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CCI of Buffalo’s Caricature of Italian Culture: the Russell J. Salvatore Courtyard

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on September 18, 2022
Posted in: CCI Buffalo, City of Buffalo, Giacalone family, Papagni family, Russell J. Salvatore, WNY Photos. 8 Comments

Mi dispiace. I am sorry, but this second-generation Italian-American is embarrassed and troubled by the recently installed “Russell J. Salvatore Courtyard” that now dominates Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo’s front yard at the northeast corner of Hertel and Delaware avenues.

CCI could have pursued – in the words of the late, great Buffalo artist, Virginia Tillou – “simplicity, taste and restraint” when designing its face to the world.  As a matter of fact, the original vision of CCI’s front yard, as designed by architect Tommaso Briatico, appears simple, tasteful and restrained, with an appropriately-scaled courtyard patio, reflection pool, and park benches.

Screenshot 2022-09-18 at 11-36-13 Case-for-CCI-Project-5.28.19.pdf

Along the way, however, the accessible and functional courtyard morphed into an ostentatious and unrestrained advertisement for its donor, Russ Salvatore – Western New York’s generous but shamelessly self-promoting restaurateur and hotel proprietor.

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What I find most offensive is the large, two-sided sign that proclaims the “Russell J. Salvatore Courtyard” – complete with an image of Mr. Salvatore’s smiling face that is reminiscent of a multitude of his commercials and ads. Compounding the problem is the location of this display. It is the first signage visitors see as they walk from the CCI’s parking lot to its main entrance, diminishing the stature of the site’s primary feature: the historic North Park Library building.

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While the original plan positioned the courtyard patio in close proximity to the building’s front entrance, the pretentious centerpiece of Mr. Salvatore’s “courtyard” – a fountain (imported, like my paternal grandparents, from Sicily), and the flowers and plantings that surround it – have been placed in the middle of what is now a ceremonial yard.

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The landscaped lawn around the fountain is dissected by a broad pathway of pavers bearing the names of donors. The plethora of fancy urns and decorative benches (backless and inhospitable in appearance), perhaps appropriate at an establishment catering to weddings, high school proms, etc., seems grossly out of place at a not-for-profit cultural center seeking to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for a diverse community.

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Mi dispiace. Illuminating the cultural center’s front yard with eleven (yes, 11) street lamps – making it far brighter than the nearby Burger King parking lot – is excessive and pointless. And it also shows no consideration for the residents in the neighboring house.

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And the white landscape stones covering the space between the courtyard’s fencing and the public sidewalk – identical to what you’ll find at Mr. Salvatore’s suburban establishments – are cold and unwelcoming, unbefitting a culture that loves beautiful flowers, gardens, and plantings.

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IMG_1223 [Taken at Russ Salvatore’s Garden Place hotel.]

My Italian and Sicilian grandparents, who had the courage and resilience to emigrate to the U.S., were humble and hardworking. They were not ostentatious or extravagant. They did not seek recognition when they gave to others. [See P.S. below.] They demonstrated characteristics, qualities and values worthy of preserving, promoting, and celebrating.

1 - Arthur P. Giacalone's Mother & Father [My father’s parents, Ignatio and Virginia (nee D’Amore) Giacalone.]

6 - Bart & Bettina Papagni's Family [Connie (dob 12-08-26) seated on right] [My mother’s family, Bartolomeo and Elisabetta (nee Catino) Papagni, and their children.]

CCI Buffalo’s new courtyard does not reflect the Italian culture and heritage that I know and cherish. It is, at best, a mere caricature of that legacy.

With All Due Respect,

Art Giacalone

P.S.  Mr. Salvatore’s generosity is unquestionable.  So is his need, apparently, to see his name attached to facilities that have benefited by his largess.  For example (in no particular order):  Villa Maria College’s Russell J. Salvatore Commons; Niagara University’s Russell J. Salvatore Student Commons, and Russell J. Salvatore Dining Commons; Lancaster School District’s Russell J. Salvatore Fieldhouse; Trocaire College’s Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality and Business; Brothers of Mercy’s Russell J. Salvatore Outpatient Rehabilitation Center; Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center’s Russell J. Salvatore Welcome Center; Erie County Memorial Center’s Russell J. Salvatore Atrium, Russell J. Salvatore Orthopaedic Unit; and, Catholic Charities’ Russell J. Salvatore Food Pantry & Outreach. 

“Red Dress” Remembrance of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) – Two Distinct Settings

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on September 5, 2022
Posted in: Canadian Culture, Celebration of Nations, Lewiston, Michele-Elise Burnett, MMIWG, Native American, WNY Photos. Leave a comment

[Revisiting my September 5, 2022 post and The Red Dress Exhibit:  For three days, ending September 11, the FirstOntario Performing Arts Center in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, was home to Celebration of Nations 2022, an annual festival honoring “the heritage, culture and achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples of Turtle Island and beyond.”  This year’s theme, “Honouring Our Matriarchs: Restoring The Balance,” was chosen as a reminder of the essential role women have played – and continue to play – in the survival and nurturing of Indigenous culture and traditions. 

