The summer home improvement season is well under way across Jamestown as property owners tackle a wide range of projects to maintain and enhance their homes and rental properties. This is especially evident in this year’s five Renaissance Blocks on Beechview, Euclid,...
Jamestown was swarming with yellow volunteer shirts this past Saturday as Hands On Jamestown crews collected garbage, swept sidewalks, and weeded gardens at the annual community clean up event. Nearly 800 volunteers from all over southern Chautauqua County came...
Jamestown and Olean have a lot in common as small urban centers in the Southern Tier. That was on display this past weekend when Jamestown Community College, a shared institution, celebrated Commencement at its campuses in both cities. But it’s also visible in efforts...
Landscaping, porch repairs, painting, sidewalk replacement, and many other projects will soon be underway in the city as part of the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation’s annual Renaissance Block Challenge. The program gives property owners access to matching grants and...
If you call someone in Jamestown a politician, you’re likely to see them recoil in disgust or ball up their fists as if an epithet has been hurled in their direction. But we’re all politicians. We all try to influence those around us in ways that will achieve civic or...
What is Jamestown in 2015? Are we the comedy capital or the meth capital? Are we a city of reenergized neighborhoods or a city on the edge? Are we a haven of opportunity or a place with limited prospects? How we perceive Jamestown – and how others perceive us – is...
What happens when a weak real estate market and under-regulated rental housing collide on the streets of Jamestown? People get trapped. Consider the recent case of a 71-year-old woman on Bush Street profiled by The Post-Journal. Her apartment was without hot water or...
The budget season is well underway in Albany as the Legislature deliberates over Governor Cuomo’s spending plan and the state’s projected $5 billion surplus. There’s much to be hopeful about as this process nears completion and as Western New York gains influence in...
Huge shadows cast by a growing forest of skyscrapers. Overcrowded tenements next to smoke-belching factories. Garment sweatshops encroaching on the mansions of millionaires. These and other pressures led to the adoption of America’s first citywide zoning...
Renovating an old building isn’t easy. Outdated electrical systems, inefficient windows, an attic full of pigeon droppings – these and many other problems are expensive barriers to the revitalization of buildings in our cities and villages. This is why starting from...