A lot of people have been writing about the flight that crashed and it is all over the news. But I think that what I read about today in the news is pretty interesting about The AUD. I admit that I think it is to bad that over all these years no one could find a good use for the AUD, it really is to bad. It is to bad that is has to come down. It is to bad that the only seats that got sold where the blue seats. I know the other ones where to messed up. I think it is sad. Yes I like the New Arena but if I could it would be great to change them. Of course you can't do that. The article I read has a website where you can watch the AUD being torn down. That brings me to a question. Why when you tear something down it is called raze and when you build something like when you raise a house (think a barn or habitat for humanity where you see people lift an entire wall ) and they are both said the same way? I haven't checked out the website yet but it sounds like it is pretty good.

Updated: 02/13/09 07:43 AM
Aud rubbernecking just got a lot easier
Camera lets public watch razing on Net
By Sharon Linstedt
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER


A live, bird's-eye view of the demolition of Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium is now just a mouse click away.

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. has launched "Harbor Cam," a video camera mounted on the top floor of the HSBC Center that looks down on the Aud and the Buffalo waterfront.

"It's a really cool way to let people see what's going on down there," said Jordan A. Levy, chairman of the harbor development agency. "Seeing is believing, and we're making progress."

Images from the camera can be viewed, starting today, at www.eriecanalharbor.com . The camera, located outside Levy's office window on the 38th floor of Buffalo's tallest building, can be zoomed in on the Aud or refocused to take in the entire Erie Canal Harbor neighborhood. Users will be able to pan across the waterfront area from the Cobblestone District to the east over to the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park to

the west.

That viewable swath of the downtown waterfront includes the 20-acre site that will be redeveloped as the $325 million Canal Side project. Demolition of the Aud is the first critical step in that effort, clearing the way for construction of a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store, Great Lakes Museum and public green.

"This camera will let the entire community witness what's going on at Canal Side. They'll be able to follow the project all the way through from demolition through construction," Levy said.

While today marks the first day of live Harbor Cam viewing, the camera has been in place and capturing Aud demolition action since late January. The harbor agency's Web site includes a feature that allows visitors to watch time-lapse shots chronicling the arena's exterior demolition.

The views are compiled in five-minute intervals and can be printed from the site. The time-stamped shots are accompanied by weather data.

As of Thursday, crews from West Seneca-based DEMCO Inc. had opened up a section of the north wall and roof where the main entrance lobby once stood. The selective razing is aimed at creating enough room to drive cranes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment inside the building.

The machinery will then be positioned on the basement level of the arena, with crane booms lifted up to begin removing the Aud's entire roof.

"They'll be taking down 21 trusses and pulling the whole roof down. That's going to be fun to watch," Levy said.

Once the roof is gone, DEMCO will drop the outside walls. In the next 90 days, the 69-year-old landmark will vanish.

Construction of the Bass Pro store and other developments on the Aud block are to start before year's end, pending the outcome of an environmental impact and design review.

Conversion of the adjacent Donovan State Office Building to a mixed-use complex with a totally new exterior is on a similar timetable.

slinstedt@buffnews.com

I just wanted to add that I hope everyone has a great Friday the 13th and watches some scary movies or something. I also hope Valentines isn't to bad for anyone. I Know I'll be at the Bandits game and I have to buy food for my place. I doubt I will do anything after the game. Some might ask how this relates to the story. Well I'm hoping that I Will be able to take some pictures of the AUD before I go to the game but we shall see what happens.

So this morning about 5am I leave the house to go to work. The rain is pouring down with a nice wind so I get pretty soaked, mainly the outside of me. So then I get down town and it was pretty interesting the street is soaked and the wind blows one way and then another way and it was pretty nasty out. But as I look closer what appears to be rain is blown inside the bus shelter and it is really snow but on the ground it looks like rain. By the time I get out to work everything has changed, you have this heavy wet snow that is sticking to everything and this wind that moves you a bit. So on my walk to work I kind pick up my feet in little like gliding steps and let the wind kinda push me it was a cool feeling and kinda different. So I get home today and you can't really even tell that it ever snowed at all, very weird day.

Some of you I'm sure all ready read this in the news or maybe even on face book. But I thought I would post it here since on one else has yet . I think it is an interesting article about the Elmwood strip and how they want to make laws about building there. Oh yeah and (e:drew) is "ed .

