The Community Action Organization of Erie County is using a $300,000 state grant to refurbish and revitalize aging storefronts along Fillmore Avenue on Buffalo's East Side.
The CAO of Erie County applied for the grant through the Better Buffalo Fund program, which is a Buffalo Billion initiative.
The funding is being used to replace windows, doors and some roofs. It also allowing for better signage, fresh paint, stone work and other enhancements to the exterior of certain businesses along the avenue.
"The East Side of Buffalo has not been forgotten," Patricia Elliott with the CAO said Saturday. "This is just the beginning. We are going to be the apple of the city's eye."
Eddy Emin Egriu is a contractor working on a group of storefronts at Fillmore Avenue and East Utica Street. He is hiring workers who live in the neighborhood and training them, hoping they can turn this experience into a career.
"Give them an opportunity," Egriu explained. "It's all about opportunity. I'm here for an opportunity. They're working hard to give Fillmore Avenue an opportunity."
