Back after a three-week holiday break, there was a lot to talk about for this edition of the Buffalo Rising Roundtable, recorded at WBFO studios on UB's South Campus with News Director Mark Scott. Hear the entire podcast here.
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Beginning with the Statler, and developer Rocco Termini's idea of turning the building into the home base for UB's School of Law, we talked about the possibilities, and why it isn't a fit for UB, who has just released their Comprehensive Physical Plan for the three-campus university. The argument for a law school near the courts sounds ideal, until one considers the void this would leave on the South Campus. With the medical schools moved downtown to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus - clearly a necessary plan - the absence of the law school would seriously deplete the beautiful (and getting better) Main Street Campus. For those who argue proximity, what, after all, was the point of the subway, if not to promote ease of travel between South Campus and downtown? UB may not be the answer to the Statler's fate, but plenty of good ideas have been mentioned here on our forum. As with everything, good intentions are not going to be enough to save the Statler; we know we want it, but we need someone with a plan and the wherewithal to make it happen.
Next we talked about Governor David Paterson's Sustainable Neighborhood plan. Again, the plan sounds good, the governor's attention to Buffalo sounds great, and we wait for the plan and the money. PUSH Buffalo seems to be on top of this one, and we'd like to see them get all the help they need - to help us. If the City of Buffalo bled population due in part to the schools, it's time to rebuild the neighborhoods around the newly refurbished schools that are showing more promise in curriculum and student success rates than they have in some time. It's a large district, but it's coming up school by school (City Honors is not the only success story), and the neighborhoods need to be made ready for families who want to take advantage of the upswing. Neighborhood Sustainability is going to happen with neighborhood schools as an anchor, so let's get those homes ready.
Prospero, do you know it? Newell wrote about this quaintest of neighborhood restaurants you'll find. With a corner spot at 350 Pennsylvania at Normal, in the shadow of Kleinhans Music Hall, Prospero is the place to be on Buffalo Philharmonic nights or any other. Newly opened by the guys from Provenzo's in Niagara Falls, it's sure to be a favorite.
Lastly, Mark congratulated us on our stats here at Buffalo Rising. While we write about everyone and everything else that's on the rise in Buffalo, it's good to be included among the successful. Sure, we get compliments on what we do from time to time, but numbers allow us to say thank you in earnest. Here's a big thank you to our readers and writers.
Image: Nathan Mroz, Buffalonian4life
> The argument for a law school near the courts sounds ideal, until one considers the void this would leave on the South Campus. . . .For those who argue proximity, what, after all, was the point of the subway, if not to promote ease of travel between South Campus and downtown?
1. There's no void. Just stop new construction and renovation on the North Campus. If you insist on "win - lose" and must find a concommitant hole, put it on the North Campus. Start with selling off the Ellicott complex. North Campus historians will confirm that the space has been used for every purpose under the sun. Turn it into a Geico-Yahoo-Crosspoint- space. It's prime real estate for those folks.
2. "There's already a plan and we can't disturb it" thinking reminds me of the quote attributed to Robert Moses: "Once you drive in that first stake, they'll never make you pull it up". Do not trump terrible decisions by "fait acompli".
3. Yes, the subway is between South and downtown, but do not confuse the "planet" from the "satellite". Successful cities support strong cores.
Why is UB the default solution to every problem in Buffalo?
Let UB do what's best for UB and their growth will benefit the region.
If UB Law was interesed in a presence downtown, it would be small, as the Law School wants to maintain both physical academic proximity to the other professional schools (Education, Social Work, etc) which, with the exception of the B-School, are all moving to the South Campus.
If any building were 'perfect' for this, it would be to take over the current Federal Court Building once the new glass building opens up. This would provide downtown access, as well as, a proper work space to practice their trail skills.
RQM>"Why is UB the default solution to every problem in Buffalo?"
It isn't just UB that's the default solution around here, but the whole of state govt including: UB, Buff State, ESD, ECHDC, the Empire Zone program, historic building subsidies, govt-owned electricity plants, legislator pork spending, etc.
...highways, public bridges, police state, housing subsidies, demos, short sighted energy exploration etc.
Dont leave out the govt programs you are in favor of.
pitbull, believe it or not, all possible spending isn't equally smart. Shocking, huh? In your view, maybe there's no differnce between corporate welfare for things like fishing stores vs. basic services like police or gasoline tax-funded roads.
I haven't heard anyone say the government should pay for "enegry exploration". They should just get out of the way of that.
At least you admit in reply to jimmy that UB shouldn't be forced to rescue the Statler. When even you and Elena oppose something like that, it's a sign it must be a pretty crazy idea.
Great comment... The State does not have infinitely deep pockets and is not the answer to all of our ills. Just like Buffalo State is not the savior for the Richardson Complex, UB is not the savior of the Statler. We need to focus on Buffalo attracting businesses and tenants for the Statler. We need to focus on bringing in a company or organization that will add to our tax base, instead of pulling from it via the SUNY system.
Just like Stanford couldnt have been the savior for silicon valley. Oh wait it was.
Nothing wrong with using existing resources of local institutions to solve community problems as long as there is a mutual benifit.
UB-$500 million endowment
Stanford-$12 Billion endowment
Comparing UB to Stanford is like comparing you to someone who can formulate a reasonable argument.
Reow!!!If I played the teabag card like yourself would that be a reasonable argument?
Stanford did not invest millions of dollars in derelict buildings at the expense of the academic program or plan of the school. If anything, the much maligned UB 2020 plan is similar to Stanford's "community of technical scholars" plan of the 1950s and 60s. Silicon Valley grew due to the strength of the school's academics and programs, they attracted top talent and huge government research grants. This is similar to the academic plan put forth in UB 2020, it goes beyond structures and campuses to outline the steps UB needs to take to be a top notch research school, much like MIT and Stanford.
I don't believe that Stanford abandoned plans to build up their then suburban campus to move programs to abandoned buildings just because they had the money to do so. They had a plan, they stuck with it, they modified it when necessary, and it thirty years later they became one of the top research schools in the world, with a business and research community developing along side.
Buffalo is a long way away from Silicon Valley. We spend more time trumpeting our "Blue Collar" heritage than we do planning for our "White Collar" future.
I understand that they are not the same level schools but wny would be wise to hitch its star to UBs wagon. Maybe a silicon valley copy isnt realistic but there are other ways the region can tie into the school. Personally, Id rather see the law schol @ S. Campus but Im to ideas on how the region can use UBs growth to its benifit.
I think it would be great to leverage the core capabilities of UB to benefit this entire region. This would require embracing UB campuses, faculty, and students; as well as their presence in and around the city of Buffalo.
I am not in favor of viewing UB as a white knight for developers. Rocco Termini showed his true colors this week with his comments about UB and about the State. He is willing to develop and make a profit as long as the government picks up the tab. I am not in favor of using the limited resources that UB has to save historic buildings just because no one else will. That is how I view the Statler deal.
I'd rather see those resources being put to use to improve the quality and caliber of academics and research for UB. This is where we could take a page from the Stanford or MIT playbook and leverage it for the overall success of the region.