Best of Buffalo 2008	The Place We Live

Frankly, dear reader, I’m disappointed in you this year. What were you thinking when you voted in this category? Do we live in the same city? Maybe I stepped through a tear in the space-time continuum when I counted your votes, or accidentally took a bunch of heroine, because I don’t believe what I’m reading.

A bunch of you, I can only assume, copied off of last year’s issue, or you just don’t get out enough. Under Best Annual Festival, four of the five nominees remain unchanged—Taste of Buffalo, Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, Allentown Art Festival, and the Italian Festival. Sure these folks know how to put together some food carts and arts vendors, but why not throw on an eye patch and head to the equally venerable Olcott Pirate Festival?

And I have to believe that your out of town visitors are going to stop coming if you keep dragging them to the same tired venues. Perennial favorites Elmwood Village, Anchor Bar, Niagara Falls, and the Albright-Knox made the list again. I know, I know—“But man, Niagara Falls is one of the seven wonders of the world!” Well, according to wonderclub.com, it’s one of the “Forgotten Natural Wonders of the World.” The world forgot it, guys. This is the 21st century, come on! And besides, there are 69 wonders total these days, so it’s not even that exclusive anymore. I thought you, of all people, would’ve known that.

City Hall, the Guaranty Building, and the Albright-Knox all made the top five favorite buildings list again. Sure, they’re all very pretty, but beauty’s only skin-deep. What can you say about them besides, “Oh, it’s so pretty!” I want character in my buildings, something I can talk about. Like the ugly monstrosity that Canisius College calls Churchill Tower, which blocks the view of its much more beautiful (and thus less interesting) gold-domed Old Main building.

You could’ve been more original when considering outdoor public spaces, too. Bidwell Parkway, Delaware Park, and Forest Lawn Cemetery made the top five list for the, I don’t know, millionth time in a row! Did you know that the cemetery is full of dead people? And how about the feelings of Chapin and Lincoln Parkways? Did you ever think of that?

When it comes to the year’s biggest mistake, it all depends on whose perspective your looking at it from and what you consider a mistake. I doubt Ashley Alexandra Dupré, the now-famous 22-year-old call girl Eliot Spitzer was caught with, considers that scandal much of a mistake. And the unflappable Byron Brown’s son going on an illegal, late-night knockaround drive didn’t seem to have too much of an effect on his political career. He never even apologized (nor did his son, for that matter…he had his lawyer do it). And while we may have “lost” Chris Drury and Danny Briere, they “found” scads of money in New York and Philadelphia, respectively.

Okay, so I’m not totally disappointed in you. There were a couple of great contradictions in the voting. You seem to want both the Aud and City Hall renovated and torn down. And while I understand, to an extent, your desire to have City Hall come down on a business day (we could get Steve Casey and Byron Brown!), there are a lot of good folks who work there who deserve nothing but our thanks for their service.

And I do agree with you that the concrete behemoth Convention Center needs to come down, so the original street grid can be restored downtown.

At least three of your picks for most promising green project involve buildings that are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, signifying an important sea change towards environmentally-friendly building practices. They include the Dulski federal building rehab project, the new Blue Cross Blue Shield building and Damen’s new Center for Information, Research and Community.

I’ve noted that your picks for what you hope happens in 2008 are toned down a bit from years past. While we know already that the Sabres can’t win the Stanley Cup, you’ve given up on the Bills donning Super Bowl rings, and now just hope they can make the playoffs. No longer do you look to the waterfront being redeveloped, you just want work to begin. And gas prices going down, well, you should understand that they’re just going to keep on rising until the oil runs dry.

—peter koch

Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Best Annual Festival Allentown Art Festival Taste of Buffalo Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts Erie County Fair Italian Festival Best Annual Fundraiser MASH Bash Variety Club Telethon Ride for Roswell World’s Largest Disco Catwalk for Charity Best Place to Eavesdrop Spot Coffee On Chippewa Old Pink The elevators at City Hall Caffe Aroma av editor pick Best Late Night Exercise The Sunday Night Bike Ride Can’t decide between a beer and a bike ride? Don’t—two-wheel it down to the Bend on Allen Street around 10pm on any Sunday night and watch as the biggest bike gang you’ve ever seen gathers for a nocturnal turn through the city. The route for the Sunday Night Bike Ride is determined on the spot, but it almost always ends in the Japanese Garden in Delaware Park in the wee hours on Monday morning. Bring a backpack to carry beer. —geoff kelly Best Outdoor Public Space Delaware Park Erie Basin Marina Forest Lawn Cemetery Bidwell Parkway Niagara Falls Best People-watching Elmwood Avenue Allentown Delaware Park Galleria Mall Spot Coffee of Elmwood Best Place to Take Visitors Niagara Falls Anchor Bar Albright-Knox Art Gallery Elmwood Village Erie Basin Marina

The Year’s Biggest Mistake Eliot Spitzer’s The Lynn DeJac case McKinley High School scandal Losing Chris Drury and Daniel Briere The late-night drive of Byron Brown’s son A Building You Want Renovated Central Terminal The Aud The Richardson Complex The Statler City Hall A Building You Want Torn Down The Aud City Hall (on a business day) The grain elevators The convention center No more, please Favorite Building City Hall Darwin Martin House The Mansion on Delaware Guaranty Building Albright-Knox Art Gallery Darwin Martin House Most Promising Green Project The Steel Winds wind turbines Green redevelopment of Buffalo’s waterfront Daemen College’s new information center Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building Rehab of the Dulski federal building One Thing You Hope Happens in 2008 Buffalo’s waterfront redevelopment begins The Sabres win the Stanley Cup The Bills make the playoffs Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman president Gas prices goes down