classes, however, giving up these nights to make a little extra cash has become
the routine for some student drivers.
College students on the West Side have
created what is known as the underground cab service. Using their own cars, these
drivers provide fellow students with a more affordable means of transportation
to get pretty much anywhere they need to go.
Since 2014, this underground cab
service has become a lucrative business that benefits both the students and the
drivers. In turn however, it is a disadvantage to already established taxi
companies in the Buffalo area.
Graduate student Darryl Roberts,
23, participates as one of the student drivers knowing he can triple the amount
of money he would make by working at a retail store. Making extra cash on the
side by driving others became the new thing.
Roberts has made roughly $3,000
since he started sixth months ago. He mentioned that he has made up to as much
as $150 in a single day.
“I didn’t have any money,” Roberts
said. “I like to look out for my people, that’s another reason why I started
it.”
Students have the opportunity to
get to their destination with the convenience of having a possible classmate be
their driver.
Facebook groups serve as the primary
channel to get a ride somewhere. It is as simple as posting in the group and
waiting for a timely response from one or even multiple people offering their
services. However, word of mouth is just as effective. People exchange numbers
and before he knew it, Roberts started receiving calls from other campuses such
as D’Youville College, Canisus College and University at Buffalo.
“It’s convenient, comfortable and
very affordable for students,” said Gordon Carr, a student at the University at
Buffalo. “Ten dollars to the bus station and $20 to the airport, you can’t beat
it.”
While student drivers have become
more popular to college students, it has begun to take a toll on established
taxi services throughout Buffalo.
“Yeah they take away some customers
but we do what we do,” said Nicole Price of Buffalo Transportation, Inc., one
of Buffalo’s many 24/7-taxi companies. “At the end of the day we’re a business,
we’re going to get ours.”
Not only do taxi drivers around the
city have to worry about student drivers, they also are concerned about
companies such as Uber and Lyft coming and taking fares too.
Lyft and Uber are not currently
operating in Buffalo, there’s no doubt that a desire is brewing to make it
available throughout the city. While Lyft was in Buffalo for a short period of
time, service was suspended in August 2014 in compliance with NYS insurance
laws. New York City is the only place where Uber is allowed throughout the
state while legislature battles to pass a bill that will alter state insurance
laws and allow these companies to operate statewide.
While Mayor Byron Brown continues
his support of bringing Uber to WNY, Buffalo remains the largest city in the
country without the popular taxi app. Although
they may get around state legislature by staying underground, Roberts mentioned
a possible organization making it possible for all student drivers to work
together.
Advocates of these alternative cab
services say it’s convenient and affordable. That’s why this underground
service excels throughout colleges in Buffalo.
“We’re definitely taking away from
their business. But, I think we should be very unapologetic about that,”
Roberts said. “They have no reservations about overcharging us so I think we
should take every last penny we can.”
Walking up the stone steps and through the thick
wooden door of the Victorian Hewitt mansion, guests are welcomed in this grand
entrance by innkeepers.
Joseph Littieri owns Inn Buffalo with his wife, Ellen
On the left is a meeting room with silk damask
wall coverings and on the right is the library with 22-karat leafing with hand-painted artwork covering
the walls and ceiling. The music room down the hall is dressed with jacquard
tapestries.
Elsewhere, oriental rugs cover the floors in
almost every room in the house. Light shines through the many stained glass
windows decorating the mansion and original onyx stonework borders each of the
11 fireplaces in the house.
Inn Buffalo, 619 Lafayette Ave., is celebrating its one-year anniversary, and
the owners, Joseph Lettieri and his wife Ellen,couldn’t be more proud
of their success so far. Although this is preservation in progress and they
still have more work to do before the finished product, the feedback and
support they’ve received over the past year has been more than they had ever
hoped for.
“This first year has exceeded our
expectations, we were very excited. We knew we had a special property,” said
Lettieri.
