BUFFALO, NY – Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblyman Jon Rivera announced that the Belle Center will receive $2 million from the state.
The Belle Center is a community center on Maryland Street in Buffalo.
Lucy Candelario, the center’s executive director, said the money will go toward giving the building a facelift, with a focus on the pool area.
She said the funding will give the pool a new filtration system and a new pool pack to control the water temperature.
“We’re the only indoor pool here on the West Side, so this is a gem for our kids here on the West Side,” Candelario said. “I say that because very often, and especially now this summer, since we don’t open the pools, it’s important. Because our kids tend to go to Lake Erie or the river to swim. And we all we know this is very dangerous.”
Elected officials also announced that the Hispanic Heritage Cultural Institute of Western New York will receive $1.5 million in state funding.
The Institute is a project created by the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York Inc.
The council says its goal is to create a space that will give the Hispanic community in Buffalo, especially the youth, a place to archive Hispanic history and build an appreciation for Hispanic culture.
“Something we feel here in places like Upstate New York is that we’re pretty far from where our roads started,” said New York Assemblyman John Rivera (D). “For me, this is Puerto Rico. For other people, these are other countries in the Caribbean and in South and Central America. However, we must do everything we can to connect those routes, despite the great distance And I believe, and I know that many people here believe, that the Hispanic Cultural Institute will make this happen.”
The Hispanic Heritage Cultural Institute of Western New York is expected to open next year and open in 2024.
