[OT] Bass Pro deal is on for the Aud

[Zamboni Man]

I will preface this comment with the fact that I was born in Buffalo and truly do love the city.

 

They will find a way to screw this up too. Buffalo council will vote something down and yet another good idea will go to waste.

I live in Charlotte and we have 2 of these Bass Pro Shops and they are great.  The difference between Charlotte and Buffalo are huge though. Charlotte was the same size as Buffalo 10 years ago and we are now the same size as Baltimore and growing. The population has increased by 30 percent in the last 5 years.

 

The city is clean and you dont see a lot of boarded up buildings..The reason? There is not a common council to stop everything.

Until the people of Buffalo stop voting these a-holes into office nothing will ever get done..

 

IE: ZOO, Casino, Adelphia,,ect...ect.....

133913[/snapback]

 

C'mon now, Charlotte is also home to Wachovia Bank amongst many other financial institutions. I don't think it's fair to say that the reason Charlotte is a clean, growing city is because their council is better than Buffalo's. You have to look at the large amount of coporate business that takes place in Charlotte, on top of the lack of unions in the south, lower taxes, etc... That being said, politicians can take most of the blame for the condition that Buffalo is in. I'm glad they're finally doing something with that land the Aud is sitting on. Now if they could ditch the skyway, clean up some of that Bethlehem Steel land, knock down the grain elevators, and get some decent leadership in there....they'd be back on track.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

 

I would get rid of all the politicians

135064[/snapback]

 

 

But you people don't rid yourselves of the politicians. Buffalo is a collective mass of idiocy.....from the politicians to the business "leaders" to the nimrods populating the area.

[_BiB_]

I haven't lived there since 1975 (Lancaster). I'm sorry to see so many posts that show how Buffalo has been steadily going downhill. It's never been a cosmopolitan tourist spot on it's best day, but there has always been something going on to keep it upright. If the politicians are the problem, I sure hope some folks made their voices heard on election day. It's like anywhere else. Someone has to make Buffalo an attractive place to set up business. Being in New York State doesn't help. It's bad to hear that the locals are screwing you as well.

[seq004]

You can't blame Pataki for that.  Nobody knew that Rigas was serious about destroying his own company.

135026[/snapback]

Finally from someone who knows Buffalo well. Like Pataki knew that Mr Rigas was a swindler. This is a solid company. It will work if Buffalo wants it to work. It will fail if negative people like most poster's here continue down a road of negativity. I've been posting since the start of this board and it seems that NOTHING will work for Buffalo if you listen to TSW. I'll hold my 3 cheer's for Buffalo when it's signed but comparing this with embezzeler's is off base :I starred in Brokeback Mountain:

[seq004]

How is Erie County kicking in their $14 million for Bass Pro? Raising money by selling bonds based on future tax revenue. Where is the future tax revenue coming from? By raising the sales tax of course. Between Erie County, Buffalo and New York State and the Federal Gov't, Bass Pro gets $166 million to put up their store in Downtown Buffalo.

 

I love Buffalo and the WNY area. That's why I have lived here for 32 years and never moved. Downtown Buffalo was buried 30 years ago. No need to do it now. Let's list the long line of Downtown/City of Buffalo failures shall we.........

 

We have a Metro Rail that goes nowhere and it closed Main Street to car traffic which in turn forced almost every single store on Main Streert to close over the last 20 years. (Go walk down Main Street on a Saturday morning- afternoon- you will be the only one there) and the Main Place Mall is virtually empty (Jim Kelly's Bar & Restaurant used to be part of the complex and it was never reopened as anything else) They have been talking about reopening Main Street to traffic for 5 years now and the City Gov't just lost the funding that was in place from the Federal Gov't  to reopen Main Street because they just let the bill expire.

Something good just happened to Buffalo and they will obviously find the 14 million if they said they can't the deal would be off. I know their have been many dissapoitment's in the past and promises broken but this is finally something good so why all the negativity?

Peace Bridge. They have been arguing on what kind of a bridge to build and where to build it for over 14 years. They could have torn down and built 5 brand new bridges in that time.

 

Convention Center that was built in the early 70's is totally outdated and costs the City millions in lost revenue every year.

 

Dunn Tire Park- Home of the Bisons. Has been open for 15 years now. It was starting to fall apart because the City couldn't pay for repairs so they let Erie County take over. Attendance has been falling every year from over 1,000,000 in the early 90's to just over 500,000 this past season.

