It’s been a long time since we got an email of this nature. ‘Artie’ sent BRO an email a couple of days back declaring that Buffalo was not rising, and demanded proof. The email stated that Buffalo could not possibly be rising if the tallest building in the city was empty, among other issues that the city is facing.
How is Buffalo rising when the most prominent building on the skyline is basically empty and worthless? The Solar City boondoggle is going to collapse before it even opens. Most of the people in this area work for the government in one way or the other (assuming they work at all) which means it’s never going to be worth building a new stadium for the pathetic football team. The Pegulas will be looking to sell the team before long to whatever area of the country or world that still manages to create wealth.
As far as proof that Buffalo is indeed rising, we will continue to cover the grassroots initiatives, the building developments, and the economic advancements, just as we have for more than a decade. Obviously we still face some blatant issues such as One Seneca Tower sitting empty, but if someone refuses to see that overall sweeping waves of positive change, then he or she is only paying attention to a few of the city’s drawbacks instead of the incremental daily advancements that are being made.
Now if we can get the tower filled, and the Bills to make it to the playoffs, we can appease the naysayers who are hyper focused on the blatant negatives, instead of the overwhelming positives. Of course we still need to fix our schools and expand our Metro Rail – the entire Buffalo community is pushing for further advancements in numerous sectors. These days it’s hard to run into someone who is not doing his or her part to collectively make this city a better place to live. Back in the day, it was the norm to read emails stating that this city was going nowhere, and we were crazy for thinking otherwise.
Artie’s email brought back a lot of memories from the time when Buffalo just started getting its mojo back. It was these types of emails that fueled us to fight for this city as hard as we could. For years people have been putting their money where there mouth is, and planting stakes in the ground. We realized that there was no such thing as counting on a silver bullet, such as an out of town company sweeping in and filling a tower, or a stadium being built on the waterfront. Instead, we realized years ago, that if we could improve the quality of our everyday lives by making incremental advancements, that would be better than waiting for the big payoff.
In the past, these types of emails drove me bonkers. Today, they are more amusing than anything else. But there are some people who will never admit that Buffalo is rising, and that’s OK. We will continue to build our neighborhoods, in order to attract more people who want to live in a city with an amazing quality of life. And maybe, just maybe, those small and mid-sized wins along the way will attract the attention of a couple of heavy hitters that suddenly realize that Buffalo is a sound investment. That’s how you fill a tower.