{"id":3058,"date":"2021-10-12T02:49:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T02:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/?p=3058"},"modified":"2021-10-12T02:53:42","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T02:53:42","slug":"hamlin-park-hoping-to-regain-its-wholeness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/?p=3058","title":{"rendered":"Hamlin Park hoping to regain its wholeness"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container hundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#e7e4e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"width:104% !important;max-width:104% !important;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;background-color:#ffffff;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span data-fusion-font=\"true\" style=\"font-size: 36px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Hamlin Park hoping to regain its wholeness<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator\" style=\"align-self: center;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width:100%;max-width:20PX;\"><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;margin-top : 10px;margin-bottom : 10px;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 1.92%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 1.92%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link) , .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):before, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):after {color: #76c043;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-hover-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-hover-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover:before, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.awb-custom-text-hover-color):not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-view-cart):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover:after {color: #76c043;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .pagination a.inactive:hover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .fusion-filters .fusion-filter.fusion-active a {border-color: #76c043;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .pagination .current {border-color: #76c043; 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background-color: #76c043;border-color: #76c043;}#main .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .post .blog-shortcode-post-title a:hover {color: #76c043;}.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-1{ padding-top : 1%;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 1%;padding-left : 0px;}<\/style><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: #efefef;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#e7e4e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;margin-top : 10px;margin-bottom : 10px;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 1.92%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 1.92%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-2{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 5px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 5px;padding-left : 0px;}<\/style><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-3 fusion-flex-container hundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0 0 0;border-color:#e7e4e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"width:100% !important;max-width:100% !important;margin-left: calc(-0% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-0% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 26px 0px 54px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><p>This fantastic article was posted on December 14th, 2014 on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buffalonews.com\/city-region\/hamlin-park-hoping-to-regain-its-wholeness-20141214\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buffalo News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hamlin Park hoping to regain its wholeness<br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Don Hill remembers when his parents bought a home in the Hamlin Park neighborhood in the 1950s \u2013 only the third black family on his block of the old Humboldt Parkway.<\/p>\n<p>Hill, now 68, had a newspaper delivery route for two years, and recalls his neighbors and \u201cwonderful\u201d experiences living along one of the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parkways. When they first moved in, the neighborhood was still somewhat exclusive, with attractive homes lining the wide, grassy median of the beautiful, tree-lined boulevard. <span id=\"more-1500\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you saw anyone walking along Humboldt Parkway to Main Street, after a snowfall, it was like walking through paradise. It was unbelievable,\u201d Hill said Sunday during a community gathering. \u201cWhen the trucks came through to cut down the trees in 1962, 1963, it was devastating. My neighborhood changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, the professional photographer and others in the neighborhood want to correct what one termed a \u201ctravesty\u201d by restoring the trees and grand parkway \u2013 over the top of the Kensington Expressway. That would reunite two communities above and restore Olmsted\u2019s vision after 60 years, while still allowing the speedy flow of traffic underneath.<\/p>\n<p>And on Sunday, their group \u2013 Restore Our Community Coalition \u2013 launched its \u201cI Remember\u201d grass-roots campaign of lawn signs, social media and public pressure, designed to build a groundswell of support for what would be a $560 million construction project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a grand idea, a grand vision for Buffalo,\u201d Karen Stanley Fleming, executive director of the coalition, said during a fireside chat-style program in the neighborhood\u2019s historic 1854 stone farmhouse on Hedley Place. \u201cWe want to see a beautiful, fitting gateway to our waterfront.