Gaps in the skyline: Voice your opinion, Buffalo (Amherst, Florida: hotels, live in)

[Buffalonian4life]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

NO Buffaloan for Life- but thanks for asking. One of Buffalo's advantages - although not enough on its own to get people to move there is drivability. Buffalo is ranked ( Dept of Trans and Tex A&M) the second most drivable city ( Corpus Christi is #1 and near me) in the US. How nice it was for me when there to be able to go anywhere I wanted at any time of day and not be caught in gridlock. Put buildings in those downtown lots and presumably they will be populated by people - people have cars- cars lead to congestion and pollution.

Buffalo can not be Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix , San Diego or San Antonioi no matter what it does, but it shouldn't have to emulate them- instead it can be .... Buffalo and that is super!

So you want Buffalo to rot and decay for the next 100+ years because you like it how it is and don't want change. That word is something a lot of the older folk here in Buffalo and those that used to live in Buffalo don't want. And that leads to a larger decline and soon we will have no major league sports teams, no jobs, and then no people. Buffalo would be a ghost town of old decaying buildings if that's the case. Where's the future incentive? Why wouldn't anyone not want Buffalo to grow and prosper on its resources. Why wouldn't anyone not want something unique only to Buffalo like a rare skyscraper in the center of downtown with a Glass waterfall sculpture of Niagara Falls at its base with a park setting around it. So many want Buffalo to rise and get on the map and become a prosperous city. No not like New York or Philly or Dallas or Phoenix, etc etc etc, but a unique center of the nation. The gateway to international and binational needs as well as so much else Buffalo could build itself on. And what better than to have a beautiful unique skyline dedicated to Buffalo's past and future in an ethnic mix that greets those from all over, on one of the largest fresh water resources in the world.

Just because you want Buffalo to be stuck in the past so you can see a panoramic view of a once prosperous city soon to be dead if no future is established in the mindset of local citizens and politicians...

Look to the future Buffalo...Remember and learn from the past, move on and become prosperous!

Let's Go BUFFALO!

[MarineFromBuffalo]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Buffalo DOES NOT NEED anything modern - marine and others just don't get it!

For the millionth time. Buffalo keys to its future are its great buildings and historical look. Dream on if you think you will attract people for the climate - food- or "friendly" people. There are many cities with better climate - way lower taxes and good food and friendly people. Buffalo will NOT survive trying to be like everywhere else and small minds will kill it.

I go to Buffalo to marvel at the architecture. When I climbed on the roof of 960 Busti- (Niagara) I thought I was looking at one of the best panoramas in the nation! Old downtown - great river and canada - just super.

Detroit is in a similar situation and they know their old buildings make their city interesting, however their fiscal situation and projected near future are substantially worse than Buffalo. They can not rehab their gems..


For small ,minded thinkers who want all the new stuff - take a tour of Dallas, Houston, and many other of these new economic giant metros. One can pick any city outside the east coast and rust belt. They may have a better economy -more jobs - more universities - a far better climate and lower tax rates but they don't have the great buildings. If you are in your 50s or older the attraction of these buildings -reminding Americans of what our country looked like in our youth is overwhelming.

This requires people to think just a little bit outside the box- not many are capable. Traditional thinking on how Buffalo could prosper has been in place since 1946 when Buffalo's population first began to decline- Keep it up! if you'd like the same result.

NOTHING NEW IN THE SKYLINE ( unless it LOOKS OLD)

I love Buffalo's buildings. But, are you kinding me? Buffalo's great buildings are not going to bring it back to what it was. They haven't for the past 60 years so why would they now. Buffalo needs new modern elements. You can't live in the past, that is what Buffalo has been doing and it hasn't worked. Buffalo obviously needs a change.

[ocean2026]

Who said I want Buffalo to decay? If you're going to put words in my mouth just make up an argument with yourself lol.

The money should be spent renovating the older buildings and give incentives for their use. There are more buildings than occupants in Buffalo both residential and and commercial.

Marine you are so wrong Buffalo is not living in the past - it has tried to compete with the sun belt and everywhere else that's growing for new jobs and industry. Look at it carefully- instead of capitalizing on its museum qualities it has talked about location on the lake - being near Canada as if that compares to having warm winters and being near the new population centers.

Its like this - I pitched high school baseball and my team won a tri-state private school championship. We beat the two junior colleges we played as well. For whatever reasons and there were more than one - I wasn't cut out to be a major league pitcher, in the same manner that Buffalo is not cut out to be a major player in a 1990- 2030 economy. There are kids who can throw harder and cities with climate, tax and locational advantages. Did I continue to try this in my 50's ( well I can beat my 8yr -old daugther when we pitch and hit on our top floor), NO I branched out into areas that I could be more successful- law - investing etc. and I'm damn lucky I did. Buffalo can not keep making the same pitch. "Come see our magnificient old buildings " would be a great curveball, "Look at how cheap our housing is!" would be a great change up to places that cost $150 -200 per sq foot. Now if we could only keep our other breaking pitches (taxes) down so they won't be knocked out of the park.....

Buffalo has NOT thrown these pitches- and Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, San Antonio, Phoenix, las vegas have been outscoring us by literally millions over the past few decades.

Admittedly my view is a minority view but most people are sheep and new ideas don't come easily, but often are necessary.

