East Side Avenues
As part of New York State’s economic development investment plan, $65 million is dedicated to the revitalization of Buffalo’s East Side through capital investments. East Side Avenues is a unique public/private partnership that provides capacity building, funding and organizational support to complement five specific initiatives along Bailey, Fillmore, Jefferson and Michigan Avenues.
Empire State Development (ESD) and the City of Buffalo partnered with the UBRI to reach out to community members, to listen, analyze past investments and create a comprehensive plan focused on what key stakeholders said they’d like to see happen and what projects they believe are important for promoting economic activity.
Understanding the tremendous opportunity to leverage New York State’s $65 million East Side Corridor Economic Development Fund, private and philanthropic organizations created a pooled $8 million East Side Collaborative Fund to support operations, programs, capacity building, and community infrastructure associated with five of these capital initiatives. East Side Avenues brings together these public and private funders, community non-profits, anchor institutions, consultants and the City to plan and coordinate revitalization activities aimed at improving economic conditions on Buffalo’s East Side.
The East Side Avenues Project Implementation Team (PIT), led by UBRI, works to build organizational capacity by ensuring that appropriate supports such as infrastructure, staff and funding are in place; assisting with strategic planning, program design and problem solving; and reporting on progress.
Find out more at www.EastSideAvenues.org