2004 in Buffalo

All in all, we've had a pretty good year. Buffalo is one of those cities that portrays itself as the receipient of hard knock after hard knock. To a certain degree, that's been true. Lots of bad decisions have been made over the last several decades that have truly stunted Buffalo's growth and development. But it seems that this is slowly turning - in spite of our politicians' best efforts to maintain the status quo and hoard all the cash and goodies for themselves and their cronies. 1. Bass Pro. I don't oppose using public money to renovate a mothballed public structure. Even if it is going to be for private use. It apparently draws people to it like a mother effer. God bless Bass Pro, and I wish them much success. 2. Intramodal station. I'm all for consolidating rail, bus and parking in one structure. I'm also very much in favor of consolidating downtown parking into a handful of ramps rather than the myriad street-level lots/eyesores we have now. Federal money is funding this project, as well it should. It's about bloody time Buffalo got some federal assistance for its reconstruction. I hope it, with Bass Pro, helps to rejuvinate the inner harbor downtown area, which is now a concrete eyesore under the Skyway. 3. Mr. Higgins goes to Washington. I don't care if you're a (D) or an (R), this is undoubtedly good news. Higgins actually managed to wring some help out of perpetually dysfunctional Albany to help turn around the Waterfront. Gallagher Beach is his baby. He has been in the forefront of waterfront rejuvination and development, and without him there'd have been no progress whatsoever. The fact that he's now in Washington bodes well. Also - very influential Republican and Tom Delay's buddy Tom Reynolds promised Nancy Naples a seat on the congressional committee that doles out cash for infrastructure projects. Let's hope that - for the good of WNY and his constituency - he'll do the same for Mr. Higgins. 4. Giambra self-destructs. Turns out Dan Ward was right. Giambra's a clown and the worst type of scumbag politician. His days of pitting the suburbs vs. the city (which he helped bankrupt as Comptroller) are hopefully numbered. Red - Green technicolor budget crisis was the last straw that made WNYers realize just how bad he is. 5. Shared border management is a reality. Kudos to Sen. Chuck Schumer for really pushing this with homeland security. The neighborhood by the Peace Bridge will no longer have to deal with toll or customs delays. Those operations will be shifted to the Canadian side. This is also the first real concrete step in the direction of constructing a new signature Peace Bridge. 6. Allentown / Elmwood / Hertel. Just go there one day. Let me say this simply: GENTRIFICATION IS A GOOD THING. Hertel is bustling with new, exciting restaurants. Elmwood is every New Urbanist's wet dream. Allentown is still gritty, but places like Quaker Bonnet bakery and Aqua will help nudge it into respectability. 7. Geico. I don't care if it's in Amherst. 2,000 - 3,000 new jobs is a good thing. Not just a good thing, a phenomenal thing in this area. Why? Because they're not minimum-wage laborer jobs. They're not manufacturing jobs. They're 21st century service jobs at wages upwards of 35,000/year. An influx of middle-class folks and the availability of good service jobs at good wages on that scale will hopefully spark a bit more activity for other local businesses. That's all I can think of right now. But all in all, it was a pretty good year for Buffalo in 2004. I think there's some good times on the horizon and we won't have to keep hearing about Buffalo's glory days in the mid-20th century, but instead look forward to a prosperous 21st.