Howard Goldman

The Bloviator's Assistant.

2011-09-26T13:53:00.000-04:00

My man Carl, "The Assistant" to your Bloviator can do anything from pouring a good beer at BigBlue, to feats of arcane musicology for The Wife.
http://blogs.buffalonews.com/gusto/2011/09/testing-testing-.html

Testing, testing ... - The Gusto Blog - The Buffalo News

blogs.buffalonews.com

For a while I have been looking around for another person to help in writing classical music reviews. There is just so much going on and I have trouble covering everything that needs to be covered. The reviewers to whom I am grateful for assisting m

Shane, Brother Shane Recalls Being Your Pilot-In-Command At Buffalo's Club 747

2011-08-04T12:05:00.004-04:00

My Facebook friend, Steve Cichon, posted this great video of Make It Or Break It - a disco-era dance show taped at Buffalo's (Cheektowaga) Club 747.

Shane, (left) explaining how he partied Club 747 to an eager BuffaloBloviator.

This awesome video reminded me that my friend Shane, Brother Shane has fascinating recollections of Club 747. I asked Shane to share his memories with our BuffaloBloviator readership:

Well,

I worked with Jimmy Cosentino from nearly the beginning of my career in Western New York. Had a great

friendship with his brother, Pat and a wonderful relationship with their father Pat, Sr. This continued throughout:

the double showroom, the Playboy Club, et al.

Jimmy was extremely excited one day. He told me he had gone to an auction wherein he had purchased

the entire interiors of three 747 Jumbo Jets and of his plan to create the most spectacular Disco in the

world. Crated up in a warehouse, some of us were not sure it could be done. Jimmy envisioned it could.

The family created the space and building began. As the building progressed, Pat Cosentino shared with

me stories of the family history. It was a greatly exciting time, being there for the entire construction and

see it rise from a bare concrete floor. Jimmy was adamant the club be authentic in every detail up to and

including the overhead luggage compartments and drop tray tables. Literally, when the work was complete

we all had a glass and just stood inside and looked at it, astounded ourselves.It truthfully was "Drop Dead

Gorgeous!"

The club was slightly darker than most. The color was deep blue, grey and chrome. The bar itself had to

be seventy feet, gleaming, great sitting stools surrounding it all and all of it in the middle of the

"fuselage." The seating booths were almost private, as a real 747 would have felt like in late evening

flight.

I cannot remember exactly how long the project took to completion, but the last thing we did was to design

and build the cockpit and the audio - visual system. It had to be extremely powerful to make the nightly

takeoff seem incredibly real to passengers.This was my primary contribution.

As you came into the club, the cockpit was to the left where the true cockpit would have been. It was about

220 degrees of clear plexiglass so that everyone who purchased a boarding pass could see everything

that went on inside, visible throughout the entire club.

Jimmy fussed a little about how much the background picture cost. His dad liked the idea and the expense

was taken to reproduce the entire control board of a 747 in a picture which filled up the entire back wall.

Truly expensive, but, again, authentic to the end.

We had speakers throughout the club and every night at 9pm, I would in soft voice call all to their seats

to prepare for takeoff. We had 10 to 12 television monitors throughout the club, tied into the cockpit

control panel and when I informed passengers to hold on, they learned immediately that I meant it!

Then,I'd start up the engines. On every screen was a 747 Jumbo Jet sitting on the tarmac. The jets grew

in sound until everything from bar glasses to passenger seats began vibrating and as the sound system

filled with the sound of "Higher and Higher" by the Moody Blues, the on screen jet began rolling down the

runway.

I'll never forget Opening Night as everyone saw and felt that jet gathering speed. Some ladies were

actually screaming by the time the 747 left the ground and began rising into the wild blue yonder.

Lots of guys got tightly held on to that night and for years to come when the Club 747 took off! This

continued as long as I was there.

As the on screen jet lifted up and into the distance, the sound vibrations of the jet lessened and

coming up through that sound was the first dance tune of the night and the place erupted again

as people headed for the gleaming dance floor. If I remember correctly, the dance floor was made

of polished, gleaming steel.

Later on, a first class bar and cabin were built behind the cockpit and up about a ten step stairway

into a members only even more luxurious space with, I believe, about a 25-30 foot bar. This space

carried an annual membership fee.

When the Club 747 was opened, boarding passes were two dollars. The line of passengers went

all the way down the main connecting passageway and all the way into the Executive Hotel

itself. After a year or two boarding passes were dropped to a dollar. Very few passengers ever

went inside without some wait for others to leave. There was a waiting line for years.

I could be wrong, but I believe the Club 747 was the only nightclub in my life where a cover charge

remained in place for more than five years. And...everybody came to fly: Bills, Sabres, Politicos,

Media figures and countless thousands of great people who wanted to go out, have a great time

and experience something unique, unlike anything they'd ever experienced before.

I was so proud of what Jimmy, Pat Jr. and father Pat Cosentino allowed me to assist in creating.