 

Buffalo Zoo was in disrepair until Erie County took over.

 

Waterfront Development? There hasn't been ANY since the 1950's until Brian Higgins got funding for some sort of park to be built. WHOO-HOO! Nothing there except abandoned grain mills and the old Pier Bar & Restaurant that closed 4 years ago.

 

There are more parking ramps than anything else in Downtown Buffalo except boarded up and abandoned buildings.

 

Less than 1,000 people actually live Downtown becasue there are so few apartments, townhouses and Condos. There aren't any stores to speak of.  They have actually started building a few apartments over the last few years.

 

The Skyway is not only a treacherous stretch of road, it cuts Downtown in half. They have been talking for 10 years now about knocking it down.

 

The City has been using Federal Block Grant money to repay on defaulted loans and to pay City salaries to the tune of $550 MILLION dollars over the last 25 years instead of using it for rebuilding and renovating homes and businesses around Buffalo.

 

No NHL means the HSBC Arena is pretty much just sitting there empty. There have been less than a half dozen events there since September. A few concerts, an AHL game and wrestling. It still costs the taxpayers money to keep it running even though nothing is going on. The nearby bars are taking a real beating as well.

 

The failed Adelphia Building. That has a whole other set of problems that came from that fiasco.

 

There are a few theaters and a few bars that are doing OK. Other than that, Downtown Buffalo is a place that people come to work and then go home to the suburbs or come down for a baseball game or a hockey game and maybe go to a restaurant or bar and then go back to the suburbs.

 

The Aud has been sitting there boarded up and empty for almost 8 years now. Now the taxpayers have to foot the bill for a Fishing & Hunting Store that is not needed but just another desperate attempt at a miracle to save the City? No Thanks.

 

I would get rid of all the politicians and all the layers of government and start over.

135064[/snapback]

Finally something good happens for Buffalo. I know there has been promises broken and many dissapointment's. They will obviously get the 14 million or the deal would be off the table. Why all the negativity on good news?

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

Finally from someone who knows Buffalo well. Like Pataki knew that the Rigas's were swindler's. This is a solid company. It will work if Buffalo wants it work. It will fail

if negative people like most poster's continue down a road negativity. :I starred in Brokeback Mountain:

135131[/snapback]

 

I believe the Adelphia HQ has moved to Denver. Bits and pieces of Adelphia are being sold off. Isn't Comcast going to perhaps buy them out completely? The Adelphia thing was basically shifted to this Geico calling center.

 

I know exactly what has to happen in Buffalo, but there is a 2% chance of it happening, and perhaps the opportunity has passed on by.

 

The scientist Skolnick at UB.....that genome project. He has to be the one who cracks the codes. Pie in the sky, but the area needs that pharmaceutical windfall to take place in the Buffalo area.

 

Where to build? Way too many roadblocks, but the former site of Bethlehem Steel.....imagine that area being turned into some massive pharmaceutical campus! Wow, that would have been extraordinary.

 

One major roadblock.....there's green goo leftovers from the Manhattan Project sitting underneath the Bethlehem Steel site.

 

But think about it.....you extend the light rail over the Buffalo river and through the woods to gr......no wait...... ......you extend the light rail from the hockey arenas, over the Buffalo river, along the side of route 5 to this new, state of the art pharmaceutical campus area. One pharma after another located on the former Bethlehem Steel site.....a new critical mass of high paying jobs and a real kick in the arse to get things moving.

 

Area would have been better served though, 40 years ago, had they placed the UB campus downtown, along the Buffalo river, or along the lakefront. Can you imagine the kind of intellectual spinoff that would have occurred there in the last 40 years???

 

Why is it that these kinds of ideas are so foreign to Buffalo and upstate NY?

[seq004]

I believe the Adelphia HQ has moved to Denver.  Bits and pieces of Adelphia are being sold off.  Isn't Comcast going to perhaps buy them out completely?  The Adelphia thing was basically shifted to this Geico calling center.

 

I know exactly what has to happen in Buffalo, but there is a 2% chance of it happening, and perhaps the opportunity has passed on by.

 

The scientist Skolnick at UB.....that genome project.  He has to be the one who cracks the codes.  Pie in the sky, but the area needs that pharmaceutical windfall to take place in the Buffalo area.

 

Where to build?  Way too many roadblocks, but the former site of Bethlehem Steel.....imagine that area being turned into some massive pharmaceutical campus!  Wow, that would have been extraordinary.

