Comments on: Yahoo Chooses Lockport, Maybe

By: Brian Castner

Brian Castner — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:14:06 +0000

I’m a regionalist, and a disliker of sprawl. I am happy for Lockport. I am unhappy that this facility is not located near other high tech centers, not located in a place id’d for collaboration, not located near UB or another university, and is in a place where 3/4 of the folks who work there will drive from Buffalo or NF to get to work.

By: marc

marc — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:22:29 +0000

If your a regionalist, who cares where the thing is located? Almost 1MM per job is purely ridiculous

By: mike hudson

mike hudson — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:04:54 +0000

the city of lockport and its environs are simply a better place to live for many people than downtown niagara falls or buffalo. i’d live there myself if it wasn’t 30 miles away from where i work. unlike the falls and buffalo, it actually has a public school system you can send your kids to without worrying about their physical safety. there are upscale homes for management and lots of cheap housing for the proles, and real estate prices are well under those of buffalo and certainly amherst. the canal is beautiful, it’s a few minutes away from lake ontario, and deep woods, fields & streams abound for those so inclined.

i can’t believe that a company like yahoo had this imposed on them by some government agency. if people are against this because they are against corporate welfare, they have a point. but those who are saying it should have been in one of our more urban areas seem to me to be a case of sour grapes.

be happy for the people of lockport!

By: Brian Castner

Brian Castner — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:35:43 +0000

Let me play devil’s advocate for a second. . .

The whole point of the low cost power program with the NYPA is to hand over large quantities of power for industries that are power intensive, to lure them to within 30 mi of NF. 40 years ago, those industries were also labor intensive, so hundreds or thousands of jobs would be created, and things looked great. Now, nearly every industry is more efficient, and even heavy manufacturing uses robotics and processes that reduces the labor load. This is exasperated by data and info driven industries, like Yahoo. Deals like Globe Materials, with 400 jobs, are going the way of the dinosaur. If we are going to encourage new, innovative industries, like IT, medical, research, etc, the incentive per job number is going to look awful.

I have no problem with the subsidies. I do have a problem with the siting. How did Yahoo even come up with Lockport?! Though Lockport is better than Pembroke. What IDA, or politican, answered the phone when Yahoo called, and said “You want to go to Lockport.” Why no peep from Buffalo or Amherst? We clearly have no plan, of which industries we want to put where, across the state. But if all Yahoo needs is 190K sf and a T1 line, can’t they get that lots of places?

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:35:20 +0000

how about the Sedita court building after the new courthouse is finished? seems like a better locale for Yahoo in the region.

By: Economic Development — Buffalo Style « Will There Ever Be a Rainbow?

Economic Development — Buffalo Style « Will There Ever Be a Rainbow? — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:11:04 +0000

[...] course, even when they focus on their mission, they manage to muck it up. Buffalo Geek points out that the much-discussed deal to lure a Yahoo data center to the area would deliver only 75 jobs — not the 125 that the politicians trumpeted — while its location in Lockport would [...]