coca-cola field (Buffalo, Amherst, Ridge: find a job, wage, taxes)

[Canerican]

Originally Posted by Buffalonian4life

We are number 53 on the largest cities, if we included more of our metro, we would easily reach into the upper 30's to 20's on the ranking.

Wikipedia says 69th. And they are using 2008, not 2000.

And Buffalo's density is probably denser that average, but not extremely dense. Take a look for yourself.

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't think that we can include Canada in our MSA simply because the border provides to great of a physical barrier to entry to make it part of Buffalo.

Either way, Hamiton-Halton-Niagara is an MSA, and I think that Buffalo is simply too far to be coupled with Hamilton.

[Buffalonian4life]

Originally Posted by Canerican

Wikipedia says 69th. And they are using 2008, not 2000.

And Buffalo's density is probably denser that average, but not extremely dense. Take a look for yourself.

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't think that we can include Canada in our MSA simply because the border provides to great of a physical barrier to entry to make it part of Buffalo.

Either way, Hamiton-Halton-Niagara is an MSA, and I think that Buffalo is simply too far to be coupled with Hamilton.

Buffalo is twice as dense as the country's 4th largest city. Wikipedia uses estimates. And please, don't use false stats if they don't include a true census. That's absolute nonsense. And you never judge a city by a city itself. Today, many live in the suburbs and commute to the city. Use the metro population. And yes, we can include Canada in our MSA - not as far as Hamilton - absolutely not, (even though there are cities with thousands of extra square miles than Buffalo's metro and are smaller cities!), but east of it including areas like Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, maybe Crystal Beach, etc. Because in that part of southeastern Ontario, nearly 50 percent of people who are employed commute to Buffalo over the world's busiest bridge.

[Canerican]

Originally Posted by Buffalonian4life

Buffalo is twice as dense as the country's 4th largest city. Wikipedia uses estimates. And please, don't use false stats if they don't include a true census. That's absolute nonsense. And you never judge a city by a city itself.

So then we should use other MSAs, fine. Buffalo #47, and decreasing.

Cheektowaga, shrinking.
Tonawanda, shrinking.
Amherst, neither growing nor shrinking
Clarence, is the only city that is growing
Lackawanna, Hamburg, Kenmore, East Aurora, Niagara Falls... shrinking.

You get the point. Unless 70,000 people moved to Clarence in the last 7 years (they haven't, only about 2000 people have) this area is going through precipitous population decline.

I don't see why the US Census Bureau's population estimates aren't valid. They use real data, and Wikipedia uses that data, it's not their own data as you seem to be implying.

Because in that part of southeastern Ontario, nearly 50 percent of people who are employed commute to Buffalo over the world's busiest bridge.

Wait, what? Nearly 50% of Buffalo workers, commute from Canada? I am about 100% sure you are wrong there.

And the busiest bridge in America is the George Washington Bridge in NJ/PA.

The border crossings here aren't even the busiest along the northern border, that honor goes to Windsor/Detriot.


I don't hate Buffalo, but I am a realist. Buffalo is shrinking. You must know that. The MSA is clearly shrinking. I may be using estimates, but I think that we will see that they were very close in about 2 years. Do I hope Buffalo dies and becomes a ghost town? Absolutely not. I would be crazy to hope for that. I hope the opposite, but in all honesty, there are so many people in this city that say all we need to some optimism, and people will move back; they are all dead wrong. Yes, optimism is a great start, but action is what we need. What action is going on in Buffalo?

A Bass-Pro (wow! A sporting goods store)

New lights on a bridge (maybe we can attract tourists to look at our bridges!)

A casino (Like the dozens on Indian reservations in New York) this might actually bring a few people in from places like Erie. But in all honesty, there are some truly beautiful casinos on the Canadian side of the border. For big trips they will forgo Buffalo, and go for culture, or natural beauty (Niagara Falls)

We truly have nothing on the horizon. No major companies bringing in high-paying permanent jobs (unless call centers are about to take off)

[Digital_Duck]

which park is now Coca Cola Field? What was it called in the late 70's early 80's.

[Buffalonian4life]

Look Canerican, I don't just make up statistics to make Buffalo seem better off then it really is, because yes, you are right, we are still shrinking, and perhaps we have not fully-bottomed-out as we were supposed to years ago... I realize there needs to be a change, and there is hope on the horizon. The question is how we get there. The Global economic recession isn't helping things move along for a lot of cities, and, as always, Buffalo is getting hit as one of the hardest.