 

One major roadblock.....there's green goo leftovers from the Manhattan Project sitting underneath the Bethlehem Steel site.

 

But think about it.....you extend the light rail over the Buffalo river and through the woods to gr......no wait...... ......you extend the light rail from the hockey arenas, over the Buffalo river, along the side of route 5 to this new, state of the art pharmaceutical campus area.  One pharma after another located on the former Bethlehem Steel site.....a new critical mass of high paying jobs and a real kick in the arse to get things moving.

 

Area would have been better served though, 40 years ago, had they placed the UB campus downtown, along the Buffalo river, or along the lakefront.  Can you imagine the kind of intellectual spinoff that would have occurred there in the last 40 years??? 

 

Why is it that these kinds of ideas are so foreign to Buffalo and upstate NY?

135153[/snapback]

Does anyone think the Mayor maybe right in that Bass will bring people back and develop the waterfront beyond Bass Pro? It's good news and it's just sad how pessimistic people have become. I lived in Buffalo 20years and if I was still there now I would accept the tax increase to bring back my dead city. I'm not saying Pro Bass will solve everything, but it's a start and we need to remember that development grows when it has something to feed on and right now or until Monday they have nothing.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

"We have a Metro Rail that goes nowhere and it closed Main Street to car traffic which in turn forced almost every single store on Main Streert to close over the last 20 years. (Go walk down Main Street on a Saturday morning- afternoon- you will be the only one there) and the Main Place Mall is virtually empty (Jim Kelly's Bar & Restaurant used to be part of the complex and it was never reopened as anything else) They have been talking about reopening Main Street to traffic for 5 years now and the City Gov't just lost the funding that was in place from the Federal Gov't to reopen Main Street because they just let the bill expire.

 

Peace Bridge. They have been arguing on what kind of a bridge to build and where to build it for over 14 years. They could have torn down and built 5 brand new bridges in that time.

 

Convention Center that was built in the early 70's is totally outdated and costs the City millions in lost revenue every year.

 

Dunn Tire Park- Home of the Bisons. Has been open for 15 years now. It was starting to fall apart because the City couldn't pay for repairs so they let Erie County take over. Attendance has been falling every year from over 1,000,000 in the early 90's to just over 500,000 this past season.

 

Buffalo Zoo was in disrepair until Erie County took over.

 

Waterfront Development? There hasn't been ANY since the 1950's until Brian Higgins got funding for some sort of park to be built. WHOO-HOO! Nothing there except abandoned grain mills and the old Pier Bar & Restaurant that closed 4 years ago.

 

There are more parking ramps than anything else in Downtown Buffalo except boarded up and abandoned buildings.

 

Less than 1,000 people actually live Downtown becasue there are so few apartments, townhouses and Condos. There aren't any stores to speak of. They have actually started building a few apartments over the last few years.

 

The Skyway is not only a treacherous stretch of road, it cuts Downtown in half. They have been talking for 10 years now about knocking it down.

 

The City has been using Federal Block Grant money to repay on defaulted loans and to pay City salaries to the tune of $550 MILLION dollars over the last 25 years instead of using it for rebuilding and renovating homes and businesses around Buffalo.

 

No NHL means the HSBC Arena is pretty much just sitting there empty. There have been less than a half dozen events there since September. A few concerts, an AHL game and wrestling. It still costs the taxpayers money to keep it running even though nothing is going on. The nearby bars are taking a real beating as well.

 

The failed Adelphia Building. That has a whole other set of problems that came from that fiasco.

 

There are a few theaters and a few bars that are doing OK. Other than that, Downtown Buffalo is a place that people come to work and then go home to the suburbs or come down for a baseball game or a hockey game and maybe go to a restaurant or bar and then go back to the suburbs.

 

The Aud has been sitting there boarded up and empty for almost 8 years now. Now the taxpayers have to foot the bill for a Fishing & Hunting Store that is not needed but just another desperate attempt at a miracle to save the City? No Thanks.

 

I would get rid of all the politicians and all the layers of government and start over."

 

 

Jobs......it's more than that, but private industry and jobs with quality salaries. Beyond that you throw every !@#$ who is in office out on the street.....you actually have a mayoral race WHERE SOMEONE RUNS AGAINST THE MAYOR!!!!! ANYONE!!!!!! EVEN A COMMUNIST PARTY CANDIDATE!!!!! Holy friggin hell......how did that friggin happen??????? How are Dale Volker and Mary Lou Rath, and Sandra Lee Wirthless still raking in congressional paychecks??? God damn disgusting. No one has the right to complain when every goddamned useless assemblyman or woman who is an incumbent was voted back in. GUESS WHAT BUFFALO, IT'S TIME TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!!!!!! THE LAZY ELECTORATE IS ALSO PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!!!!!!

