Keep the Discussion Going
I have been perusing the buffalo Rising website for at least a year, both elated over the list of projects happening in Buffalo in recent history and cringing when reading the negative statements made by those who seem to have given up hope.
I have been watching development in Buffalo for the last 30 years (I remember one of the first articles that piqued my interest was an article in '74' or '75' that featured a full color image of the NFTA's proposed Transportation Center by Cannon Design) and I can only conclude that there is no time like now for optimism.
Diversified economy: Buffalo is no longer reliant on heavy manufacturing as it has been in the past, following a national trend. It can add industry such as medical research and back office facilities for financial services and insurance as evident in GEICO, Citicorp, United Health Group, Ingram Micro, and Bank of America to name a few.
Job growth: In the last 9 months, Buffalo has been on the positive side of job growth, and near or at the top for a few of those months in upstate NY, outpacing markets such as Albany and Rochester. This is an accomplishment for a town that traditionally has been near or at the bottom of the heap.
Dollar value: The dollar value of projects completed or about to commence is in the billions. Health Now, Bioinformatics center of Excellence, 700+ loft apartments and condos, and waterfront development are part of the list. Some of these include private money, something lacking in the past.
National exposure: A number of articles in recent history have painted a positive image to a national if not international audience.
Evidence: There is evidence of naysayers being proven wrong, the biggest example being the remake of the Larkin warehouse. The developers have taken a huge 600,000 SF image of Buffalo's industrial past and transformed it into an image of 21st century commerce.
There were many who believed it could not be done. It is happening all over Buffalo, from the renovation of an abandoned aircraft factory into a medical linen laundry facility on Buffalo's East Side, to the remake of an abandoned warehouse in the Cobblestone district into offices for a local contractor. It is continuing today.
Amidst all these projects has been the positive and negative discourse on Buffalo Rising. It is a reflection of the new technology connecting our living rooms directly to the discussion of our city and enabling our voices to be heard. It is omnipotent. I would be the first to profess that I was wrong and he was right, in reference to a local preservationist's vocal objection to the alignment of the Bass Pro project.
My initial reaction was misguided. It was based on my emotional response to seeing yet another project bogged down in a legal mess. But look where Bass Pro is now. I think a lot of people would agree that it is a much-improved plan as submitted recently. Whether or not the local preservationist's voice had a direct bearing on this project remains to be seen, however there is evidence it had influence.
I now pose this question: Where was this system of checks and cross checks in the past? Where was the objection to the Convention Center, Main Place Mall & Tower, or the city Court Ramp when they infringed on if not destroyed a portion of the radial street plan by Joseph Ellicott? This was a street plan that was often used in the past by this city to advertise our assets.
This positive and negative discourse on this website is crucial! It is the American way, it is freedom of speech! And if it is negative? So be it. Bring it on. It paves the way for a more critically shaped project, fine-tuned by this very discourse.
Why am I writing this? Like many of you that post on this site I want to see Buffalo not only succeed, but to prosper and be a model for other cities to follow. We are not there yet, but it is the dialogue that crosses the Buffalo Rising site as well as others that may help us get there.
Mark Stempien Buffalo born, living in Albany, with my heart still in Buffalo.
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Denizen
This teary-eyed expat thing is starting to get reallllly old.
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senorita
It's funny that you say that Denizen, I've lived here my whole life and this newfound optimism for our city is refreshing to hear. I remember just a few years ago when you couldn't find anyone willing to stick up for Buffalo. Now it's hard to have a conversation around town without bringing up an exciting development. It's about time that people rallied together. Hang on. I've got to wipe a tear from my eye. Hope you make it back home Mark.
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MikeJW
The first comment is exactly what Mark is talking about when it comes to the negativity. Why can't people just let others be positive and enjoy what's happening in Buffalo? Gotta love this town...anyone who is slightly positive gets torn down. I'm not just talking about this instance, it's anytime someone posts something good about Buffalo.
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SLEEPL8
I would have applied some SPF40 this morning had I known that all this sunshine was going to be blown up my ass...
