A new day dawning at the Broadway Market?

From the Buffalo News

The action by the Broadway Market Management Corp. means the city has until Nov. 1 to find a new manager for the East Side market.

The board’s action followed repeated calls for new management by both mayor Byron W. Brown and Common Council President David Franczyk.

Executive Director Richard M. Fronczak said the board’s unanimous vote reflects widespread frustration with the political interference from Brown and Franczyk.

From what I know, there are a number of things in place already to ensure the future of the Market and its long-term viability.

Stay tuned…


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12 thoughts on “A new day dawning at the Broadway Market?

  1. “Executive Director Richard M. Fronczak said the board’s unanimous vote reflects widespread frustration with the political interference from Brown and Franczyk.”

    This statement by Richard Fronczak demonstrates what many of us have known for years, his inability to work with anyone. Richard Fronczak was given numerous opportunities to work with the city and other good groups that were willing to help.

    Let us not forget Congresswoman Louise Slaughter who tried to help by giving money to the market. Richard Fronczak managed to “frustrate” Congresswoman Slaughter to the point that she walked away with the badly needed checks. Did Richard Fronczak think Louise Slaughter’s offer to help was “political interference?”

    Richard Fronczak talks about “widespread frustration,” As a former tenant of the Broadway Market I to suffered from “widespread frustration” as I watched tenants leave, and offers to help scoffed at by Richard Fronczak.

    Today, Richard Fronczak sent a memo out to all tenants of the Broadway Market. The subject was “IT’S OVER”
    Yes, it is Mr. Fronczak and things will be much better for the Broadway Market.

    SPECIAL THANKS TO: Council President David Franczyk
    and Mayor Byron Brown for your “political interference”
    that have saved the Broadway Market.

  2. The revitalization of the Broadway Market will come when the city including the Council representative and the Mayor recognize that the survival of Broadway Market is interconnected with the neighborhood.

    In 1999, the Project for Spaces released its report on Broadway Market Strategic Business Development Plan.

    The recommendations of their in-depth study of the Broadway Market at that time:

    1. Expand the reasons for people coming to the market
    (market management (BMMC) responsibility)
    2. Improve the appearance and design of the market
    (landlord (City of Buffalo)) and BMMC responsibility
    3. Create a market square on Broadway
    (city of Buffalo responsibility)
    4. change market operating practices
    (BMMC responsibility)
    5. Establish Broadway Market Foundation
    (accomplished by BMMC in 2007, with IRS giving 501(C)3 designation, about to be lost in 2008 with dissolution of corporation)
    6.Expand market’s role in neighborhood revitatilization
    (BMMC, City of Buffalo)

    PPS noted in 1999 (prior to the hiring of current director) that BMMC alone could not accomplish the above objectives, but the revitalization of market requires the involvement of the other key players:

    1. City of Buffalo: the owner of the building, should support capital improvement, and recognize the vital role of BMMC for the neighborhood and the city
    2. Market tenants: the tenants bare responsibility for working with BMMC to upgrade signage, product lines, lighting and displays at their stalls, be open to new ways of doing business, and become stronger partners in the promotion of the market
    3. Broadway Fillmore neighborhood: work to enhance safety and attractiveness of neighborhood and bring new housing development.

    The current status of the Broadway Market is in part the responsibility of all of the key players not stepping up and following through on their own responsibility to Broadway Market and the neighborhood. The neighborhood residents stepped up to work with the City of Buffalo to get the Broadway Fillmore neighborhood designated as a national Department of Justice Weed and Seed site. They spent hours working on potential strategies to reduce the neighborhood crime and recommendations for improving neighborhood appearance. The Office of Strategic Planning liaison worked diligently with them on potential neighborhood redevelopment strategies. The City dropped the ball, with poor follow up, focusing grant resources and staff time in the buffer areas of the target area rather than the heart of the target area—Broadway Business district.

    The Findlay Market in the City of Cincinnati faced all the challenges the Broadway Market – getting the city to recognize they too had responsibility and shared in part the blame for the inertia of the market. And, finally collectively, they all bore responsibility for the decline of their neighborhood landmark. Together, the City and their new nonprofit board (composed of members appointed by elected officials similar to the BMMC board) came together and stop pointing figures in order to revitalize the market and its market district. The relationship is not perfect, and they still have to get in the face of their city officials to keep attention to their market and district.

    Both in surveys in 1997 and 2007, the major reasons identified for not visiting the Broadway Market more were the deteriorated neighborhood conditions surrounding the market, neighborhood crime, and market operations. The first two and most significantly are issues the City of Buffalo and Common Council representative bear responsibility for and chose rather a benign neglect strategy.

