Katherine Chloé Cahoon

Developer Ellen Shareef cherishes encouragement from her late husband as she embarks on a long-awaited, large-scale development project in East Buffalo. Historic, brightly-colored structures dot this area. Once hubs in the various neighborhoods, many of these buildings now stand vacant. Ellen works to redevelop several of these landmarks so that they will never meet the wrecking ball. 

Since 2019, I have created East Buffalo news stories. From day one, residents warmly greeted me and eagerly described their ongoing efforts to revitalize their communities. Here is a snapshot from one of my earlier stories at an East Buffalo establishment. 

When I interviewed Roseann Scibilia in the role of University District Community Development Association Executive Director, the administrator said, “Buffalo has come a long way, we know. A lot of the revitalization has gone into downtown, appropriately so. If we build it, they will come. It gives people incentive, but now is the time that we have to turn our attention to these areas that have been, if not neglected, they’ve had to wait. East needed a lot more resources.”

Many resources are coming in the form of a program called East Side Avenues, a private-public partnership. 

It started with $65 million earmarked from the state for revitalization plans. Through this program, Ellen learned valuable skills as a student in their Real Estate Development Training sector. They help in her development endeavors. Now, East Side Avenues continues with a Regional Revitalization Partnership, which commits another $180 million allocated toward East Buffalo. This partnership is part of a larger initiative investing in Rochester and Niagara Falls, New York. 

Thank you to East Side Avenues for allowing me to use some file video in my report, along with my own footage, and motion graphics I created from scratch. 

My news story about Ellen’s work started as a written profile for a course in my journalism master’s program, Race, Media, and News Writing. My professor, USA TODAY editor, Austin Bogues, guided his students through deep dives into story research. Professor Bogues comes from a unique background, with extensive knowledge in both print and television journalism. Every class brought timeless insights that I use on a regular basis.