Nice try but Buffalo isn't rising as much as you eternal optimists would like to believe. The aud is still standing. The Uniland tower at Gates Circle is being held up in court. How full is the Statler? Is the BSC group really attempting to lease space to ligitimize the construction of the fabled Buffalo City Tower? How many years have we been discussing the Peace Bridge? Cobblestone has one new moderate office building...the plans for the other structures continue to change while the buildings remain today as they were years ago. The waterftont is a ditch surrounded by mudd with a miniscule "museum" that looks like a suburban fire hall. I am sure we will drop the hammer on the Casino eventually.
Your foolish optimism is fuelled by talk and renderings. I see models of new buildings and new projects but see very few projects actually taking place. I will believe in this city when, if ever, I see some cranes in the air.
Buffalo is the "on paper" progress capital of America.
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stephenjames716
it's going to take a while before everyone is on board and willing to accept that being positive is indeed okay
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STEEL
Here is the lesson. All of those companies that have located in Buffalo have received Tax breaks. The reason companies respond to the tax breaks is because they bring WNY taxe rates in line with its competition. Why not lower Taxes across the board instead of piece mealing onesie towsies? If WNY had competitive business costs the resulting growth would more that pay for money lost due to lower more reasonable tax rates.
Why is it so hard for NYS to just copy what the high growth states are doing? Charlotte has nothing on Buffalo other than a state that recognizes the benefit of attracting companies to invest.
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sbrof
I have to agree, I remember as a kid being told, to leave the city you will have to move away for work or a good life. I think that if you take a step back, look at the things we are complaining or being negative about you can't help but smile.
Plus you have to realize that not everyone has been on BRO for as long as we might have been. To some or many this might be their first tear jerker...
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chiknlil
Good article Mark... thanks for sharing your views and perspective.
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TBone
Steel, you're completely correct... this area is still not competitive in many ways due to the government structures in place- while in many ways the city has progressed in the last few years, there has been no change in our governments. They are still built to service political machines, designed around the technology that existed in the 60's and staffed for the benefit of a population that reached its peak decades ago. The state government is just as bad, but politicians are unable to act in a way that would hurt their job security- it is a sad state of affairs.
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DumpsterKid
Count your blessings fools! A little optimism never hurt anybody.
We could be a lot worse off, bringing up Albany, come on, without the tremendous government job market that Albany relies upon they would be Utica. We're pretty damn lucky to have two professional sports teams and all this business and new development we've had over the past year. It's not easy being the second biggest city in New York behind New York, i'd say we're doing pretty okay .
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flyguy
The problem I see with back office operations is that when the economy takes a good tumble those are the first operations to go, the most expendable. We ened up in a situation like we had with the industrial based Buffalo where companies establish satellite branches here but close them up first if things get rough.
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flyguy
Why is the teary eyed ex-pat thing getting old? Dont you think its a sad situation? I think its pretty damn sad that so many Buffalonians who left the area loving it and benig proud of where they came from HAD to leave to make a better life for themselves, to find a good job with a bit more job security (not that their is much anyway these days). For many the American Dream couldnt be realized at home and thats a sad story taht only gets even more depressing as more and more people have left over the years. Down here in central Virginia alone theres a group of about 100 Bills Backers. We get a group of 20-25 that usually come out to watch the games from week to week. When you ask where they came from you here Jamestown, Downtown Buffalo, East Aurora, Elma, South Buffalo, Tonawanda, etc. Its a sad story you can only truly recognize when you see how many Buffalonians are out there in different communities all over the place that meet up to celebrate where they are from, their team, their culture, etc. For everyone who lands a good job in Buffalo theres probably a few more that dont. The job diversity isnt exactly there either. If I were in the medical field I might be more optimistic but it seems only certain industries have a legitimate hiring demand and all others its very hit or misss and you might have to wait a number of years to finally get there meanwhile not getting any work experience taking some other job in the meantime. Therefore you move away so you can finally get your foot in the door.
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Denizen
It's getting old because it makes this city look more whiney, desperate, and pathetic than it actually is. No one gets laid by sitting in a corner and moping about how unattractive they think they are to the opposite sex.
From a marketing standpoint, the ex-pat mopefest usually found on this site is no way to promote Buffalo's recovery. It'd be better just to show off the city's assets without editorializing and "what-iffing" about every stupid detail so much.
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platt4
Sounds like Gabe/Denizen just got back from reading Pundit's site. How original.
