BYP October Events !

Hello Everyone!

We now have FIVE preservation related events happening in October that we are excited to share with you. Below is a list of tours, talks, happy hours and clean outs that we are hosting – this is a busy month for BYP! With Buffalove, The BYP Team

Wed. Oct 1st – BYP October Happy Hour @ Ulrich’s Tavern !

On Wednesday, Oct 1st, we are joining forces with AIA and BAF to celebrate the “Festival of Architecture, Buffalo!” Week. This will be a big happy hour event – one that cannot be missed!

Ulrich’s Tavern at 674 Ellicott in the BNMC
October 1st, 2014 –
6:30 pm – 9pm Click here for the facebook event listing.

Sat. Oct 4th – BAF Presents: Family Fun Day @ Darwin Martin House

Join us for fun activities centered around architecture, Buffalo and its culture!
Local organizations (including BYP!) will come together at one of Buffalo’s most iconic architectural landmarks for this FREE event! The event includes educational activities, games, and the sharing of preservation/architecture related knowledge. In addition to the featured activities Family Fun Day will have Food Trucks, Music, Games, and Specialized Children’s Tours of the Martin House!

http://buffaloarchitecture.org/event/fab-family-fun-day/

Monday, Oct 6th – BYP City Auction Talk: Learn the Ins & Outs of the City of Buffalo INREM Auction

Join Bernice, Jason and Melanie on Monday, October 6th at 7:30pm at 128 Fargo Ave (Cafe Space!) to get the inside scoop about the upcoming City Auction. We will give details on how it works, what hurdles you may face and how to prepare to buy an auction property. Bernice, Jason and Mel all have a ton of experience with buying and renovating houses from the City auction – this is the only time to pick their brains! Refreshments will be available. Free to attend but we will accept donations to pay for the space and refreshments.

Sat. Oct 25th @ 10am – BYP Board & Seal & Clean Out – The Church @ 150 Edward Street.

Join us on Saturday, Oct 25th from 10am – 1pm at 150 Edward Street as we help to clean out an old church that has just been purchased to become a new art space! Dennis Mayer, the new owner, saved the church from demolition earlier this year and has big plans to create a unique artspace inside. He needs our help boarding up some windows and getting it cleaned out and ready for the rehab work happening inside this winter.

If you plan on attending, please make sure you come in comfortable clothing you don’t mind getting dusty and wear safe footwear.Tools, snacks and general construction expertise are always welcome. RSVP via email to bypteam@gmail.com

Sat. Oct 25th @ 2pm – BYP Richardson Complex Group Tour (Must buy tickets!)

Come tour the Richardson Complex with us on October 25th at 2pm!

During this invite-only guided tour, learn about the genius of Henry Hobson Richardson, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Dr. Thomas Kirkbride as they carried out the development of the former Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. This history-focused tour will also introduce you to the present and future plans for the Richardson Olmsted Complex, with access to and former patient buildings in various states of renovation and additional areas of the partially restored Towers Building.

Note: There will be no photography allowed on this tour. For those interested in taking photographs, please see our designated photography tours.

Sign up for tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/820588

BYP Happy Hour Poster – Created by Darren Cotton. Thanks, Darren!!

See you there!

—

With Buffalove,

BYP Team

Email us to get involved – bypteam@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/buffalosyoungpreservationists

The Story of My Ted X Buffalo Experience: Before, During & After.

I wanted to give you all a little insight to my personal experiences surrounding the Ted X Buffalo event. Sometimes I may seem like a happy robot online – I always try to maintain an image that is positive, kick ass and ambitious. While 99% of the time that is true, the other 1% usually stays quiet. However, since TED was such an emotional roller coaster for me, I figured I would write about it on my personal blog. Here is my personal take of the before, during and after of the whole event.

First of all, Ted X Buffalo is a really inspiring event for anyone and everyone. If you haven’t been to Ted X Buffalo, you have to go!!

Leading up to Ted X Buffalo, I was going INSANE. Ted X Buffalo is a BIG DEAL. Stressed to the max, super anxious and cranky would have best described the week leading up to the talk… Poor Jason, he was so supportive despite my craziness. I will never forget when I exploded in tears because he couldn’t help me and I was running out of time to cut out heart bombs. I felt the pressure to be GREAT, not just good, which really added to the stress. And of course, most people finalize their TED talk about 3 months before the event and… my talk finally came together about 3 weeks prior. Cramming in all the info in 12 minutes was a serious hurdle. Every suggestion from my friends literally made my head explode just thinking about where to put it into the talk. The hardest challenge in preparing for the talk was doing the talk over and over again because each talk literally took all my energy for at least an hour, making the amount of practicing times very limited. Practicing was literally exhausting.

