People’s Park

People’s Park is a pocket park located in Buffalo, NY. It is a community green space where neighbors can garden, gather, and grow together.

From day one it has been a tremendous success with the neighboring residents and surrounding businesses. Its original concept was to be a place where people could “gather, garden, and grow,” as evidenced by the raised and open garden beds used for growing vegetables/flowers. Since then, People’s Park continues to evolve. Currently, there are children’s reading, arts and science programs as well as an amphitheater, which serves as a venue for small concerts and other social events.

Project Highlights

A pocket park and community space
Raised beds for community gardens
Children’s educational programs
Amphitheater for concerts and events

Development History

It was Tom Montante’s vision to take a vacant parcel of land on Main Street near Jewett and create a pocket park similar to the ones he had seen in NYC. The idea was to provide a green oasis in an urban environment and bring the neighborhood together. Tom donated the land and the money for the infrastructure and worked together with community groups and organizations to develop the concept. After a great deal of effort and cooperation, People’s Park opened its gates to the public on July 5, 2006.

Interested in People's Park?

If you have questions about programming at People’s Park, or would like to learn more, you can reach out directly to peoplesparkbuffalo@montante.com.