A bookbinding class held as part of the Murray L. Bob Education Initiatives

The James Prendergast Library will present a photography class in May as part of the Murray L. Bob Community Education Initiative.

Local photographer and Infinity instructor Cathy Panebianco will lead “Artistic Photos with Just a Smartphone” at 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 9 at the library. The class will offer participants an opportunity to improve cellphone photography skills by learning the basics: settings, techniques, lighting for exposure, and composition.

A smartphone is needed for the class. To register, call (716) 484-7135 Ext. 226.

The Jamestown Public Market will be at the library with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s SNAP-Ed program on May 16th from 5:00-7:00PM for “Cooking Fun with Fresh Herbs.” Attendees will learn how to grow herbs at home, identify them at the local community garden or nursery, and incorporate them in to easy and delicious meals. Participants will be able to smell, taste, and enjoy various herbs that grow well in WNY such as cilantro, sage, parsley, and basil. This program is supported in part through a grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

Additional Bob programs are scheduled throughout the year. Children’s Music Studio will hold Music Exploration classes in July and August for kids ages 6 and under and their caregivers. Children will sing, dance, and explore basic instruments during these free classes.

To learn more about the Murray L. Bob Community Education Initiative and find a full list of events, visit prendergastlibrary.org/bob-programs.

The coalition, based out of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, is working with Buffalo-based Journey’s End Refugee Resettlement agency, which is now operating a satellite office in donated space at St. Luke’s.

Reverend Luke Fodor said the coalition is working with two groups of people, “Both asylum seeking folks and refugees. There’s a distinction between the two groupings of people. Those who are asylum seeking have entered the country and asked for asylum based upon some exigency in their home countries. Legally crossed and presented themselves to the border guards and then been released under their own recognizance. That’s the legal process in the United States. And then they are then allowed to go where they want.”

Fodor said the asylum seeking families are from Colombia with the refugee families that came from Congo being in Jamestown for about a month.

He said asylum seekers in the United States cannot get a work permit for at least a year, “….or a limited resource of public assistance and that even is a difficult process to navigate. And then the refugees are able to come into the country because of the process they were brought into. They’re able to get public assistance and then also to get right into the workforce as long as they have the language skills and right placement.”

Fodor said while at least one refugee from the Congo has found employment, the asylum seekers from Colombia are dependent on help from the community to meet needs like food access, rent payments, and more.

Jamestown Public Market Director Linnea Haskin said the people from Colombia are offering food on Sundays at St. Luke’s Church from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., “But then they also hope to open a stand at the Farmer’s Market where they will be offering empanadas, arepas, and all of their delicious salsas. And so, for a donation of a minimum of $10, but whatever you can offer, you then get a delicious meal. And that money goes through the fund at St. Luke’s that we then utilize to purchase things that the family needs.”

Financial donations can be made to the New Neighbors Coalition fund set up at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation by visiting https://www.crcfonline.org/. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is also accepting donations through a paypal donation page at: http://bit.ly/3IH1Lxj

For more information, follow https://www.facebook.com/NewNeighborsCoalition/

Bird Bike Share – eScooter and eBike

Electric bikes and scooters could be available to rent in Jamestown this summer.

Jamestown City Council heard a presentation by Bird Bike Share, who has proposed a pilot program in the city.

Bird Bike Share currently has programs in Dunkirk and other municipalities around New York State.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said bringing ebikes and scooters to the area would be a way to increase mobility for those who do not have cars, or good access to public transportation.

He said New York State passed a law in 2020 making eBikes and eScooters legal, “The program itself, when we were originally looking at it, the city was considering starting its own bike share program which had a lot of upfront capital costs. In this scenario, in this partnership, Bird actually provides all of that capital. They also hire a local operator to manage and take care of those bikes and scooters. And then the city receives a portion of the revenue on each of those rides.”

Sundquist said the pricing would have an initial fee and then a 49-cents per minute fee after that. He said the program would also offer community pricing where those who have an EBT card could receive a reduced rate. Pre-paid cards could also be used for rental in cases where someone doesn’t have a debit or credit card.

Sundquist said the bikes and scooters would be limited to operation within the city of Jamestown.

Council tabled a resolution to contract with BusPatrol for the installation and management of a bus stop arm camera program.

City Council had previously authorized a Bus Stop Arm camera program to catch violations of motorists passing buses when the stop arm is out.

BusPatrol would outfit the Jamestown Public School district’s bus fleet at no cost, with the City receiving a share of the fine money. The Jamestown School Board passed the proposal in February.

Corporation Counsel Elliot\ Raimondo recommended that council table the measure for further review.

Public Safety Committee Chair Brent Sheldon said that 239 feral cats were spayed or neutered under the Community Cat Program in 2022, “151 had the surgeries done at Operation Pets in Buffalo and 88 were done at the Chautauqua County Humane Society. That did result in some savings there because they didn’t have to do the transportation and everything, so they saved approximately $1,841 on that.”

Sheldon said between the City’s allocation of $5,000 toward the program in 2022, a Chautauqua Region Community Foundation grant of $8,000, and donations of $3,000; the Chautauqua County Humane Society had enough funds for the program. He added that the City has also allocated $5,000 for the program in 2023.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

The movie will be shown at 7:00 p.m., Monday, January 16 at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

It features trial lawyer Jeffrey Robinson chronicling racism in America through presentations he has held over the past 10 years across the country.

The film interweaves historical and present-day archival footage, Robinson’s personal story, and observational and interview footage capturing Robinson’s meetings with Black change-makers and eyewitnesses to history.

General admission tickets are $3.90, which includes one ticket and a $.40 donation. Admission at the Ally level is $39.00 which includes four tickets and a $25 donation. And Patron admission is $390.00 which includes eight tickets and a $362.00 donation.

All proceeds support the New Neighbors Coalition of Jamestown Fund held at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, which is used to assist in refugee resettlement in Jamestown.

Also on Monday, January 16, Emmanuel Baptist Church also will be holding a celebration in honor of Dr. King. That service will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the church located on 23rd Street in Jamestown.

Chautauqua Striders mentoring volunteers, staff, and a recent presenter, Denise DeAngelo.

Chautauqua Striders has received a $20,000 grant from The Blossom Fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

The funding will be used for 2022-2023 mentoring and social-emotional learning programs through the organization.

The Chautauqua Striders Mentoring and Social-Emotional Learning programs served 470 students in the past year.

According to Youth.gov, mentoring provides a plethora of benefits for the young people being served, including increased high school graduation rates; lower high school dropout rates; healthier relationship and lifestyle choices; enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence; as well as a decreased likelihood of initiating drug and alcohol use and more.

Gebbie Foundation CEO Greg Edwards addresses Jamestown City Council (November 7, 2022)

The executive directors of the Community Foundation and Gebbie Foundation made pleas to Jamestown City Council to move forward with American Rescue Plan funding.

Chautauqua Region Community Foundation Executive Director Tory Irgang, speaking to Council, reminded them how CRCF helped compile the community feedback from public information sessions held in 2021 on how to use the ARPA funds.

She said it’s easy to adopt a “scarcity mindset,” “A time when partnerships and collaborations can be mistaken as weakness. However, we have proven in this community what can happen when we have an abundance mindset. We work through public, private partnerships every day to achieve tremendous results. And I encourage each of you to lean into that shared experience by aligning the remaining ARPA funding with community-based projects that have significant leveraging opportunities.”

Irgang said projects that had been evaluated and awarded other funding from government and philanthropic sources should be considered, “Projects that provide infrastructure and programming for children and young adults, projects that yield measurable results, deliver significant community benefit, and address challenges that are multi-faceted. As we know all too well in philanthropy, our needs are always greater than our resources, but we can meet so many more needs when we collaborate and work together.”

Gebbie Foundation CEO Greg Edwards said the city has been very successful at finding partners in its mission over the last 20 years, “Over the last 20 years, many times not-for-profits have willingly stepped up and the public-private entities have stepped up because they had seen how valuable our joint mission was and invested dramatically in trying to impact the future of the city in ways we could spend a great deal of time tonight celebrating this partnership between the city and these entities.”

Edwards encouraged funding for TheZone project at the Northwest Arena. He said the Gebbie Foundation has provided nearly $4 million in funding for that project. He also encouraged Council to support the new Jamestown YMCA project on Harrison Street.

Council member Marie Carrubba asked what the plans were for the current YMCA location on East Fourth Street.

Edwards replied that the 1929 structure is complicated with the Housing and Urban Development contract for housing that remains in place for at least 13 years, “But there have been significant conversations around how that could actually be a plus to other redevelopments potentially around the city and how that building itself could be reused. I had a conversation two months ago with a private developer who was interested in turning it into what we’ll call higher end housing because it does come with some amenities that other buildings don’t. I mean, having the gyms, the pools, those sorts of things that does provide opportunities, call it built in, that make it interesting.”

Council Member at Large Jeff Russell voiced support for a new YMCA facility.

Any funding for the projects mentioned by Edwards would possibly receive funding from the proposed Non-Profit Assistance Program. A resolution to fund that program with $1.5 million in ARP funds is still awaiting Council action.

Council member Andrew Faulkner questioned how much the 19A Home Ownership program could be funded with and still be successful. Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said $500,000 would be the absolute minimum. The current proposal is requesting $750,000.

Council member at large Russell asked why the city would contract with the Chautauqua County Land Bank for $1 million, of which 20% goes to administrative fees, when the city could do home demolitions itself.

Surdyk said $500,000 of the funds requested by the Land Bank would go to contractors to do the demolition work, with administration fees going to administer that program.

She said while the DOD can administer demolitions, as it has done in the past, there are now over 16 new programs the department is now administering on top of existing programs, “To administer effectively the demolition program and these and new grant programs that we have received over the last year, it’s just not feasible without hiring new staff, specifically to do demolition. So, we can contract with the Land Bank at a roughly 20% administrative fee which would ultimately be less than what we’d have to pay to employ somebody as a city employee.”

The Finance Committee tabled the resolutions related to funding the Chautauqua County Land Bank and 19A Home Ownership Program until the November 14 work session.

And DPW Director Jeff Lehman reported that leaf pickup is ahead of schedule with Phase 2 already underway this week. He said crews do plan to go back through the city again after the completion of Phase 2 to try to pick up any piles of leaves that were missed the first time.

The free class runs from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8 at the library.

Participants will learn basic methods of food storage including reducing food spoilage, maintaining nutritional value, texture and flavor of foods, and preserving via freezing and canning.

No registration is required.

This class is being funded through a grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

JTNY Power House Skatepark

Skaters and cyclists filled the three bowls of the new $1 million JTNY Power House Skatepark at the grand opening of the facility Saturday afternoon.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the project has been a long-time coming, “With fundraising starting back in 2018. And it’s been a huge community and regional effort with so many foundations, individuals, government organizations making this truly a world-class, unique, multi-million dollar skatepark a reality.”

The 10,000 square foot project was funded through grants from The Skatepark Project, Ralph C. Wilson Junior Foundation, City of Jamestown, SK8 JTNY, and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

Skate boarder at JTNY Power House Skatepark

Sundquist said the skatepark site is very unique in that it was the former powerhouse and garage for the Jamestown Trolley system which had been abandoned and unused for decades, “This is truly an amazing feat – to take and reuse elements and foundations of the old Power House building as well as many of the things that have made Jamestown great. You may see behind me a giant crescent wrench, you may see the bricks, you see all of the cement, you see the things that have created Jamestown over the years.”

The park was designed and constructed by Grindline Skateparks.

Officials gather for ribbon cutting for Ally Co (September 26, 2022)

Elected officials and local organizations helped cut the ribbon on a new venture studio focused on community in Jamestown Monday night.

Ally Co Co-founder Katie Castro said the concept of a venture studio is new to Western New York, “And what a venture studio does, essentially, is it starts start-ups. So we’ve all heard of venture capital firms. The difference here is sweat-equity versus liquid capital. And so our company is starting start-ups and we’re also coming alongside existing organizations to be their innovation change management help.”

Castro said Ally Co will help businesses or non-profits incubate an idea through the process of launching it, “And we do that for a little equity, it’s a sweat for equity model. But our process would help yield best results. In fact, so, start-up studios or venture studios have been found to have seven times better results than a traditional start-up that starts on their own.”

The multi-cultural company currently has seven employees, with half of them being bilingual. Castro said the company primarily operates online with in-person events and retreats available.

Ally Co services include product and program development, marketing, financial management, and corporate social justice.

She added that 15% of Ally Co’s profit will be invested in a fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation to benefit non-profit innovation.

Ally Co can be reached online at allyco.org.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

Father Luke Fodor said Journey’s End will be opening a satellite office in Jamestown as both groups work on the “New Neighbors” program, “They’re applying for grant dollars to do that under a grant that’s really tied to the Ukrainian effort. And so as they expand a little bit into our region, they’re going to be using the volunteers that we’ve coalesced to help assist in many of these things.

Fodor said while they’re not expecting the arrival of refugees, or “new neighbors,” just yet in Jamestown, there are two programs ready to be implemented including the Community Sponsorship program, “Local partnership groups will raise about $3,000 to assist with some rental assistance (for refugees) for these first couple months while they’re getting themselves situated into the workforce and having the immediate needs they need met. And so we’ll have four to six people from various civic or church-based groups to be there as kind of a one-to-one support team.”

Fodor said an initial training for the Community Sponsorship Program will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, September 10 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. He said a Cultural Competency Training is also required and will be offered virtually in late September or early October. Other future trainings will be available for those unable to make the one on Saturday.

Fodor said another program that anyone can help with is the donation of used or slightly used household items, “You have to remember that our new neighbors, unlike some other neighbors who might pull up in a truck and unload, fill up their apartments; these new neighbors are coming with really just the clothes on their backs. They’ve been in a dire situation, whether from war torn Ukraine or other war torn parts of our globe. And they’re coming with just the little that they have.”

Fodor said a centralized site for donations is still being worked on. He said financial donations can also now be sent to the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation with “New Neighbors” noted in the donation.