Under the leadership and inspiration of its Artistic Director, Michele-Elise Burnett, this multi-faceted program included a re-imagined presentation of The Red Dress Exhibit that I had visited just a week earlier under blue skies and amidst the trees and greenspace of ArtPark in Lewiston, NY.  The Celebration of Nations’ presentation of the exhibit could hardly have been more dissimilar – indoors, encased within a dimly-lit second-floor theater, intentionally confined by black walls and drapes, and punctuated by solitary red dresses suspended from hangers and artificially illuminated from above. 

“If Only These Dresses Could Tell Their Story” is the subtitle of both Red Dress exhibits.  Aided by detailed narratives of the murdered and missing indigenous women, girls and two-spirit individuals, and enhanced by interpretative material, the thirteen empty dresses do, in fact, communicate profound and heartbreaking messages.  While I found the outdoor setting – with living trees, verdant landscape, and flowing river – more conducive to a hopeful, forward-looking, and inspiring message, they both are intensely moving and evocative. 

My original posting – displaying the dresses suspended from trees on a sun-drenched day at Lewiston’s ArtPark – will be supplemented below with the stark but poignantly beautiful images of the Red Dresses as viewed in the darkened and shadowy confines of FirstOntario PAC.  Please feel free to comment on whether the two distinct settings speak to you in different ways, or, perhaps, if the silence of the Red Dresses overwhelms the “white noise” of their surroundings.]     

On September 2, I visited ArtPark, in Lewiston, New York, to experience the first of a three-day program entitled “The Red Dress Exhibit.”  The exhibit featured thirteen empty Red Dresses – each unique and stunning – created by 13 Indigenous Peoples from the Western New York and Niagara regions. 

As explained by the exhibit’s producer, Michelle-Elise Burnett: “The exhibit is intended to increase awareness for the epidemic of the ongoing horrific systemic racial crimes targeting Indigenous women and girls; to remember the lost lives of the victims; to teach; to give Indigenous women a voice; to inspire a new cross-cultural generation based on inclusivity, compassion, love; and, to collectively offer the MMIWG our love, gratitude create a safe, nurturing and welcoming environment for Indigenous Peoples.”

To help place the horrors of this bi-national scandal into perspective, consider the following statistics compiled by Kenny Lee Lewis (a member of the Steve Miller Band for over 40 years), one of the musicians who performed on September 2: 

A preliminary study by Canadian police found that indigenous women — 4 percent of Canada’s female population — made up nearly 25 percent of its female homicide victims in 2012.
A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) found that more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women (84.3 percent) have experienced violence in their lifetime, including 56.1 percent who have experienced sexual violence.
In the year leading up to the study, 39.8 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women had experienced violence, including 14.4 percent who had experienced sexual violence.
Overall, more than 1.5 million American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

I fear that any attempt by me to provide a narrative regarding the 13 Red dresses will do a disservice to the individual MMIWG, their families, and their communities.  So – with minimal descriptions – I will let the images speak for themselves (and apologize for not having pictures of each of the beautiful and provocative dresses).

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IMG_1284 [Michelle-Elise Burnett (on the left) holds the dress prepared by domestic violence survivor Mary Annette Clause while Mary is interviewed by WKBW reporter Krizia Williams, broadcast 09-02-2022.]

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IMG_1394 And it’s back side:

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IMG_1289 [“Never Give Up!”]

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IMG_1274 [If I recall correctly, the sunflowers symbolize the source of light, and the ghostly handprints represent the unborn children of MMIWG.]

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Kelly Vacco and Joe Lorigo: Making the most of family ties?

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on August 24, 2022
Posted in: Dennis C. Vacco, John A. Michalek, Joseph Lorigo, Joseph Makowski, Judiciary, Kelly Vacco, Political Contributions, Ralph Lorigo, Stupidity. 1 Comment

Voters may think they have a real say in who gets to sit on the New York State’s Supreme Court – our state’s highest level trial court. In reality, they’re deluding themselves. As a recent Buffalo News editorial correctly states: “New York’s corrupt system is specifically designed to take judicial elections out of the hands of voters, who are left merely to ratify the decisions made by party bosses.”

An Overview of this Legal but Unwise Process.

Ninety-five years ago, New York ceased using a primary election process for selecting candidates for Supreme Court Justices, where registered Democrats and Republicans had a say on which judicial hopefuls would appear on the election ballot as their party’s nominees. New York State’s legislature replaced primaries with party judicial conventions controlled by party leaders. Under this system, the party leaders virtually handpick which hopefuls will be on the November election ballot for a judgeship that involves a 14-year term and currently provides an annual salary of $210,900.