    It is time for both the Mayor and the Council representative to stop pointing fingers and start working collectively with the neighborhood and its business community for the betterment of the Market and the broader Broadway Fillmore Community. The resolution of the BMMC board has given them this opportunity.

    The East Buffalo GNPA is sponsoring a Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood planning forum on October 6th. Maybe, the council president and the mayor’s office could show up to get input from the neighborhood whose voice has been neglected this summer on the future of what they see for their neighborhood.

  3. Bravo on BMM’s comments which just stated clearly researched facts.
    Have people forgotten or been mislead to believe that Richard Fronczak is the only person making the decisions at the Market. The Market is managed by a hired, by contract, manager and a board that is elected from the City and its community. Decisions made are approved by the board or the board directs which decisions can be made by the Director such as operations which include rental space. Rental increase comes from the Board by majority vote in which the President of the Corporation does not vote unless there is a tie. This latter goes for all votes.
    City officials have made comments on the bad management of the Market when the board is run by city appointed officials and others such as:
    1 from the Mayor
    2 from the Councilman
    1 from the Legislator
    1 from the Comptroller
    1 from BABA- Buffalo Area Business Association
    3 tenants
    2 at large positions from the community
    1 non voting advisor
    Is every one of the above mentioned individuals dysfunctional? Or do certain parties have personality problems with a few because their views clash? I will agree that some parties may not have the best people skills, but and I mean an extreme BUT every tenant that has gone into that office has gotten assistance when needed. Every board meeting has been with the best interest of the current tenants and moving forward to better the Market.
    How can anyone praise politics coming in to make a change? BMMC was “bulldogged” with limited if any assistance in a time of need to resolve itself. Are readers really ready to have politics come in and demand any free business to step down because they do not like a few people? If you do not like the decisions made just come in and close the place down?
    People that are appointed to these positions are appointed with the like minds of those appointed but with the ability to use their own common sense. Did all 11 people not have the common sense to manage a corporation with 30+ businesses to assist in the success of each business? That is clear lunacy to believe.
    If they (The City) did not like the way things were being run, where was this conflict before the lease was up? Was there no other way to rectify this problem before the sensationalism within the media? Why wasn’t this task force of 17 people call for 6 months ago? Why didn’t the Mayor or others return calls for assistance? Because a few are disliked? Are these people not adults and do these people not represent us, the consumer or tenants or the neighborhood? Is it not their jobs to respond? If the Board did not make the decision to dissolve how long would this have lasted? Until June when the Directors contract was up?
    The greener side of this problem will come with a flood of assistance and money, where is the money now, or last year? Why has this money been held back from the community and the Market as a whole because of a few personality conflicts? This assistance and groups that were said in other postings, who were they? I never seen them or heard of them. And if they are talking about the “good” people appointed and gone from the current board, well many of those people were removed for “just cause”… meaning they could not make a meeting for a time of week that was told to them prior to accepting the position. So if you can not make 3 meetings out of 12 you were replaced. ¼ of the meetings were missed for personal or occupational reasons.
    Comments are made over the Louise Slaughter matter. It makes me laugh that people make comments that R. Fronczak does not do his job. Well part of that job is to find tenants to fill the Market. He has hired 3 realtor agencies to bring tenants in with no luck.
    He and Board members contacted, immediately, businesses to replace Key Bank with little luck. In doing his job he is still ridiculed for not bringing in the “right” tenant for the space. Some suggested a floral shop over the check cashing place. City officials have stated that having a check cashing place is not the best choice as Slaughter deemed the Factory Outlet option was not the best choice. So even in doing the job it was not right. When do city officials get to come in and change the decision making process for one vendor? Does anyone really have freedom within any job?
    From reliable sources I was told that the Slaughter issue was simply one person not getting their way. In doing their job the outlet store was approached with a plan, that plan was ready to approach the board, in the mean time Slaughter had her plans and when she found out that Fronczak was doing his job in finding a vendor she was “frustrated” that they were going against her plans and she was just simply gone because she did not like it.
    Her plans were for a community kitchen that would not have been fully funded. Maybe she could have found the money. But in keeping with Mr. Fronczaks keen eye for money management he felt the money would best be utilized for a freight elevator to help current and new tenants store inventory and counters for the never ending problem of space and esthetics of the Market.
    The basements consist of space almost equal to half the Market and it goes unused. Many wholesale spaces upstairs could be diminished to the basement with such options. I am not saying it was not a good idea; bringing a program like MAP into our area that specializes in the small business owner could and would be amazing. But the “vision” minded people of the recent board could have seen these businesses as the eye sores they call the current tenants.
    My point is that once again money is lost from the community and the Market for personality conflicts? Not everyone gets along, but the rest should not suffer. I also do not believe that bad personalities should be replaced. Then any of us could be replaced for any reason.
    There are so many half truths being played out in the media that “frustrate” me as a consumer and a past, present or future employee. No sure which to admit to. All this sensationalism over tenants that have recently left the market they have left purely over bad management of their business, time and money.
    Did they not make money because of traffic at the Market, most likely but is it 100% the responsibility of the Market to market each tenant? Keep their books? Order the right items for the area? Renovate the community? All businesses have suffered with our economy, declining travel with gas prices. I could banter the half truths all night there are so many I have loss track.
    Those out there painting the bad picture of the Market are the same people standing with baited breath ready to come in for the changes. Many may think the changes are for the better, and some may be. But which of the current tenants that have been here for decades are going to suffer as the changes are made? Whose business will decline as new vendors are sought that will carry the same or similar products waiting for customers because “competition is good”.
    They will come in to look like the saviors, with their pockets open for the peripheral perks they will receive with never having in the past or future worked one day at the Market or prepared for Easter. We can only hope that the above is not true and the “they” have the best interest for those that are at the Market now, through all the bad and good times.