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, supporters want to see the parkway restored from downtown to the Scajaquada Expressway, but the initial focus will be on the portion from Ferry to Best streets. And, they stressed that they want to reconnect and strengthen the community \u2013 not remove the highway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want to disrupt that traffic. We want suburbanites to come in and leave,\u201d said Richard Cummings, president of the Black Chamber of Commerce, a trustee of the Olmsted Parks Conservancy and a member of the coalition\u2019s steering committee. \u201cBut we don\u2019t want it to disrupt our life as much as it has.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Championed by resident Clarke Eaton since the expressway was built, and now led by a professional executive director and steering committee, Restore Our Community Coalition is focused on restoring the parklike atmosphere of Humboldt Parkway and the Hamlin Park neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>Organization members lament the Kensington\u2019s impact on the neighborhood \u2013 when the state tore down houses, ripped up the boulevard and dug a canyon to construct the expressway through the neighborhood, despite community opposition at four public hearings. Residents were evicted or moved to North Buffalo and the suburbs. Businesses struggled, failed or left. Blight developed and crime grew. And today, instead of owner-occupied homes, many houses in the neighborhood are owned by absentee landlords and rented to college students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a group of people that has lived with a mistake for 50 years,\u201d said Stephanie Barber Geter, chairwoman of the coalition and president of the Hamlin Park Taxpayers Association. \u201cWe can change this, right here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Humboldt was one of the only Olmsted-designed parkways in the country to be deliberately destroyed, in stark contrast to Chapin, Lincoln and Bidwell parkways in the city, the group noted.<\/p>\n<p>But all that can change, its leaders say. \u201cIf we can restore Humboldt Parkway, we can stop the blight, even stop the crime,\u201d Fleming said.<\/p>\n<p>A $100,000 study by University at Buffalo\u2019s School of Architecture and Planning and the Regional Institute found that the project, despite its high upfront investment, would generate about $1 billion in economic impact. That includes creation of 1,000 construction jobs, with spinoff effects. UB students even created a mock-up of what the neighborhood could look like, now on display in the nearby Buffalo Museum of Science.<\/p>\n<p>Restoration of the neighborhood would also raise property values and create wealth, draw more residents because of the appeal of living on a boulevard or parkway, and lure businesses back to a community that they largely abandoned decades ago, Fleming said.<\/p>\n<p>Environmental remediation \u2013 by planting oxygen-producing trees and burying the polluting traffic in a tunnel \u2013 would improve air quality, addressing concerns about asthma. And the project would enhance overall quality of life, she added.<\/p>\n<p>Proponents said the project, first unveiled earlier this year, has already gained some support in the community and among political leaders, including Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. But Fleming noted that \u201cit takes more than a conversation\u201d to loosen the federal or state purse-strings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis provides the politicians with the wind beneath their wings,\u201d Fleming said. \u201cWe know it\u2019s not an easy task, asking Congress for $560 million. We want to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The campaign is designed to evoke memories of what the neighborhood was like before the highway, and to energize not only current residents but anyone in the region who used to live there. The group, which presented a slideshow of old photos from the parkway\u2019s glory days, hopes to record video recollections and testimony to bolster its case. And the campaign will culminate in a \u201cRestore the Community\u201d march in late spring along Humboldt, from Ferry Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Park.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone in this committee is working hard, trying to rectify this wrong,\u201d Fleming said. \u201cWe are trying to engage as many professionals as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Download a PDF of this article, <a href=\"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/HamlinParkHoping.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;margin-top : 10px;margin-bottom : 10px;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 26px !important;margin-right : 0%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 54px !important;margin-left : 0%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0%;margin-left : 0%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0%;margin-left : 0%;}}<\/style><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-3{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 3%;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0%;}<\/style><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hamlin Park hoping to regain its wholeness This fantastic article was posted on December 14th, 2014 on Buffalo News. Hamlin Park hoping to regain its wholeness Don Hill remembers when his parents bought a home in the Hamlin Park neighborhood in the 1950s \u2013 only the third black family on his block of the old Humboldt Parkway. Hill, now 68, had a newspaper delivery route for two years, and recalls his neighbors and \u201cwonderful\u201d experiences living along one of the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parkways. When they first moved in, the neighborhood was still somewhat exclusive, with attractive homes lining the wide, [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3058"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3061,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058\/revisions\/3061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roccbuffalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}