This corruption-inducing process is further tainted by a sleight-of-hand referred to as “cross-endorsements.” Rather than each party naming its own distinct candidates, party leaders agree to cross party lines and endorse each other’s nominee. This approach often leads to there being the same number of candidates as there are judicial vacancies – for example, four slots to fill and only four names to choose from – assuring the cross-endorsed candidate a victory. The fix is in, and the public is left with no meaningful choice.

New York State’s method for selecting its most powerful trial judges was challenged in court a couple dozen years ago as violating the First Amendment. The case eventually made it up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which concluded that the selection process was not unconstitutional. [See NYS Bd. of Elections v. Lopez Torres, 522 U.S. 196 (2008).] But a number of the justices on our nation’s highest court made it clear that they did not endorse the arrangement, and sadly reminded us that “the Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws.”

The Impact of a Tainted Selection Process.

During my 46-years of practicing in New York’s trial and appellate courts, I have appeared before intelligent and ethical judges, women and men I gladly called “Your Honor.” However, it does not take much imagination to see how a portion of the handpicked “winners” in this flawed selection process might feel more indebted to the political king- and queen-makers who chose them for the post, than to justice and the rule of law. As vividly described in the Buffalo News editorial mentioned above staff, New York’s corrupt system for selecting State Supreme Court Justices “stinks and the smell clings to the robes of the winners.”

For the past three decades, I have challenged zoning decisions and proposed development projects on behalf of average citizens. It has become clear to me that my practice has placed me at the treacherous intersection of the law, politics, and greed. Whether my clients were attempting to protect the quality of life in the Elmwood Village, the Fruit Belt, or the Outer Harbor, their legal claims – and their trust in the law and the judicial process – have frequently been extinguished by compliant and intellectually dishonest judges who are the product of this corrupt selection system.

The selection process has given us judicial embarrassments such as Joseph G. Makowski – forced to resign in 2009 to avoid criminal prosecution for submitting a false and misleading affidavit to the Hamburg Town Court in a failed attempt to help a female friend avoid a DWI charge – and John A. Michalek, disrobed in 2016 and still awaiting sentencing for accepting a bribe from former political operative Steven Pigeon.

Long before these now-disgraced former judges were caught engaging in fraudulent and unlawful activities, I witnessed firsthand their apparent willingness to disregard cogent facts and the pertinent law to ensure that politically-connected developers or lawyers prevailed in land development cases.  [See, for example, here regarding Makowski, and here regarding Michalek.]

Money and Family Relations Grease the System.

Calling it “legalized bribery,” the Buffalo News opinion piece is most concerned with the now-prominent practice of judicial hopefuls, and their family members, generously contributing to the war chest of political leaders. You have to pay to play in order to be considered.

But I am equally troubled by the apparent role of nepotism reflected in this year’s Supreme Court nominees.

Would Kelly A. Vacco – who graduated from Ohio Northern University’s law school in 1992, and serves as Town of Boston Town Justice – have been nominated for such a prestigious and lucrative judicial position, and guaranteed a victory through the cross-endorsement ploy, were she not the spouse of former Republican State Attorney General and long-time judicial power-broker, Dennis C. Vacco? While Mr. Vacco, in defense of his wife’s nomination, rejects the idea that the money his family donated to party leaders influenced his spouse’s selection, he embraces – in an August 18th Buffalo News article – his own “longtime involvement” in the nomination process as one of the factors that led to her spot on the upcoming ballot.

And is there no other lawyer in Western New York better suited intellectually and temperament-wise for a Supreme Court position than Joseph C. Lorigo? Would this registered Conservative and leader of the minority caucus in the Erie County Legislature be on the election-day shortlist if he were not the son of Ralph C. Lorigo? After all, the senior Lorigo has served as chairman of the Erie County Conservative party since 1995, and boasts in his firm’s bio that he has “a strong involvement in judicial races throughout Erie County.” It does look that way.

So Many Losers.

While the political party bosses and operatives select the winners, there are many losers, including: the integrity and fairness of the judicial system; the public’s trust in the judiciary; and, the exceptional lawyers who have been excluded from serious consideration for a judicial nomination simply because they lack the funds, the kinship connections of a Kelly Vacco or a Joe Lorigo, or the stomach for this corrupt system.

We must insist that our State legislators and Governor take steps to repeal the laws that perpetuate this corrupt and unwise method of selecting State Supreme Court justices, and restore the public’s confidence in the judicial selection process and the courts.

With All Due Respect,
Art Giacalone

Judicial system that enabled John Michalek’s troubling conduct now coddles the disgraced judge

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on August 7, 2022
Posted in: Dennis C. Vacco, John A. Michalek, Judiciary, Paula L. Feroleto, JSC. Leave a comment

[Update 09-14-2022: On September 13, disgraced former State Supreme Court Justice John A. Michalek finally started serving a 16-month sentence for bribery.  See Buffalo News on-line article.  Here’s the newspaper’s September 14, 2022 print version of the story:

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And, here’s the September 11, 2022 Buffalo News report on the State Attorney General’s displeasure at Michalek’s “second bite at the apple.”  Bottom line, despite the six-year delay in sentencing, Michalek’s efforts to be treated differently than other convicted felons – and totally avoid incarceration – have failed.]  

