Marty Biniasz made a video of your Buffalo Bloviator playing piano at the Statler.

The Bloviator's Assistant.

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

 ·  · Reshare · a few seconds ago near Buffalo

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

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

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!

Buffalo Statler Towers Volunteer Sales Effort Status Report

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.

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

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

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?

" 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.

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

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.

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!