On Thursday Night, John Ratzenberger, host of The Travel Channel television show “Made In America” was in Buffalo at Ani DiFranco’s “Babeville” to discuss the slow death of America’s manufacturing base. WNYM was on hand to record the full event and we’d like to present it in its entirety.

Rather than boiling the issue of America’s decline as a producer of goods down to an anti-union/pro-union discussion, I’d like to point you in the direction of a comment made by BuffaloHodgepodge in this thread last week. I think it’s a good place to start the discussion…

For better or for worse, the issue actually has very little to do with either the manufacturer or the worker. It’s all about the consumer. The day consumers start lining up to spend 30-70% premiums on goods that are exactly the same except a “Made in the USA” label on it is the day consumer product and textile manufacturing returns onshore.

Or, a creative firm needs to create a luxury brand that allows it to serve a niche, profitable market at a higher price point. Appealing to patriotism has consistently failed as a marketing strategy - as shown by the Big Three automobile manufacturers since the 1980s.

What are your thoughts?

I think this short audio file sums up the debate so far on regionalizing Buffalo…

Point provided by Elmwood Trey

Counterpoint Provided by Lancaster Stan

I waited for Pundit to return from his Thanksgiving Holiday so that he would have the first opportunity to write about the Collins transition team. His response was as unsurprising as mine will undoubtedly be…

We already know of “fresh faces” Dennis Vacco, Nancy Naples, and Mary Lou Rath. Now, we have 31 subcommittees with chairpeople such as: Cusack, Mills, Ranzenhofer, and Rath

But having legislators and rookies head up something that’s supposed to ease the transition to a Collins administration is equal parts stupid and troubling

So, which is it? Are we upset that he is picking “fresh faces” like Vacco and Naples or are we upset that he is picking “rookies”. Seems to me that most Democrats, Pundit included, are looking for an opportunity to slam Collins regardless of what he does.

His choices for his unpaid transition team feature local Republican Party operative and donors, private sector executives, former legislators and elected officials with knowledge of the political landscape, and members of his party who currently serve in the legislature. Why is this so frigging controversial? If Collins came in and selected only private sector executives to head his transition team, we would hear about his disdain for the current people in government. If he chose all party people, we’d hear the opposite.

If Collins is going to be successful, he’ll need the support of his party, the guidance of experienced political hands like Rath and Naples, and the support of his minority in the legislature. Making them all a part of the transition team seems pretty logical to me, especially since the majority of his nearly 40 member transition team are “fresh faces”.

I guess we could wait to see how things work out when Collins gets a chance to lead, or we could just dismiss every move he makes prior to taking office as political and false. Pretty slim margin of error for this guy…

WNYMedia.net was a proud sponsor of the first ever Broadway Market Christmas Food Fair along with BSC Group, CityView Properties, and David Tiftickjian & Sons.

This weekend marks the start of a new tradition at The Broadway Market as the new Board of Directors looks to establish the market as a year round destination. The Christmas Fair featured independent vendors as well as tried and true market favorites like Melanie’s Sweets and Malczewski Poultry. Santa Claus was on hand to visit with the children, the Community Music School provided music and the sounds of The Snowbelters Barber Shop Quartet filled the air.

It was refreshing to see so many people at the market this weekend and the vendors were exceptionally pleased with the turnout. A great weekend for the market!

If you weren’t able to attend this weekend’s festivities, be sure to make your reservations for Sandy Starks’ “Savor The Flavor” Wigilia Edition on December 8th and 15th. She’ll be sharing the making of a traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner. Wigilia foods, including mushroom soup, pierogi, seafood and the traditional Christmas wafers (oplatek). Fr. Anzelm Chalupka, Pastor of Corpus Christi Church, will join Ms. Starks in explaining the Christmas Eve meal and will bless the Christmas wafers.

This special Savor the Flavor presentation is expected to sell out quickly. For further information or to make a reservation, call Your Buffalo Tours at 716.839.5150 or order tickets online at Brown Paper Tickets.

The immortal words of Peter Finch from the movie “Network” served as a rallying cry during today’s march across the Grand Island Bridge to protest the presence of the tolls on both ends of the island.