[Note: It appears that the Buffalo News has chosen not to publish a piece that I submitted on August 2, 2022 for use in its “Another Voice” column.  I am posting that op-ed submission, with minor editing, below.]

Judicial system that enabled John Michalek’s troubling conduct now coddles the disgraced judge

Former State Supreme Court Justice John A. Michalek admits that he engaged in a bribery scheme from 2012 to 2014 with Steven Pigeon, former chair of the Erie County Democrats. The fallen jurist now claims that he was blinded by his “desperation” to keep a family member safe.

During that same time period, my clients and I painfully observed, and were repeatedly harmed by, Michalek’s desperate efforts to please yet another political operative, Dennis C. Vacco, a former statewide officeholder from the opposite end of the political spectrum.

I don’t claim to know what was motivating the former judge’s relentless actions to curry favor with Mr. Vacco.  In my prior appearances before Michalek (some winners, some losers), the judge was cordial and never showed palpable bias or animosity toward me or my clients. But in this particular proceeding, the now-disgraced jurist denied me the right to be heard on important legal issues, disregarded well-established legal principles in ruling in my adversary’s favor, applied two glaringly distinct standards when responding to the behavior of the lawyers appearing before him, felt compelled to insult and threaten me in open court, and engaged in communications with opposing counsel’s office without affording me an opportunity to be present.  [See Ltr to JMichalek 02-07-13 re ex parte communications; also see, more broadly, MICHALEK – 8 Examples to Share – written in May 2014.]

Michalek was so eager to embrace every assertion made by my opposing counsel – no matter how preposterous – that he didn’t blink an eye or respond when Mr. Vacco arrogantly proclaimed during oral argument, “There are 30 days in February, unless there’s some new calendar I’m not aware of.”

My attempts to bring Michalek’s erratic behavior to the attention of the judicial hierarchy went mostly unheeded:

– I twice asked the then-Administrative Judge for Western New York, Paula L. Feroleto, to schedule a conference with the parties and Michalek to discuss reassignment of the case to another judge. She declined, claiming the lack of authority to interfere with the case.

– Although the intermediate appellate court agreed that Michalek had abused his discretion when he concocted a legal theory – without any factual support – to preclude me from communicating with a non-party corporation, the appellate panel refused to reverse Michalek’s decision not to remove himself from the pending lawsuit. According to the now-disgraced jurist, “I have searched my conscience and I perceive no bias or prejudice against Mr. Giacalone or his clients, or in favor of the plaintiff or its counsel.”

– The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct twice refused to open an investigation into Michalek’s behavior.

Now the same judicial system that stood by while Michalek curried favor with one political operative, handles him with kid gloves when addressing his punishment for engaging in the bribery scheme with Pigeon: a six-year delay in sentencing; a sentence of one day less than a year for bribery; a decision not to send Michalek to a state prison; and, a mysterious post-sentencing delay in incarceration.

This is no way to regain the public’s trust.

Sincerely,

Arthur J. Giacalone
Attorney-at-Law, 17 Oschawa Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14210, (716) 436-2646, AJGiacalone@twc.com

Note: Mr. Giacalone has practiced law in NYS for 46 years, and writes about development law and the judiciary at his blog, WithAllDueRespectBlog.com.

Late is Better Than Never

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on July 18, 2022
Posted in: Cazenovia Park, Native American, Olmsted Parks, South Buffalo. Leave a comment

The past few days have been noteworthy (in my mind, at least) for the recognition being shown to the culture and history of Western New York’s first inhabitants, the members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy – the nations of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora – and their ancestors.   [I admit my cultural ignorance, and offer this link as a useful primer reprinted at the website of the Syracuse Peace Council, “Understanding Haudenosaunee Culture.”]

The July 18, 2022 print version of the Buffalo News includes an article by Mark Sommer entitled, “WNY exhibits celebrate Haudenosaunee culture.”  [Here’s a link to the on-line version under the headline, “3 WNY exhibits celebrate Haudenosaunee art, culture, history.”]  Mr. Sommer reports on: (1) The Buffalo Maritime Center’s “The Haudenosaunee and the Erie Canal,” at the Longshed at downtown Buffalo’s Canalside; (2) The Buffalo History Museum’s “Haudenosaunee Resurgence: Marie Watts, Calling Back, Looking Forward“; and, (3) An art exhibition at SUNY at Buffalo’s Center for the Arts and Anderson Gallery, which celebrates the 50th year of UB’s Indigenous Studies program by displaying the work of around four dozen artists of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Three days earlier, July 15, I witnessed something gratifying on a pleasant summer evening in South Buffalo’s Cazenovia Park.  As the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Olmsted 200 Celebration” concert was about to begin, Stephanie Crockatt, executive director of the Buffalo Olmsted Park Conservancy, did something that had not previously been done at a BPO concert or BOPC event.  She read the following statement to the assembled crowd:

Land Acknowledgement for BPO Concert at Cazenovia Park | July 15, 2022

Before we begin this concert, we would like to respectfully acknowledge
that the land on which we gather is part of the aboriginal territory of the
Seneca Nation and the Tonawanda Seneca Peoples. Their continued
presence on this landscape is affirmed by The Dish with One Spoon Treaty of
Peace and Friendship, and the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, between the United States Government and the Six Nations Confederacy. This region is both the traditional and the current home of the Seneca, Haudenosaunee, Erie, Wenro, and a host of
countless communities over time.