Note: I say "we" even though I only am a Buffalo visitor and have not bought a summer property there. I just love to wander around the city and really identify with old neighborhoods and the buildings are the heart of them.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

NO Buffaloan for Life- but thanks for asking. One of Buffalo's advantages - although not enough on its own to get people to move there is drivability. Buffalo is ranked ( Dept of Trans and Tex A&M) the second most drivable city ( Corpus Christi is #1 and near me) in the US. How nice it was for me when there to be able to go anywhere I wanted at any time of day and not be caught in gridlock. Put buildings in those downtown lots and presumably they will be populated by people - people have cars- cars lead to congestion and pollution.

Buffalo can not be Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix , San Diego or San Antonioi no matter what it does, but it shouldn't have to emulate them- instead it can be .... Buffalo and that is super!

True, true, more people can lead to more cars and gridlock but more people means more people in Buffalo's downtown, which means more businesses open and an opportunity to expand Buffalo's public and alternative transportation ideas. The era of the traditional automobile is fading. The automobile industry is in shambles, gasoline (though currently cheap) will eventually be a perpetual expense, and years of traffic gridlock in major cities are leading people to seek transportation alternatives. Houston and Phoenix will have a hard time competing in alternative transportation because they are so spread out and even if they have a head start, Buffalo is more compact and a much better place to experiment with smart growth. Just look at the Elmwood Village! Isn't that a good example of smart growth? Now why can't Buffalo's downtown be the same?

[Buffalonian4life]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Who said I want Buffalo to decay? If you're going to put words in my mouth just make up an argument with yourself lol.

The money should be spent renovating the older buildings and give incentives for their use. There are more buildings than occupants in Buffalo both residential and and commercial.

Marine you are so wrong Buffalo is not living in the past - it has tried to compete with the sun belt and everywhere else that's growing for new jobs and industry. Look at it carefully- instead of capitalizing on its museum qualities it has talked about location on the lake - being near Canada as if that compares to having warm winters and being near the new population centers.

Its like this - I pitched high school baseball and my team won a tri-state private school championship. We beat the two junior colleges we played as well. For whatever reasons and there were more than one - I wasn't cut out to be a major league pitcher, in the same manner that Buffalo is not cut out to be a major player in a 1990- 2030 economy. There are kids who can throw harder and cities with climate, tax and locational advantages. Did I continue to try this in my 50's ( well I can beat my 8yr -old daugther when we pitch and hit on our top floor), NO I branched out into areas that I could be more successful- law - investing etc. and I'm damn lucky I did. Buffalo can not keep making the same pitch. "Come see our magnificient old buildings " would be a great curveball, "Look at how cheap our housing is!" would be a great change up to places that cost $150 -200 per sq foot. Now if we could only keep our other breaking pitches (taxes) down so they won't be knocked out of the park.....

Buffalo has NOT thrown these pitches- and Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, San Antonio, Phoenix, las vegas have been outscoring us by literally millions over the past few decades.

Admittedly my view is a minority view but most people are sheep and new ideas don't come easily, but often are necessary.

Note: I say "we" even though I only am a Buffalo visitor and have not bought a summer property there. I just love to wander around the city and really identify with old neighborhoods and the buildings are the heart of them.

I didn't mean that you want Buffalo to decay, I meant that if it's going to keep sticking with the past and never move on in the modern era, then it will decay. Sure restoring old buildings are great, and I absolutely love our the buildings and historic architecture here, however I'm postitive that Buffalo needs to build on the many downtown parking lots that sit empty without historic significance. Sure, save a lot of the old beauty by all means, however the amount of potential here is so great that knocking over a few small old buildings down for a statement building unique to Buffalo is much greater than Buffalo living in its past forever. Your intentions are okay because I see your points you are making, I just feel we should move on and... well we all have our own opinions. - to say it lightly!

[Buffalonian4life]

Originally Posted by Urban Peasant

True, true, more people can lead to more cars and gridlock but more people means more people in Buffalo's downtown, which means more businesses open and an opportunity to expand Buffalo's public and alternative transportation ideas. The era of the traditional automobile is fading. The automobile industry is in shambles, gasoline (though currently cheap) will eventually be a perpetual expense, and years of traffic gridlock in major cities are leading people to seek transportation alternatives. Houston and Phoenix will have a hard time competing in alternative transportation because they are so spread out and even if they have a head start, Buffalo is more compact and a much better place to experiment with smart growth. Just look at the Elmwood Village! Isn't that a good example of smart growth? Now why can't Buffalo's downtown be the same?

Couldn't of said it better myself.

[Buffalonian4life]

See how everything connects as Buffalo grows...

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by Buffalonian4life

See how everything connects as Buffalo grows...

IMO, in the second picture, downtown looks too crowded. From my count, it looks like more than 20 new buildings, big buildings, to be filled with what though? I'd much prefer a downtown using up its vacancies before building up new. FWIW, perhaps I'm a person who likes spaciousness in the skies.

[cheese9988]

Originally Posted by Buffalonian4life

See how everything connects as Buffalo grows...

You have a good imagination. (in a good way) You can also really see the old spoke wheel design of the city streets from that view too.

[Buffalonian4life]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

IMO, in the second picture, downtown looks too crowded. From my count, it looks like more than 20 new buildings, big buildings, to be filled with what though? I'd much prefer a downtown using up its vacancies before building up new. FWIW, perhaps I'm a person who likes spaciousness in the skies.

One by one these buildings may pop up over the next 50 years or so ... Oviously these new buildings won't be built unless the other downtown space is filled, and then again, once they are filled, these buildings could in fact incorporate a mixed use design including hotel, condos, retail and office space.

(Historic stuff isn't for everyone)