BUFFALO, N.Y. — A group of people working to save Hostel Buffalo-Niagara last month worked on creating a music video, attempting to raise awareness about the fight.
That video was released on Saturday night, during a special premiere event at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center. "We Love Our Hostel" is described by the hostel and Buffalo Improv House as "a heartfelt parody of the iconic 'We Are the World'" song and video by USA for Africa in 1985.
"We've just seen a tremendous support, tremendous outreach, and we're just really grateful that not just Buffalo Improv House, but just so many artists, and wonderful friends, developers, Buffalo citizens, have just taken such a strong interest in the heart of the hostel, and that's one thing we would like to carry on with, however, the situation plays out," hostel vice president Katherine Pessecow said Saturday.
The city had asked the hostel to vacate the building by March 25, while a stabilization of a neighboring building is being planned. They date was eventually pushed back to April 15.
In response, the people at Hostel Buffalo-Niagara are asking the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency to guarantee that it will be able to return to the location that it has leased for almost 30 years.
Buffalo Improv House artists helped the hostel last month by recording a music video to raise awareness for the cause.
"The city has indicated that they're willing to work with this place, which is awesome," Caitlin Steitzer told 2 On Your Side in March. "They're excited about that, I'm excited about that, but we wanted to create this project to help people really see what is at stake because people care about it that much."
The hostel said it is an important part of the city's culture, for both travelers and locals alike.
The city has offered the hostel a right of first refusal to buy the neighboring building once construction is complete. No construction timeline has been finalized.