Nickel City Celebrates 10 Years of Cooperative Community

Census figures tell a great deal about life in Buffalo, NY:

24% of families in the city of Buffalo live below the poverty line, as do 28% of individuals.¹ [0]
56% of renters pay more than 30% of their income to their landlords.² [0]
Almost 70% of housing was built prior to 1939;³ [0] many of these homes have been lovingly cared for and upgraded for modern needs, but others require a great deal of renovation.
In 2005, 739 occupied homes lacked complete plumbing,⁴ [0] which the Census defines as "hot and cold piped water, a bath- tub or shower, and a flush toilet."⁵ [0]
One in five houses are completely vacant.⁶ [0]
Race and class also starkly divide the city.⁷ [0] ⁸ [0]

In short, Buffalo is a city with unique needs that require unique solutions. Nickel City Housing Cooperative, part of NASCO Properties [1], is one of those fixes. Established in 2001 with the purchase of Ol' Wondermoth (formerly known as the Granger Mansion) at the corner of North and Elmwood in the Allentown district, Nickel City [2] expanded in 2005 to purchase Plankton at 126 Fargo Avenue, and today is celebrating 10 years of cooperative community.

Through trials and triumphs, this cooperative community continues to thrive, and I was fortunate to spend the past year and a half as part of it. Members welcomed me with open arms and helped me quickly find a place. Salsa nights, beer brewing, fire spinning, local organic vegan dinners almost every night... veteran co-opers are familiar with all these things, but when I first moved in it felt quite novel and new.

But what I found most interesting is that in a city people write off as economically depressed and shrinking, NCHC is building a community of young invested adults dedicated to seeing Buffalo improve socially, environmentally and economically. When people move out, as I did to take this position with NASCO, they do not completely move on, often settling in the city, and former members are always welcome to visit

With that in mind, on June 10, 2011 NCHC will be celebrating our 10^th Anniversary with a party, so if you will be in town, please stop by!

Rooms are currently available, if interested please email the membership coordinators [3].

For more information please see the facebook page [4].

Check out this video about the early days of NCHC created by alum Loren Sonnenberg [5]: