Alison Justice Fleischmann

December 14, 1937 – April 16, 2023

             Alison Justice Fleischmann died April 16 peacefully at home, in Buffalo.  She was 85. According to family and friends, she was a force to be reckoned with in her personal life, in her business career and in her community activism. 

“Throughout her life, Alison used her many talents and her boundless energy for the benefit of worthy causes and worked tirelessly to advance their missions of service to our community. She will be remembered for her intelligence, her quick wit, her enthusiasm, her passion for politics and her impact on the quality of life in her beloved city. Buffalo has truly lost one of its fiercest champions,” said Peter Fleischmann, her first cousin.

She was born in Buffalo on December 14, 1937. She was predeceased by her father, the prominent attorney, Manly Fleischmann and her mother, the former Lois Marseilles. She is survived by her son, Manly Ishwardas, his partner, Alison Bach and three grandchildren, Eli, Annalise and Elizabeth. She was married to the late James Bosley Kimberly and was the partner of the late Bruce Garver.

       Much of her childhood was marked by several moves to New York and Washington, D.C. where her father served in high-level federal government posts during both World War II and the Korean War. In 1953, the family returned to Buffalo where Alison graduated from Buffalo Seminary. She went on to do her undergraduate work at Vassar College. In 1958, Alison was appointed by the U. S. Department of State to serve as a guide at the American Pavilion at the Brussels World’s Fair. She then accepted an assignment as a U. S. translator/interpreter in the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

       In 1965, Alison began her business career back in Buffalo as a buyer at L.L. Berger’s department store. In 1970 she became the manager of Par Avion, a women’s fashion boutique located at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Tupper Street in downtown Buffalo. After just a few years, she purchased the store and became its sole owner. She quickly developed a strong, loyal customer base offering unique lines of specialty sportswear and highly personalized service. Alison was a leader of the Delaware Avenue business community promoting the economic development of downtown Buffalo as Founder of On Delaware, Inc. and as an active member of the Buffalo Area Retail Merchants Association and the Theater District Association.

       An outspoken and well informed advocate for historic preservation and neighborhood revitalization, Alison served for many years on the board of the Allentown Association. To mark the anniversary of the Blizzard of ’77, she organized the Blizzard Ball, the highly successful fundraiser for the benefit of the Association, an event which continued for several years attracting huge crowds. Committed to spurring new investment in Allentown, she purchased and lived in the landmark house at 29 Irving Place, once the residence of novelist  F. Scott Fitzgerald. She meticulously maintained the property but giving it her signature splash of color, re-doing the kitchen in her favorite orange.

            Alison became a formidable community activist, attending countless public hearings on both public and private projects, always arguing on behalf of the residents and business owners affected by redevelopment. She was appointed to the City of Buffalo Preservation Board where she served multiple terms and was considered one its most conscientious and effective members. She was an active participant in the drafting of the Downtown Master Plan and was instrumental in securing approval of the Allentown National Historic Preservation District, the Elmwood – Allen Special Zoning District and the Delaware Avenue Special Zoning District.                                                         

       Alison believed strongly in the power of civic action by concerned citizens. She was one of the founders of the city beautification program known as Buffalo in Bloom in 1995, clearing and planting flowers around many public parks and monuments. In its first full year, the effort became the largest volunteer-led urban garden project in the country. It is still operating today under the auspices of the Buffalo Green Fund.

       A great supporter of the city’s cultural arts, Alison was a life-long member of the Albright Knox Art Gallery, now the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. She assembled a first-rate personal collection of art works, largely by regional artists. In fact, she arranged during her lifetime for a bequest in her will for the donation of several pieces from her collection to the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

       Concerned about women’s reproductive rights and access to affordable healthcare, Alison was one the founders of the Women’s TAP Fund, a non-partisan, political action committee dedicated to supporting pro-choice, women candidates for public office. For over twenty-five years, the TAP Fund has made financial contributions to the campaigns of hundreds of women candidates and elevated the awareness of the importance to women of freedom of choice as a political issue.