Best and Worst of Buffalo, NY for 2019 from BoredomMD.com

Best

  1. Ralph Wilson Jr Foundation with an amazing legacy with the $50 million for LaSalle park (Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park), $5.5 million for the WNY Boys and Girls Club, $3 million to 43 North, $4.5 million to Launch New York (invests in start-ups) and many, many more. We are grateful for your contributions to our community. Thank You!
  2. Re-election of Poloncarz who has enhanced our community especially vs. Chris Collins who was self-absorbed and now is going to pay the price.
  3. Fixing potholes in the suburban roads. Next the city – Delaware and Elmwood to start.
  4. Best Music -Freightrain – best band for 2019 at Sportsmen’s and GFY Bar and Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Batavia Downs
  5. 43 North is terrific and despite lame judges this year vs. last who were great. Cuomo should increase funding to $10 million for the winner and two $5 million winners and two $2 million winners to get higher quality participants and provide a reasonable amount for a start-up.
  6. Buffalo Bills – great this year with good ownership by Pegulas, good coaching and a great team- Offensive and Defensive. Synergy at play. Ok, running the same play twice in a row isn’t great and having Allen throw long passes with 5% success rate not great when he is terrific at shorter passes.
  7. Continued enhancement of the Outer Harbor for public use. Great vs. the original plans of condos, etc. A true long term asset for the city.
  8. Bidwell and Larkin Concerts plus Jazz Behind the Albright in July. Terrific.

Worst

  1. Explore and More Children’s Museum. Lack of a Grand Opening missing all the FREE PR it could have generated. Lack of dynamic on-going promotions and lack of PR of the ones. They should consider incorporating the grassy area at Canalside into large children- centered promotions. For the most part, same promotions as they had in East Aurora. Need more dynamic promotions.
  2. Canalside Concerts- No longer on Thursdays which was a Buffalo institution. Now any day of the week (half still on Thursdays)—supposedly done because bands would not come on a Thursday- but they can come on a Tuesday (Incubus). Need to leverage off of bands coming to Toronto. And, now VIP is $40 vs $20 and the section in front the stage is now 60 feet so concert goers can not even see the band and there are no longer large screens to see the band. Plus, admission went from zero to $5 and half are now $10. Batavia Downs is now an alternative as well as increasing suburban concerts- Borderland,  East Aurora Music Festival, etc.
  3. Continuing to approve buildings around Canalside area with no parking such as Heritage Point. https://buffalonews.com/2019/10/10/canalside-prepares-to-go-vertical-as-long-term-plans-come-to-fruition/
  1. Need an app to park. We just don’t go where you need it. Solved that problem. Does this encourage Canadian visitors?
  2. Brian Higgins relentless desire to tear down the Skyway and create a commuting nightmare for 40,000 daily commuters and delay commercial and tourist traffic from Canada. . Even the developers are NOT for taking down the Skyway- Ellicott Development Co, Schneider Development and Ciminelli think money would be well spent elsewhere.
  3. Panos demise- why would the new owners change a restaurant where there was a line to get in with now a sterile interior and increased prices. Well, you can get a place to park now. Sad.
  4. Rate increases by Buffalo News…if they own their headquarters building, they should sell it and move to less expensive real estate. They have not adapted to changes in media delivery- ie. cellphones and web. $438 a year or $360 for four days…a lot. We strongly believe the Buffalo News provides a critical resource for our community news but dramatic action is required if it is going to survive. They neglected to market their digital imprint and secure web advertisers while lamenting the decline of retail giants.
  5. Continued meetings in November on Route 33 to restore the Humboldt Parkway Community. The decision in 2016 to spend $6 million on a consulting firmto provide an environmental assessment and detailed cost analysis of different options to cover ¾ of a mile of Route 33 (from Best Street to Ferry Street) to create a park to bring the community back together. In 2012 LaBella Associates study indicated that the cost if executed would be $574 million. No funding source for construction of any proposed alternatives has currently been identified. Instead of having meetings on a park, there should be meetings on creating small community businesses and securing employment opportunities.
  6. ANOTHER committee to decide what to do with Route 198. New Plans for Route 198 announced by Gov. Cuomo on September 12th. Just how many times do we have to endure “studies” for Route 198, the Skyway and the Peace Bridge? Pathetic.

Now the Buffalo Niagara Regional Council will guide the planning process comprising municipal, state and federal agencies and create a local steering committee to work with experts and community groups. Didn’t we already go through this? Here is what happened to the last plan in 2018.”New York State Department of Transportation announced it will NOT be moving forward with changes to 198 – Scajaquada Corridor.” Two thirds of the public comments were against the plan.” Just raise the speed limit to 35 and allow the 70,000 users  travel at a moderate speed and avoid congestion long term.

  1. While the Buffalo Botanical Gardens has the largest public ivy collection in the world with more than 500 cultivars, frankly, it is boring. And while the garden inserts flowering plants such as amaryllis and others to create some color, at the end of the day, it is incredibly boring to the average public attendee. Perhaps it can be moved to another building (admin?). Hopefully the new $9 million expansion that will include a butterfly conservatory, classrooms, events paces and a new exhibit will help but maybe there is a better location for the ivy. Ideally, something blooming all the time outside of exhibitions.
  2. Desire that all politicians and community development people generate new business opportunities so our community is not relying on lower paying customer service, tourism and lower paying industries. We need jobs in the $50 to $80,000 level so people can afford housing and an enjoyable lifestyle.
  3. Niagara Falls needs MAJOR funding by the state. It is an international tourist destination and has access to Canada yet the roads are terrible, there is crime and little economic opportunities for residents. On November 8, 2019 the court ruled that the Seneca Nation owes the state hundreds of millions of dollars in back casino revenue payments. Collect it and dramatically improve Niagara Falls which is a true natural wonder for our nation.