[Downtown Bolivar]

I don't believe I ever once said that Buffalo or WNY in general was booming. Nope I don't think the word boom ever was typed by my fingers. What I did say is that I think Buffalo has turned an important corner--a corner which has nothing to do with most of the politacal maneuvering happing locally or in NYS. It is this--Buffalo is becoming interestering to developers--both local, national and international. People see real opportunities here--that's big, because it provides downtown with the private investment it needs to reinvent itself as the region's hub.

By the way--the Buffalo news mentioned during the last census that Buffalo turned down an offer from a private firm to find more people in the city. Rochester however did use the firm's services and added many people to their final count. In fact census 2000 found that metro Rochester grew from 1990-2000. What if Erie county and Buffalo had more vision at the time to hire this firm. What would population estimates look like? As far as metro Buffalo's population losses--it includes industrial graveyards like Niagara Falls (my hometown), Lackawanna, and others, which cancel growing suburbs like Clarence, OP, and Amherst. When these cities right their ships it will have a huge impact on the Metro's population.

I like this conversation though--it's fun. I'm frustrated by our area's gloomy view of itself and I choose change. Why would I stay here if I hated it?