Jeffrey M. Goldfarb & Associates Relocates to Downtown

The Ellicott Square Building really is a nice place.

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I'm very excited to see a business take a step like this towards downtown. Hopefully we will see others make a similar move and truly see, "downtown as developing critical mass. Downtown as competitive again."

This is more good news for Downtown Buffalo. It got me thinking for a moment that all the worry people had about the events at City Grill last August and its possible negative effects on Downtown seem to have come to naught.

Great news, a little here and a little and maybe, just maybe downtown won't be considered a job quarry for the exploitation by townships with cheap land but will again be seen as a part of a larger \ integral part of the region and its economy. Welcome downtown guys I am sure you will enjoy your new amenities and location!

I also moved a small team of 4 people into Ellicott Square a few years ago. The smaller spaces in Buffalo's historic buildings are ideal for smaller companies, start-ups, small regional offices, etc. While our firm is a prominent new media company comprised of 600+ employees, we only have a few employees in Buffalo and needed a small space. I chose downtown vs. the suburbs due to the central location (employees from both Northtowns and Southtowns have convenient commute to downtown), proximity to airport is reasonable and nearby restaurants and hotels are convenient for when other employees are in town. Most importantly, rent is affordable, often less expensive than suburbs. With the abundance of older Class B and Class C space in Buffalo, it would be great to see these spaces more actively marketed as incubator space for startups, and small companies.

It is all about the City vs the Suburbs, isn't it?

Real news that we need to hear is a company relocating from Charlotte to Buffalo, or Chicago to Buffalo. Hell, we can't even get dedicated expats like Steel and WestCoastPerspective to move back, and they love this place. It is no wonder that we aren't attracting larger corporations to the area. In the meantime we will keep fighting with the suburbs and rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while we tell the passengers that there is nothing to worry about.

This is a good move for the city, I am glad to see new life along Main Street and in othr areas of the city.

I wonder if Mr. Goldfarb is related to Seymour Goldfarb Jr., heir to the Goldfarb Girdles fortune.

Companies are choosing downtown over the suburbs? Oh no that must be a mistake. In other discussions arguing against downtown redevelopment, "realists" have told me that the office market is fixed and new construction will only pirate tenants from other downtown buildings. The fact that other companies may chose to do business downtown would turn that idea on its head. A "realist" cant be wrong... right?

I grew up in the suburbs during the 60's (Elma) and never travelled into the city until I moved to University Heights in 1976. Have lived and worked in the city ever since. Growing up I wondered why anyone would ever want to live in Buffalo. Dirty, crowded & unsafe - that was my perception.

Blackrocklifer is more right than all of you attacking him. The national gasoline tax of the 50's which funded the interstate highway system essentially ensured the rise of the suburbs across America. Got it. And I'll concede that Buffalo has a history of electing leaders who were incapable of understanding the issues, let alone addressing them.

But how does any of that affect the reality that over the last 20 years, we have tripled our land-use footprint in Erie & Niagara Counties, despite the fact that we are losing population. The sprawl is killing us economically as a region, yet the towns continue to aggressively pursue development. Their logic - more development = more taxes. You want 200 Verizon jobs? Don't provide national & state programs that make it worthwhile to locate massive server plants on former industrial sites - make sure we give them 150 acres of farmland so that we can turn the entire region into one large suburb.

Another factor in the demise of the American city and the rise of the suburbs was precipitated by the Cold War. Among growing, and real fears, of nuclear attack, the government took a path towards decentralized living. By encouraging a populace to be dispersed, rather than located in one easy target, the Federal government believed this would ensure a better scenario for survival of America come a full scale exchange with our Soviet foes. It was not until the mid to late seventies (although the concept had been bandied about the DoD since the early sixties) that the folly of this was exposed when the true impact of a full scale exchange was revealed. MAD became the moniker which brought about agreements like SALT – no one, anywhere, was safe from the resulting environmental cataclysm caused by a full scale exchange.

Now – you’re probably wondering what the hell does this have to do with the demise of Buffalo? A lot. The Federal and State programs that made the suburbs attractive to “middle class” Americans and business were partially predicated on this decentralization concept. By the time the folly of this concept was exposed, it was too late. The groundwork had been laid down and a generation of people born under the shadow of the mushroom cloud were raised to believe the American Dream consisted of a home in the ‘burbs, a car (or two) in the garage, and a nice sprawling wade ‘o turf. We have forgotten why the suburbs came to be (it being complex and multifaceted), and we now accept them as a part of life.

I assure you, there is no evil coven existing in the suburbs which hexes and conspires against the city. People are too concerned with their day to day lives to be bothered with the idea that each new subdivision destroys a neighborhood somewhere else (in a place such as this with a static population), consumes more virgin land, and increases the overall tax burden of everyone in the form of increased infrastructure. What they see is convenience, jobs, and that glittery “something new”. It is not a conscious effort, but one symptomatic of this Nation in general (and humanity as a whole) – ingrained ignorance and short sightedness. Of this, we, ALL Americans, are guilty of and have played a role in destroying everything good about the Urban and Rural landscape by allowing our elected officials to develop the purgatory know as suburbia.

I think it’s great when a business elects to move into the city – this makes sense to me since it (presumably) reduces the overall footprint of economic burden by concentrating money in one place. I do, however, mourn the fact that there is a place somewhere else in WNY that is now empty.

Here in WNY we are suffering from a new form of MAD – city versus suburbs. If we all do not “pull our heads out of our asses” we will surely all sink together. The city, suburbs, and rural governments/economies of WNY need to work together to ensure we do not all become another Gary, Indiana.

I am one of these nitwit dreamers who believes we need to stop pointing fingers and bury the hatchet. While we argue over the tit-for-tat and the various factors, both internal and external, that led us to this current state, the rest of the country is (was) moving forward. We need to adopt a regional plan that has merit and teeth. We need to curb our outward growth and encourage revitalization of what we already have. We need to encourage both large and small businesses to come back to WNY, focusing that growth on the city. We need to encourage the growth and maintenance of local farming and the use of their products right here in WNY. You all know this already, so . . .

The easiest way to start is to be sure you elect like-minded representatives to your government and encourage them to do what’s best for the long term, which is support a regional plan.

Wow – that’s a helluva to do list!

Oh – and congrats on all of these companies/firms on their growth and relocation!

props to mr. goldfarb for putting his money and his offices where his mouth is. just wait till his employees catch on that they can have really cool loft apartments within walking, biking, or light rail distance from work and don't have to endlessly mow lawns anymore.

You know nothing of my life, education, or salary, and your baseless assumption is wrong on all counts. You know nothing about my neighborhood, you are not even smart enough to realize Black Rock is two words. Black Rock is a place where pride, integrity, and determination are valued. It is probably hard for you to understand, your view has likely never been challenged by the experience of living in a real community.

I am wasting my time debating a person that lacks not only the basic decency but also the common courtesy necessary for intelligent conversation. Your know it all comments are tiresome, why not find an outlet for your animosity closer to your present home.