South Community Workshop
Abbott/ McKinley,
South Park/Triangle/Hopkins
Tifft,
Seneca/ Cazenovia
Abbott/Mckinley
Assets: McKinley Parkway, including bike lanes; Tosh Collins, community center, rink, and pool; Mercy Hospital; Trocaire College; Buffalo Irish Center; Tifft Farm nature preserve; churches of all denominations; pocket parks; strong block clubs; reconstructed schools.
Strengths: Red Jacket/McKinley/Abbott neighborhood; Residential character South Park to McKinley and McKinley to Abbott, Lakewood to Whitfield; also Abbott to Legion, Mumford to Meriden; strong neighborhood around Potters and Abbott; commercial strip potential on South Park south from Southside.
Weaknesses: Vacant commercial storefronts, South Park around Richfield, Abbott near Tamarack; Southside and South Park, signalization problems; Abbott at Columbus, traffic too fast; Potters at Lorraine, many traffic dangers; Trocaire and the hospital encroaching on the neighborhood; Seneca at city line, opportunity for redevelopment.
New directions: Maintain medium lot residential around Trocaire and Mercy Hospital; urban business center, McKinley at Southside; make public green space public, Abbott at Edgewood; street green space, Abbott at Strathmore.
South Park/Triangle/Hopkins
Assets: South Park itself, South Park Lake, and The Botanical Gardens; McKinley Parkway and its roundabouts; Okell Park; Recckio's bowling alleys; Tops Supermarket; Price Trucking - long term business; Okell and Mulley parks - though both need maintenance; Small Boat Harbor and Dug's Dive;
Strengths: Residential stock between South Park and McKinley, Como to Dorrance; Hollywood/Ramona around the Discovery School; neighborhood south of Tifft, Hopkins to South Park; Senior housing and Irish architecture around Holy Family Church; LKQ auto parts dealer doing a good job; Nevilly as a buffer between industry and neighborhoods; Tifft Farm nature preserve; the waterfront nearby; Tifft Playfields; Buffalo Lakeside Commerce park; the Buffalo River.
Weaknesses: Industrial area along Hopkins; junkyards; repave Hopkins; Tifft Street is tough for bikes and pedestrians; undefined area along Tifft west of railways has no purpose; industrial areas conflicting with residential; South Park Avenue - not working as a neighborhood street; Housing - South Park to Hopkins, Pries to Good; housing violations on Woodside; fast traffic on Harding, Ridgewood, Culver.
New directions: Industrial uses, better controlled, west of Hopkins; auto oriented business - marinas at McKinley and the river; mixed use on South Park near Bloomfield and Abbott at Midland; waterfront urban retail center open year round; trail access, South Park at Bertha; recreation at Nevilly; green space to augment Tifft corridor at railway; buffer industries from residential along Hopkins; keep residential on Woodside; community gardens at Hopkins and Pries; keep small lot residential, Kingston near Seneca.
Seneca/Cazenovia
Assets: Cazenovia Park, of course; other parks like Indian, Hillery, Pawnee, Houghton; heritage sites like Buffum House, Hero's Grove, many churches; community centers like Tosh Collins and Machnica; the community library; proximity to Cazenovia and Buffalo River waterfronts; local restaurants like The Blackthorn; Ko-ed Candies - best sponge candy! - the whole Seneca-Cazenovia commercial district.
Strengths: Always, the park; Seneca and Cazenovia - shops, housing, services; great houses between Abbott and Legion, Athol to Stevenson; Pawnee Block of cottage style homes ; Hayden Street - strongest block club; Buffum Street - grand houses with deep lots; housing along Frank, Pritchard, Fields.
Weaknesses: Seneca Street - weak, tattered, vacant; Seneca from Mineral Springs to Duerstein - buildings need upkeep, off-street parking; Avon to Pomona off Seneca - signs of wear; flooding in Cazenovia Park; problems in Cazenovia Creek; Hillery Park needs better maintenance; Kingston and Princeton townhouses in disrepair.
New directions: Greenway from Houghton Park to Cazenovia Park; neighborhood green space west of S. Ogden and north of Mineral Springs; auto-oriented retail, Elk at Bailey; Caz Park Casino - small scale retail; strip plaza Seneca at Maywood; medium lot residential at Houghton Academy; mid-rise mixed use along Seneca