They won the Small Business Administration award
of 2016 and the Small Business Development Entrepreneur award from SUNY Buffalo
State, which is also funded by Small Business Administration.
Inn Buffalo has been rated number one out of 22
hotels in Buffalo on the travel website TripAdvisor. There have been a few
celebrities who have stayed there as well, including John Rzeznik, lead singer
of the Goo Goo Dolls, who mentioned the inn during an interview on WKSE Kiss
98.5.
“I was
just back in Buffalo and I was staying at a place called Inn Buffalo on
Lafayette, I can not believe how our home town is just becoming this insanely
amazing destination,” Rzeznik said.
The architecture and the craftsmanship of this
house may be what draws you into Inn Buffalo, but it’s the hospitality, and
warmth the Lettieris bring to your experience that is going to make you
want to come back.
“I want our guests to get a real authentic
experience, we want nothing more than to make our guests feel welcome, and
taken care of,” said Lettieri, “whether that means you want to see a lot of me,
or as little of me as possible. Whatever you need, we will make sure you get
it.”
The hotel is filled with culture and history,
which is one of the main attractions and uniqueness that you will appreciate
during your stay.
“Inn Buffalo is a great historic mansion, it
speaks for itself in terms of beauty,” said Brad Homer, of Visit Buffalo
Niagara. “In the grand scheme of Buffalo, there are many bed and breakfasts but
this is one of the best.”
Some might say that Buffalo is becoming an up
and coming city, and the Lettieris want to be a part of that.
“In the future we want to continue to help
Buffalo,” Lettieri said. “Be a part of its rebirth, a part of showing and
telling people our story while showing off and talking about what made Buffalo
great back in the turn of the century.”
SUNY Buffalo State students and West Side residents, from Olivia Smith and Emily Niman
enjoy brunch and a few laughs at Sweet_ness 7 Cafe
By Annaliza Guard and Madison Marquardt
Bengal News West Reporters
The
first to walk through the restaurant door on the weekend are the parents with
their young children. As the morning
progresses, a rush of young people flood the restaurants and cafes for the
first social event of the day: brunch. Brunch
is making a comeback among the millennials who seem to have the disposable
income and an entire weekend for as many social events as possible. Restaurants,
coffee shops and bakeries on West Side, are jumping on the trend. Two of them are BreadHive Bakery located
at 123 Baynes St. and Sweet_ness 7 Café located at 220 Grant St. The
reason millennials are waking up to eat brunch is due to a couple of things. First,
there’s the social aspect. After going
out the night before, they want to sleep in.
By the time that they get out of bed, they want something packed with
carbs and a little alcohol on the side.
“To be honest it’s a Saturday morning so people
have probably gone out the night before,” Valerie Rettberg-Smith, co-op member
of BreadHive bakery, said. “So then you wake up
with a hangover and what do you really want more than a bagel sandwich? Even on Sundays people just want to wake up,
not think and get some amazing food.”
BreadHive supplies the food for its collaboration
with Hydraulic Hearth located on Swan Street for a
Saturday “Breakfast and Booze” brunch.
“It’s family friendly, and it’s also a place for
young people who have gone out the night before and want to hash out the
details, ” Emily Stewart of BreadHive said. Another
reason brunch has gained popularity is the money lining the pockets of these
young individuals. Millennials have more
money due to the economy improving as well as the fact that young people are
getting married later and don’t have the same responsibilities for their
money. They have more to spend, and they
spend it on food and social events. “With
the young people, it’s the social aspect, but also their propensity to spend,” Daniel Ricigliano, a
business professor at SUNY Buffalo State, said. A third
reason is people are more aware of where their food is coming from, especially
millennials. They like to see that their
food is locally grown and organic. Sweet_ness 7 guarantees locally grown and
organic ingredients on the top of its “Brunchy
Feasts” menu.
