State Assemblyman Jon Rivera hosted the third annual “Party in the Park” event on Sept. 6 at Massachusetts Avenue Park. The event is run every year to provide helpful resources to the local community, with the main focus being back to school materials.

Hosted every year since 2023, “Party in the Park” is a resource fair meant to provide the local Buffalo community with services that assist with social services, healthcare, education, and more.

Assemblyman Jon Rivera was available for a short interview session, where he was able to shed more light on the event.

What inspired you to hold this event every year?

Rivera: I really wanted something that was big in this neighborhood as it doesn’t get the kind of attention that it should. It is a densely populated neighborhood, and I also have soft spot for this park. I played here as a kid, so when you run for office you want to give back the areas where you’re from.

Would you say that this event has had a real impact on the community?

Rivera: Yes. This is a park that people tend not to think about, so I wanted to bring as much activity as I can. When you don’t get involved in your parks, they end up getting taken over by all kinds of and get left forgotten about. But with events like this, the area gets a lot more activity and ends up feeling alive. Its a great way to bring attention to a public space like this.

Do you have plans for other events that have similar community involvement?

Rivera: Yes, we’re always doing a lot of different community events. Earlier this year we had the Buffalo Philharmonic play at Front Park, which has never been done before. I also represent Hamburg so we’ve had all kinds of events there from movie days at local theaters to backpack giveaways. There’s always all kinds of stuff to do.

This year, the event hosted over 40 organizations which all offered resources to the neighborhood. Some of the resources provided by the event included free backpacks and haircuts for students going back to school this season, including bouncy slides and other play areas for kids to have fun.

One of the organizations in attendance was Wheels For Workers 716. WFW716 provides bicycles to those whose basic transportation is inaccessible, alongside repair services, bike training, maintenance training, and mechanics training classes.

“This helps empower the people to be independent, to be able to fix their own bikes without having to pay a repair shop. Studies also find that the more people learn about their bikes and interact with people in bike related groups, the more miles they ride and the healthier they get.”

The organization is always looking for volunteers to assist not just in bicycle repair, but also in community outreach and networking. They are located at 4007 Main St. You can visit the Wheels For Workers 716 website to learn more and sign up to volunteer.

Another organization attending the event was Buffalo Public Schools, who provided information on available programs and resources in regards to education and community activities. Two departments were present, the Community Schools and Adult Education initiatives respectively.

The Community Schools initiative provides support for schools such as funding, staffing, project development, and community activities. One of the community events advertised were their Saturday Activities events, where eight times a year, 22 schools open their doors to the local community, providing free food and activities. The Adult Education division offers free GED and English classes alongside a number of vocational trainings.

“Events like [Party in the Park] are embedded in our work. Even if the families here might not attend our schools, they still make up our city, and they’re why we do the work that we do.”

Also at the event was Massachusetts Avenue Project, an urban farm located across the street from where the event was being held. Partnered with New York State’s Double Up Food Bucks Program, the organization provides fresh produce to communities throughout Buffalo, with an emphasis on food deserts. MAP also participates in events, such as rallying at Braymiller to turn the former market into a brand new grocery store for locals. The next rallies will be be held on Sept 26. and Oct 24. They also have a market open year-round every Thursday at their Massachusetts Ave. location.

You can look to the City of Buffalo website to stay aware of more community events such as this in the future.