This very site where we listen to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra,
Cazenovia Park, once held the Seneca Town of Buffalo Creek. A few blocks
away from Cazenovia Park at Buffum Street, is Seneca Indian Park, originally
the Seneca Indian Cemetery. The Buffalo Creek Treaty of 1842 eliminated
the Buffalo Creek Reservation. We sincerely hope that by recognizing the
historical wrongs that have taken place here and far, we will begin to try
understanding and healing the traumas that have been inflicted on the
Indigenous community, and to celebrate their rich culture and time on
Turtle Island. Please join us in showing gratitude for this opportunity to
share music and the natural environment of this beautiful land today.

These words of acknowledgement and respect were most fitting given both the location of the concert – the heart of the Buffalo Creek Reservation – and the BOPC/BPO’s stated desire to present “music inspired by nature and nods to the rich tapestry of cultures that make up the Buffalo community.”

IMG_0906 A sliver of the crowd at the BPO’s Olmsted 200 Celebration, Cazenovia Park, 07/15/2022.

IMG_0647 “Seneca Indian Park” on Buffum Street, site of an ancient Indigenous burial grounds.

The introductory statement – if my understanding is correct – came to timely fruition thanks to the receptiveness of the BOPC’s executive director, Ms. Crockatt, the focused efforts of BOPC’s marketing communications specialist, Zhi Ting Phu, and the guidance from Joe Stahlman, director of the Haudenosaunee cultural center in Salamanca, NY (known officially as the Seneca-Iroquois Museum).

My thanks to all involved.

With All Due Respect,

Art Giacalone

New York Times won’t print Buffalo’s “Real Story” – so here it is

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on July 15, 2022
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

On July 3, 2022, the New York Times published an article titled, “Buffalo’s ‘Other Story’ Is Told in Redevelopment and Growth,” under the byline of C.J. Hughes.  That piece opened as follows: 

Buffalo was riding a decade-long economic turnaround when a racially motivated attack by a gunman killed 10 people in May, overshadowing the progress. While the city grieved, it also had to reckon with unflattering portrayals of the East Side, the impoverished neighborhood where the massacre took place.
Those harsh takes tell only part of the story, say residents, business owners and city officials. Now, they are determined to put the focus back on the recovery.

[You can try accessing the article here or here NYT’s July 3 2022 article]

Unhappy with the slant of the article, I sent the Times a letter-to-the-editor on July 5.  Anyone who visits this blog will realize that it was not easy for me to restrict my writing to 175 words or so, but I did my best.  Regrettably, the eminent publication chose not to share my comments with its nationwide readership.  [In contrast, I was pleased to see that the July 7, 2022 print edition of The Challenger Community News included my letter.  My sincere thanks to its editor, Al-Nisa Banks.] 

The reach of this blog is, I will humbly admit, a tad less expansive than that of the New York Times.  Nonetheless, I feel the need to share my comments.  Here’s my letter:

July 5, 2022

Buffalo’s Poverty and Segregation persists despite “Redevelopment and Growth”

Dear Editor,

The July 3, 2022 article touting Buffalo’s “Other Story” of redevelopment and growth reads like an ad campaign by Mayor Byron Brown and the local business community.  In fact, Buffalo’s so-called “economic renaissance” eludes much of the city’s residents:

–  The 2020 U.S. census shows that Buffalo has the second-highest childhood poverty rate among major American cities, 43.4%.  In 2016, it was “only” the seventh worst.

– Overall, 29% of Buffalonians live in poverty, nearly three times the rate of our nation as a whole.  35% of Black city residents are below the federal guideline.

 – Nationwide, 64% of residents own their homes.  In Buffalo, that rate has fallen from 45% in 2010, to 40.7% in 2019.

– Black students fail to earn a high school degree at a rate nearly twice that of whites, 17.6% to 9.3%.

– Although Blacks account for 35% of Buffalo’s population, they make up only 6% of the balance of the metropolitan area.  85% of Blacks live east of Main Street, the near-impenetrable racial dividing line.

That’s the “Real Story.”

With All Due Respect,

Art Giacalone

P.S.  If this posting was of interest to you, I urge you to read Jim Heaney’s excellent May 17, 2022  report, “Buffalo Is Segregation City.”  [Jim was not restrained by a 150 – 200 limit.]