I remember, too, that Jimmy and Pat's mother, Mrs. Cosentino created the 747 Gift Shop at the

far end of the building. All I could do there was to buy beautiful things for nice people.

Thanks for asking me to remember. Without over coloring, I can honestly state that the stories

which fill the life of Club 747 would make one hell of a television series.

Should I be asked, I'd relate some. However names would have to be changed.

Yours,

Big Brother Shane

Friend’s vision helped save Statler

2011-03-22T00:16:00.007-04:00

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/columns/donn-esmonde/article371793.ece

Donn Esmonde Column / Buffalo News

Sunday, March 22, 2011

Friend’s vision helped save Statler

The politicians and the principals clustered on the makeshift stage Wednesday in the lobby of the Statler Hotel, celebrating the sale of the endangered downtown landmark to developer/ restaurateur Mark Croce.

At the edge of a gaggle of spectators, a middle-aged man with blond hair softly played the piano, unnoticed. Yet it was Howard Goldman, perhaps more than anyone except Croce, who deserves credit for the rescue of the iconic building in the shadow of City Hall.

Like most big stories, this one has a personal connection at its core. Goldman and Croce have been friends since meeting as struggling businessmen some 20 years ago. Goldman is restoring the old brick mansion just steps from the Statler. His affection for Ellsworth Statler’s 1920s flagship dates to when his late accountant father had an office on the second floor.

After a prospective sale failed to close last year, Goldman—spurred by nightmare visions of wrecking balls— launched a one-man crusade to save the 18-story edifice. With the bankruptcy trustees’ blessing, he created a website -- www.buffalostatler.com -- to market the property and gave tours to interested parties. And he bugged his old buddy Croce, now the king of Chippewa District nightlife, to make a bid.

“I told [Croce] even before the [2009] auction that he should get this place,” said Goldman, who runs an e-commerce business and is the husband of News music critic Mary Kunz Goldman. “I knew that the skeptics had it wrong.”

Goldman was arguably the first to understand that the building could be bitten off in small pieces. It was the strategy that saved the Statler.

“I thought you could open the first levels and make them self-sufficient, then build the rest to suit in the future,” Goldman told me, minutes after Croce signed ownership papers. Which is why he kept pounding the plan at Croce— who loved the building, but thought it was too heavy of a lift for him.

“I didn’t think I’d have an interest, it is such a monumental property,” Croce told me. “Howard’s approach made it scaleable . . . He convinced me that the building was savable.”

Goldman knew that the gorgeous ballrooms and lower-floor open space were ripe for moneymaking bars, banquets and weddings—businesses right in Croce’s wheelhouse.

“I know the hospitality business,” Croce said. “It will be easy for me to get this [lower] level going again, to create a lobby bar and a lounge and make it a fun place.”

They are an odd couple. Croce is a plain-spoken, scuffed-edge street guy. The dapper Goldman apologizes when a four-letter word slips out in conversation. But they share a love of business and opportunity. It added up to Statler.

Goldman’s step-by-step plan convinced Croce to lay out $700,000 for the purchase and back taxes. There is a prospective $5 million subsidy to seal a building that would cost taxpayers $20 million to demolish.

“Howard and I had a lot of midnight conversations about the possibilities,” said Croce. “[Eventually] the conversation became not ‘why?’ but ‘why not?’ ”

Croce acknowledged Goldman’s part in the saga Wednesday, giving a shout-out to the unnoticed guy at the piano. The public thanks and the Statler’s survival is all that Goldman will get—or wants—for his efforts. That, and one more thing: He can play the lobby piano whenever he wants.

desmonde@buffnews.com

Fund Raiser!

2011-01-26T15:10:00.006-05:00

Buffalo Statler Towers Volunteer Sales Effort Status Report

2010-07-29T18:39:00.009-04:00

When I first got involved, the Statler was for sale - but wasn't exactly for sale because nobody knew it was for sale. Sales information was nowhere to be found on the Internet. People naturally assumed that the Statler was not sellable because there were no qualified buyers appearing. The Statler was being scheduled for abandonment. Creating the BuffaloStatler.com website and a free Loopnet ad brought in qualified buyers from near and far. This fixed the matter of the sale's secrecy.

Over the next several weeks, there was a series of arcane seller issues. There were also questionable obstacles: interference, threats, and intimidation from entrenched interests. That has been fixed.

There was an obstacle to the buyers that has also been fixed. A public mindset had been established that the Statler was a 100+ million dollar total restoration project. I emphasized a much more modest business plan to the buyers. The Statler has potential without necessarily requiring the type of full restoration that owner, Bashar Issa, planned. The Golden Ballroom played host to lavish weddings and parties as recently as several months ago. The Statler has been an uninterrupted going concern since 1923. Businesses occupied the building until several months ago. The Statler can bring back tenants one by one, slowly over time, build to suit according to market demand, and steadily build on the already accomplished restorations. This modest business plan has been made practical by the city’s lowered tax assessment.

Fortunately, I did not run out of persistent qualified buyers to help advance the process each time to the next breakdown. We are closer than ever. I am confident that we will arrive soon - but we aren't ready to drive around without the toolbox.