  4. Comments…though we are pretty liberal on BFA as to what people can post…if a trend starts where we start receiving comments without valid emails, these comments will not be posted.

    We will never give out anyone’s email who posts here, we ask for them as a way to verify who is actually posting.

    With that said, the last comment is from someone who is not from a valid email address.

    We are open to all discussion on various issues…all we ask is that if you want to post, please don’t try to go out of your way to hide your identity.

  5. Very good comments, BWMadvocate!
    My main complaint is that these so called “visionaries” who are going to “save” the market have self-appointed themselves to this task. Did they ask anyone currently associated with/working at/tenants to join their group? Are they going to come in and decry a stand “not good enough” for their standards or will they work with those people to help them make their business more attractive? Or will they just get thrown out because they don’t fit the “visionaries” ideas for the new Market? Will they take into account that these business are people’s livelihoods? Will they ask for volunteers to join them? I mean, what in the world does a “comedian” and sells ads for Artvoice know about running an urban business? Artvoice ran that lovely article a few months ago that portrayed the Market as this horrible place filled with cheap merchandise yet Artvoice sells pages of sex ads – talk about classy! I wouldn’t let my child pick up an Artvoice to look up a movie review because he will turn the pages and find naked women and men advertisements and Hot Sex personals. Is this the type of classy they want for the Market? These “elite” complain about the products they find at the Market (cheap crap form China and all) and yet I never hear anyone complain that Artvoice advertises disgusting pornographic personal ads!!!!

    The media portrayal of the whole ordeal has been laughable! (artvoice, local news). They purposely shoot empty dark areas of the market when they come to photograph. Why not show something positive like the counter full of people eating? No, let’s show the empty, vacant stands. Who puts them up to this?

    All I’m saying is that you can’t just have the Fantastic 12 come in and save the day – you need to open this discussion up to everyone and not exclude people who just might have the right answers – if only the “saviors” would listen!!!!

  6. Dick Fronczak and James Malczewski are real visionaries, always seeking tenants input right? I doubt it.

    A mop and broom would probably be better than those two at running the Broadway Market.

  7. Oh my…please…stop with the phantom comments…any more and I will start deleting.

    My trigger delete key finger is getting itchy…

    Really…though…I know people need to vent and point fingers…maybe we can turn the comment thread around and be productive with the comments.

    I don’t see how any new management would leave vendors out of the mix in forging a new direction to the market…it only makes sense.

  8. Morning… to clarify. I do have a real email address for this purpose. I just did not know it needed to be verified before posted. I am now verified and this is the 2nd time I have posted. I am not trying to keep myself a secret persay but to protect myself while I have my own views.
    I still have to live work and strive in this area and do not want my views to be used againist me either.
    many thanks for posting without the proof, it is appreciated.
    CLC

  9. Chris
    how do we start a thread on a topic without having a news report to start with. I would love to hear comments on what the consumers would like to see at the market away from the negative startr thread?
    C

  10. As President of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation, I’ve tried to remain neutral on the situation at the market. I know a lot of the players involved and I will say that I am disappointed, not in anyone in particular but at the polarization and discord that has resulted. I’ve said this before: there is enough work to do in the neighborhood that we cannot afford to lose ONE person who is willing to lend their spare time to help.

  11. Mike,
    Everyone involved shares the common goal of making the Market and the neighborhood a better place. Unfortunately egos keep many of them from working together to make it happen. The entire debacle should have never played out this way.

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