Buffalo, NY: What New Residents Should Know
I noticed immediately that whenever it started snowing, my neighbors would get out and shovel their walks right away. I soon learned that if one lets the snow pile up, it turns to ice and is much more difficult to remove. The postal service will not deliver mail to you if the mailman thinks there is too much snow or ice on your sidewalk or steps. So, even if you don’t need to go out, it is best to keep your property clear of snow and ice.
Most residents of owner-occupied homes in the City of Buffalo are eligible for either the basic or enhanced STAR exemption from property tax. This can save a lot of money on already-low property taxes, but it is not automatic. You must file an application by December 1. STAR exemption applications are available in Room 105, City Hall. Buffalo’s City Hall was built in 1931 and is a marvelous, ornate, Art Deco-style building, which almost makes it a pleasure to go there!
Because of the budget crisis in Erie County, many services that had been provided by the county have been downsized or curtailed. In the state of New York, the Department of Motor Vehicles offices are run by the county in which they are located, and in March the only DMV office in the City of Buffalo was closed, leaving one office in Cheektowaga. The Buffalo office has since reopened in a different location. We took a short drive up to the DMV in Niagara County and were able to transact our business there, but you should know that, even if you do not drive, the DMV requires six forms of identification before it will issue you a non-driver’s permit! You will need your birth certificate and paper Social Security card. Bring your passport, bank statement, utility bill, insurance card, union card, credit card, and/or pay stubs. If you used to live in another state and obtain a New York driver’s license, the DMV will confiscate your old license and return it to the DMV in your former state.
A few miles east of Buffalo, in Cheektowaga, is the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Independence Air provides low-cost service to Washington Dulles Airport for about $59 each way. Their website is http://www.flyi.com . But if you’re not careful, you can pay almost as much to park your car as you did to fly! Short-term parking at the airport itself is $18 per day. Long-term parking is $10 or $8.50 per day, depending on location. SunPark, across the street from the airport, has a continuous shuttle service, and as of two weeks ago was charging $4.90 a day.
OK, enough about bureaucracy and such. Let’s talk about food! The pizza in Buffalo is mouthwatering. Mister Pizza Elmwood, at 1065 Elmwood Avenue, offers a large barbecue chicken pizza, topped with cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, bacon, and onions for $15.65. And La Nova Pizzeria, at 371 West Ferry Street, offers 13 kinds of pizza for delivery for $66.99. That’s FedEx next day delivery, for La Nova pizza lovers away from home.
The Broadway Market at 999 Broadway, in the old Polish section, offers Malczewski Poultry, Lewandowski Meats, Al Cohen’s Bakery, E.M. Chrusciki Bakery, and Save-A-Lot groceries, just to name a few. Chrusciki – singular and plural – taste a bit like funnel cake. They are made from a rich dough formed into bows, deep-fat fried, and covered with powdered sugar. Pierniczki alpejskie are delectable heart-shaped gingerbread cookies, filled with strawberry jam, and covered with chocolate.
At Easter one can buy butter molded into the shape of a lamb at Malczewski’s. Easter is a big deal at the Broadway Market, and I’ve even seen families of Seneca Indians show up there for the festivities.
Not everything at the Broadway Market is Polish, although the signs in the parking garage are in English and Polish. The Soul Food Shack does a terrific business there. Crystal Beach Candy Company, just across the Peace Bridge in Crystal Beach, Ontario, has a stand at Broadway Market where they sell sugar waffles and Hall’s original suckers, in cinnamon, lemon, coconut, butterscotch, and peanut flavors.
Other popular Buffalo foods are, of course, Buffalo wings, sponge candy, Texas red hots, beef on weck, loganberry soda, New York State apples, and gallon jugs of fresh grape juice from the Concord grapes that are grown in the Southern Tier. It is sold at roadside stands, and is so strong it can be watered down with 5 parts water to 1 part juice and still taste fantastic.
For those who smoke cigarettes, a short trip out of town to Smokin’ Joe’s, at 2293 Saunders Settlement Road, Sanborn, NY, on the Tuscarora reservation (the “rez”), will save you lots of money. Cigarettes in the city of Buffalo cost $4 or more per pack.
We’ll end our little tour with a short walk up Hertel Avenue, north of downtown. Hertel Avenue is the home of the annual Italian Festival, held for three days every July. It is a booming art gallery and restaurant district, and offers sidewalk cafes with Greek, Chinese, Italian, Jamaican, and other cuisines. Terrapin Station, at 1172 Hertel, is not a restaurant, but a time trip back to the 1960s complete with T-shirts, caftans, dayglo posters, earrings, CDs, and everything the Grateful Dead fan could wish for.