8/2/2010 Update: BuffaloNews.com

Buffalo Bloviator Sucks-Up To 200 Buffalo Big-Wigs By Preserving Their Barbershop.

2010-07-28T11:11:00.007-04:00

This is a BuffaloBloviator Follow-up Report:
Sam and Nafiza's Retirement Party held last night in the lobby of the Ellicott Square Building.

You can view the original BuffaloBloviator post at http://www.ellicottsquarehairsalon.com/

I missed seeing the Ellicott Square Hair Salon story on Channel 7 EYEWITNESS NEWS. I should have had the presence of mind to think of dialing it in on Carl Paladino's huge lobby TV set.

Sam Jafari presenting the new proprietor, Theresa Schwimmer.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the building and unbeknown to the party guests, the PeopleForPaladino.com volunteers were plotting and scheming to turn Albany up-side down!

A good perspective of Sam's haircuts.

Sam and Nafiza looking regal by the south staircase.

In all likelyhood, no other barber in history has retired with such pageantry.

Sam addresses his clientele of 43 years.

Congressman Tom Reynolds will be the honored recipient of Sam's last hair-cut this Friday.

Bill Savino with The Wife (Mary Kunz Goldman)

I couldn't get anybody to take a picture of me and my Facebook friend and power-elite member, Bill Savino, but I was able to get my glasses in the picture.

The ceremonial passing of the torch from Sam to new proprietor, Theresa.

From left: The Wife, BuffaloBloviator, Theresa, Sam, and Nafiza.

I usually get thrown out of the place when I play that piano so this was a special treat for me.

Meanwhile out in the real world, bedlam was occurring to the traffic cones at the Buffalo Statler.

To decompress and to celebrate, the Bloviator took The Wife to visit his favorite bartender at E.B.Green's.

George Steinbrenner's Buffalo Connection

2010-07-13T14:04:00.010-04:00

George Steinbrenner at his Roundtable Restaurant, 153 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo NY.

Max Margulis (left), George Steinbrenner (middle), Lou Madia (right) Lou introduced George to his partners.

I am flying Big Blue's flag at half staff today in tribute to the passing of Roundtable Restaurant founder, George Steinbrenner. Mr. Steinbrenner actually announced his purchase of the Yankees from his restaurant at 153 Delaware Avenue. ("Big Blue" is the nickname coined for the former Roundtable Restaurant building I purchased near Niagara Square because a previous owner painted the entire exterior blue and named it Club Cobalt.)

For a dozen years in the 1960s and 1970s, the Round Table Restaurant in Buffalo was the place to be. Athletes, politicians and onlookers crowded the bar and filled every darkened booth. Max Margulis, who opened the steak house with George Steinbrenner, called the place his "saloon."

153 Delaware Avenue is the last remaining 19th century Delaware Avenue home near Niagara Square. It was called The Roundtable Restaurant when George Steinbrenner owned it.

153 Delaware is two doors north of the Buffalo Statler Towers.

Last week I decided to sweep up the old attic down at Big Blue. I found a couple books of old Roundtable Restaurant matches that had literally been hidden by dust. I started thinking about the last living partner in the restaurant and poked around Google on the Internet. I read George Steinbrenner was not well and was keeping himself away from the public. It occurred to me that there would be a transition one of these days soon and I felt blue about it. He was quite a guy. When I went home I mentioned to The Wife that I checked up on George and how sad it made me to think of such a dynamic man retired and separated from what he loves - and that one of these days his passing will be big news.

200 Of Buffalo's Top VIP's - Free To Good Home

2010-07-12T14:00:00.021-04:00

Sam has created an important Buffalo institution which should be preserved.

From time to time your BuffaloBloviator comes to the rescue of an endangered Buffalo institution. (By the way, I did find qualified willing buyers for the endangered Buffalo Statler but the problem is finding qualified willing sellers. Please stay tuned.) Sam Jafari and his wife Nafiza are retiring at the end of this month from the Ellicott Square Hair Salon. Sam founded the enterprise in downtown Buffalo's landmark Ellicott Square Building 43 years ago.

The stunning lobby of the Ellicott Square Building.

No man knows more Buffalo behind-the-scenes information than Sam. 200 of Buffalo's most influential people comprise Sam's hair cutting client roster. Successful developers, entrepreneurs, judges, lawyers, politicians, religious leaders, media celebrities, you name it, form a dream client list. Most of Sam's clients have been with him for most of the past 43 years and they trust Sam. Sam literally has had the ear of a Buffalo VIP every 40 minutes, every business day for 40 years. If only those salon walls could bloviate!

Last month while I was in his chair, Sam charged me with finding a new owner to carry on his legacy - then he charged me 23 bucks for the haircut. I assume that I was selected for this mission because I am low man on the totem pole (or perhaps barber pole in this case) since I am his least senior client - by any measure or account.

Sam is willing to give away his valuable profitable full-time enterprise to a new owner for free - PROVIDED that the new owner is the RIGHT new owner.

