BUFFALO, N.Y. — As Mayor Byron Brown makes his final rounds as a public official, community members along Jefferson Avenue are weighing in on his impact in Buffalo.
"The first 12 years I seen him, he was building, and it was going real nice, and then all of a sudden, it stopped on the East Side," barbershop owner Leroy Love said.
Some believe that the Brown Administration left a healthy groundwork for the next.
"I believe that he's left a working arrangement. A groundwork that has been done financially," Gentre L. Garmon said.
In Mr. Love's and Son barbershop along Jefferson Avenue, there's conversations about the once thriving block.
"Oh, I mean vibrant. You wouldn't have to go anywhere else. I mean, this was it," Garmon said.
And the role of not only a mayor, but a community to bring the avenue back to life.
"Elmwood Avenue, Hertel Avenue, and now this needs to be a part of that growth, and I believe it can happen," Garmon said.
When it comes time to vote for a new administration, community members intend to make their voices a part of the decision.
"I vote and I pay attention to the groundwork going on," Lois McGee-Dawson said.