BUFFALO, N.Y. — Two handmade community benches were reported stolen from the Buffalo Central Terminal's Great Lawn on Saturday.
Last October, the benches were unveiled as part of the Central Terminal Restoration Corp.’s (CRTC) ‘Seat At The Table’ project, a cause that received funding from a Project for Public Spaces Community Placemaking Grant. They were built by members of the Foundry's Making + Manufacturing Program for teaching youth about the modern manufacturing workforce.
"We built these benches based on community feedback that the community wanted to see a gathering space here on the Great Lawn at the Buffalo Central Terminal," said Monica Pellegrino Faix, Executive Director of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation.
These benches are utilized by the community year-round for hosting parties, concerts, and public events. Each is estimated to weigh between 500 and 600 pounds, making their overnight disappearance an unusual one. Pellegrino Faix and her staff have since taken further measures to secure the remaining benches on the Great Lawn.
"We've locked them together in a two-thousand pound block that would be hard to pickup now," said Pellegrino Faix.
In the coming weeks, the Central Terminal plans to host a variety of community events, including both a concert series and movie night. The managers of these events request that whoever has the benches return them as soon as possible before these events occur.
"This is really the start of our future together for the buildings with our neighbors in Broadway-Fillmore, and we have a great partnership," said Pellegrino Faix. "We had a really beautiful community meeting last night with our neighbors. We're on a great start together."