BuffaloBloviator and Sam.

Sam is hanging up his clippers on Friday July 30, 2010. We must find a new proprietor for Ellicott Square Hair Salon and have him installed by that date or else the institution will close. Period. Sam and Nafiza have plane tickets for a 2 year trip to the Middle East.

Interested parties should contact me or Sam.

Sam Jafari 716-854-3504

Howard Goldman 716-833-6111
hg@howardgoldman.com

7/13/2010 The Wife's Buffalo News Story can be seen here: http://www.buffalonews.com/life/article90255.ece

7/23/2010 Update:
Sam just called with good news. The BuffaloBloviator marketing campaign has successfully yielded a new owner for The Ellicott Square Hair Salon. Legal papers are finalized. Sam's 43 year legacy of trimming our area bigwigs will continue without interruption thanks to new owner, Theresa Schwimmer.

Sam told me that the Buffalo News story attracted several excellent candidates. Theresa Schwimmer's personality impressed Sam that she is perfect for his established clientele. Theresa has 13 years experience and owns Salon Envy on Main Street in Amherst.

Sam's last hair cut will be on Friday, July 30, and will be performed on the bigwig head of Congressman Tom Reynolds.

Buffalo Statler Sale: Mission Accomplished?

2010-05-17T12:51:00.012-04:00

" Dirty Job Goldman "

The word is that one of the sales leads from the BuffaloStatler.com unpaid volunteer guerrilla marketing effort has resulted in a $50,000 deposit being placed in a bank and a Statler sales contract is expected to be signed today. We had to break a few eggs and mess up the kitchen a bit, but we got 'er done.

YES!!! YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!!

Of course, a sale is not complete until the due-diligence period is complete so let's not celebrate yet. However, this is a milestone in the sales process.

June 2010 Update:
The BuffaloStatler.com marketing effort has brought several qualified buyers (out-of-towners and local) to the table - cash in hand and willing to pay the asking price. Each time it was the seller, not the buyer, who got cold feet. I have confidence that the building will be under contract soon and that the successful buyer will have displayed an impressive amount of patience. Patience is an important quality to find in a new Statler owner, so perhaps this slow process is actually a blessing in disguise.

What I Did On My Spring Vacation.

2010-05-06T20:37:00.018-04:00

Your BuffaloBloviator during a moment of reflection.

The only thing I hate worse than traveling is having to look at someone's vacation pictures. A close second is being pestered to travel or come visit them out-of-town. All these people up and leave Buffalo, then for some reason we are supposed to become obligated to chase them all over the place. You all know where to find me!

On our honeymoon we went to Niagara Falls, the honeymoon capital of the world. It happens to be only twenty minutes away. Did you ever notice how people who travel constantly have nothing interesting lying around cluttering up their homes? They are bored, that's why. Not only am I bored by travel, I'm bored by passive behavior in general. That is why I have not required a vacation since the 1980's.

The Buffalo Statler Towers. Big Blue is visible on left when it was Big White.

I took this past week off from work and had a wonderful "stay-cation." You don't have to travel to have a great vacation because a great vacation is when you do something totally alien to any of your previous experiences. You flush your mind this way and return to work fully recharged.

I found a great way to flush my brain. I know absolutely nothing about the commercial real estate business so I decided to help publicize that the bankrupt Buffalo Statler Towers is available for sale. I don't own it but I understand they have been having trouble selling it and the historic downtown landmark is in grave danger. I own an old blue brick house two doors down from the Statler so I am particularly fond of "Big Blue's" old friend.

One of the reasons I love Buffalo enough to never travel is that everything and everyone is so accessible. You can get yourself involved in anything imaginable - probably because Buffalonians will talk to anyone anywhere anytime. Strangers even talk in elevators.

I started by imposing myself on the bankruptcy court. I phoned and introduced myself to the trustee for the Statler. I offered to market the Statler on the Internet for free. He said that the Statler was entering its twelfth hour and he welcomed a source for qualified prospective buyers. The trustee told me that if I managed to actually sell the building, he would be so happy that he would recommend that the building be renamed after me.

I began my vacation last Friday at 6 a.m. constructing a website called BuffaloStatler.com I finished it Saturday morning and launched it. I used a few search engine optimization techniques so that people could find it fast. I placed a few free ads in commercial real estate listings and then I created an inexpensive Google paid advertising campaign.

The next day, Sunday, I received a couple of inquiries. I phoned one of them immediately. "Mr. Chicago" owns a successful property development company in Chicago. I explained the nature and scope of the Statler project. There has already been an ill-fated $100 million dollar attempt to restore the Statler and since then, even more expensive proposals have been tossed around. I suggested that a modest business plan might be more appropriate for the Statler because until the last owner decided to take it on as a restoration project, it had 40 good tenants and was a going concern steadily since 1923.

Monday, I spoke with the trustee again and he gave me the phone numbers for the building manager and the sales contract attorney. I called Buffalo City Hall and the Department of Economic Development and one of their top men was on stand-by alert to help me this week.

