Volunteers to Clean, Paint and Polish Historic Broadway Public Market

 BUFFALO, NEW YORK, October 28, 2008 – With rolled up sleeves and much enthusiasm, dozens of volunteers will clean, paint and polish the Historic Broadway Public Market in anticipation of a new era at the Buffalo landmark. The clean up is scheduled for Saturday, November 1st, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Market located at 999 Broadway near Fillmore.

“I’m proud of this strong, grassroots efforts from the community to ensure the Broadway Market not only survives, but thrives on the East Side of Buffalo. It’s this new spirit of collaboration and cooperation that will ensure this beloved economic, social, and cultural treasure will serve customers for generations to come,” said Mayor Byron W. Brown. “There is a passion, energy, and vibrancy coming from all corners of the Western New York to renew the Broadway Market and revitalize the surrounding neighborhood. This is a new day, a new beginning, of better things to come at the Broadway Market.”

Organizers of Saturday’s event include the Broadway Market Tenants Association, The Friends of the Broadway Public Market, members of City Hall’s Broadway Market Task Force, Broadway Fillmore Alive, the Broadway Area Business Association and Forgotten Buffalo.

“Giving the building a good scrubbing is just the beginning of people coming together to ensure the Market’s prosperity, “ explained Griffith Pritchard, President of the Broadway Area Business Association and Senior Branch Manager & Banking Officer of M&T Bank’s Broadway Market branch. “Our goal is to demonstrate to the community that the Market is open for business, is alive, and is looking forward to the future.”

During the day, volunteer manpower will be concentrated on the Market’s entranceways, walls, doors, windows, counter areas and the indoor parking ramp. Supplies are being donated by area business and lunch will be served to hungry participants after the work has been completed.

“This is the first small sign that an exciting new era is about to dawn at the Broadway Public Market,” said Drew Cerza, a member of the Broadway Public Market Task Force and founder of the successful Buffalo Chicken Wing Festival. “There are many talented and creative people working on the Market project. We are confident that over the course of the next several years, the Market will be re-invented into a cultural and culinary destination that will be a point of pride for the entire region.”

On Saturday, November 1st, the City of Buffalo will assume temporary management of the Broadway Public Market. A formal “request for proposal process” will commence in November with the goal of naming a permanent management team in early 2009. Currently a 17-member task force is working with Buffalo City Hall on a plan that will assisting in charting a new course for a market and the surrounding Historic Polonia District.

Established in 1888, the Broadway Public Market originally served the thousands of Eastern European immigrants who populated the city’s Eastside. Although the Market site has undergone-numerous changes over time, three different physical structures in fact, the old-fashioned concept of selling farm fresh, exotic and unusual products here has remained unchanged since the Market’s inception. Famed for its eclectic urban atmosphere, the Broadway Public Market’s fresh food merchant base is comprised of family-owned, family-operated butcher shops, poultry stands, fruit/vegetable stands and bakeries.

Information about the Broadway Public Market can be found at its new website, www.BroadwayMarket.org.