Where Are We Going?

A few weeks ago, as I was on my way to jump on the 190 from Virginia Street while waiting at the light at Niagara, I noticed the apartment building at the corner had been boarded up and appeared to have been condemned, with visible notices posted on the doors.

At first thought, I felt this was a shame due to how old the building is and the many families who at one time or another called it home. Gentrification is a real thing here in the lower west side and I was sure that the folks who lived in the building were going to be priced out of the available apartments, once the owners of this building sent the money to finally renovate it and turn around and market the apartments to suburbanites who want a taste of city life no matter the high cost of rent, they’ll eventually pay.

After posting a picture of the building on social media and asking the question of whether this was a future case of gentrification happening before our eyes, it came to my attention that the building had fallen into disrepair with busted pipes due to the winter weather leading to the discovery of asbestos. Hearing this, I’m hopeful the building owners do the right thing and make the recommended repairs to the property and don’t price out longtime west side residents, but the verdict is still out.

The thought of this property being condemned, and the prospect of fellow West Siders possibly being priced out and forced to go elsewhere got me thinking and asking the question, where are we going?

Years ago, before I was born, the West Side was predominantly made up of Italian immigrant families from the lower to the upper. As a “Boricua/Italiano” I always say that I’m the product of a West Side Story, with my mother being Puerto Rican and my father an Italian immigrant.

As Latinos moved in, specifically Puerto Ricans, the Italian American families that dotted the lower and upper West Side moved out to other parts of Western New York, such as North Buffalo, Kenmore, the Tonawandas, and other suburbs.

Moving back to Buffalo in late October after twelve years in Florida, I noticed the West Side is changing as if taking a cue from Italian families from years past, Puerto Ricans are beginning to abandon the West Side. Due to my work, I spend a good amount of time in the Riverside/Black Rock area of Buffalo and more and more, Puerto Rican families are beginning to make this part of town home.

The West Side, however, has become the home to many immigrant families from Southeast Asian and African countries. Driving down Grant Street, although the familiar sight of Guercio’s remains, the different old Italian meat markets are all gone. In their place, shops, and storefronts offer a variety of goods and foods that would have been considered “exotic” years ago.

The sight of these stores is truly something beautiful. I’m in full support of seeing recent immigrant success stories, even if it means Puerto Ricans are beginning to leave the same place that Italians left before them.

As mentioned above, it appears as if Riverside is the new Puerto Rican West Side, however, there are other pockets of neighborhoods where you will see our faces and that familiar Red/White and Blue flag with the one star hanging from someone’s rearview mirror in their car.

As I write this, my wife and I are just days removed from closing on a home in the Buffalo suburb of Depew, NY. Although my mother still owns and lives in my childhood home, I feel as if I’m another one of the long lines of folks who have left the places, we grew up in. Honestly, I wanted to stay in the city, however, I just couldn’t justify paying the higher cost of city living, compared to the amount of space we would get if we settled in the suburbs.

It’s ironic really, my family was priced out of the West Side and ended up settling in Depew.

I just hope the tenants from the building on Virginia and Niagara Streets don’t suffer the consequence of being forced to go elsewhere. I was lucky to have made the decision myself, however, others don’t always have that luxury.