Niagara Falls, New York (Buffalo, Rochester: house, universities, income)

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by warm heatherette

The Erie canal corridor, it seems to me, is largely ignored for it's tourism potential. Why isn't it happening?

Well, New York State is focused on downstate (NYC Metro). Metro Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo are just footnotes in this State. Until CNY and WNY get respect from the State not much will change. I was hoping Spitzer would help change the focus of the State on the economy of CNY and actually care about growing the Syracuse metro, but I've yet to see any real effort by Spitzer or the State to create a thriving regional economy in my area.

[Hustla718]

Originally Posted by EugeneBKLYN

You mean those tenements on the Lower East Side of Manhattan...

the ones that are now completely renovated into some of the most expensive condo/rent units in the city?

No the tenements in the Bronx, Harlem and northeastern Brooklyn with leaky ceilings, roaches, mice, graffiti across the halls, broken stairs and front doors. I think you get the picture. And yes I have seen HORRID housing conditions in some tenements even of the LES.

Same goes for other low income MULTIfamily dwellings.

[EugeneBKLYN]

Originally Posted by Hustla718

No the tenements in the Bronx, Harlem and northeastern Brooklyn with leaky ceilings, roaches, mice, graffiti across the halls, broken stairs and front doors. I think you get the picture. And yes I have seen HORRID housing conditions in some tenements even of the LES.

Same goes for other low income MULTIfamily dwellings.

Public Housing aka the projects aren't really that bad anymore in terms of living conditions.

Sure, you wouldn't want to be caught dead there after sunset, but, the units themselves arent horrible.

The places you speak of are really just sporadic, and they're due to the landlords, not the city.

[Hustla718]

Originally Posted by EugeneBKLYN

Public Housing aka the projects aren't really that bad anymore in terms of living conditions.

Sure, you wouldn't want to be caught dead there after sunset, but, the units themselves arent horrible.

The places you speak of are really just sporadic, and they're due to the landlords, not the city.

The projects of the LES have problems serious problems with drug dealing thanks to the local yuppy population filling the pockets of these savages. The PJ's themselves are decently kept only in comparison to other housing projects (it aint exactly great at night you see the grounds littered in syringe kits by the hundreds). PJ's in the Bronx and Brooklyn are beyond ****ty. Gotta love when someone pulls the elevator doors out the slide, fills it with trash, then lights it on fire. Or breaks the front door to the building hours after it is fixed for the first time in months. Or when you have a leak and the NYCHA doesn't address your problem until you have mold covering your walls and cielings. Sounds like the city ain't that great managing after all.

I've seen tenements with the same conditions and worse. In the LES it's a minority bunch. However in the Bronx and areas like East NY, Brownsville it's the bulk of the buildings. I've seen buildings with so many tags on the walls of the halls you take a breath after walking up 5 flights, touch the wall and your hand is black. Abandonded apartments on everyfloor, some used as crack houses, some with squatters, some just hang out spots. Spotlights and cameras put up by the city hanging on wires.

It's pretty bad housing conditions. Never seen worse then multifamily dwellings. Due to the fact it gets a lot of use by many people, and your neighbors problem is your problem. They have roaches, then so do you.

Very off topic though

Funky? Do they have housing projects in Niagara? Should post up some shots.

[CTownNative]

I don't know about yalls cities but in my city on St. Clair Ave. one of the biggest streets in Cleveland most of the buisnesses are boarded up and alot of the houses are.Actually most of the stuff on the East side is in my town.The whole town is pretty bad.Graffiti that states dead homies that died in the street.

[EugeneBKLYN]

Originally Posted by Hustla718

The projects of the LES have problems serious problems with drug dealing thanks to the local yuppy population filling the pockets of these savages. The PJ's themselves are decently kept only in comparison to other housing projects (it aint exactly great at night you see the grounds littered in syringe kits by the hundreds). PJ's in the Bronx and Brooklyn are beyond ****ty. Gotta love when someone pulls the elevator doors out the slide, fills it with trash, then lights it on fire. Or breaks the front door to the building hours after it is fixed for the first time in months. Or when you have a leak and the NYCHA doesn't address your problem until you have mold covering your walls and cielings. Sounds like the city ain't that great managing after all.

I've seen tenements with the same conditions and worse. In the LES it's a minority bunch. However in the Bronx and areas like East NY, Brownsville it's the bulk of the buildings. I've seen buildings with so many tags on the walls of the halls you take a breath after walking up 5 flights, touch the wall and your hand is black. Abandonded apartments on everyfloor, some used as crack houses, some with squatters, some just hang out spots. Spotlights and cameras put up by the city hanging on wires.

It's pretty bad housing conditions. Never seen worse then multifamily dwellings. Due to the fact it gets a lot of use by many people, and your neighbors problem is your problem. They have roaches, then so do you.

Very off topic though

Funky? Do they have housing projects in Niagara? Should post up some shots.

I don't know much about the Bronx but I have gone to people's apartments which were located in the Marlboro projects, Marcy, and Queensbridge.

Besides the endless graffitti and ****-stenched hallways, the place is kept up.

Put it this way:

If the buildings were vacant, but simultaniously kept up like they are by the city, they'd look pretty appealing.
It's the people who f**k things up.

Also, I hate yuppies. I really do.
I wish they'd stay out of Brooklyn, and rather congregate in Astoria more.

Have you been to Park Slope lately? I was wondering whether I was walking in Brooklyn or Greenwich Village.

I'm not homophobic but 2 gay guys with he-he poodles walking down a block in this borough never appealed to me much. I never mind seeing them walk around chelsea tho.

But people like them.. the frustrated artists, the gays, the yuppies... they're really killing it for the working class.

I bet in 20 years those historic Bedstuy brownstones are going to be full of people commuting to downtown manhattan.

[ducksburg]

every city has its good sides and bad sides.
look at the big picture,buffalo-niagara area is depressing.

[XNYgirl]

If these cities bulldozed these eyesores then there could be opportunity for growth. However, who would want to live in these houses or neighborhoods. It shows no one cares about their area and the city officals dont care. The pictures of niagara falls can ring true for Buffalo, Utica (slumland) Parts of Syracuse, Rome, Horrible BInghampton, etc. It's an urban decay that affects everyone.

Housing projects is where it's at, now they build the low income family homes, get girlfriend on welfare and then daddy moves in with a job, living high on the hog.......

[backtoNY]

There are always two sides to every coin. I am a native of Niagara Falls, NY. Even though I've been away for several years, a lot has changed and a lot hasn't. There are certainly run down areas to the city just like there are in any city, USA. However, there are many nice things too along with the people to go with it. Niagara Falls made some very bad choices many years ago. Since then they have tried to fix those mistakes. It has taken a very long time and they certainly have a ways to go. There are many beautiful things to see, little places tucked away at little or no cost. It is hard to beat the Falls as the mist freezes over everything in the winter. The tourists coming to relax from all over the world. As far as Canada, it certainly has its beauty too. Unfortunately, the first thing that jumps out at you is the area right by the falls they call Clifton Hill. If you ever go to Niagara Falls, try looking at the falls from both sides of the border. They are equally stunning and each offers its own uniqueness.

I've done a lot of traveling in the United States and I can't think of any city off hand that doesn't have a darker side to it. Even the dark sides have their story too.

[MrTudo]

I was told that the largest employer in those parts is the "state".

No surprise what happens as government gets larger, and larger.