City seeks to honor Griffin with a party — or several
Bisons plaza could be named for late mayor
Jimmy Griffin loved a good party, and Common Council members think they’ve found the perfect way to honor the late mayor, who held Buffalo’s top office for a record-shattering 16 years.
A bill, championed by a majority of lawmakers, that would name a party plaza in front of Dunn Tire Park “Jimmy Griffin Plaza” was introduced Tuesday. Sponsors expect the bill to sail through the Council next month.
South Council Member Michael P. Kearns said no one was more instrumental in building a downtown ballpark than Griffin, who died last month. Kearns said he thinks naming the plaza on Swan Street near Washington Street, where the Buffalo Bisons hold popular Friday Night Bash events, for the former mayor would have put a smile on Griffin’s face. There’s even talk of raising private funds to erect a statue on the plaza in Griffin’s honor.
The Council is also considering a request from the Bisons to designate the team’s primary address on Washington Street as 1 James D. Griffin Plaza. A hearing on the change will be held July 15.
A second South Buffalo favorite son was also on the minds of lawmakers at Tuesday’s meeting. The Council voted, 7-0, to back Mayor Byron W. Brown’s plan to erect commemorative street signs in honor of NBC newsman Tim Russert, who died June 13. The city will place the so-called trailblazing signs bearing Russert’s name on Woodside Avenue, near the home where Russert grew up.
Kearns said it’s sad but also touching to see two late South Buffalo celebrities honored in the same summer.
“If Jimmy Griffin was my political hero, Tim Russert was my hero for the way he idolized his father,” Kearns said.
The Council grappled with numerous issues during Tuesday’s action-packed meeting. In a 6-1 vote, it approved a plan to increase taxi rates by 60 cents per mile. The move would increase the cost of a five-mile cab ride by about 21 percent. Some taxi drivers warned that without a fare hike, rising gas prices could force many cabbies out of business.
Voting against the increase was Brian C. Davis of Ellicott, who said he thinks there must be a national solution to rising fuel costs. Davis also said he wants to see tougher city regulations to weed out unscrupulous cabbies who, in his words, sometimes act like “wild cowboys” by driving recklessly and brawling at taxi stands.
In other action:
• Lawmakers voted, 5-2, to approve a two-year contract extension with the company that collects recyclables. Officials said the move would lock in fuel costs at old rates and could save the city a considerable sum. Buffalo pays Allied Waste Services $1.8 million a year to perform recycling chores.
Voting against the contract were Davis and Council Majority Leader Richard A. Fontana. There have been some complaints from constituents about how AWS picks up recycling, Fontana explained. “I still would like to see the city take back recycling,” said Fontana, referring to a decision made in 2002 to privatize operations.
• The Council also adopted a bill, sponsored by President David
A. Franczyk, supporting a reorganization of the troubled Broadway Market, including a possible overhaul of market management, as part of negotiating a new lease. The lease expires next week. The bill stressed the city’s “strong support” for the 120-year-old market, but it highlighted the need to find new ways to attract more shoppers and vendors. The Council also supported Franczyk’s push to form a task force that will explore strategies to try to revitalize a market that is currently 40 percent empty.
