Bengal News West Reporter
As temperatures continue to rise and
memories of a frigid winter fade, Western New Yorkers have started to
anticipate Garden Walk Buffalo, an annual event that highlights the city’s
unique architecture, community, culture and nationally-renown penchant for
gardening.
But
just beneath the surface you will find a narrative of camaraderie teamwork and determination that galvanized the
once-struggling Cottage District to blossom into one of the walk’s must-see
destinations. The Garden Walk takes
place on July 25 and 26.
In
2009, residents of Summer and York streets found themselves engaged in a battle
as multiple drug houses threatened the current and long-term vitality of the
neighborhood.
Playing
a part in the turnaround has been Manhattan native Ellie Dorritie, a retired postal worker who owns one of the Garden
Walk’s featured properties just off the intersection. Dorritie was among the first participants in
1995, just one-year after originator Marvin Lunenfeld gathered a handful of his
Norwood Avenue
neighbors to tend to their gardens. Over the years, other Cottage District
residents started planting and beautifying the landscape before unifying to
drive drugs out of the neighborhood.
After observing drug
houses operating within the community, the epicenter being what residents refer
to as the dairy building at the intersection, neighbors collectively activated
the dormant Cottage District block club. The building carried a reputation for illegal activity through
apartments in the front and both flanks.
Richard Potwora, who joined the neighborhood-wide effort to mobilize the
block club and take control of the streets, points out that as an established Garden Walk destination, the city could not ignore
the club’s plea for help.
“Community
members started noticing things happening, but we didn’t have a lot of time to
sit around and watch everything,” Potwora said.
“Everyone’s individual calls alone wouldn’t do and that’s where the
block club really stepped in.”
What
the block club’s collective efforts identified was a pattern of absentee
landlords, specifically at the 12-unit dairy building. Residents responded by first approaching the
landlords, before soliciting assistance from the city and housing court after the
initial intervention went unresolved.
Dorritie says the block club was fortunate to have City Housing Court Judge
Henry J. Nowak to hear their concerns.
Once
the landlords were forced out, the neighborhood was posed for positive change,
allowing the community to move forward and focus on their gardens.
Connie Stofko, who
publishes Western New York’s online gardening website says that the Garden Walk is a draw from both inside and the outside area.
“The walk is huge," Stofko said. "Everyone
knows about it, it’s referred to as the Garden Walk and people come from not
just neighboring communities, but other states.”
The Garden Walk is more than a two-day walking tour.
It is one of 12 garden-themed events that, along with bus tours,
all fall under the same umbrella.
These days, a walk
around the Cottage District yields anecdotes of residents working hard on their
gardens and a tangible sense of community.
Next to the refurbished and thriving dairy building, now a symbol of
transformation, neighbors pitch in with each other’s gardens, walk dogs and
converse. Potwora, who was the first to
paint his house in vibrant color, spurred the purples, blues, pinks, reds and
oranges that now adorn the network of houses.
“My intentions were to mirror the blooming plants around the
properties," Potwora said.
Richard Potwora, on the appeal of the Cottage District:
Richard Potwora, on the appeal of the Cottage District:
Sitting
in her backyard, a work in progress as the Garden Walk creeps up, Dorritie says
there are a number of reasons why her garden draws walk participants.
“Longevity and its
unusual construction above ground,” Dorritie said. “It was one of the first gardens in the area
that laid claim to the hell strip, the area between the sidewalk and the
street.”
But Dorritie will be the
first to tell you that driving drugs out of the neighborhood was ultimately a
group effort.
As thousands of
participants stroll through Garden Walk Buffalo at the end of July, Cottage District residents’ hard work will be on full
display. But so will a neighborhood
triumph that deserves just as much appreciation as the colorful foliage that
has become an annual tradition in Western New York.
The Garden Walk’s
featured event extends from Delaware Park to downtown. More information can be found at http://www.gardenwalkbuffalo.com