My vacation was really going great!

The BuffaloBloviator and Mr. Chicago (right)

Tuesday, Mr. Chicago flew in to Buffalo and met me at Big Blue. We wore suits and spread important looking papers across my desk (actually my desk is an old grand piano). To make things really nutty, The Wife played classical piano as I welcomed Mr. Chicago into Big Blue. We figured that would help soften him up because when we Googled his name we discovered that his child was an accomplished classical musician. This is the way we do things in Buffalo. We think on our feet - plus we attract people to our city with six-dollar websites.

We spent a couple of hours showing Mr. Chicago the vast insides of the Statler. He left Buffalo not ready to sit down with the sellers and discuss a contract. As a small businessman, I think of the sales process as an assembly line. The best way to test and refine the machinery is to turn it on and see where it breaks. Fix it and see what breaks next. Eventually you can easily sell a whole bunch of whatever it is you're selling.

Mr. Chicago heading back to the Windy City.

Wednesday, I got a couple of calls from other developers who were ready to sign contracts to purchase the Statler. The sales stumbled but the exercise highlighted where the Statler sales assembly line had its next weakness. I was convinced that this can be corrected. I also got a call back from a broker who originally blew me off. The sales activity convinced him that the account is worth considering. I informed the trustee that we now have an excellent broker interested. Local investors also began showing more interest.

The Statler Golden Ballroom.

Today, Thursday, I tweaked my marketing and attracted a couple more prospects. One of them is particularly interesting because they have a successful track record of redeveloping huge distressed historic landmarks. I agreed to a conference call with them tomorrow.

On Monday my vacation will be over and I will return to my regular job fully recharged! And with plenty of vacation pictures to show my friends.

Buffalo Bloviator's Bellow Pitches Pitched Property

2010-04-30T10:02:00.005-04:00

BUFFALO STATLER TOWERS SALE PUBLICIZED THROUGH DONATION BY NEW MARKETER

The Statler Towers, Buffalo’s flagship historic downtown hotel on Niagara Square, is being newly advertised as being offered for sale through free marketing contributed by local businessman Howard Goldman. As a public service, Goldman, the owner of a neighboring property, is marketing the building through the Web site www.buffalostatler.com , and will also be advertising the hotel through other media.

Goldman said, “I am grateful to Morris Horowitz, court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, for the opportunity to help Buffalo’s favorite building find a new owner. When a successful bidder at the auction failed to secure financing and complete the transaction, the bankruptcy estate ran out of money and there were no resources to begin a sales campaign. That is why I offered to invest a little bit of my own effort to get the word out with some guerrilla marketing. I believe in the Statler.

“The tremendous love for this building has caused many of us in the community to panic a little and over-sell the value of this property. This creates a tremendous buying opportunity for someone with a fresh set of eyes. The closing of the Statler as a business was not the fault of the building itself — it was an unfortunate result of an owner’s external financial debacles.”

A grand hotel built in the 1920s, the Statler was most recently sold in a bankruptcy auction for $1,300,000. The buyer, William Koessler, had been a former tenant but after winning the auction, fell short on the financing. Prior to that auction the hotel had been owned by British developer Bashar Issa.

The Statler has features that Goldman emphasizes have potential without necessarily requiring the type of full restoration that Issa planned. The Golden Ballroom played host to lavish weddings and parties as recently as several months ago. The Statler has been an uninterrupted going concern since 1923. Businesses occupied the building until several months ago. It is well within the realm of possibility that Buffalo’s Statler Towers can have a future to match its glorious past.

Link to BuffaloRising.com story.

A Public Apology To My Friends. I love my wife and I am going to work on making our marriage last.

2009-12-12T17:24:00.007-05:00

Our honeymoon view of Niagara Falls.

As the world waits for Tiger Woods to make his public apology, I am going to step up and take this moment to publicly apologize to my friends. You see, today is the day that each of you who wagered that "this will not last five years", have lost your bets. I told that to my friend, Bill, today and he 'fessed up that the bet going around was actually on whether I would go through with it in the first place. So, I apologize to each of you for making you lose your bets. Actually, The Wife is to blame.

Five years later, I am now an expert on marriage longevity. So today I went ahead and fulfilled a deep need that drives all women. Performing this all but guarantees a successful marriage. Yes, I proved my devotion and manhood today, on our anniversary, by repairing The Wife's washing machine.

As I stood facing the washing machine service panel, I had a flashback to a similar experience exactly five years earlier. I was approaching the church and thinking to myself, "I have no idea what awaits me on the other side".

First, I removed the thing and cleaned it out.

Deep in the forbidding inner workings I found the offending clogged screen. Luckily, I was somewhat familiar with this because my high school bong used similar technology.

Just like five years ago, I felt lacking for the proper tools.

Life and washing machines have cycles.

We all have attachments.

A watershed moment.

Good for another five years!

Buffalo Bills Versus Miami Dolphins

2009-11-29T15:36:00.014-05:00

The Bills are at home taking on their old nemesis, the Dolphins. Appropriately, I am taking on my old home nemesis - this sea of clutter that has been in my shop garage since the day I moved in. This is an old rivalry that goes back five years, since I purchased this venue.