While the tolls cannot be removed by legal means as the Ogden and Breckenridge tolls were, the public outcry is reaching a fever pitch with near 8,000 petition signatures and the support of the Western New York State Assembly and Senate delegations.

It was a bitterly cold day, but dozens of people showed up to march with Rus Thompson of NoGItolls.com in protest of what they feel is a system of double taxation on commuters in Niagara Falls, Grand Island, and Buffalo. Carl Paladino of Ellicott Development, who was responsible for the lawsuit which abolished the tolls in Downtown Buffalo, recently sent a letter to Governor Spitzer about the Grand Island Tolls issue:

The Grand Island Bridges and the Tappan Zee Bridge tolls are the only specific bridge tolls on the New’ York State Thruway System. The roads on both sides of the Grand island Bridges are toll free.

The Thruway Authority has hundreds of other bridges in its system, all of which are maintained out of general revenue.

Someone decided that the Grand Island Bridges should have specific toll charges ostensibly because of extraordinary upkeep costs that they thought WNY residents should pay.

The Thruway Authority receives from the Federal Highway Fund a per lane mile allocation of Federal Highway monies for maintaining non-toll interstate highways and bridges. For the upkeep and maintenance of those roads it appears that the DOT act on behalf of the Thruway Authority in applying for those funds annually from the Federal Government, receives the money, and the money is then used for the upkeep of New York State DOT roads and in some cases some monies are forwarded to the Thruway Authority. It all makes sense to someone.

There are no toll roads in Albany, except for the main line thruway, nor are there any toll bridges or interstate roads crossing the Hudson in Albany. Likewise in Utica, Schenectady, Syracuse, and Rochester, DOT bridges are non-tolled. The Skyway Bridge in Buffalo is non-tolled. Why does the State punish residents of Grand island and Niagara County than above the operating cost across its entire system. Why were the tolls on the Grand Island Bridges raised 50% instead of the 20% uniformly raised across the Thruway System?

It all kind of stinks.

Very truly yours,
Ellicott Development Company

Carl P. Paladino
Chief Executive Officer

It does stink, and someone should hold the state accountable.

Local activist Rus Thompson will be joined by local developer Carl Paladino and members of the Western New York State Assembly and Senate delegations to walk in support of the removal of the Grand Island Tolls tomorrow morning at 10AM.

Saturday’s, November 24th, protest event will begin with a 11 AM rally at 63rd Street and Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls. The rally participants will be joined by several public officials in the walk across the North Grand Island Bridge (east side) to an area near the Toll Barrier. There the presentation of petitions will be made to several States’ elected officials. The offices of NYS Senators Antoine Thompson, George Maziarz and Assemblywoman Francine Del Monte have indicated they will be present.

Thompson’s group has over 7,500 signatures for the removal of the I 190 toll barriers which will be presented to our elected leaders. You can sign the petition at the NOGItolls website.

For those of you that don’t regularly visit the frontpage of WNYMedia.net, I’d like to point you in the direction of a cool post from Marc Odien. We were hired to complete a video piece highlighting the completion of the Phase II School Reconstruction Project and the project is quite exciting.

The video was presented at the grand opening Ceremony for the Phase II at Performing Arts High School the other night. A total of $327 Million went into renovating 14 Buffalo Public Schools and All High Stadium in Phase II. While there are issues with the surrounding neighborhoods, blighted properties, and other significant issues; this video takes a look at a significant investment into the education infrastructure in the City of Buffalo. Hopefully, work will continue to redress other issues, but this project is great news for the students and teachers.

Video is after the jump…

In today’s Buffalo News, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY28) thinks she has the panacea for what ails Fisher Price and its parent company, Mattel.

The congresswoman said she was motivated to call (Mattel CEO Robert) Eckert after watching Mattel announce recalls due to excessive lead paint in toys produced in China. Slaughter said she felt the recalls have harmed the toymaker’s image.

“I told him if he wanted instant rehabilitation of his reputation, he would announce (toy manufacturing) was coming back to Western New York,” she said Monday.

