Can Prayer Help A City?

A group of Christ followers in Buffalo have asked the question and given an answer: Prayer can change a city...for the better. While many are the evils that have come from and through religion over the years, an organic move amongst young people searching for authentic faith is organizing in the Elmwood Village in Buffalo called Prayer Collective. See more at www.prayercollective.com

Buffalo: A City for Startups?

nxtARROW Business Development, LLC hosted an open house, beginning with a press conference,  in their new space in Suite 101 at the downtown Buffalo landmark, the Electric Tower, Thursday morning, February second, from 10 o’clock until noon.  The event was co-hosted by corporate partners Buffalo Office Supply, and Yelp.com.

nxtARROW’s mission is to help restore Buffalo’s original greatness, by helping transform the former “Queen City of the Lakes” into the new and future “Queen City of Startups,” in Buffalo where we enjoy a “high quality of life and a low cost of living.” nxtARROW is developing a new model for a private, for-profit self-sustaining economic development venture, by promoting and marketing Buffalo as a startup destination for out of town startups and small business looking to launch, re-launch, or expand in Buffalo.

Part of the strategy for recruiting startups for Buffalo is the creation of an incubator without walls, leveraging excess capacity caused by population loss, for mutual benefit of startups moving into the city, landlords with excess vacant space in the city, and local business to business service providers with capacity to serve additional clients.

The open house will celebrate two corporate partnerships that are central to nxtARROW’s efforts to develop outside of the box strategies to enhance the entrepreneurship infrastructure of Buffalo.

nxtARROW’s relationship with Iskalo Development makes space available for nxtARROW corporate offices, incubator and co-working space in the Electric Tower, which is an icon and beacon of Buffalo’s burgeoning renaissance in architectural preservation and restoration.

With Buffalo Office Supply, nxtARROW has formed a unique partnership by which the new nxtARROW suite doubles as the Buffalo Office Supply showroom. As a result, nxtARROW enjoys first class office furnishings and décor while providing Buffalo Office Supply a creative solution to showcase their office furnishings in the center of the Buffalo business district, in a classic landmark building nxtARROW’s newest client and corporate partner, Yelp.com will be joining nxtARROW, Iskalo and Buffalo Office Supply as co-host. Refreshments were provided by Coffee Culture on Elmwood and by Yelp.

The open house will also featured framed photographic art by leading Buffalo photographers, whose work is displayed in the nxtARROW offices and will be available for sale during the event.

nxtARROW offers co-working space by the day or by the month.

A New Look At Education

Buffalo ReformED continues its efforts of working for a better public school system in Buffalo by focusing on pushing for implementation of a more rigourous Teacher Evaluation system, and coalition building to ensure students first reforms take root both locally and at the state level with our launch of the Student Lobbyist Association.

Director of Buffalo Reformed Hannya Boulos said in her recent newsletter update, "A stronger teacher evaluation system is a critical measure needed in our schools, and yet local districts and players at the state level are stalling. What's the hold up? At the heart of this issue is a debate over how much measures of student performance should factor in an evaluation system, and what portion of the system should be locally bargained. For districts that failed to craft an adequate plan, there is much at stake. State Ed Commissioner, John King froze the $9 million in aid the State awarded Buffalo to improve five failing schools; Governor Cuomo raised the stakes, tying proposed increases in state aid to school districts to the success in reaching agreement on a new evaluation system. In total, Buffalo could miss out on just over $50 million in grants and aid. We are pushing local and state leaders to understand that the best way to improve our education system is to ensure all students have access to effective teachers, and to provide teachers with an evalution system that fairly differentiates, provides meaningful input, and promotes development  within the profession."

In support of Governor Cuomo's proposed education reforms focused on teacher evaluations and performance grants, Buffalo ReformED also launched the Student Lobbyist Association. This platform pulls together WNY groups including the District Parent Coordinating Council, The Parent Power Project, and United Partners for Public Education, as well as parents, students and grassroots leaders across the state. New York State's education system is crippled by bloated bureacracy, unchecked spending, and special interests. We are dedicated to changing this to a system that works for those it is intended to serve: students and families. Join the movement at www.nystudentsfirst.com.

ECHDC Needs Your Input

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) is currently conducting a survey about food, markets and restaurants in Western New York and they need your help. Your answers will assist them as they explore options for the future development of Canalside. The survey system does not track any personal information, so all your responses will be confidential and not identifiable with you. If you are interested in helping to shape the future of the waterfront, this is a great opportunity! Take the survey here