BUFFALO, N.Y. — If you belong to a community group, block club or have a small, locally-owned business, beautification grants are now available to help spruce up your neighborhood.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced on Monday that the application deadline for this year's "Love Your Block" program has been extended. Anyone hoping to submit an application can do so by Wednesday, June 15, two weeks past the original deadline of June 1.
Brown said the deadline had been pushed back to accommodate applications that were delayed because of the challenges following the mass shooting at Tops on May 14.
Organizers are including people and resident-led groups in the Jefferson Avenue area and the Fruit Belt neighborhood to apply for a grant in honor of Katherine Massey, who was one of the victims in the shooting.
In its fourth year, the program awards grants up to $1,500 for projects that will transform or beautify a public space.
This year the targeted neighborhoods are Broadway-Fillmore, Kensington-Bailey, Masten Park, Riverside, and Buffalo's upper and lower West Side. City officials note that block clubs and organizations outside of those listed neighborhoods are still eligible to apply for the grants.
According to the city, the proposed projects must fall into one of the four categories:
- Vacant Lot Activation: Community garden/greenhouse, playground, public art installation, and recreational space
- Community Space Revitalization: Repairs or modifications to community facilities (schools, community centers, park shelters, senior centers, etc.), graffiti removal and/or replacement of graffiti with a mural, planting trees and/or landscaping community facilities
- Accessibility Improvements: Implementing creative lighting, replacing broken or worn out litter bins, creating/managing a “tool library” where neighborhood groups can borrow & return tools for cleanup projects
- Streetscape Improvements: Community volunteer-led beautification on the business strips in the five identified target areas. This includes landscaping, art installments, pedestrian spaces, lighting improvements, and public safety
For more information, visit the Buffalo Love Your Block Facebook page. You can also email questions about the program to: loveyourblock@city-buffalo.com.
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