For the people who work and live along Jefferson Avenue, the work is a sign that they haven’t been forgotten.
A major facelift of Jefferson Avenue is already underway, with shovels in the ground. A major allocation from Erie County will help ensure the whole project is completed over the next two years, with new sidewalks, curbs and paving for the entire length of Jefferson Avenue from Main Street to Swan Street.
Erie County Legislators Lawrence Dupre and Taisha St. Jean Tard worked together to see $500,000 of Erie County Urban Initiative Funds allocated to the Jefferson Ave Streetscape Project.
The county money combined with city, state and federal funds already committed to the project make for greater impact, said Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, who pointed to similar streetscape projects on Ohio and Niagara streets. There, the infrastructure work done by governments was followed by private investment.
“Government's prime function is infrastructure,” said Ryan. “We have to have streets that work. We have to have sidewalks that are passable, and we need curbs that are more than two inches high. So for too long, the East Side of Buffalo was denied this funding. It's about time this project is happening.”
The project has been based heavily on input from the people who create the community along Jefferson Avenue, said Dupre, who lives in the neighborhood.
“Today's announcement represents a different approach, one rooted in listening to the community and equity,” Dupre said. “It is about the people. It's about making sure revitalization is not something that happens to a neighborhood but something that happens with the neighborhood, guided by the voices, needs and vision of the residents and businesses who call Jefferson Avenue home.”
The owners of Golden Cup Coffee are among the first to double down on the government investment. After 14 years at the corner of Jefferson and Utica, they are investing in a new, larger space across the street.
“Owning and managing a business on Jefferson Avenue is more than just a labor of love and livelihood. It's a devotion to the community that only history can define,” said Larry Stitts, Golden Cup Coffee Company President. “The Jefferson Streetscape Project is a signifier of the importance of the Jefferson Avenue corridor as well as calls us to action, inviting residents and businesses and the owners to respond to these long-awaited changes with reciprocated investment.”
Stitts said the investment shows the “support for those standing in the fabric of what makes this city resilient.”
