This garden occupies a serene spot high above a neighborhood scarred by empty lots and

boarded-up buildings. It is a haven where gardeners tend to tomato plants, herbs and flowers.

Some call it the start of an &#8220urban oasis&#8221 in an area where vacant lots account

for 43 percent of all parcels.

This experiment in urban agriculture is being conducted on the roof of the Broadway Market,

which has struggled for decades with anemic sales and a shrinking vendor base.

&#8220This keeps me and my dad out of each other&#8217s way,&#8221 Amherst resident Ann

Marie Awad chuckled, referring to her new garden where tomatoes, sunflowers, squash and

watermelon have been planted.

Until recently, the University at Buffalo student hadn&#8217t stepped foot in the market

since she was 4 or 5.

And that&#8217s the goal of this garden, one ingredient in a plan aimed at giving people

more reasons to visit a market that faces a shaky future, according to some neighborhood

leaders and city officials.

Market managers plan to place more picnic tables and benches on the roof in hopes of making

the deck a spot where families can picnic and friends can enjoy the commanding views of

historic East Side churches, the Central Terminal and the downtown skyline.

There&#8217s even talk of working with classic-car buffs to stage cruise nights and setting

up a driving range where youngsters could take golf lessons.

If the other plans receive as much response as the rooftop garden, market managers would be

ecstatic.

Original plans called for 30 plots. But so many people applied &#8212 some seeking multiple

spaces &#8212 that 71 raised beds were built by volunteer crews from WNY AmeriCorps. When Awad

heard about the garden, she was intrigued. Her dad is a bit &#8220territorial&#8221 when it

comes to yard pursuits, she explained.

The fact that Patricia Fendt is in a wheelchair hasn&#8217t deterred her from making

frequent stops at her rooftop produce patch.

&#8220It&#8217s wonderful to get out in the sun, work in your garden and watch other

people&#8217s things growing,&#8221 said Fendt, who has lived on Broadway near Coit Street for

about 25 years.

Volunteers from True Bethel Baptist Church are growing vegetables that eventually will feed

the needy.

Lewandowski Produce, a longtime market vendor, has planted sage, rosemary and thyme, with

plans to sell some of the herbs at its stand.

Even a weight-loss group called &#8220Take Off Pounds Sensibly&#8221 has planted produce

for nutrition-savvy members.

The garden is the brainstorm of Thomas A. Kerr, who was hired last year to try to engineer

a turnaround for the city-owned market.

The former senior manager for the Internal Revenue Service has already started implementing

some ideas. They include a Sunday farmers&#8217 market that Kerr admits has had a sluggish

start. He has been talking with golfing experts about offering kids instruction at a rooftop

driving range. He also has been trying to land a classic-car cruise night for the sprawling

top deck of the parking ramp.

&#8220And the nice thing is that, if it rains, we could just move the cars to lower levels

in the ramp,&#8221 Kerr said.

Still, there&#8217s an undercurrent of dissension in some pockets of the community. One

East Side businessman who is a member of a task force set up to help chart a vision for the

market has been critical of Kerr&#8217s tenure.

&#8220Instead of embracing people who are passionate about contributing new ideas, he blows

them off,&#8221 Eddy Dobosiewicz said. &#8220I think it&#8217s a control issue with him.

It&#8217s an ego thing.&#8221

Urban gardens and car shows are &#8220nice activities,&#8221 he continued. &#8220But how do

they really strengthen our core mission? We need to keep our focus on the food aspect of the

market.&#8221

There is no long-term marketing plan and no serious focus on neighborhood revitalization as

a key component in strengthening the market, said Dobosiewicz, who organizes East Side tours

and events such as Dyngus Day festivities.

He complained that neighborhood initiatives have been largely confined to demolishing

structures &#8212 some of which he believes could have been saved for future rehabilitation.

Kerr denied that he has turned a deaf ear to other people&#8217s ideas. But he agreed with

Dobosiewicz that the market&#8217s future hinges on rejuvenating the neighborhood.

Buffalo&#8217s chief planner said city officials also recognize this reality. &#8220If we

just focus on trying to make the market a success, it can&#8217t happen,&#8221 said Brendan R.

Mehaffy.

While few would deny that the neighborhood is undermined by vacant homes &#8212 some in

deplorable condition &#8212 Mehaffy thinks progress is being made. Since 2007, the city has

demolished 353 blighted structures in the neighborhood. It has taken steps to accommodate

urban agriculture on Wilson Street and community gardens on other nearby streets.

The city also has been forging closer bonds with community groups in hopes of strengthening

the neighborhood, Mehaffy said. Some talks have centered on finding ways to encourage new

housing in a neighborhood ravaged by an exodus of residents.

&#8220We need new housing,&#8221 said businessman Thomas Handley, who owns two buildings in

the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. &#8220Housing is what would strengthen the market.&#8221

The market&#8217s future has also been clouded by concerns about crime. Crime in the

neighborhood surrounding the market was down nearly 31 percent last year compared with 2008,

according to data released Thursday by the Police Department. Crime in the first five months

of 2010 was up 5.5 percent from a year ago but down 38 percent from the same period in 2008.

&#8220These people who are afraid of their own shadow have to come back,&#8221 Fendt said.

&#8220I&#8217ve been here all these years, and everyone has been kind and decent.&#8221

Kerr and Amanda Beale, the market&#8217s special-events coordinator, hope the market can

attract new target audiences by continuing to build the vendor base and offering an array of

activities.

Some events will focus on the market&#8217s mainstay &#8212 food. Cooking demonstrations

will focus on ethnic recipes. The market also plans to be host to music and dancing programs.

But will the efforts be enough to save what local leaders have touted as the nation&#8217s

oldest continually operating public market?

Only time will tell, said Mary Lewandowski, whose family has operated a produce stand in

the market for more than 25 years. &#8220I think they&#8217re trying to do different

things,&#8221 she said. &#8220I don&#8217t know if it&#8217s going to be enough, but at least

they&#8217re trying.&#8221