Slaughter said she pointed out assets like the region’s work force, availability of fresh water and the possibility of cheap power, as well as legislation being worked on in Congress that could provide tax incentives for manufacturing.

Yeah, as soon as she can fix the onerous taxation policies, workers compensation laws, and make it competitive for Fisher Price to make toys here again, I’m sure they’ll move back.

Of course, moving back to New York does have its downside…as this article from The Buffalo News on November 20th, 2014 illustrates…

Amalgamated Toy Workers of America Local 93 says it will strike beginning at midnight tonight if talks with Mattel, Fisher Price’s parent company, don’t progress. ATWA local rep Jimmy Flaherty said, “Our demands for 3-hour lunches, $40 per hour to place the hats on the Fisher Price “Little People” and paid time off for hockey practice are reasonable and non-negotiable. Fisher Price? More like screw-the-working-man.”

A Fisher Price spokesman could not be reached for comment. No word yet on whether Fisher Price intends to go through with its “Little Striking People” or “Tickle Me Shop Steward” line of toys.

What are some other toys that Fisher Price could make to illustrate the plight of the working man? Coffee Break Barbie? Summer Hours Pooh?

I decided to re-post this article from September as we seem to find ourselves in a similar pickle in regards to the current Route 5 issue that is burning up the Internet tubes here and at BRO.

For decades, the opinions of the people were summarily ignored by city and regional leadership and the electorate rewarded the leadership for their disdain by repeatedly sending them back to office.

Now, in 2007, there is a backlash to any project proposed by the elected leadership (or their appointed friends) and every swinging dick in Buffalo with an opinion feels that he/she must defend it to the end of time.

Of course, those same elected leaders are now confused because, after all, they have been re-elected time and again on the “Screw the people, I’m doing what I want” platform.

Thus, we have this type of nonsensical argument over Bass Pro and whether it will be located within 100 yards of a sacrosanct public space, whether the parking lot should be moved 100 yards, and whether or not Bass Pro or Cultural Tourism will save our waterfront.

Just shoot me.

Maybe it’s me, but I really don’t give a rat’s ass if Bass Pro builds a store in Buffalo nor do I care if Tim Tielman’s Disney-fied version of Buffalo’s canal district gets built.

I just don’t care anymore.

These projects and issues are mere distractions from the real problems our city faces as it attempts to move forward.

I don’t have the kind of time that Tim Tielman does to sit around on my ass and wish for a return to Buffalo 1912. I don’t have the time to wonder why people won’t spend $75,000 to rehab a house in the most economically depressed neighborhood in America. I don’t have the time nor inclination to demand that white people get a Buffalo version of “Tavern On The Green” and classier places to urinate whilst munching wine and cheese at Shakespeare in The Park along Bill Hoyt’s lake.

I want people to demonstrate as much indignation that the City of Buffalo public school system is crumbling. I want people to fight against the political intransigence and corruption that creates this “everyone fight over the crumbs” mentality. I want comprehensive regional planning, lower state taxes, a region which empowers a free market to provide opportunity and possibilities. I want to live in a Western New York where people like Dale Volker, Robin Schimminger, and David Franczyk are considered unqualified to serve in public office.

I want a REAL “New Buffalo”…one that sees the big picture and stops infighting.

If we lived in a city that valued 21st century economic development, that shook off the mortal coil of a union-era work ethos, and worked for real, demonstrable political change…we would create an environment in which waterfront development would be a competitive scenario.

Companies would clamor to serve the needs of Buffalo FARL (Forest to Allen, Richmond to Linwood). We would have neighborhoods that gentrify because market forces demand high end retail and services. We would have people as invested in the improvement of our school system as they are in the demolition of a Medina Sandstone porch on Elmwood or a six lane boulevard vice a highway with access roads.

If and when that happens, we’ll finally be moving in the right direction.

Until then, keep fiddling while Buffalo burns.

“Volume delays can be expected on the Southtowns Connector, your best bet is to head over to the I-90 and catch the I-190…”

That’s pretty much what you can expect to hear on your morning commute into the City in the year 2017 (estimated time the alternative boulevard plan will be built).

Based on traffic data collection (March 2006), the average number of vehicles traveling the area defined by the current Southtowns Connector/Route 5 argument is 42,900 per day.

