The City of Buffalo is accepting applications for ‘Love Your Block’ beautification grants. Mayor Byron Brown reminds residents that the deadline for the grants is next Wednesday, June 1, 2022. The grants will provide $1,500 to community groups, block clubs, and small, locally-owned businesses for projects that will beautify or transform public spaces.

Mayor Byron W. Brown said,

As we continue to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive Buffalo without Boundaries, I continue to support programs that leverage community engagement and volunteerism to further improve and beautify our neighborhoods. This successful program provides a great opportunity for our residents to make a hands-on difference in their communities and I encourage groups and small businesses to apply.

 

Help build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive Buffalo

Projects in certain areas will receive preference. If you have a proposed project in the Broadway-Fillmore, Kensington-Bailey, Masten Park, Riverside, Lower West Side, and Upper West Side neighborhoods, those areas will be prioritized. However, applicants from all neighborhoods in Buffalo are still encouraged to apply.

In addition to the $1,500 grant funds, chosen projects may also receive support from the City’s Division of Citizens Services, which would provide City AmeriCorps VISTA members to help with the neighborhood revitalization projects. The Love Your Block grant initiative has funded a total of 60 projects in 22 neighborhoods.

Love Your Block Projects Must Benefit The Greater Good

Proposed projects must fall into one of the following four categories:

- Vacant Lot Activation: Community Garden/greenhouse, playground, public art installation, and recreational space

 

- Community Space Revitalization: Repairs or modifications to community facilities (schools, community centers, park shelters, senior centers, etc.), graffiti removal and/or replacement of graffiti with a mural, planting trees and/or landscaping community facilities

 

- Accessibility Improvements: Implementing creative lighting, replacing broken or worn out litter bins, creating/managing a “tool library” where neighborhood groups can borrow & return tools for cleanup projects

 

- Streetscape Improvements: Community volunteer-led beautification on the business strips in the five identified target areas. This includes landscaping, art installments, pedestrian spaces, lighting improvements, and public safety

You can find more information at www.buffalony.gov or email loveyourblock@buffalony.gov.

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