Donovan Building brouhaha
I am 31 years old and have lived in Western New York my entire life. I have watched as the suburbs have gone from rural green space to communities with new neighborhoods and shopping developments. As the suburbs have grown, the city has shrunk. Instead of knocking down eyesores and replacing them with new businesses and houses, they sit hollowed out and covered in graffiti. Then when it comes to historic sites, such as the Aud and the grain silos, people are stepping all over each other trying to get them demolished. They succeeded with the Aud, and now we can never get that wonderful piece of Buffalo, AND the Sabres, history back. We demolished it ON THE PROSPECT of someone putting something in it's place. Then, lo and behold, they backed out. Now just an empty lot sits there, begging for something to be built in it's place. That is gone, but I'll be damned if the Donovan Building isn't still there. It was in use from 1962 until 2007, when the last resident moved out of it. Now it just sits there, another empty shell of what Buffalo used to be. The inside has been gutted in hopes of it being redeveloped, yet nothing has come of it. Larry Quinn and his band of cohorts have stalled for too long on the waterfront development, and I was very glad to hear that when his duties for the Sabres ended, so did his involvement with the waterfront. Now it seems as though it wasn't just Quinn, it is all of the leaders in Buffalo that have their hands in as many pockets as they can get them in. I am not claiming to be an expert in commercial development, but from reading this article I can't help but agree that this bidding process is not on the up and up.
So when is the corruption going to end in Buffalo? When will the back-scratching stop? Why has no one tried to end it? We have such a beautiful area in Buffalo, and it seems as though all we can do is expand and move out to the suburbs. Right now there is a mayor in place that has been totally ineffective in doing anything other than cover for his son, deflect any kind of responsibility for his staff in City Hall, and somehow CONGRATULATE people in the Buffalo City School district for coming together to talk about how bad the schools are! I swear, I'm not kidding, he praised these people for doing their job and getting together to talk about the district, but not until a LONG time after they received a failing grade for education!
Here is the article proving my point.
Another question. Why is the sky way still up? What possible reason could people come up with to justify the giant eyesore that is blocking an absolutely beautiful waterfront? Wait, maybe because of Jordan Levy and the rest of the COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE Erie Canal Harbor Development Cooperation with their wheels spinning? I don't believe I have met one person who thinks the sky way is a good thing, nor do I believe I have met anyone who thinks it should NOT be demolished. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, has been trying to get it torn down and I hope and pray he has as much success as when he spearheaded getting the illegal tolls taken down. Yes, the ECHDC has done some things - torn down the Aud, put in a little green scape, talk a lot - but as for REAL progress there has been none. Now Levy's long time friend Benderson seems to be favored as the company that will win the bid for building on the old Aud site. Again, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. In my opinion, the sky way needs to be torn down, most of the land needs to be bought out and raised, and a waterfront needs to be developed that includes bars, restaurants, and the major attraction- BUILD A WATERFRONT STADIUM for the Buffalo Bills. My vision kind of looks like... oh... this-
Oh wait. That vision has already been done. It's called Cleveland.
Why have we accepted these things that we all know should be taken care of? Have we all been so beaten down by this region that we just don't care anymore? Or has the root of corruption gotten so big that it now extends to the point where everyone knows someone who would be affected by any kind of whistle blowing? I will leave you all with a quote.
"Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power."
-George Bernard Shaw
The problem has always been, and remains, the lack of clear evidence of corruption. Every half decent reporter in Buffalo would be thrilled to put together a wide ranging expose on corruption in WNY politics.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of overextending the metaphor... there needs to be a smoking gun, but the only bits of evidence ever found are cold shell casings.