Just a question, why does it matter so much that we are shrinking? Better quality of life, and quick commutes are just some of the benefits, and while I would like to see Buffalo rise up as a major city once again, I still think our size right now is great - while we are still a big league international city, we have small town values. Jobs would be great. Lower taxes would be even better.

Then again, we are seeing some of the most development the city has seen in decades. Things are happening, population decline is dramatically lessening, and the overall civic pride of Buffalo has skyrocketed in the past few years. When you come to Buffalo, you feel a sense of place, you aren't in homogenized America, but in Buffalo. A unique cultural hub of many various assets that make up this great city. I am doing the best I can right now to get this city moving, and I hope, maybe someday after your move out of Buffalo, you realize how much you are missing, and you will take action as well. Buffalo isn't for everyone, but it does need more people that both desire change, and have the will to pursue it.

[Buffalonian4life]

Originally Posted by Digital_Duck

which park is now Coca Cola Field? What was it called in the late 70's early 80's.

The Downtown Ballpark was opened in the 80's under mayor Jimmy Griffin whose life-long dream was to have a major league baseball team come to Buffalo. The park opened under the name, Pilot Field, and has since seen many name changes. It replaced what was once the old "Rockpile" - the War Memorial Stadium where the Bills and Bisons used to play, and where a few movies were set. The Bills moved to Rich Stadium, and the Bisons to their new ballpark downtown. Today, that "downtown ballpark" has a new name- Coca~Cola Field, home of the AAA Buffalo Bisons Baseball team.


Also, interesting website: http://www.tripletonline.com/DunnTirePark.html

[Digital_Duck]

Originally Posted by Buffalonian4life

The Downtown Ballpark was opened in the 80's under mayor Jimmy Griffin whose life-long dream was to have a major league baseball team come to Buffalo. The park opened under the name, Pilot Field, and has since seen many name changes. It replaced what was once the old "Rockpile" - the War Memorial Stadium where the Bills and Bisons used to play, and where a few movies were set. The Bills moved to Rich Stadium, and the Bisons to their new ballpark downtown. Today, that "downtown ballpark" has a new name- Coca~Cola Field, home of the AAA Buffalo Bisons Baseball team.


Also, interesting website: Triple T - Dunn Tire Park Pictures

thank you for the reply! I was still around when Rich Stadium went up.
So; is War Memorial still standing? What main streets access the park?

[Canerican]

The park is between Division, Swan, Washington, and Oak. The from entrance is near Oak and Seneca street.

And yes, the War Memorial is still standing.

[Canerican]

Just a question, why does it matter so much that we are shrinking? Better quality of life, and quick commutes are just some of the benefits

Maybe it doesn't matter. I'm not saying it does. I'm saying that you can't say it is suburban flight, and it is indicative of other problems. Heck, when I move I am looking for a town of about 60,000-100,000, because I don't like big cities. Maybe if I wait a few years, Buffalo will become that town, and I won't have to move.

But the fact that our city loses 1.5% of its population every year means that there a HUGE problems.

I don't know if you have ever moved before, it is one of the toughest things. Moving a block away is hard work, moving to another city is ever bigger. You lose your friends, you feel lost for at least a year.

I have lived in four cities, Amherst is probably my second favorite (my favorite was Montreal, my least favorite was Cornwall Ontario). And it really stinks because as a business major I have two choices. I can stay in Buffalo where all my friends are, and work for $15,000 a year less, or move somewhere else, and make alot more.

I know, cost of living, but there are cities with cost of living about the same as Buffalo, but taxation rates at a quarter of our rate that we pay here.

Alot of Southern towns are very affordable, and hiring new workers, as well as have low taxes (Greenville, Charleston, Decateur (AL), Knoxville, Jacksonville, Roswell, Willington (NC), Newport News, etc)

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by Canerican

The park is between Division, Swan, Washington, and Oak. The from entrance is near Oak and Seneca street.

And yes, the War Memorial is still standing.

The old rock pile was torn down in 1993. The only parts standing are the 2 (or 3) pillars of where the front gates used to be. The land was leveled and last I heard the grounds is now a track & field park used for highschool running.