Buffalo dealership to turn inner city blight into green space

Sept. 10, 2007

Buffalo, N.Y.-based Mr. Fox Tire Co. is going green, first with the installation of a "green roof" on top of its warehouse and following that, the creation of "pocket parks" throughout the east side of Buffalo.

"We're the first business in Buffalo to attempt a green roof," Mr. Fox Tire co-owner Eric Fox tells moderntiredealer.com.

The dealership is currently getting estimates for the project, which will entail removing its warehouse's old roof.

The "green roof" will contain flowers and "fast-growing, aggressive plants," says Fox.

Fox and his partners also are buying vacant lots throughout the poverty-stricken east side of Buffalo with the goal of transforming them into mini-parks complete with trees and other foliage.

"We're basically going to re-forest a bad part of town."

While Mr. Fox Tire is buying the lots, "it will be something of a community project. We have volunteers, and a lot of our customers are landscapers," says Fox.