Does Tom Calderone signal the demise of Western (NY) Civilization?

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on June 15, 2022
Posted in: WNED/PBS, WNY Radio and TV. Leave a comment

I miss Don Boswell.  To me, the on-air persona of the chief executive of a public media organization ought to be soft-spoken, cerebral, and dignified. 

Mr. Boswell made me proud to be a (modestly) sustaining member of WNED-PBS, WBFO and WNED Classical.  Sadly, his successor all too often makes me cringe, reminding me more of an annoying salesperson or carnival barker than a public broadcasting executive. 

The press release announcing Mr. Boswell’s retirement cautioned fans that “finding Don’s successor is no small task.”  They weren’t kidding.  Following a national search, Buffalo Toronto Public Media chose, not a person with a distinguished public broadcasting career, but Tom Calderone, a “media and entertainment executive” who previously held leadership positions with Spotify, VH1, and MTV.

Mr. Calderone – who has been at the helm of WNED/WBFO since August 2021 – was touted as “an expert in understanding media audiences,” as someone who knows the importance of “keeping the attention of audiences who have so many choices for what to watch or listen to.”  Nonetheless, in less than ten months, Tom has demonstrated that he certainly does not understand this devoted audience member. 

Since Tom took the helm of WNED/WBFO in August 2021, WBFO has drastically cut its Blues programming, and ended its streaming of an eclectic jazz platform called JazzWorks (without any pre-notice).

But, most distressingly, BTPM’s President/CEO has me rushing to turn off my TV or radio whenever I am subjected to his voice or image pitching the “Great British Telly Tour” – a one-week guided tour this fall of the grounds of various British television programs.  “Passionate viewers” and “likeminded travelers” are not only promised accommodations at “deluxe hotels” and dining at “the best restaurants,” they will be hosted by – surprise – none other than Tom Calderone himself!

What I find most offensive is not Tom’s corny jokes and clownish “Pip! Pip!”  It’s the repetitive bombardment of the local public media audience with a promotional opportunity available to a mere 30 individuals.  In a community with Buffalo’s astonishingly high poverty rate, the “telly tour” traveler must be affluent enough to afford accommodations starting at $4,395, airfare to and from England, and a host of other personal expenses.  [See Great British Telly Tour BTPM Brochure.]

But you need more than a bundle of discretionary cash to pal around London and beyond with Tom C.  You must be physically capable of extensive walking, maneuvering numerous steps, and handling stops and hotels devoid of elevators.

It appears that BTPM realized that the tone and upscale nature of the promotional campaign could be considered offensive following the May 14th tragedy at the Jefferson Avenue Tops market.  For a fortnight or so, it disappeared.  But Mr. Calderone and his antics are back on air.  [After all, Tom C. isn’t going to miss out on this BTPM perk.]  And I’m back to turning off my favorite shows (for at least a minute).

With All Due Respect,

Art Giacalone

P.S.  And, please, don’t get me started on Buffalo Olmsted Park Conservancy’s incredibly tacky and ill-conceived “FLOmingos Guinness World Records Attempt,” or the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation’s ridiculous decision to devalue Buffalo’s Outer Harbor by subjecting its inhabitants and visitors to the new Queen City Super Flea.

“White Supremacy” symbolism at South Buffalo residence has provided an education

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on May 27, 2022
Posted in: Christopher Scanlon, South Buffalo, White Supremacy. 1 Comment

At first glance, the dark brown, well-kept century-old house on the corner of Indian Church Road and Parkview (a misnomer) Avenue in South Buffalo appears welcoming.  But the ever-changing display of flags and signage in and around its front porch suggests something quite different if you happen tobelieve that all human beings have inherent dignity.  It appears that our humble, primarily working-class, increasingly diverse neighborhood (just steps from Seneca Street and Cazenovia Park) has its own locally-grown white supremacists.

The in-your-face flag waving at 40 Indian Church Road has been a topic of discussion at this blog over the years.  See Buffalo must address homegrown bigotry, Betsy Ross 13-Star Flag at South Buffalo residence confirms Colin Kaepernick’s concerns, and Too Many WNY “Teachable Moments.”  This post will highlight, in no particular order, what I have learned as a result of my observations and curiosity the past 6 or 7 years.

First, in the aftermath of the tragic, racially-motivated mass killings at Buffalo’s Tops supermarket on May 14, 2022, foremost on some minds was a fear of losing their military weaponry:

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Second, Confederate flags come in a variety of designs.  At times, my neighborhood, Buffalo-born “rebels” show off two Confederate battlefield flags, and, when the mood overcomes them, three different symbols of the Confederacy:  the familiar Confederate battle flag, the so-called Blood Stained Banner, and the Stars & Bars:

Kalenda 2 battlefield flags

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Third, the white nationalist movement has embraced a variety of historical symbols to express their longing for a day when slavery was legal and the federal powers insubstantial, such as the “Liberty” flag, the “Don’t Give Up The Ship” banner, the “Gadsden flag” warning “Don’t Tread On Me,” the Bonnie Blue flag, and, of course, the so-called “Betsy Ross flag”:

IMG_0532 (3) [Note: The small, hand-size flag to the left of the “Liberty” flag is the Imperial German flag, used by some German neo-Nazis as a substitute for the Nazi flag.]