Click image for high definition instant replay.

A win here would not only be a huge victory in itself but, in my analysis, a major strategic victory for the remaining football season. You see, by clearing out this area, I will be able to park my car in this garage, instead of in my restoration shop - which means that my shop will have a much better chance completing those 27 radiator restorations by the end of the football season. Those of you who read my coverage of the Bills vs. Texans game understand the importance of this.

We are into the 4th quarter. The Bills are leading the Dolphins 14 to 13 and all we need for a victory is to remove the remaining shelving.

Yes, at long last! This is HUGE - a great afternoon for Buffalo's Buffalo Bills and Big Blue's Bloviator. SQUISH!

Buffalo Bills Versus Houston Texans - Sports Highlights

2009-11-02T17:21:00.001-05:00

My friends are often surprised to learn that BuffaloBloviator Publishing is now the go-to place for news and analysis of events taking place within the world of professional sports.

Over the years, we have applied a little bit of knowledge to a great many subjects. In fact, I am often reminded by our readers that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. With that, we can all be assured that there is no danger in my discussing sports.

My project during this week's home game, between the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans, tackles removing century old iron pipe fittings from Big Blue's cast iron radiators. Like an athlete, these radiators can only be tested under pressure.

"Big Blue", home of BuffaloBloviator Publishing, at 153 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo.

During the first quarter of the game, I am making a trip downtown to Big Blue to pickup my welding tanks, forced air breathing system, and assorted pipe fittings and valves. I am performing the actual restoration of the radiators over at my North Buffalo shop. My shop used to be an old collision shop and it is better suited as a metal prep facility than is Big Blue.

George Steinbrenner (center) with his partners, taken in Big Blue when it was The Roundtable Restaurant.

As an interesting piece of sports trivia and game color, Big Blue was formerly owned by Yankee's owner George Steinbrenner. In 1977, George Steinbrenner actually announced his purchase of the Yankee's at Big Blue (The RoundTable Restaurant).

Big Blue's neighbor, The Staler Hotel, is shown above as it looked during the 1st quarter of the game. Notice everything is back to normal on Delaware Avenue after having to close the street for a few days.

Here is the spot on the sidewalk where that piece of cornice hit the ground.

The skies are once again blue over our historic Statler Hotel.

If you click this photo, it will enlarge and you will be able to clearly see the corner of the cornice that came loose.

Another highlight of the first quarter of the football game for me was stopping by Buffalo ReUse. I picked up an old building fan made by Buffalo Forge Co. I'll take it back to the shop and sand blast it along with our other iron work.

Please stay tuned for highlights, wrap-ups, and commentary about remaining three quarters of the Bills vs. Texans contest.

The roads were empty during today's football game, so I test drove my new experimental alternative green energy vehicle.

2009-10-25T23:58:00.000-04:00

Chair Of Ohio Men's Club Becomes Sitting Member Of Buffalo Organization.

2009-06-25T09:43:00.035-04:00

Facebook friend, Steve Cichon, suggested to me that it is most appropriate and customary in Buffalo, to transport your new furniture home by wheeling it down the streets.

Here I am with my truck all rigged and equipped for my walk to pick up my smoking chair. I purchased it on Ebay and it arrived to our Greyhound Bus Terminal.

New Era Joe and VeeMan saw me off. They can be seen sitting on the old smoking steps in front of Big Blue.

The Greyhound Bus Terminal in downtown Buffalo.

My truck is loaded and balanced.

I stopped at this corner to watch new cement being poured at our main library.

The spectacular Lafayette Hotel was the first building designed by a women architect.

The smoking chair stopped for a smoke with other downtown Buffalo workers.

Our beautiful gold topped Buffalo Savings Bank building.

A scene unrivaled by any other in the world.

E.B. Green's at the Hyatt features lounge pianist, Jackie Jocko, Tuesday through Saturday. They no longer allow cigar smoking.

The old Miller Livery Stable was in the news this week.

Avant!

The hand truck pulling up to Big Blue.

New Era Joe honored Buffalo by being our first resident to smoke in the "new" smoking chair. When Joe isn't smoking, he is in charge of maintenance at the New Era Cap Company across the street.

My test drive was successful.

The Big Blue smoking lounge while being remodeled.

A copy cat pushing a hand truck across Delaware at Chip. What are the odds?

Facebook Comments:

Marta Vago at 4:19pm June 24

Even if it weren't, you'd do it anyway and start a new trend.

Steve Cichon at 5:07pm June 24

I LOVE it. Grandma Cichon smiled down upon your journey. Your chair was lucky to see some grand sights. Mine saw a Fotomat, Sattlers Drugs, PM Berst Funiture, the Paperback Trading Post, Pizza Shanty, and Heidie Tuxedo. I didn't think to take photos.

Brian J. Walker at 5:11pm June 24

You need a soundtrack - "Truckin', Home Through Buffalo..."

