(by Brian Meyer – Buffalo News) When the group that operates the Broadway Market disbands in 17 days, city officials say they are determined to have a “seamless” transition as the search begins for a permanent operator.
The owner of a business that has been in the market for 16 years says she thinks the overhaul is just what the East Side facility needs as it struggles to reinvent itself.
“For such a long time, we’ve had this dark cloud over us,” said Irena Woszczak, of Broadway Opticians. “Tenants think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Woszczak should know. The longtime member of the Broadway Market Tenants’ Association is expected to be named vice president of the group next month.
The Common Council will consider a resolution today that its sponsor says deals with some “nuts and bolts” matters as the city puts together an interim management plan. The city also is soliciting proposals from those interested in operating the market in the long term.
Broadway Market is a public market.
To move forward in the future, the market needs to honestly look at the market as part of the neighborhood revitalization strategy.
The issues of the infrastructure of the market relate to the landlord of the market, which has and continues to be the City of Buffalo. An energy audit was conducted at the market, but the City chose to neglect it. Until October, the Broadway Market board paid half of the utilities. The neglect of updating the HVAC systems translates into higher utility and maintenance costs. The question that the Common Council has not addressed are the taxpayers of the city of buffalo now going to have to pick up the costs of the city’s failure to update and upgrade the facility for the past seven years.
The other issues relate to the neglect of the neighborhood. Contrary to Wosczak assertions, the crime rates in the Broadway Fillmore neighborhood is the second highest in the City of Buffalo. I put together the Weed and Seed application, the neighborhood was designated by the federal government as a national weed and seed site because it was one of the neighborhoods in US with the highest crime rates. Violent crime is now, however, is not much as an issue as drugs and prostitution. These crimes are intertwined with neighborhood abandonment, unkept vacant lots, demolitions, and abandoned buildings. Property values have dropped, and absentee landlords are prevalent throughout the neighborhood.
The other issues relates to management structure. Markets across the country have found to survive that the management structure needs to be depoliticalized and the role of the tenants on management boards need to be advisory. The recent issue of the board grew from the feeling tenants were over represented on the board. Now, instead of learning from past mistakes, the City is doing the same practice as the past. The only tenant on any transition board should be the president of the tenants board, and it is a conflict of interest for the tenant as Woszczak to be Vice President.
After studying neighborhood business development and community development for ten years and the Broadway Market for one year, it is sad to see the city not focusing on a comprehensive neighborhood redevelopment strategy, and not engaging the community nor customers or community development experts for a comprehensive revitalization strategy. All of the public markets that we visited for the USDA funded Broadway Market revitalization strategy study has moved beyond the approach that their public market could survive by themselves without attention to being part of a neighborhood business district or neighborhood redevelopment. In total, for the study, we visited eight public markets, plus an additional six since the study. We did a comprehensive review of their strategies, their boards, and neighborhood conditions. But because of our summary concluded the condition and success of the market depends on a shared responsibility and the need to focus city efforts on a community engagement for a comprehensive BF revitalization, the recommendations were ignored.
Broadway Market is a community asset, as well as a neighborhood resource. This is the major resource for residents to access healthy, affordable food. Contrary to the assertions of some of the advisory task force, neighborhood residents shop on a regular basis at the market. The population has declined by 40 percent since the 1950s.
The secret of success for any public market is balancing the need to serve a local neighborhood and a regional market. Emphasizing strategies that work for markets that are open only 2 to 4 days a week is not going to accomplish this. The models for success are markets that have managed to successful serve both the neighborhood and a regional market and be opened 5 to 7 days a week.
I understood that the Control Board is blocking the expenditures for infrastructure, not City Hall.
Any truth to that ?
ag
These visionaries that are out to save the Market failed to realize that all their wonderful ideas to make the Market better needed financial backing in order for it to be successful. How can a city that is broke with a Control Board have money available for the Market? Somehow it is hard for me to believe that not one of these geniuses thought about this. It is very difficult to read a quote from Drew Cerza “We got to give it a shot, If it doesn’t work we close it up.”
How easy it is for someone from the outside to say when it is not their business that will be affected.
Market Vendor,
There is really nothing you can do about it. Dick Fronczak has been in control too long.
I hear all these stories about how he is a good numbers guy. If he is so great, why hasn’t he done more to help? Sitting in the office smoking cigarettes all day isn’t exactly effective leadership.
The bottom line is change is coming. I was at the meeting downtown and have spoke privately with a number of people from the task force. These are a group of very talented business people and community leaders.
The problem is the Market management has sat on their hands too long waiting for help without taking the neccessary steps to help itself. It is time for them to move on and time for new leadership.
That quote from Mr. Cerza is very troubling. “We close it up”?? First, who is the “we” the city? or Mr. Cerza? He is not in charge! He probably has never stepped foot in the Market before he was asked to be on the Task Force. And when he did, he had a very negative view of it. I want someone who is on the task force that LOVES this place, cares about the history of the Market, and what it means to the community – a community he would never step foot in because it is beneath him. I don’t want people making decisions about the Market who couldn’t care less about it – just seeking publicity for themselves. Some people live near the market, shop there, do their banking their, etc. and to just nonchalantly say “close it” shows total disrespect to them.
Stick to your wings Mr. Cerza!
Ag,
That is true
The management always blames someone else
The city doesn’t do this, the city doesn’t do that.
Ask Dick Fronczak when was the last time he went out any any sales call or tried to bring in any vendors? He should have been fired years ago.
And Dick Fronczak likes the neighborhood?
When was the last time he crawled out of his office to try to work with the community?
Holy comments…a lot of what everyone has written above is water under the bridge…all parties involved now are going to have to work together to help make the B-Market the best it can be…the place desrves no less…
Chris,
You took the words out of my mouth. Someone needs to take a deep breath and stop with the attacking as it will get us nowhere. My number one priority is my business and that the Broadway Market stays open. I want a professional Director with a Marketing background who is non partisan and who can manage the Market without Political interference. Once this happens then the Vendors need to make some necessary changes in their businesses to attract more customers (IE. hours, product freshness, etc). These positive change will be a good step forward but we all have to be on board