Buffalo, New York - Mayor Byron W. Brown and the City of Buffalo Division of Citizen Services today announced the winners of the latest round of Love Your Block mini-grants, a program that awards funds to Buffalo neighborhoods for beautification and revitalization projects. Now in its fourth year, 15 winners were recently notified that they were chosen to receive funding of up to $1,500 for community projects in neighborhoods citywide. Preference was given to residents residing in the Jefferson Avenue area, Black Rock-Riverside, the Upper West Side, Masten Park, Broadway-Fillmore, Kensington-Bailey, Shiller Park, and the Lower Westside.
Mayor Brown stated, “I congratulate all the winners of the Love Your Block mini-grants and appreciate our shared commitment to building an equitable and inclusive city of opportunity, while encouraging community engagement and volunteerism to further improve and beautify our diverse neighborhoods, one block at a time.”
Love Your Block is a program in which volunteer-led community groups compete for a chance to win cash grants up to $1,500, as well as project planning assistance, to beautify and transform a public space in Buffalo. To help assist those who wished to apply, but needed assistance with their applications, two workshops were held in East Buffalo. Mayor Brown is thankful to the community members who were enlisted to review each application.
The 2022 Love Your Block Grant recipients include the following:
- Norfolk Ave. Block Club #1
- Wade Ave Block Club
- Friends of Broderick Park
- Kid’s Neighborhood Initiative
- Groundworks Buffalo
- Sumner Brinkman Scheu Park and Keystone Block Club
- African American Cultural Center of Buffalo
- The Clean Air Coalition of WNY
- Central Terminal Neighborhood Association
- Celtic Place Community Garden
- Minnesota Ave Block Club
- Fillmore Forward Inc.
- Bailey Green LLC
- ELCON Block Club
- West Ave Block Club
Since its inception, Love Your Block has funded a total of 60 projects across 22 neighborhoods. Winning projects fell into one of four categories.
- Vacant Lot Activation: Community Garden/greenhouse, playground, public art installation, and reactional 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 business strips in the identified target areas. This includes landscaping, art installments, pedestrian spaces, lighting improvements, and public safety
For more information about Mayor Brown’s Love Your Block initiative, email loveyourblock@buffalony.com or call (716) 851-4890. The Love Your Block 2023 mini-grant application process is expected to begin in late spring, with a focus on honoring the ten lives lost during the May 14th shooting on Jefferson Avenue in East Buffalo.