В исторической церкви Кенмора планируют построить фастфуд-ресторан Shake Shack ради увеличения налоговой базы

Author: D. Charles Roberts Jr. As Stephen Watson reported on August 28, 2026, the Village of Kenmore has given the green light for a developer to tear down the 100-year-old historic Kenmore Presbyterian Church to make way for a “stand alone” Shake Shack. Attempting to justify the project, the News quotes Mayor Pat Mang stating they are “trying to bring in, more traffic into the village, to spend their money here.” Mang said the quiet part out loud – the Mayor and “Trustees” care about one thing – the tax base. Occupied parcels generate more tax revenue than vacant ones. In this case, a cheaply-construction-generic Shake Shack will generate more tax dollars than a vacant church. They care only about their annual budget and the perceived power that comes from governing a 1.4 square mile village. The rest is someone else’s problem. When the Walgreens at the corner of Delaware and Kenmore Avenue was proposed in 1998, residents and community members objected, concerned with protecting the unique character of the Village and the negative impact of yet another big-box drugstore. There were numerous existing drugstores within two miles, including a Walgreens less than a mile up Delaware that would be left vacant. The project would require demolishing a village block and adding a generic store with a massive parking lot. History shows the community was right. The gateway intersection to Kenmore from Buffalo was lessened with a bland, poorly maintained, and overbuilt Walgreens. So now the Mayor and Trustees are moving on to the next block. This time to add a generic burger location, which will add nothing to the quality of life in the Village. But the Mayor and Trustees will get what they want – a bump in the tax base. The community? Well, we will get an ordinary, boring place where we can drop $50 on a couple of small burgers, fries, and shakes. Sure, residents and community members could circulate petitions, file lawsuits, delay the project, and drive up the developer’s costs. The developer has likely built such costs into its budget; its attorney has made a career off driving through projects against community wishes. Maybe a local station would include a passing mention of the opposition on the evening news. Such efforts would be futile. The Mayor and Trustees have decided on the easy way. Which leads to the real question. Why does Kenmore exist? Why is the Village a government instead of a place? The Village government is entirely unnecessary and duplicative of the Town of Tonawanda, which could naturally absorb the additional services and relieve Village residents of the additional tax bill they pay each year. The Town offers excellent services, and its police force could protect and serve the 15,000 Village residents just as they do the 57,000 Town residents. The Town’s highway and sanitation departments could do the same. Do residents need a Mayor, four Trustees, and all the administrative support that comes with a government? A separate Clerk and Treasurer? Do residents really need a separate Village Justice Court, two Village Justices, and a Village Prosecutor? A separate public works department? Water department? Village residents pay for all this needless duplication (for a recent example, look no further than the new $11 million Village police station on Elmwood). A village is a place, not a set of arbitrary boundaries. It should not be an unnecessary, duplicative layer of government. Imagine for a moment if the Town had jurisdiction and control over the Village when the concept of demolishing the historic church to make way for a burger joint was proposed. Untethered by Village boundaries, Town leadership may have redirected the developer and/or the $1.4 billon Shake Shack to any number of vacant parcels just a mile up the road on Delaware Avenue. Town leadership may have viewed the Town holistically while protecting what remains of Kenmore from its proud history as Buffalo’s first suburb; the first “streetcar suburb.” Of course, that is fanciful – the Village government exists and is incentivized only by its tax base and revenue. So welcome to Kenmore, New York – Anywhere, USA.