Dave Sutton at 5:48pm June 24

I`ll bet ya old Harcord Fenton Mudd would love a shot at THE CHAIR.

Mari McNeil at 11:01pm June 24

Only you, Howard, would chronicle such an epic journey.

Toni Taber at 12:34am June 25

Howard, this is great! 'Loved the photos! You & Mary have a style all your own & I'm (we're) loving it!

Jacquie Walker at 12:36am June 25

Howard - this is a priceless record of your sun-splashed journey through downtown Buffalo. I loved every frame of it. (But I'm wondering if you had to pay more for the shipping costs than you did for the chair!)

Jim Trimper Jr at 9:41am June 25

Any reason why you did not wheel that bad boy over to city hall and let your buddy the Mayor have the first sit? ;)

Richard E. Reimers at 10:21pm June 23

Much ado about a chair

MaryRuth Rera at 11:47pm June 23

Howard. I love that chair. No. Really. I really love that chair. Howard.

Famous Chain Announced Entering Downtown Buffalo.

2009-04-17T16:25:00.048-04:00

Last week I discovered that parked trucks were bumping up against the foundation of my downtown project house, "Big Blue". Perhaps an old fashioned style post and chain fence would keep parked vehicles off of my sidewalk? I lucked out and located some historic chain from an old Erie Canal lock. I will have photos and info about the source, Lock #10 soon. The chain was used to open the lock and let the water flow.

Yesterday, the chain arrived at Big Blue (153 Delaware Avenue).

Here is the truck driver struggling with the 2000 pound crate. The dolly jack wheels sank into the ground and we couldn't move it.

We had to break the crate open and start removing the contents.

This is a finger from the truck driver's work glove that the chain bit off.

Here is the canal chain liberated from the crate. It took an hour just to get the 2000 pound chain into this messy pile.

Meanwhile, the wimpy neighbors across the street at the new Federal Courthouse were relying on cranes to do their heavy lifting.

While I was spending three more hours dragging and stowing the chain, my old friend Larry stopped by to watch and smoke cigarettes. The courtyard is surrounded by parking lots. As everybody was leaving the Statler and getting into their cars, Larry made loud pronouncements about how proud he is of being gay. When I bought the house two years ago it was a gay bar. Between that and Larry's public announcements to my neighbors, all I can say is that it's a good thing I'm married and don't have to be concerned about being able to get a date.

Here is the chain after I tamed it.

All of that exercise made me work up an appetite so I stopped next door at the Hyatt and grabbed a burger with Jackie Jocko and his friend Britney.

Pimp That Garage.

2009-01-14T22:18:00.024-05:00

The Wife and The House "Big Blue" at 153 Delaware Avenue.

One of the things that I love most about moving downtown and becoming an "urban pioneer" is the old frontier spirit that my neighbors all share with each other.

While the homes on my cul-de-sac are a mixture of historic and newer, each of the owners happen to be relatively new to the street. As on many streets, we have a lot of home improvement going on. A friendly competition has developed among us all and many of our yards are cluttered with construction materials and rental equipment. Fortunately, we all seem to be pretty laid back about things and none of us are overly fussy about making it into Better Homes and Gardens. Most of us park our pickup trucks on our lawns.

I'll give you a brief introduction to my neighbors. They are lots of fun and we all look out for each others places. We pretty much have an informal block club going. The Browns live in the big place on the circle of our Niagara Square cul-de-sac. They rent with an option. The Issas are two doors down and are a nice ambitious young couple in their twenties. Across the street we have some very inspiring recent immigrants and and directly across the street are the Neweras, of the Derby Neweras. They are from a town called Derby and they are in the hat business! How perfect is that! The biggest home improvement showoffs are the Dulskis. That guy has completely gutted the place and is updating everything, and Judi is a real sweetheart too. We also have a new-build going up. The Courthouses bought that lot. I haven't met them yet. I believe he is a judge. I think they are living in the trailers that are on the property. Hey, doesn't bother me a bit. Put the money into the place instead. I don't blame them.

So we all visit each other and we yell out "Neighbor!" when we see each other on the street, and we borrow each other's tools and things. But what happened today really takes the cake. Everybody who knows me knows I love cars and I love spending time in the shop puttering around with them and getting dirty. Well, the one thing about our new house that I pine about is the fact that we don't have a garage. I love everything about the house, so I was willing to live without the garage but I guess I do talk about missing one quite a bit, especially after a couple of beers.

The green square is potentially my new attached garage.

Well, today I found out that one of my neighbors had indicated that he may offer to build an attached garage onto the back of my house. From what I understand, part of it would actually be built-in. And it's huge! I am probably getting ahead of myself but I am really excited. That could be me in there waxing my car! My neighbor Byron hasn't mentioned this to me yet but I found the plans on his website today on page 32. The website says that we would be partners. Hey, that's fine with me. There's all kinds of room in there!

The Newest And Last QRS Piano Roll - Michael T. Jones

2009-01-13T11:32:00.033-05:00

Yesterday, I stopped down to see my friends at QRS Music at their vintage factory on Niagara Street in Buffalo. QRS is the last surviving manufacturer of piano rolls for player pianos. All that is remaining of the industry is QRS and several small-scale boutique roll makers. It is wonderful to watch QRS in action because they still use the original factory equipment and production methods that they used in 1900.

The video above is of my old friend Michael T. Jones. Michael is a very important employee at QRS because he has the rare talents that are needed to convert great performances by great artists into great piano rolls. You probably have seen Michael playing terrific jazz piano around Buffalo. He married a Buffalo girl, and settled down in Buffalo in the mid 1990's - as I recall from meeting him way back at the Dakota when he was new in town.

The greatest piano players of each era have visited QRS to be immortalized on piano rolls.

I asked Michael to show off a piano roll that QRS recently manufactured of him! The video above is Michael playing the piano roll of his own performance of Spring Is Here, written by Rodgers and Hart. I ask you, when was the last time you ever had the actual artist play their own piano roll for you? This is the stuff of excellence that you have come to expect from BuffaloBloviator Publishing!

Michael and his QRS piano roll.

I am proud of Michael for earning his place in history. This may have been the last piano roll ever produced. QRS has finished a large production run and they appear to be unsure of what the future holds for their piano roll facility.

I have an announcement to make.

2008-12-20T12:29:00.003-05:00

We begin another day of bloviating here at blog station WBBB. Our blog can be found on your AM dial at BuffaloBloviator.com and on your FM dial at HowardGoldman.com. If your friends ask you what blog you are tuned into - tell them BuffaloBloviator. If your friends ask you why? - Tell them it's a celebration of bloviating.

You may be wondering why I am talking like a radio DJ today. Late last night, after WBBB (Buffalo Bloviator Blog) signed off, I was unwinding and thinking about Buffalo 's late night talk radio legend John Otto. John used to refer to his audience as "Your Listenership". John Otto did not talk like a DJ, but he inspired me to think of the audience in reverent terms. I think from now on I will refer to my readers as "Your Bloggership".

John Otto -Click photo for recordings of John Otto.

While I was searching Google for a picture of John Otto I came across a photo of another Buffalo radio legend - Shane Gibson, aka "Shane Brother Shane," aka "The Cosmic Cowboy."

Shane Brother Shane

Shane was huge back when I was in college. Shane sure did talk like a DJ - the ultimate DJ. But Shane was even more to us then a DJ. Shane was our philosopher. He was also the ultimate glad-handing schmoozer. I don't often hand out that accolade. I reserve it only for the greats like Shane and lounge pianist Jackie Jocko. I remember Shane even bought a club at Sheridan Drive and Colvin Boulevard, and I saw him fly on a trapeze over the bar!

Ron Moss was there, too. I wonder if he remembers that story.

One of my best friends during high school and college was my old buddy Dave Pettigrew. "Ped" was an aspiring comedian and DJ. He had a natural talent and kept us all endlessly amused. Ped and I worked a college job together and he taught me how to talk with that affected announcer voice. You know, like the voice-overs you hear on TV ads asking you to give them only $19.95 with your credit card. But wait, there's more! So Dave and I would go about our work shifts talking to each other like radio announcers. Yes people thought we were weird. I was never really good at it but Ped was the real deal. He even went on to radio school before settling into a successful career in industry. At radio school they told Ped that announcers are rarely successful if they use a contrived voice, but they taught the class that Shane was among those uniquely talented to pull that off. Ped could pull that off too.

Shane has since vanished. I have asked people in the radio industry if they know where he is but they haven't a clue. As far as I know, Shane hasn't been heard from in decades.

Perhaps the BuffaloBloviator should place the task of locating Shane on his assignment list.

BREAKING NEWS: MOSS EXONERATED

2008-12-19T10:22:00.019-05:00

SURPRISE VERDICT - MOSS CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES

Buffalo cab driver emeritus, my first cousin, family nut and mayoral candidate Ron Moss has just left Buffalo City Hall a free man.

Moss was responding to a summons issued by a Buffalo Police officer after Moss admittedly yelled an obscenity at the officer.

Moss was driving his shopping cart at the time of the incident.

Click on ticket to read charges.

You can read about the original August 1, 2008 incident HERE and HERE.

Further details will be posted as they become available.

I am filled with happiness and optimism.

2008-12-17T13:27:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the new BuffaloBloviator blog.

To those of you who followed the original BuffaloBloviator blog, I am thrilled that you have stopped in once again and I deeply appreciate your demonstration of brand loyalty.

To those of you who are new to the BuffaloBloviator, to quote our city motto, "Our hand is out". To shake your hand, of course. We don't accept gratuities at the BuffaloBloviator. No tipping please.

It is with feelings of heavy responsibility and excited anticipation that I once again command the editing window. I am humbled by the enormity of it all and by the potential directions of travel that are literally at my whim.

Yours as always,
BuffaloBloviator

Welcome to the new BuffaloBloviator.

2008-12-16T14:13:00.000-05:00