 

And you cannot keep losing college graduates year after year. I have more friends who have left the area than stayed. I'm sure this is the case for many people. You have a population that continually grows older, with more retirees. You have college graduates moving into their peak years earning wise, and they are in Raleigh-Durham and Austin, and Phoenix and Tampa-St. Pete and Atlanta. Those dollars aren't coming back home are they? The money for discretionary income just isn't there anymore. You wonder why the hockey arena can be half empty on some nights? Is it the ticket prices or is it the piddling salary level in Erie Co.?

 

People say downtown is dead.....is it dead, or are there not enough people with enough Franklins in the area to spend a night at the theater? Perhaps people are too busy giving blood to pay National Fool their monthly bloodmoney?

 

I wish I could say there's a positive future in store for Buffalo and Western NY. There isn't. It isn't about being negative on the future of the area. It's about seeing systematic failures for 40 years compound themselves. I don't know how the hell Buffalo digs itself out of its problems. By the time they do, they'll find themselves in Shanghai.

 

Good luck.

 

[Guest Guest_macdaddy_*]

"We have a Metro Rail that goes nowhere and it closed Main Street to car traffic which in turn forced almost every single store on Main Streert to close over the last 20 years. (Go walk down Main Street on a Saturday morning- afternoon- you will be the only one there) and the Main Place Mall is virtually empty (Jim Kelly's Bar & Restaurant used to be part of the complex and it was never reopened as anything else) They have been talking about reopening Main Street to traffic for 5 years now and the City Gov't just lost the funding that was in place from the Federal Gov't to reopen Main Street because they just let the bill expire.

 

Peace Bridge. They have been arguing on what kind of a bridge to build and where to build it for over 14 years. They could have torn down and built 5 brand new bridges in that time.

 

Convention Center that was built in the early 70's is totally outdated and costs the City millions in lost revenue every year.

 

Dunn Tire Park- Home of the Bisons. Has been open for 15 years now. It was starting to fall apart because the City couldn't pay for repairs so they let Erie County take over. Attendance has been falling every year from over 1,000,000 in the early 90's to just over 500,000 this past season.

 

Buffalo Zoo was in disrepair until Erie County took over.

 

Waterfront Development? There hasn't been ANY since the 1950's until Brian Higgins got funding for some sort of park to be built. WHOO-HOO! Nothing there except abandoned grain mills and the old Pier Bar & Restaurant that closed 4 years ago.

 

There are more parking ramps than anything else in Downtown Buffalo except boarded up and abandoned buildings.

 

Less than 1,000 people actually live Downtown becasue there are so few apartments, townhouses and Condos. There aren't any stores to speak of. They have actually started building a few apartments over the last few years.

 

The Skyway is not only a treacherous stretch of road, it cuts Downtown in half. They have been talking for 10 years now about knocking it down.

 

The City has been using Federal Block Grant money to repay on defaulted loans and to pay City salaries to the tune of $550 MILLION dollars over the last 25 years instead of using it for rebuilding and renovating homes and businesses around Buffalo.

 

No NHL means the HSBC Arena is pretty much just sitting there empty. There have been less than a half dozen events there since September. A few concerts, an AHL game and wrestling. It still costs the taxpayers money to keep it running even though nothing is going on. The nearby bars are taking a real beating as well.

 

The failed Adelphia Building. That has a whole other set of problems that came from that fiasco.

 

There are a few theaters and a few bars that are doing OK. Other than that, Downtown Buffalo is a place that people come to work and then go home to the suburbs or come down for a baseball game or a hockey game and maybe go to a restaurant or bar and then go back to the suburbs.

 

The Aud has been sitting there boarded up and empty for almost 8 years now. Now the taxpayers have to foot the bill for a Fishing & Hunting Store that is not needed but just another desperate attempt at a miracle to save the City? No Thanks.

 

I would get rid of all the politicians and all the layers of government and start over."