The day of Ted X Buffalo, I unintentionally had to rely on my brain only. I didn’t bring notes to review backstage! (It was probably for the best…lol) Even two minutes before I went on, I was standing backstage holding a giant heart with the words “Preservation is Sexy” on it…. with no real plan as to when or how I was going to use it. “Whatever happens, happens….there is no turning back now”, I said to myself. But when I got up there, it all flowed out the way I wanted it. The lights weren’t too bright and the giant flashing red timer didn’t even phase me. I didn’t forget a slide, mumble my words or blank out. At the end of the day, my heart bombs & vacancy vortex TED X talk went off way better than I could have ever imagined it. Having 400 people put hearts over their heads while I held up a “Preservation is Sexy” heart was super fun! Of course there will always be things to add, changes you wish you made but I am happy that it was clear, concise and inspiring. The best part came afterwards; the influx of texts, calls, tweets, message and emails of support that came from my friends from across the globe- all who had taken the time to watch my talk via live stream online… it was easily one of the best feelings ever.

I found myself in awe of my surroundings the entire day. The audience was super responsive and the speakers nailed it. The Ted X planning crew ROCKED – everything went off perfectly. I had the best conversations with people who inspire me to learn more and live harder. I bonded with the other TED speakers and found myself appreciative and honored to be included in the small group of Ted X Buffalo speakers. I didn’t even want to fall asleep later that night because I didn’t want the day to be over… a feeling which I haven’t felt in a long time.

The TED event made me realize a few things to add to my talk – a great friend mentioned that comparing rehab versus demolition costs would be helpful in my case for preservation and another suggested that I add a few more photos. Also, I realized the need to actually record my power points presentations on preservation so they can be used in the future. If I want more people to know about the vacancy vortex, I have to get the information ready and out to the world, right?

Lastly, as I write this, I am sitting in Nantucket – a magical island of historic preservation, boats and dreaminess. All that stress from TED made my 6 day get away even better. After days of hanging with family, playing in sand and exploring the island via moped, I am recharged and excited to get back to Buffalo to work on preservation projects, building rehabs and energy efficiency projects!

That basically wraps up my entire Ted X Buffalo experience. Sometimes I feel like a happy robot when I am online and hopefully this gives you a little insight to my thinking, my emotions and my approach to life. 🙂

My personal Ted X Buffalo video has yet to come out but here is a photo from Tuesday’s TED X Buffalo Event. You can watch the long version of the video which includes several presenters, including my presentation here. I start at about 35 min in!

Please check out http://www.tedxbuffalo.com for all the presentations, they were all very fun and inspiring.

http://new.livestream.com/tedxbuffalo2013/events/2425305/videos/32294489

Uptown Theatre Clean Up Recap!

Today the Buffalo’s Young Preservationists (BYP), the Bailey Business Association and the University Heights Tool Lending Library teamed up to do a clean up of the historic Uptown Theatre at 3163 Bailey Ave.

We had people of all ages come to help! Puma, Derek, Mark and I focused on scrapping the marquee so it could be painted. Darren, Aaron, Laluce and others worked on cleaning out the basement. Also, a lot of children and neighbors worked on landscaping the exterior planters!

The future of the Uptown Theater is a hopeful one. It is in great hands and the plan is to use it for flexible event spaces such as weddings, presentations and neighborhood meetings.

Here are some photos. What a productive day!!

August 2013 BYP Clean up at the Uptown Theatre!

Artvoice Best of Buffalo Nomination!

The Best of Buffalo nominations are out! I am so happy to be a part of this list.. regardless of who wins, it is such an honor to be on a list with these amazingly inspiring people and groups! Thanks to everyone who voted for me and/or BYP!!

BYP – Growing the Herd in Buffalo, NY.

Do you want to do cool things that make the community better?

BYP (Buffalo’s Young Preservationists) want to do a lot of good things for Buffalo including mobile block clubs, clean outs of key properties, painting houses, research buildings, writing grants.. and so much more. If you want to get involved with a bunch of young crazy Buffalo lovers that work hard and play hard – email us at bypteam@gmail.com

We need more people to take on projects that they can own and lead. We need folks who see a void in the process and become a leader in an area or with a topic. We need art and better public spaces and people to take on neighborhood leader roles so when there is an issue, the community is aware of it. All of these exciting projects/initiatives can really help save houses, increase investment and building community excitement. (Now that is proactive preservation!)

Anyhow – don’t be afraid to get involved. It’s fun, exciting, stressful, yet very very rewarding.

BYP Presents: Preservation Speed Dating! Monday, March 25th at 6-9pm.

Want to know how to get more involved with BYP?!!??!
Join us – Monday, March 25 – 6-9pm @ Sweetness & on Grant St.

We will be doing a “Speed dating” event where several key leaders of BYP will be giving “quick” short 5 min presentations about current & future initiatives that BYP is working on.
The goal is to “match” YOUR skills and YOUR passions with the initiatives happening in YOUR community.

We hope you can make it. We need more people active doing cool things to save our grain elevators, historic theaters, churches and more.. and we have a lot of fun doing it! Jason, Dana, Danielle, Chris, Mark, Derek, Puma, myself and so many others will be speaking about things we are doing and things we want to do!

Email us at BYPTEAM@GMAIL.COM with questions.

Monday, March 25th. 6-9pm. Presentations start at 6:30pm! No beer… but lots of great yummy coffee and food to buy!

Trico Local Landmark Public Meeting – Tuesday at 2pm!!! Save Trico!

