[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5436]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF BENJAMIN HOCHFIELD

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                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 2015

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mr. 
Benjamin Hochfield, who tragically passed away on November 24, 2014 at 
the young age of 43. A passionate family man and public servant, Mr. 
Hochfield was a prominent member of the Western New York community.
  Mr. Hochfield touched many lives of various groups in Western New 
York. While working for Erie County Department of Environment and 
Planning and the County Attorney's office, he earned the respect and 
became close with many public officials and employees. He was a 
prominent figure in Buffalo's music community and an advocate for 
beautifying the Elmwood Village. His reach to members of the community 
was many and varied.
  Mr. Hochfield had many passions in his life, but his first love was 
of music. From a young age Mr. Hochfield began studying piano and 
guitar. His passions led him to attend The Berkley College of Music in 
Boston, Massachusetts, where he further developed his craft. When he 
returned home to Buffalo, he continued his passion and played with 
several local bands, most notably with ``Necktie Tourniquet.''
  Mr. Hochfield's passions continued with his endearment for gardening. 
Influenced by his loving wife Tracey, he spent hours beautifying the 
garden by her side. Their prized garden was featured during Buffalo's 
famous Garden Walk of 2014. Mr. Hochfield hand crafted a stone fountain 
at the center of their garden that helped attract individuals from all 
over the country to view their garden. Here is an account written for 
the Buffalo Rising paper by a neighbor of Mr. Hochfield.
  When I first purchased my house on Norwood Avenue, almost 20 years 
ago, people told me that I was nuts. Upon moving in, the first thing 
that I noticed in the back ``yard'' of my house was a number of 
discarded purses (from purse snatchings) and gang graffiti tags.
  Over the years my neighborhood has seen a drastic turnaround. It 
started with Elmwood Avenue rebounding, which in turn made the 
intertwined residential neighborhoods more desirable. Avenues and 
streets such as Norwood truly began to shine when home owners started 
to plant gardens, paint houses, and replace their front porches. 
Organizations such as Garden Walk contributed to the movement. Slowly 
but surely a healthy community began to take hold.

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