Jobs......it's more than that, but private industry and jobs with quality salaries.  Beyond that you throw every !@#$ who is in office out on the street.....you actually have a mayoral race WHERE SOMEONE RUNS AGAINST THE MAYOR!!!!!  ANYONE!!!!!!  EVEN A COMMUNIST PARTY CANDIDATE!!!!!  Holy friggin hell......how did that friggin happen???????  How are Dale Volker and Mary Lou Rath, and Sandra Lee Wirthless still raking in congressional paychecks???  God damn disgusting.  No one has the right to complain when every goddamned useless assemblyman or woman who is an incumbent was voted back in.  GUESS WHAT BUFFALO, IT'S TIME TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!!!!!!  THE LAZY ELECTORATE IS ALSO PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!!!!!! 

 

And you cannot keep losing college graduates year after year.  I have more friends who have left the area than stayed.  I'm sure this is the case for many people.  You have a population that continually grows older, with more retirees.  You have college graduates moving into their peak years earning wise, and they are in Raleigh-Durham and Austin, and Phoenix and Tampa-St. Pete and Atlanta.  Those dollars aren't coming back home are they?  The money for discretionary income just isn't there anymore.  You wonder why the hockey arena can be half empty on some nights?  Is it the ticket prices or is it the piddling salary level in Erie Co.?

 

People say downtown is dead.....is it dead, or are there not enough people with enough Franklins in the area to spend a night at the theater?  Perhaps people are too busy giving blood to pay National Fool their monthly bloodmoney?

 

I wish I could say there's a positive future in store for Buffalo and Western NY.  There isn't.  It isn't about being negative on the future of the area.  It's about seeing systematic failures for 40 years compound themselves.  I don't know how the hell Buffalo digs itself out of its problems.  By the time they do, they'll find themselves in Shanghai.

 

Good luck.

 

135167[/snapback]

 

Wow, that's heavy.

I agree but there just isn't enough people that give a crap (people that aren't on unemployment, crack, meth, etc) in the city. The numbers just aren't there.

The sytem is too far gone for even do-gooders to save.

Throwing cash at the problem doesn't work.

I have no answer. Just hope somebody does.

[seq004]

"We have a Metro Rail that goes nowhere and it closed Main Street to car traffic which in turn forced almost every single store on Main Streert to close over the last 20 years. (Go walk down Main Street on a Saturday morning- afternoon- you will be the only one there) and the Main Place Mall is virtually empty (Jim Kelly's Bar & Restaurant used to be part of the complex and it was never reopened as anything else) They have been talking about reopening Main Street to traffic for 5 years now and the City Gov't just lost the funding that was in place from the Federal Gov't to reopen Main Street because they just let the bill expire.

 

Peace Bridge. They have been arguing on what kind of a bridge to build and where to build it for over 14 years. They could have torn down and built 5 brand new bridges in that time.

 

Convention Center that was built in the early 70's is totally outdated and costs the City millions in lost revenue every year.

 

Dunn Tire Park- Home of the Bisons. Has been open for 15 years now. It was starting to fall apart because the City couldn't pay for repairs so they let Erie County take over. Attendance has been falling every year from over 1,000,000 in the early 90's to just over 500,000 this past season.

 

Buffalo Zoo was in disrepair until Erie County took over.

 

Waterfront Development? There hasn't been ANY since the 1950's until Brian Higgins got funding for some sort of park to be built. WHOO-HOO! Nothing there except abandoned grain mills and the old Pier Bar & Restaurant that closed 4 years ago.

 

There are more parking ramps than anything else in Downtown Buffalo except boarded up and abandoned buildings.

 

Less than 1,000 people actually live Downtown becasue there are so few apartments, townhouses and Condos. There aren't any stores to speak of. They have actually started building a few apartments over the last few years.

 

The Skyway is not only a treacherous stretch of road, it cuts Downtown in half. They have been talking for 10 years now about knocking it down.

 

The City has been using Federal Block Grant money to repay on defaulted loans and to pay City salaries to the tune of $550 MILLION dollars over the last 25 years instead of using it for rebuilding and renovating homes and businesses around Buffalo.

 

No NHL means the HSBC Arena is pretty much just sitting there empty. There have been less than a half dozen events there since September. A few concerts, an AHL game and wrestling. It still costs the taxpayers money to keep it running even though nothing is going on. The nearby bars are taking a real beating as well.

 

The failed Adelphia Building. That has a whole other set of problems that came from that fiasco.

 

There are a few theaters and a few bars that are doing OK. Other than that, Downtown Buffalo is a place that people come to work and then go home to the suburbs or come down for a baseball game or a hockey game and maybe go to a restaurant or bar and then go back to the suburbs.