02/11/09 06:51 AM
Proponents push design standards for projects in Elmwood Village
By Brian Meyer
NEWS STAFF REPORTER


A plan that would impose strict new design standards on projects in the Elmwood Village was presented to Common Council members Tuesday, capping off a decade long effort by neighborhood advocates.

Speakers at a public hearing in City Hall said the effort aimed to prevent the type of "suburban-style" development that has occurred in some other areas, including the Delaware- Hertel corridor. The distinctive Elmwood Strip should never take on the aura of a Union Road, they argued.

If approved by city officials, new projects along Elmwood would have to be built close to sidewalks. Buildings couldn't have parking lots in front of their facades. The design standards also would favor mixed-use projects that would include upper-floor residences over businesses.

Before structures could be demolished, property owners would have to submit reuse plans for the parcels. The plan also would impose strong community- notification requirements, including signs on properties to alert people to development plans.

The proposed design standards were crafted with suggestions from 300 residents and business owners, said Justin Azzarella, executive director of the Elmwood Village Association.

Daniel Sack, an Elmwood Village resident who sits on the association's design committee, denied that the new rules could hinder economic development. He also highlighted figures showing that carefully planned projects along a business strip like Elmwood have greater economic value per acre than big-box developments or buildings with sprawling parking lots.

"It's not simply about aesthetics," he said. "It's about the . . . economic value of the land."

The Rev. Drew Ludwig of Lafayette Presbyterian Church urged city officials to adopt the new regulations. "These design standards will keep the Elmwood Village as the fantastic neighborhood that it already is," he said.

Every speaker at Tuesday's hearing voiced support for the new regulations. Some noted that in 2007, the Elmwood Village was christened one of the "10 great neighborhoods in America" by the American Planning Association.

Others underscored the importance of making sure that development on Elmwood takes into account pedestrians and bicyclists.

"This is a community [that ] likes to walk and likes to enjoy the vitality of the street," said Karl Frizlen, an architect and a member of the association's design panel.

Mayor Byron W. Brown recently announced plans for a citywide update of what some have branded antiquated zoning codes. But advocates urged Council members to approve the new standards for Elmwood, saying that waiting one or two years for a citywide revamping of codes makes no sense.

North Council Member Joseph Golombek Jr., who represents part of the Elmwood Strip, predicted lawmakers will approve the plan, noting that the design standards have been thoroughly debated since the late 1990s.

"I'm embarrassed to say it has taken this long," he said.

Most of the commercial activity on what is considered the Elmwood Strip stretches from North Street to Forest Avenue.

bmeyer@buffnews.com

Well I gave the journal the category of repost because I wrote about Zack and Miri Make a Porno when I saw it at the show. I now own it on DVD and watched it over the weekend, I didn't get to watch all the deleted scenes yet though, but that being said I think it was a pretty good movie. When I bought it at target it is just called Zack and Miri but I guess you can get the full cover art and have it signed . If I would have known I would have done the whole preoreder thing but with gift cards I didn't have to pay for it so that is cool. I haven't done so yet but I'm thinking if I get some extra cash to buy some stuff from the movie like the hockey hooded sweet shirt but I also kinda want to get some steelers 6 rings shirts also, so not sure. So I would say if you like dirty or raunchy comedy with a little love story thrown in go out and buy it or rent it, I think it is pretty good.

So today I went to the movies and saw Push. Yes it was only PG-13 but it still had a lot of action in it. What I liked about it was that it had a good story and good acting and a lot of actors you would know by face. Dakota Fanning was really good in it, I don't want to say that she did the best Job acting cause maybe some of it was her character but she was pretty convincing. I admit the movie wasn't what I was expecting. I thought known actors they will be all about fighting in some big US city and it will be all Bang Bang shoot them up. Yes there was some of that but it was more complex then that and there was a story and you had different people with different kinds of abilites or some might think of them as powers. The other part that made it interesting is that it takes place in Hong Kong and in some parts there are subtitles I think the entire movie was filmed there. I don't like to rate things but maybe 3 out of 4 or two thumbs up if you like action suspense sci-fi kind of movies. Before hand one movie that I saw a preview for looks really good, Crank 2. Yes they made a second one with the same guy and it looks just as crazy as the 1st one, that is why I liked it so much. If you don't know the shooting style I mean you have to watch it, to see how frantic it is. That takes me back to one thing about Push I liked. They had this effect of when the girl would see the future that was cool. But the other effect thing is that some times a movie can be to bright and crisp this looked like people where on the street, and in one scene it looked like the two people just walked into a real place with real people who didn't care the camera was there. Or at least that is how I see it.