Monthly Archives: April 2015

Poll Results: Our ‘Hood

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A few weeks ago I asked what you thought of the name and brand, or lack thereof, for our beloved North Buffalo neighborhood.

Nearly 200 votes were cast and the results are below.

Poll Results

Not surprisingly, “North Buffalo” was the leader at just under 50% of the votes followed by the common “Hertel” and then a scattering of other connotations. A couple interesting write-ins were “NoBu (or NoBo)”, “Northside” and “Hertel East”.

“The suburbs” – submitted by someone with an Elmwood Village superiority complex and residing less than three miles south of Hertel Avenue – was promptly removed from consideration.

In most polls I’d say 49% is a definitive answer. But it leaves me still thinking we have a problem. That’s one out of every two people calling our neighborhood something different. A lot of chatter around the poll seemed to show some consensus on needing something more specific, memorable, or unifying. To me, absent of that, it makes it tough to build any type of momentum.

Unfortunately this won’t be solved any time soon, but I thought it was fun to think about. Thank you to all of you for voting and joining in the conversation. Possibly those with the time, resources, reach and government connections needed to spearhead a city branding initiative (hint hint HNBBA) will read this and start giving it some thought. I know there are a lot of people that would welcome the opportunity to contribute and we’d all benefit from the outcome.

Until then, call 14216 what you want…just keep supporting it!

Corner Table in a Cafe

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You know the warm, fuzzy feeling that you get in a local cafe?

Yeah, the one that comes every time your barista steams the milk for someone’s cappuccino, or steeps a mug of <Insert your favorite here> fragrant herbal tea, or better still, takes out a fresh batch of oatmeal raisin cookies from the oven right when you step inside.

You get the picture, right?

Daily Planet is all this, and even more.

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This beautiful little (actually, not little) gem is conveniently located on the corner of Hertel and Parker, close enough that it was a two minute drive from my house on North Park yet far enough that it seemed tucked away in a quiet corner of the city.

A large (and I mean large) cup of green tea and a corner table by the window later, all my writing paraphernalia spread in front of me – I was ready to write about this new addition to our lovely ‘hood.

Except I walked out of the cafe almost three hours later, with three words in my diary- Daily Planet Coffee!

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Writer’s block, you ask? Oh no! Bloggers don’t have that problem (because we are not aiming for that Pulitzer Prize, nor are we scared out of our wits of “that” New York Times critic).

It was a heady concoction of the soothing jazz tunes, conversations overheard from the next table, the aroma of peppers and fresh mozzarella being sautéed together and my server’s slightly off-center grin- that I forgot what I came in for.

I spent those three hours, tucked away in a corner table, slowly savoring my green tea, watching the evening advance into night fall with soothing jazz being played in the background.

Best three hours I have spent in quite some time, I would say.

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Poll: What do you call our ‘hood?

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I’ve been thinking. (insert “uh oh” or “watch out” or “finally”)

There are a ton of areas in the city of Buffalo that are distinctly identifiable by their name. In some cases, that name may be aligned to a main street or “drag” – in others, to something historic or unique. But in all cases, the name comes with an image. It also creates a destination while identifying you with a particular neighborhood.

The name is everything.

Think of the Elmwood Village, Allentown, Canalside, Chippewa, Cobblestone, Larkinville. Each of these have become destinations, filled with restaurants, bars and other amenities, flush with hustle and bustle. They’re marketable locales. They’ve become pockets of pride for the city and even trendy. Basically just places people want to be.

So what about North Buffalo?

It has all of the above and given the flurry of business activity and recent real estate trends, it has become, not only cool but also, a good investment to reside in 14216. But is thinking of it on the “North Buffalo” scale too broad? Meaning, without having focus on the center of the activity, maybe we’re missing out on what could be something even greater.

The above neighborhood names drive people to a place that usually in turn spurs some economic impact. It’s no secret that the backbone of North Buffalo is Hertel Avenue. The marketer in me would love to see us commit to creating something that reinforces just that. Reinforces a unified brand for the core part of North Buffalo – be it our avenue, village, district, borough or ward. Something we can collectively own, celebrate and promote.

Whether you’ve lived in the area your whole life or are a transplant, you’re likely all abuzz with the buzz so I’m sure this resonates with you. So what do you think? Do we need a once-and-for-all name? A brand? What should it be? Share your thoughts in the below poll!