So, What About Bellevue?

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Cheektowaga's Bellevue community -- which includes a nature preserve, a quarry and several landfills -- is the subject of an unusual public art project that has been two years in the making.

"What About Bellevue?" is a self-guided tour of the neighborhood that highlights its prevalent historic, industrial, environmental and social themes through an interactive community art project combining elements of multi-media, performance, installation and public art.

The project, in which the public will have the opportunity to participate on April 26 and 27, was developed by Ann Marie Lepkyj, an MFA candidate in the Department of Art in the University at Buffalo's College of Arts and Sciences, and residents of this overlooked community.

It takes in Bellevue's treasures, tragedies and the high and low points in its history. By employing some of the tools of the tourist trade, Lepkyj and her cohorts recast Bellevue as a potential tourist attraction. In an essential way, they show us just how it is -- or can be -- done.

"Areas like this seldom are considered interesting by those in charge of regional promotion," says Lepkyj, "We wanted to emphasize that every community has fascinations -- its dark sides and lovely aspects -- that tell a story of interest to the public.

"Bellevue's resources and location have attracted people for hundreds of years. It was the site of the Seneca Nation settlement that named the area 'Cheektowaga,' or 'land of the crabapples,' for instance," says Lepkyj. "It was a stop on the Underground Railway, an essential rail and trolley center for those traveling to and from Buffalo, the site of the historic Bellevue Hotel. It has many other historic, industrial and aesthetic features as well."

On April 26 and 27, the public is welcome to discover Bellevue in an environmentally friendly way -- by foot, rollerblade or bike. The free tour will start at 1 p.m. on both days at the Bellevue Hotel, 544 Como Park Blvd., Cheektowaga. The rain dates are May 3 and 4.

Participants will visit public landmarks and private residences for a personal in-depth look into life in the area. Plaques will mark each site and explain its importance to the community.

Neighborhood residents will serve as tour guides and will share publicly their understanding of their neighborhood's "ups and downs." Refreshments, special events and prize giveaways will be provided throughout the day.

Adult loaner bikes and helmets will be available, but quantities are limited and participants are welcome to bring their own. Tourists can use their driver's license to sign out a bike or fanny-pack containing a personal CD player, the audio CD "What about Bellevue?," headphones, a tour map and camera.

"Everyone is invited to use the camera to document their own experience in Bellevue with the camera," Lepkyj says, "and that might include natural elements of the preserve, the depth of the quarry, the rising landfills that form the background to beautiful homes, or the people they encounter who touch their lives."

Following the event, the images will be published on the "What About Bellevue?" Web site at http://bellevue.isfun.net/ and mailed back to the participants.

Today Bellevue is a picturesque suburb with easy access to Cayuga Creek, home to the historic Bellevue Hotel, the beautiful Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve and the hikeable and eminently user-friendly Stiglmeier Park.

Local industries, including a limestone quarry and several landfills. shape the community's unique landscape.

One industry creates a vast pit; the other turns refuse into hillsides. Both offer the area jobs and revenue, says Lepkyj but the environmental impact of these industries is an ongoing concern for many Bellevue residents. The area is a stop on local "toxic tours" and issues of toxicity and diminishing property values weigh heavily on their minds.

For more information, contact Mary Ann Lepkyj at lepkyj@buffalo.edu, or call 684-2175 or 867-8623. You can also visit the project Web site at http://bellevue.isfun.net/.