PUSH mural to brighten Grant St. offices

Brittney McClain outside PUSH and MAP offices

By Sara O'Brien and James Wright
BengalNews Reporters

PUSH Buffalo’s plain, sterile exterior at the Grant Street location will soon be given a fresh and new artistic look.

            The dark brick and intimidating façade is not the best impression placed upon people within the community.

            This building which PUSH and the Massachusetts Avenue Project currently call home, was originally built in the 1960s as a library. After decades of use in the community, the library was forced to close due to budget cuts around the area.

Many people in the community were upset about the closings, but it was a blessing in disguise for both PUSH and MAP  Since both organizations were looking for a building to call their own, they looked to the closing as an opportunity.  

In 2005 shortly after the closing, the two organizations moved in and discovered that the building was not in good condition.

When she started in 2009, community center Director  Janice Li, recalls an atmosphere of broken windows, peeling paint, and lack of work being completed toward renovations.  With hard work and funding from Councilman David Rivera, Li and others from the Grant Street location, were able to make enough improvements to the building which generated positive attention and lead to the rise of the community center. 

Janice Li discusses the steps taken to get a mural to grace PUSH and MAP offices:

During the first few months, Li explained how the community center was not getting more than five visitors a day. Slowly as improvements were being made, more funding lead to the addition of computers, board games and organization of book shelves that were left behind.

Britney McClain, development director, agrees on the issue of the building’s appearance.

“Personally when I was first interviewed and hired, I sort of passed it myself,” she said.

With some of the funds left over from the “Street Scape” program which allocated $60,000 to improve streets along Grant Street, a professional mural has been decided to replace the cold brick façade of the PUSH building.

The housing director presented the mural idea to three local artists who were all given a chance to make their proposal for the project. Max Collins, who is known for his invigorating and wall based murals, was the chosen artist to take on the task.

 According to Li, “The money is all there, the artist is there, and the approval has been made. We are just waiting for the final consent.”

Overall the goal for this new project is to generate more uplifting attention to the area.

 On a busy day according to Li and McClain, there can be a range of 30 to 50 visitors coming to the center. By adding this mural, they hope this will increase the awareness and bring a more positive outlook toward the Grant Street community.

An expert on advertising and professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Buffalo State College, Dr. Michael I. Niman focuses on the way propaganda impacts consumer culture.

“The mural will help the business stand out visually. Also, something like that will raise community spirit,” he said. Edited by Chanice Johnson