Kalenda Don't Give Up The Ship etc.

Kalenda Easter flags - Don't Tread on Me etc. (4)

Betsy Ross at 40 Indian Church detail

Fourth, nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a Nativity-themed flag teamed up with the Confederate battle flag:

Confederate flag and Christmas

Fifth, likewise, there’s no reason not to envision the Easter bunny hop-hop-hopping down the white supremacy trail:

Kalenda Easter flags - Don't Tread on Me etc.

Sixth, if there comes a time when you fear that your “COME AND TAKE IT” banner – with its silhouette of a military-style assault weapon – and “Gadsden flag” – a historical American Revolution flag with a yellow field depicting a coiled rattlesnake and the words “DON’T TREAD ON ME – are, perhaps, too subtle, you can buy and display a sign with an image of cross-hairs proclaiming, “WARNING – IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU ARE IN RANGE”: (see bottom left corner of the photo below)

Kalenda photo with YOU ARE IN RANGE sign

Seventh, it was foolish of me to think that the City of Buffalo Common Council’s South District Member, Christopher P. Scanlon, would acknowledge receipt of my May 18, 2022 email to him.  Perhaps he was embarrassed by my request that he put into action his public statement – two days after the mass shooting on Buffalo’s Jefferson Avenue – that we must all be willing to have “uncomfortable conversations” about racist comments and behavior.  It seemed to me that a discussion with the flag wavers at 40 Indian Church Road would be a good place to start. [See my Email to Chris Scanlon on 05-18-2022.] 

With All Due Respect,

Art Giacalone

The Neighborhood Surrounding Buffalo NY’s Racially-Motivated Mass Shooting Site

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on May 15, 2022
Posted in: City of Buffalo, Fruit Belt, Gentrification, White Supremacy. 4 Comments

UPDATE:  On May 19, 2022, photos I took on May 17, 2022 were added to the original post, as well as an addendum with images of memorials in honor of the victims of the May 14, 2022 tragedy.

UPDATE NO. 2:  On August 14, 2022, This American Life broadcast its “Name. Age. Detail” episode. If you caught it on npr, you already know that producer Ira Glass’ goal was to go beyond the one-sentence descriptions so much of the media used when portraying each of Buffalo’s ten May 14th victims.  Here’s the link to the program: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/777/name-age-detail.

IMG_0430 (2) [Marquee of Apollo Media Center.]

Note:  This blog has never posted a piece written by an author other than myself.  Today I make an exception.  Lorna I. Peterson, PhD, is a retired library science professor with a deep knowledge and love for the community in which the May 14, 2022 mass shooting incident occurred, at the Tops supermarket located at 1275 Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo, New York.  Although I worked at the 1490 Jefferson Avenue office of Prisoners Legal Services of New York when I arrived in Buffalo in 1976 (decades prior to the construction of the Tops), and have had the privilege of working the past eight years or so alongside community members fighting gentrification of the nearby Fruit Belt neighborhood, I cannot begin to provide the informed perspective reflected in Dr. Peterson’s message sent on May 15 to her colleagues at the Black Caucus American Library Association (BCALA).  I thank Lorna for consenting to this posting.

From: Lorna Peterson
Date: Sun, May 15, 2022 at 8:36 AM
Subject: message from Buffalo
To: BCALA Listserv <bcala-listserv@bcala.org>
 
Dear Colleagues,
 
Many of you have no doubt read, heard, or viewed information about the shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo NY.  You might be interested to know that across the street from the small shopping plaza is a branch public library, the Merriweather Library of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. I write this to give our community the sense of the neighborhood that Payton Gendron targeted and chose to drive for three hours from his rural community to kill Black people who live in a city.
 
IMG_0428 [Entrance of Frank E. Merriweather Jr. Branch Library.  Original library building can be seen in the distance across the street.]
 
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The grocery store is in a neighborhood where I have been doing the most of my volunteer activities while in retirement. In fact, a community activist with whom I collaborate, called me shortly before 3 PM Saturday, May 14, to say that there was an active shooter at the Tops Market. She lives across the street from the store and was just walking over to get bread. She is okay.
 
