it is a matter of embracing who we are. were definitely not Toronto, but we are a city with once great wealth. if we can plan it right, that old wealth can continue to make us wealth through tourism. imagine a tour to this vintage city, with an overnight or weekend stay at the newly restored classic, the statler hotel (there is interest in that building), tours of the newly restored erie canal neighborhood and the now accessible lighthouse (thats already under way), and the newly restored buffalo state asylum (ummm, i think the money is there), tours of our vintage high rises, and oh yeah, our frank lloyd wright collection, and there’s more to name…we could be like those old charming towns in europe who have not forgotten their heritage, they nurture it, except ours is late 19th/turn of the century, and it could sell itself. we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us…(praying)>>>please, powers that be, don’t screw this one up too…<<<

but we’ll probably end up becoming Buffalo: Gateway to Charlotte…(that was tongue-in-cheek, my southern expats, we know how bad we have it, just poking fun at our innerselves…)

From what I have seen in Buffalo so far, we are more interested in being the next Baltimore or Cleveland, and haven’t really worked to differentiate ourselves based on our core competencies. Right now there are very few things that truly set Buffalo apart from other cities in a positive way. We have far more stacked against, like high taxes, high utility costs, and tremendous blight and poverty that set us apart. These are not the things that we want to use to differentiate ourselves.

I understand the point of talking about the region but my personal feeling is that is part of Buffalo. You know how the NFL always show Niagara Falls when they are broadcasting a Bills game. It’s a given. It’s BUFFALO. I live in BUFFALO. Niagara stuff is just part of the whole. Valuable but not the meat – the potatoes maybe.

“Buffalo Niagara: Historically Innovative”

This tagline connects our past innovations (Niagara Power Project, Erie Canal, etc.), our present (Steel Winds, Medical Campus, Globe Specialty Metals, etc.), and focuses on builing from this foundation to create a new green/tech economy in Buffalo Niagara. The vision/plan behind this slogan would involve attracting new businesses to the region and growning existing businesses, and a big part of this effort would be working to create more business friendly government, laws, and tax code.

there are exceptions. the Orlandos and LV of the world. but do we really fit into that? or do we want to become some contrived plastic city – a synthetic facade created to lure tourists?

well, maybe the Falls should.