Nearly $1 million in state incentives will be used to upgrade equipment at the Apollo Media Center, which will allow job training and youth programs to expand, officials announced Friday.
Classes involving digital media production will be available to more people because of the assistance from the state’s East Side Corridor Economic Development Fund, state and local officials said during a news conference.
The state is offering the city “incentives valued at $962,000” for the upgrades. An Empire State Development spokesperson did not respond to a request for more detail.
The center, at 1349 Jefferson Ave., is a former movie theater that became a city-owned telecommunications facility in 2001.
“Today, we’re all here to recognize and celebrate the role of the Apollo as the neighborhood hub for content creation and education,” said Hope Knight, president, CEO and commissioner of Empire State Development, the state’s economic development arm.
In the wake of the May 14 racial massacre at the Tops Markets about a block away, the center was used for briefings by local, state and federal officials.
The center currently offers classes in video production and related topics, but only on a “limited basis,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said.
The equipment upgrades mean the center can offer more programming to city youths, neighborhood residents and city residents who own businesses, Brown said.
Last year, participants in the mayor’s Summer Youth Internship and Employment Program took classes at the center and posted some of their creations on a YouTube channel, Young Buffalo 716.
The center, an 18,000-square-foot facility, includes two television studios and four editing suites, according to its website. It produces shows broadcast on Spectrum digital channel 1302 in the Buffalo area.
The center is holding a new producer orientation class at 6 p.m. June 2. Participants can sign up through the center’s website.
Knight also said more than 40 area businesses…
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