Based on traffic data collection (March 2006), the average number of vehicles traveling the area hated by urban planners everywhere, Niagara Falls Boulevard between Maple Road and the I-290 is 38,000 per day.

If the alternative boulevard plan as advocated by NMG, CNU, BRO, The Waterfront Coalition, and others were put into place; it would share many things in common with this backed up swath of suburban roadway:

40 MPH, Six Lanes, medians, and traffic…lots and lots of backed up traffic. Also, the area along Route 5 is scheduled for significant industrial buildup over the next 5-10 years, so you’ll be seeing an increase in commercial truck traffic along this route.

Enjoy your new urbanist waterfront paradise.

Every once in a while, I poke my head in over at BRO to see what’s going on.

Today, I stopped by to check out what their take was on the Outer Harbor project. I had just finished recording a podcast with Rep. Higgins on the issue and went over there to see what “the other half” thought about the issue. I was completely unsurprised to see someone immediately invoke the idea of what “the community wants“.

Higgins should do the right thing for the community, and tell the DOT to hold up the process, give the community the opportunity to bring in one of America’s great boulevard designers (there are at least two prominent boulevard designers in California*), limit the time for a new design to be decided on by the community and the DOT in a joint effort, and I believe the community can get what it wants - an attractive boulevard

The funny thing is, that isn’t what “the community” wants. That is what a small minority wants. The overwhelming majority of this community wants people to shut the fuck up and get something built on the waterfront. They want the Sabres to win a Cup and they want the Bills to stay in Buffalo. They want Labatt’s and chicken wings and they want progress. While the wisdom of crowds is not to be trusted all the time, the process was completed properly and the 20 years that have passed sine the project study began have left us with dead end roads and fences along our outer harbor. To cast the argument of a small minority as “the community” is dishonest.

“The community” had multiple opportunities to comment and get what it wanted. This plan provides for an at grade boulevard and allows for future demolition of the Skyway. There are other plans to connect the inner and outer harbor and those studies are funded and underway.

Let’s address some of the other points, Pundit-Style…

David Franczyk: “They (NYSDOT) are not urban planners, this is not their decision to make,” Franczyk said. ” A consortium of community groups has said what they want. The DOT doesn’t represent policy makers. We should stand our ground.”

If professional credentials, ethics, or results determined one’s right to speak on issues, Franczyk would have been kicked to the curb years ago.

Councilmember Nick Bonifacio said, “The DOT says the debate is over. The debate hasn’t started yet. I have problem with the authority telling us what they want. We need to tell them what we want.”

Actually, the debate is over and it started 20 years ago. The authority is not telling us anything, they are putting forth a plan that has been approved by the community at large. We told them what we wanted and they are building it.

Julie Barrett O’Neill, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper’s Executive Director, said, “Most vibrant waterfront communities do not separate people from the waterfront.

How exactly are we separating people from the waterfront again? I’d like to refer Ms. O’Neill to the Fuhrmann Boulevard plan which outlines the accessibility to the waterfront for pedestrians, vehicles, and bicycles. How is going back to the drawing board and perpetuating the current situation for an undetermined number of years going to benefit anyone?

Jim Metzger, Chair of Waterfront Development for the League of Woman Voters said, “Our waterfront, is eight miles of splendor that the rest of the world would cry for. Do it right, do it now, build a boulevard.”

When in doubt, hyperbolize. While the waterfront is a great resource and a foundation for us to build on, I can probably name 100 cities in the world that have similar waterfront infrastructure. We tend to the insular here. Lots of cities have great waterfronts and riverwalks. We’re not that special. Also, they build on their waterfronts. Also, how many cities would cry for eight miles of industrial disaster and remediated brownfields on their waterfront? Lets be realistic.

Jim Rozanski with Partners for a Livable Western New York stood and said, “An aspect of the project that hasn’t been talked about is that impoverished people want to enjoy waterfront too.” He went on to say that a redesign of Route 5 with access to the waterfront would aid in job creation as well.