 

The Aud has been sitting there boarded up and empty for almost 8 years now. Now the taxpayers have to foot the bill for a Fishing & Hunting Store that is not needed but just another desperate attempt at a miracle to save the City? No Thanks.

 

I would get rid of all the politicians and all the layers of government and start over."

Jobs......it's more than that, but private industry and jobs with quality salaries.  Beyond that you throw every !@#$ who is in office out on the street.....you actually have a mayoral race WHERE SOMEONE RUNS AGAINST THE MAYOR!!!!!  ANYONE!!!!!!  EVEN A COMMUNIST PARTY CANDIDATE!!!!!  Holy friggin hell......how did that friggin happen???????  How are Dale Volker and Mary Lou Rath, and Sandra Lee Wirthless still raking in congressional paychecks???  God damn disgusting.  No one has the right to complain when every goddamned useless assemblyman or woman who is an incumbent was voted back in.  GUESS WHAT BUFFALO, IT'S TIME TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!!!!!!  THE LAZY ELECTORATE IS ALSO PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!!!!!! 

 

And you cannot keep losing college graduates year after year.  I have more friends who have left the area than stayed.  I'm sure this is the case for many people.  You have a population that continually grows older, with more retirees.  You have college graduates moving into their peak years earning wise, and they are in Raleigh-Durham and Austin, and Phoenix and Tampa-St. Pete and Atlanta.  Those dollars aren't coming back home are they?  The money for discretionary income just isn't there anymore.  You wonder why the hockey arena can be half empty on some nights?  Is it the ticket prices or is it the piddling salary level in Erie Co.?

 

People say downtown is dead.....is it dead, or are there not enough people with enough Franklins in the area to spend a night at the theater?  Perhaps people are too busy giving blood to pay National Fool their monthly bloodmoney?

 

I wish I could say there's a positive future in store for Buffalo and Western NY.  There isn't.  It isn't about being negative on the future of the area.  It's about seeing systematic failures for 40 years compound themselves.  I don't know how the hell Buffalo digs itself out of its problems.  By the time they do, they'll find themselves in Shanghai.

 

Good luck.

 

135167[/snapback]

Wow now I'm really depressed. You forgot Casino. Bottom line is they need something to bring people back to downtown. I agree with the people taking back the city but citizans of Buffalo never seem to agree on any matter such as this. Every idea that is brought up gets shot down by common council. Let me ask you this "If a tax increase would turn things around like a beautiful waterfront filled with people at resurants, bars, movies, etc and if it would also get companies to come back to all the abandon buildings and it would bring with it some shinny new skyscrapers and the Metro Rail started back up would you accept an increase? Your right citizens do need to contribute like some of the people in the suburbs that our willing to take the increase to help downtown, but it seems like you would rather spend more useless time telling us why it won't work and keep Buffalo the way it is. Things in Buffalo will never change because nobody ever agrees on how to solve some of these problems while other cities come up with an idea and it's complete in a year. This is excactly why Buffalo doesn't grow, I respect your opinion. I'm not trying to start a fight.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

Because other metropolitan areas operate under the premise of "How will this benefit the community as a whole."

 

The Buffalo area has one industrial development agency after another. None are on the same page, and what results is scattershot development with no true focus on what should be benefitting the metropolitan area as a whole.

 

People from the suburbs cannot close themselves off from the city's woes. They can hide their heads in the sand but eventually the cancer will reach them as well. There should have been metropolitan govt. a long time ago. The Buffalo area's problem is continually playing catch-up with the rest of the nation.

 

Trying to overturn the mistakes of 40+ years of public policy is going to be extremely difficult. And how do you manage that when your metropolitan location is in one the most anti-business/entrepreunerial states in the country?

 

How do you convince a company to move to the area when National Fool charges utility rates through the roof?

 

People don't agree on moving things forward because they don't understand that they need to weigh the benefits for all residents, not just their local neighborhood, or this or that suburb.

 

What needs to be done up in the Buffalo area is to create a completely new mind-set on how govt. and a metropolitan area are supposed to operate.....that the politics of antagonism for the last 40 years has sold the city down the river. Buffalo is one of the most paralyzed communities in the nation. People up there are fearful of true change. They've become that way from listening to decades of bunk from business leadership and politicians.

 

If Buffalo wants to be successful again, they may have to import the success.