Buffalo Rising Online

Do we have proof that "is" a true story and that he "Is" moving back? or are we jumping to conclusion from one blog? Really, if you think about it===Buffalo now compared to Buffalo in 1963...I would want it too look as it did in '63---It had a "Vibe" then, more activity, busier streets, SAFER Streets, More going on, DEPARTMENT STORES, THEATRES GALORE, and it wasn't just in downtown...So why would anyone say , Downtown looks better now than it did then???? Must not be a true story then. Downtown now is a GHOST TOWN compared to how it was in the 60's.

It is a true story, and I am moving back. I do get that reaction, especially when I told people I was visiting in the middle of the winter. I’m giving a different perspective and remember I said it looked better than I remember it, a perspective tainted by being away for so long and missing the things I had taken for granted. I see positive things that have been done but realize there’s a great deal which still has to be done to improve the quality of life. I just don’t dwell on the negative, and the purpose of Old Home Week is to point out the other side of the story Buffalo Bashers portray. The organizers of Buffalo Old Home Week prove there are people here willing to actually do something to make it a better place.

Well, Digginit, when your kids grow up THEY WILL MOVE like everyone else. Enjoy them here while it last.

Hey Danny, I was born here, raised here, went to school here, and now found a great job here and I'm only 23....What gives, I thought everyone moves away?? I guess the majority of my friends who stayed are wrong as well??

i guess the 40,000 people who have left the city since 2000 didn't notice the pretty colors of the buildings downtown.

Downtown???? Empty storefronts, a Mall with nothing at all, surface lots, broken parking meters (or missing), graffiti walls, run-down buildings, a few new residence BUT NO PLACE TO SHOP!!! Yeah, enjoy your downtown..Now a group is trying to stop the waterfront Development....No wonder NOTHING EVER gets done here, and it definitely shows in the quiet streets you have to offer.

im sorry iAMbuffalo...i'll meet up with your mom at bird island later because im actually actively involved and committed to downtown buffalo

There is a major difference between 1963 and 2007. In 1963 we were on a downward swing with no relief on the horizon. Now in 2007 we are on an upward swing with nothing in sight to slow it down.

Downtown is still very BORING. What are people expected to do down there during the day time???? Walk past EMPTY Storefronts and parking lots, get harrased by bums, get BORED???? The few restaurants there are pricey and the deli's close before 3pm....What gives?

Marti- You are most welcome, and thank you and everyone else in return for the warm welcome. I do have a true appreciation for a real city; living in Las Vegas all these years has made me truly recognize an area with a sense of community and that pays homage to its roots. Buffalo is the genuine article. I’m just carrying on a family tradition—my ancestors arrived and settled here to build the Erie Canal, and subsequent generations of engineers and builders took part at creating this region. They all succeeded by not giving up in the face of adversity—that’s the basis on which this entire nation is founded. I’m bringing that back home to help keep the momentum going in building a more vibrant community.

Gawd, you people are so dumb.....Buffalo is DEAD! People are LEAVING! Downtown SUCKS!

It's nice to see George and others returning, if only some people who have lived in other places could be brought into the fold and be able to affect change on the city. Being away you get a better sense of things going on in the city. Unlike those who have moved to sunbelt cities and greener pastures, I am in Philly, not a real hot bed for the young elite, but I do take public transportation, shop in Center City and go to meetings where community members have a say in development!

Hopefully the experiences of those returning to buffalo will change the city from its parochial and stuck in the mud ways.

This article is really amusing. "it looked so great. Homes with character, well-maintained… tree-canopied streets, even after the carnage of Dutch Elm disease and the big storm in October." Gimme a break, the trees look like a hurricane went through and there are still branches littering the ground six months later. Another great one: "Downtown did look empty, with a lot of shovel-ready parcels down there."

I think this article is a shovel-ready parcel. I'm not saying there aren't good things happening here in Buffalo, but if you write something this unrealistically optomistic, people are just going to ignore it as propaganda.

I don't mean to sound patronizing, but I really feel sorry for Ross, Genghis, etc. It must really suck to get up everyday hating the place you live so much that when someone says something nice about it you have to go off on a rant about how wrong they are.

George, welcome back. As Nick says, it will be great to have you here to share your observations on the the other communities in which you've lived.

Plant a few trees and I'm bringing my tools and will be volunteering at the Central Terminal and Buffalo ReUse and others. I'm not only a radio geek but a carpenter, plumber, hvac, and computer guy. So I can build you a nice place and wire you for the 21st century. It's going to feel very rewarding to give something back to my home. I'm a native, we giving kind of people. And lulu, thanks for the apprectiation, you find a lot of that in the City of Good Neighbors.