Really??? Did he need to play the poor people card? How does the DOT plan prevent poor people from utilizing the waterfront? I must have missed the section in the report about “keeping people under the thumb of the man”. Access to the waterfront is not an issue…the NYSDOT plan provides for abundant access to the waterfront. Did these people even read the plan? Also, how does the CNU plan for coffee shops and quaint waterside markets (with no developer) make the waterfront more accessible to the poor? Will buses run to Jefferson and Utica to bring people to the waterfront under the CNU plan while under the current plan, they will be re-routed to Riverside Park? As for job creation, Mr. Rozanski should take a ride up Route 5 to view the millions of dollars of investment into job creation.

Cynthia Van Ness of Buffaloresearch.com made the point that the dead space surrounding Route 5 lends itself to a poor image of the city, “People think their cities are in terrible shape because they see then from the highways, which create dead space on either side,”

She’s absolutely right. The current outer harbor is a drag on the self image of the city. Which is why it is imperative that we get to work on filling it with parkland, improved access, jobs to the south, and at grade boulevards…just as it is spelled out in the NYSDOT plan.

So, I was a bit harsh in my critique, but the tone of my commentary is based upon the intellectually dishonest rhetoric that is poring out of these people who seem to always have a firm grasp on what “the community” wants.

Build it.

After pledging not to raise taxes during his campaign, Governor Eliot Spitzer is digging for ways to close the looming $4.3BN budget deficit.

Under a new policy, major electronic retailers, such as Amazon.com, will be required to collect sales tax on all purchases from New York. The policy, based on a novel legal theory, could hasten the end of the Internet’s era as a duty-free marketplace if other states follow New York’s lead. With the policy, New York immediately took the lead among states that are seeking to tax online commerce.

“I’d say this puts us at the front,” one state tax official, who requested anonymity, told The New York Sun.

Yeah, the only thing we can innovate and be at the forefront of in this country is how to screw the taxpayers with creative taxation. The new tax will bring in an estimated $100MM into state coffers. Since it’s not technically a “new tax”, Governor Spitzer has kept his campaign promise of no new taxes. Yay for us!

At issue is the “affiliate program” used by many e-retailers. Web site operators can provide a link to an e-retailer in return for a commission on any sale resulting from customers using the link. While the affiliate program may consist of little more than a non-descript advertisement on the computer screen, the tax consequences may be huge: New York state says it is the equivalent of having an instate salesperson.

Making NY friendly for business again, eh Eliot?

Remember this ad from Eliot during the campaign? “The luminous beacon of hope?” What happened to this guy?

I love this campaign ad…”Just imagine what he’d do as your Governor”

Surprisingly, he left the whole “tax your Internet purchases”, “give licenses to illegal aliens”, and “get dragged into a sissy slapfight with Joe Bruno” out of his campaign materials.

As a reminder, “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted For Suozzi”

While I think it’s great that people are taking the opportunity to speak their mind and fight to effectuate change on issues they care about, I just wish it wouldn’t happen in a vacuum.

The New Millennium Group, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Congress for New Urbanism and other civic groups are advocating for an alternative to the currently approved NYSDOT plan to improve Route 5 along Buffalo’s Outer Harbor.

After reading through the assessments and plans of both proposals, I simply find the NYSDOT plan to be the preferred alternative. Not just because it has been under design for over 10 years with extended public comment periods, completed Environmental Impact Studies, and approval from all relevant authorities…but because it takes into account the bigger picture.

I’ll stay away from hyperbole about the Skyway’s frequent closures (bogus) and the necessary lane requirements for Southtowns commuters (overblown), I’ll focus on the grander plan for the outer harbor and points south.

The City of Buffalo, Erie County, New York State, and the City of Lackawanna have spent hundreds of millions of dollars remediating brownfields in the areas immediately surrounding the area in question. Development investments have been made at the Union Ship Canal, Lakeside Commerce Park, and reconfiguration of several acres of the old Bethlehem steel site as an area for future industrial use. The regional plan is to reinvent the outer harbor as a destination for manufacturing, multimodal transshipment, and industrial use. So, I ask you, why do we want to subvert all of that planning and funding to plop down an at grade 35 MPH boulevard in the midst of an area that will require major road capacity?