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flyguy
From a marketing standpoint I agree with you. Not good to reinforce the perceptions that run rampnat throughout this country from uninformed people and believe me there are ALOT of crazy perceptions about Buffalo from people who have never been there. I dont know if its a class people take in school or what but everyones armed with information about Buffalo that usually paints a bad picture.
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Sexy_Beast
Mark's point is that we're not sitting in the corner moping anymore. Marketing these days is a viral affair. I thought that Gabe was the king of editorializing and "what-iffing" about every stupid detail. My how one can criticize others for doing what one is best known for.
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Downtownjunkie
Who gives a shit about whether he is an expat or a current resident lets talk about one of the articles best points the fact that we the people let our politicians ruin our historic Ellicott street grid with the construction of the convention center and the hyatt. These decisions turned one of the most easiest to navigate cities into one of the most complicated cities to drive and walk in. I wish the citizens would rise up and make it known that we dont want the hyatt atrium blocking genesee street anymore. The synergy these radial streets create is what makes cities great. Just look at washington dc's downtown area it is easy and visitor friendly. In other cities such as Savannah Georgia area leaders realized their planning mistakes and have taken steps to restore their street grids? Pearl street is a desolate disgrace of a street and genessee st is laughable as well. Now picture genesee street with a newly renovated electric tower, hyatt hotel, Belesario apt building, YMCA building and newly renovated Statler towers it would become one of Buffalos most beautiful streets not to mention most valuable.
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Denizen
platt4 and sexybeast, I'm flattered to know people take time out of their busy days to follow me around the interwebs. Also, ad-hominem attacks are even more lame that the ex-pat lovefest I refer to above.
Downtownjunkie, I agree with all the observations you point out--parts of our downtown look like shit, but Buffalo's problems run much deeper than a few disruptions to the much-worshipped Ellicott street grid. What good are a bunch of streets if there is no economic backbone to put life on those said streets? DC has loads of activity on those streets because it's the nation's capital; aesthetic enhancements like a nice street layout come second. London's street network is a jumbled maze that doesn't make much coherent sense and never really was planned, but the amazing vitality of the city's streets surpass almost anything you would find in most US cities. Downtown Detroit has a radial street system too, btw. Enough said.
And finally, since when did calling out a BRO post = hating Buffalo? I haven't said one negative thing about this city within my comments on this post...well maybe the downtown looking like shit part, but whatev', I'm sure many will agree with me on that.
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Downtownjunkie
Ur a dick denizon, thanks for pointing out the obvious. I didnt say the radial street plan alone would transform Buffalo into London douchebag. I meant it is a very important part to the solution.
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Denizen
DTjunkie, dude....please chill and reread my post. (You took my London comparison completely out of context) No need to get defensive and whiny. My comment was a challenge to this statement you made:
No, what makes cities great depends on a vast number of factors, which might or might not include how well planned their streets are. Usually it's economic and social relevance to society which first make a great city. Aesthetic embellishment thereafter is icing on the cake, not the core reason why a city might be great. There are many vibrant successful cities with unplanned street grids, just as there are some no-so-nice ones with well-planned streets. And of course, vice versa.
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Downtownjunkie
tool
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RisingDamp666
If Buffalo slashed taxes like maybe it should, here's a thought: would the area have enough of a working age population to support the Big Bang? And if the answer is no, then wouldn't we need a catlyst to bring people from all over the country and the world to Buffalo? We can become the next Dublin but we should throw in a little Seattle too.
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benfranklin
It's interesting that with all the positive articles on this site, so many ignore what could be the biggest opportunity we've had in recent history. For a number of reasons, the value of the Canadian dollar continues to climb. This morning while driving to work I heard a Toronto DJ say "you'd have to love being in business in Buffalo right now." Are we doing everything we can to take advantage of this?
Since shortly after 9/11, the Canadian dollar has risen nearly 50 cents compared with the U.S. dollar. Forget about getting warm and fuzzy stories in the national press. Get factual inforation to the WSJ, and other financial news outlets that let investors know how they can capitalize on this shift by locating in WNY.
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Eisen
Well if we had done everything in our power to take advantage of that we'd have a new bridge.
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RisingDamp666
Even our prostitutes are accepting canadian dollars, can a cross-border bank merger be far behind?
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