“People
are taking a bigger interest in the food that they are eating,” Elizabeth
Dashnaw of BreadHive said. “I think there’s a
rise in people that are here and making amazing food. We do everything by hand here, so there’s
that element, and people are interested in that process.” In
addition to picking up on the demands of the community around them, businesses like
the BreadHive and Sweet_ness 7 are benefiting from the city’s renaissance. Young people are moving into the city and
venturing into its more unique neighborhoods. "We’re
in an up and coming neighborhood,” said Rob Fussell, café manager of Sweet_Ness
7’s Grant Street location. “A lot of people will walk in and discover
this hidden gem. ”BreadHive has a take-out window, but will expand to include table service at the new location at 402 Connecticut St. "It’s a
cool time to be doing a popular brunch because people know who we are that
might not be coming to our take-out café,” Allison Ewing of BreadHive said. “And we are about to open a
café, so people who might have had our bagel sandwiches [at brunch] can make
that connection more easily.”
Fussell said brunch is so busy for Sweetn_Ness 7, that the cafe no longer worries about drumming up business in the evenings.
Local businesses can’t really explain why brunch
has been so popular. Maybe it’s the late start.
Maybe it’s the good food. Maybe it’s the mimosas. Maybe it’s the laid-back
environment created for the late mornings that you can only experience on a
weekend.
Whatever it is, the local restaurant business has
made changes to accommodate this trend and it looks like brunch isn’t going
anywhere anytime soon.
Where are you from? Kenmore What are your interests/hobbies? Sports, reading, swimming and coaching What interests you about the West Side? Learning about the various communities, meeting new people What communication experience do you have? Intern at Time Warner Cable News
Where are you from? Lewiston What are your interests/hobbies? Photography What interests you about the West Side? I love the different cultures and the unique places on the West Side. You always seem to find that diamond in the rough. What communication experience do you have? Copyediting and reporting for The Record, personal blog
#AnnalizaGuard #BengalNewsWest
Julia Waterman
Where are you from? Rochester What are your interests/hobbies? Reading, playing soccer, adopting animals What interests you about the West Side? It's my neighborhood; I live there. What communication experience do you have? Journalism coursework
Where are you from? Brooklyn What are your interests/hobbies? International politics What interests you about the West Side? People always say that the West Side is the new booming place to be and I am curious to know why. What communication experience do you have? Writer for Word on the Street newspaper
Where are you from? Harlem What are your interests/hobbies? Dance, woman empowerment What interests you about the West Side? Discovering the neighborhood What communication experience do you have? Internship with WBAI in NYC, currently working at WBNY and interning at The Odyssey Online, radio show at a previous college
#KadijaBah #BengalNewsWest
Corrinne Wheatley
Where are you from? Syracuse What are your interests/hobbies? Irish dance and photography What interests you about the West Side? I live on the West Side, so I am interested in the issues affecting the area around me.
What communication experience do you have? Journalism coursework
Where are you from? Lockport What are your interests/hobbies? Cooking, music, entertainment, sports, tattoos, the sunrise and sunset What's your experience with communications? Journalism major, mini film projects with friends
My interest
includes reading, and writing. Some of my hobbies are listening to music,
dancing, going out to eat, shopping, and making clothes.
What interests you about the West
Side?
What interests
me about the West Side is its diversity. There are so many people from
different parts of the world it allows you to learn more about their culture.
It reminds me of a mini Manhattan.
What are some of your previous
work experiences in the communications field.
I wrote for our school newspaper, The Record. I was a member of
BSC-TV where we created our own news segments that aired on campus television.
I’m currently training at our campus radio station to have my own talk show on
WBNY 91.3FM.
#L'OrealAdams #BengalNewsWest
Deshawn Bolden
Where are you from?
The
Bronx
What are your interests/hobbies?
Sports,
hanging with friends, and anything else that’s fun
What interests you about the West
Side
Its
history and the amount of work that can be put it to improve the atmosphere
What are some of your previous
work experiences in the communications field? Interned at TWC News Buffalo and at WABC-TV in NYC