The day has come! Take off work! Cancel that meeting!
We need YOU to be at City Hall – 13th Floor Common Council chambers at 2pm on Tuesday, March 26th.

The common council legislative committee is hosting one public meeting before they decide on the fate of Trico’s local landmark status.

We need you there to show your support!
Why is this important??? If Trico becomes a local landmark, we will have more say in what happens to Trico (aka – your personal tax dollars). This gives us the right to have an open process about this nationally registered historic building.

Tuesday, March 26th. 2pm. Common Council Chambers.
Bring a friend, a co worker and a relative.
SAVE TRICO.
www.savetrico.com

FACEBOOK EVENT LINK!

Artvoice Influence Survey: Bernice Radle on Groundwork in Buffalo, NY

Here is my complete write up for the Artvoice influence questionnaire that was sent around to a select 300 people… read below. Let me know what you think!

For this week’s cover story, we polled a number of local folks about positive and negative influences in our region—people, ideas, circumstances. In the days to come, we’ll publish the responses we received in full here.

Here’s what Bernice Radle of Buffalo’s Young Preservationists has to say: (LINK to article)

1. What people/ideas/circumstances do you consider positive influences in this region?

I see the most positive influences in our region being from the people and local organizations that are on the ground making changes, creating unique space & places and organizing local citizens to take ownership and be a part of rebuilding their community.

A great example of leadership and influence is PUSH Buffalo. They understand that social capital is just as important as financial. Their NetZero home on Winter St. is an exceptional neighborhood centerpiece, one that challenged the traditional design standards often associated with affordable housing. The NetZero house, located within the Green Economic Development Zone has helped to educate thousands of local citizens on energy efficiency, employed hundreds of local people through construction and has inspired many others to invest in the West Side.

For me, there are hundreds of inspirational stories, people and organizations that are pushing forward for our local neighborhoods and residents. These stories are what keep me here, keep me moving forward and make me loveBuffalo! Their involvement is incredibly inspiring and unique and is undoubtedly one of the important driving pieces to the puzzle of success for our region.

2. What people/ideas/circumstances do you consider negative influences in this region?

Often times, many people stand in the way of bright, young talented people who bring new ideas, new energy and new outlook to our region. If we want to keep people here and attract others, we need to give them what they need to encourage them to grow, excel and succeed.

Buffalo no longer competes with the Rochester’s of the world; we are competing on a much larger scale with cities of all sizes. Due to the internet and social media, we actually have the ability to attract people from large and small cities!

Cities like Columbus, Baltimore and Milwaukee get it. They implement higher design standards, add bike lanes, support food trucks and start up businesses, and encourage development of unique spaces and historic buildings. Implementing policies and procedures will attract the young, college educated people who are drivers and leaders in a 21^st Century economy. If Buffalo can attract and retain this group of people, we will thrive as this wave of millennials start to become the power players and decision makers.

Personally, I have a lot of ideas when it comes to planning, preservation and buildings that can help lead Buffalo into being a 21^st century city that attracts people, new ideas and investment. I will say this – the current system that is in place is not working very well. The systems itself are the barriers to development, investment and creative design. A great example is our vacancy crisis. You want to know why we have thousands of vacant buildings and lots? Or why some incredible houses sit vacant? Try to buy one.

3. What people/ideas/circumstances do you think ought to be more influential in this region?

We need to empower the local folks that challenge the normal ideals, ones who have proven success after breaking barriers and taking risks. The Prish Moran’s, Aaron Bartley’s and Rocco Termini’s of the world are great examples of putting pride, excitement and love into their work. Rocco will never turn down giving a tour of the Hotel Lafayette because he knows it inspires others to buy, invest and believe in Buffalo. We need more NetZero buildings in Buffalo. We need more neighborhood coffee shops for people to meet, eat and plan revolutions. People like this continue to break barriers, challenge the norm and prove that success is not only determined by a five year financial payback. They have taken risks, proven success and deserve to have more influence in our regional decisions.

The Buffalo's Young Preservationists at the December Happy Hour & Fundraiser. — The Buffalo’s Young Preservationists at the December Happy Hour & Fundraiser.

Heart Bombs in Buffalo, NY

We made hearts on a Sunday morning.
We heart bombed 5 buildings.
We got heart bombed by the National Trust with Cupcakes.
We made local and national news – Design Sponge, Curbed.com and Buffalorising.
We got inspired and inspired others.

I can’t stress this enough…. BYP is a group of dedicated people who listen, love and do for the City of Buffalo. Our heart bombs have begun to inspire others to show a little love to their favorite buildings in Buffalo and across the nation. Neat, huh? We are determined to change the way preservation is viewed and make people realize that preservation is progress and an economic engine for our City.

Overall, the event was a super success! Now we have to work hard to get these cuties back online and out of the Vacancy Vortex.

BYPers – Lovers of History, Buildings and Buffalo.

We are young professionals, students and some are young at heart and in spirit. We are made up of architects, planners, farmers, bloggers, consultants, developers, preservationists, lawyers, building lovers and Buffalo boosters. The best part about BYP is that we are friends who are all working on things that better Buffalo and the region in some way, shape or form. Follow us and our initiatives on facebook!

Bernice Radle

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