Located in the neighborhood called Cold Spring, and the [city council] district called Masten Park, I live just one mile to the west from the area. I have shopped at that particular Tops Market and I frequent the nearby coffee shop Golden Cup and also the branch public library. I once had an exhibit mounted there about the Fruit Belt neighborhood and a housing development called McCarley Gardens. Nearby is the Apollo Media Center where the press conference was held. During the broadcast, the gleaming, colorful tiles, hand painted by children, provide a backdrop that speaks to the innocence and ordinariness of a peaceful, active community just trying to live their lives.  And across the street from the old theater, now a media center, is one of our Black newspapers, The Challenger.  When the local power elites were pushing for the building of a medical corridor that required the destruction of the Fruit Belt community that I advocate for, I started calling the corner of Jefferson and East Utica “the communication corridor” because it has the public library, a Black newspaper publisher, and the Apollo theater/public access media center.
 
IMG_0422 [Multi-use building at the northeast corner of Jefferson and E. Utica, housing, among others, the Golden Cup coffee shop, The Dance Camp, Open Buffalo, Premier Cigars, Group Ministries Inc., and The Challenger Community News.]
 
IMG_0444 [Entrance to Golden Cup coffee shop at 1323 Jefferson Ave.]
 
IMG_0441 [Entrance to The Dance Camp dance studio, 1325 Jefferson Ave.]
 
IMG_0436 [Entrance to The Challenger community newspaper, 1337 Jefferson Ave.]
 
IMG_0429 [Entrance to Apollo Media Center.]
 
Racial demographics for the area are 80% Black/African American. It is only lately that the area is below 90% Black as gentrification on the West Side of the City of Buffalo has seen a migration of the Hispanic population to the East Side of Buffalo. Buffalo speaks of itself as a quadrant of East Side, West Side, North Buffalo, South Buffalo. These are not suburbs, boroughs, or separate municipalities, they are just folk designations for sections of one city, the City of Buffalo NY.
 
The corner of Jefferson Avenue and East Utica Street is a hub of cultural, commercial, public transit, and residential activity. Disinvestment and population loss are part of the neighborhood as well as the entire Buffalo–Niagara Falls region. But it certainly does not define it.
 
IMG_0447 [The corner of Jefferson Ave. and E. Utica Street, looking south.]
 
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If you are interested and want to know more about this neighborhood and my city, some citizen curated sites are: Buffalo History Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/buffalohistorychannel by Doug Ruffin: https://burchfieldpenney.org/art-and-artists/people/profile:doug-ruffin/   Bartel Miller’s Buffalo, A Toast to the Town https://www.facebook.com/groups/855505714485399//  and  Buffalo and Western New York African American History Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/BuffaloandWesternNewYorkAfricanAmericanHistory/
 
 
Also, for New York State, once people think beyond New York City, the entire state somehow gets called “Upstate.” This diminishes the geographic expanse and geological diversity of the state. Buffalo is in the far western portion of the state– we are closer to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, than we are to NYC.  Buffalo is just a bridge away from Canada–  the Peace Bridge which takes you to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada.
 
 
peace,
lp
 
Lorna Peterson, Buffalo
 
ADDENDUM of photos taken on May 17, 2022:
 
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IMG_0414                    
[ I Leave Peaceprints markers remembering each of the ten human beings who lost their life on May 14. Note: “On Good Friday 2006, Sister Karen Klimczak’s life was tragically cut short. Sister Karen’s tragic passing in April 2006, sparked the ‘I Leave Peaceprints’ movement in Buffalo and the surrounding areas. The peace dove has become a message that has been carried on with much love and dedication.]

I wasn’t promising eternal springtime!

Posted by Arthur J. Giacalone on April 27, 2022
Posted in: Cazenovia Park, Olmsted Parks, South Buffalo, WNY Photos. Leave a comment

Okay.  Perhaps I seemed a bit overly confident with yesterday’s posting, Signs of Spring 2022 in South Buffalo.  And, just maybe, I tempted fate by whimsically suggesting that even the verdant meadow was whispering, “Yes, spring is here.”  [I sincerely apologize for twice saying something that corny.]  Worse of all, it now appears rather unwise to have gently dissed the Buffalo News’ use of the cliche “pretty in pink” (when referencing the cherry blossoms at the Delaware Park Japanese Gardens) by ending my April 26th post with the phrase:  “Wonderful in white.”

I/We paid for all of my April 26th lapses with the wintry reprise that greeted us this morning.  The verdant meadow wasn’t quite as green:

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And the golden bush lost – at least, temporarily – much of its sparkle:

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Nonetheless, I still think that Cazenovia Park looks wonderful in white:

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And, I’m fairly confident that spring (or, as the Italians say, La Primavera) will ultimately prevail in this annual battle of the seasons.

With All Due Respect,

Art Giacalone

P.S. When I posted my April 26th photos, I hadn’t yet visited the Japanese Gardens adjacent to Buffalo’s History Museum.  I made a brief visit to see the cherry blossoms (post-Monday’s substantial rains) yesterday evening on my way to my beginners Italian language class at Centro Culturale di Buffalo (at the corner of Delaware and Hertel avenues).  My biggest takeaway was a sense of disappointment – not with the blossoms on display – but with the apparent behavior of many members of my own species.  Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy should not have to plant dozens of the following signs throughout the garden:

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