By Michael R Weekes (mission):
John isn't from Buffalo. He's from Brooklyn, home of Bensonhurst, Italian and other ethnic neighborhoods, Saturday Night Fever, Coney Island and Ebbet's Field. Like Buffalo it is a place of deep, rich heritage and history, with so many wonderful threads that make up our American Experience. One could argue that Brooklyn is as quintessential an American a city any.
John fell in love with Buffalo upon his first encounter with her. The owner of one dog and one cat, John works for the government, a popular choice here.
Compared to the New York City Metro area, he couldn't believe the cost of living, the commute times and the sense of community in Buffalo. It reminded him in some way of Long Island. John decided to make a new start in the Queen City of the Lakes after a divorce. John's move here was, for the most part, a family decision; bring his mother and brother with him.
John's one of the good guys. He wants to make Buffalo better. He'd like to see more organizations use the Elmwood Village model in places like downtown and other neighborhoods to leverage that success story, spreading an improved quality of life throughout our city. He beckons us to keep up the fight.
John feels that if we use the resources available to us and focus on just how fortunate we are compared to most places, we can do anything we want. He sees us as having survived the bottom of the barrel and there is nowhere to go but up. He sees the upswing in the way people talk and act, compared to his first glimpse of the city back in the early 1990s.
John's recipe for how to make Buffalo better includes owner-occupied investments, patronizing local merchants and vendors, spreading the revenue throughout the community, over and over. He asks us to stand up to others who may be more cynical and pessimistic and emphasize the positive. The greatest threats to our recovery are the politics, lack of vision and media coverage of bad news.
John feels our success lies in all of us utilizing what Buffalo has to offer, right now. He'd like to see more promotion by those individuals and organizations responsible for marketing us to emphasize the low cost of living. John feels that funding of the arts and cultural assets here is a key part of any professional considering Western New York as a place to live.
To John, Quality of Life in Buffalo means affordability, lack of crime, a rich arts and cultural offering and events to celebrate who and what we are and have. He measures Buffalo's value by the vibrancy of downtown, and whether they offer the destinations (restaurants, shows, shops and other businesses) we all seek. He'd like to see politicians who show they care about the area by what they improve. He is eager to visit a waterfront full of entertainment, drawing visitors as well as locals. Surely, we have a long way to go, but what an opportunity!
Michael R Weekes encourages you to enjoy all that is great about Buffalo, take time and effort to make it better and celebrate all that is special and unique here. If you have a story about someone who came (back) to Buffalo and would like to share it, email Mike at yellowstone_mike@yahoo.com and we'll consider publishing it.
Photo captions: NYS Thruway Sign, Author: Michael R Weekes, John and Son
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John isn't from Buffalo. He's from Brooklyn, home of Bensonhurst, Italian and other ethnic neighborhoods, Saturday Night Fever, Coney Island and Ebbet's Field. Like Buffalo it is a place of deep, rich heritage and history, with so many wonderful threads that make up our American Experience. One could argue that Brooklyn is as quintessential an American a city any.
John fell in love with Buffalo upon his first encounter with her. The owner of one dog and one cat, John works for the government, a popular choice here.
Compared to the New York City Metro area, he couldn't believe the cost of living, the commute times and the sense of community in Buffalo. It reminded him in some way of Long Island. John decided to make a new start in the Queen City of the Lakes after a divorce. John's move here was, for the most part, a family decision; bring his mother and brother with him.
John's one of the good guys. He wants to make Buffalo better. He'd like to see more organizations use the Elmwood Village model in places like downtown and other neighborhoods to leverage that success story, spreading an improved quality of life throughout our city. He beckons us to keep up the fight.
John feels that if we use the resources available to us and focus on just how fortunate we are compared to most places, we can do anything we want. He sees us as having survived the bottom of the barrel and there is nowhere to go but up. He sees the upswing in the way people talk and act, compared to his first glimpse of the city back in the early 1990s.
John's recipe for how to make Buffalo better includes owner-occupied investments, patronizing local merchants and vendors, spreading the revenue throughout the community, over and over. He asks us to stand up to others who may be more cynical and pessimistic and emphasize the positive. The greatest threats to our recovery are the politics, lack of vision and media coverage of bad news.
John feels our success lies in all of us utilizing what Buffalo has to offer, right now. He'd like to see more promotion by those individuals and organizations responsible for marketing us to emphasize the low cost of living. John feels that funding of the arts and cultural assets here is a key part of any professional considering Western New York as a place to live.
To John, Quality of Life in Buffalo means affordability, lack of crime, a rich arts and cultural offering and events to celebrate who and what we are and have. He measures Buffalo's value by the vibrancy of downtown, and whether they offer the destinations (restaurants, shows, shops and other businesses) we all seek. He'd like to see politicians who show they care about the area by what they improve. He is eager to visit a waterfront full of entertainment, drawing visitors as well as locals. Surely, we have a long way to go, but what an opportunity!
Michael R Weekes encourages you to enjoy all that is great about Buffalo, take time and effort to make it better and celebrate all that is special and unique here. If you have a story about someone who came (back) to Buffalo and would like to share it, email Mike at yellowstone_mike@yahoo.com and we'll consider publishing it.
Photo captions: NYS Thruway Sign, Author: Michael R Weekes, John and Son
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