HEART OF THE CITY

When I left Buffalo for Florida eleven years ago, I was looking for a new life elsewhere but also hoping for the best of my hometown. I still have family and friends that call Buffalo home, and although I rarely make it back to the “City of Good Neighbors,” Buffalo is always on my mind.

This last month, primary elections were held throughout the state of New York, and although the New York City mayoral election dominated national news regarding the Empire State, to my surprise, as I went to bed on that primary day, a little blurb came across my social networking newsfeed regarding the Mayoral primary back home. The unthinkable happened; long-time incumbent Byron Brown had been defeated by a political unknown most folks outside of close circles in Buffalo never heard of. Now I know this publication has supported the campaign of India Walton, and I will be honest that I did not pay much attention to the race. I mean, why should I? Mayor Brown was a deep-seated incumbent who damn near ran unopposed for the last few elections.

The more I think about it, however, the more it made sense. When I was last in Buffalo, this past fall, I marveled at how much has changed but, shook my head at how much remained. Buffalo, for all the progress that has been made, in downtown and the waterfront, seemed to have forgotten the people and neighborhoods that make up Buffalo’s rich collection of faces and cultures. If one were to look at the layout of the city of Buffalo, which uses a baroque street layout, one could see how the grid was designed to city main arteries and streets reach the heart of the city’s downtown. City Hall is the heart of the city, which makes the people who live on those arteries the red blood cells that feed life into the city. Unfortunately, when heart is failing, the whole system fails.

Driving around the city back in the fall, the further I got from downtown, it became apparent nothing in the neighborhoods really changed. Wherever I went, lower west side, upper west side, areas on the east side and even riverside, the place looked the same as when I left eleven years ago. To this I ask, what has Byron Brown done for the residents?  Buffalo was in dire need of a heart operation, and it looks like the people have spoken and made it happen. Now, I am not saying Ms. Walton is going to cure all the issues the city’s neighborhoods have, in terms of being forgotten and ignored for bigger businesses downtown. There can be complications with any heart procedures. The grass is not always greener on the other side, but it appears that Byron Brown was only watering one spot of the lawn. Let us see if Ms. Walton has a green thumb.

I do not know much about her; however, I do wish Ms. Walton the best of luck and hope she surrounds herself with a good team of people who will listen to the lifeblood of the city.  Otherwise, Buffalo will be back where it was these last 16 years, pumping blood into a lifeless heart.