Does it not make sense to continue the use of Route 5 as is and simply improve access to Fuhrmann Boulevard and the outer harbor? The construction as planned does not preclude future demolition of the Skyway and the improvements planned for Fuhrmann as an at grade boulevard with landscaping, and water access sound like a fair compromise. From the NYSDOT plan:

Route 5 and Fuhrmann Boulevard will remain along the Buffalo Outer Harbor as separate roadways. A low-speed, landscaped Fuhrmann Boulevard offers access, development opportunities and recreational use. A rebuilt Fuhrmann Boulevard will enhance and will create access for vehicular, transit, bicycle and pedestrian use. It will be the basis of a new circulation system for the Outer Harbor and the starting point for a future “surface” bridge or bridges to connect the Outer Harbor with the rest of Buffalo at any one of three possible locations previously identified by the city.

While it is fun to rail against NY Authorities for their ineptitude and near criminal ways, this plan is the product of nearly a decade of study and planning. Extensive public commentary was solicited and all hurdles for construction have been overcome. Why on the near eve of the bidding process would the Buffalo Common Council call a special committee meeting to protest a fait accompli? Grandstanding. Frankly, I’ve had more political grandstanding since I moved home three years ago than one man should ever have to witness.

It is approved and as of now, there are no grounds for legal action. Just build it. After all, the Bass Pro Elevator To The Moon Project will be started within 20 years and it has all the made up models that make new urbanists swoon.

Today, newly elected Erie County Executive Chris Collins met with outgoing Erie County Executive Joel Giambra at the Rath Building as part of the transition process.

Marc was there to capture video and we’ll have that up shortly, but here is a picture from the meeting. Care to give us a witty caption? I’m all out of funny today, I must have left my sense of humor in my other pants.

This seems to be the meme of the week, so let me take a stab at it before the cacophony of disbelievers overwhelms the public opinion.

Comments on this blog and others seem to hint that people don’t understand what Six Sigma really is. As of late, many people seem to be hinting that it is some made up goofy nonsense from “Office Space” or “The Office”. Well, it is a serious management tool that is used by hundreds of Fortune 500 companies.

How do I know? I work for one of those companies and I am trained in Six Sigma principles, in fact, I am a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Let us dispense with what Six Sigma is and what it is not…and we’ll move on to the implementation of business principles in government.

What Six Sigma is:

A systematic approach to problem solving with a focus on impacts to the end user or customer. It was designed by Motorola in the 1980’s and is used to streamline measurable actions to achieve a repeatable, expected outcome. In shorthand; Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control.

What Six Sigma is not:

A quality management system particular to manufacturing or a set of buzzwords which legitimize middle management and consultants.

With the definition provided above, what makes it unfit for use in government?

Define: The services provided to the public
Measure: The efficacy and cost to deliver services
Analyze: How those services can be optimized and delivered in a more cost-efficient manner
Improve: Based on gap analysis as to how the services are delivered at a particular cost point and how they can be delivered more efficiently; implement improvements
Control: Implement system to monitor for variances in service delivery and hold responsible delivery group accountable.

In order to save you from sorting through the unorthodox Six Sigma language, browse the wiki page for more information on Six Sigma. In future posts, I will delve into how Six Sigma methodology can be specifically used to effect change in various county departments.

As for the general principle of running government like a business, I fail to see how this is a complex theory. Certainly, the main difference between the two is profit motive, but business principles can and should be the basis for budgeting, service delivery, and cost control.

It is the goal of every business to provide a quality product or service to the customer at the lowest cost possible. Isn’t that what we want as taxpayers? An efficient service delivery mechanism that continually makes an effort to reduce cost centers? When cost savings are realized through efficient delivery, the savings are returned to us as tax cuts/rebates.

If I were to run Erie County, I would first identify my profit centers (tax revenues) and cost centers (personnel, equipment, capital requirements, infrastructure, debt). I would then line by line go through the county budget (using Six Sigma DMAIC methodology) to identify ways to reduce cost centers while holding the line on profit centers in the short term. Once I have produced repeatable efficiencies and cost savings, I would reduce those profit centers and return money to the taxpayers. Rinse, repeat.

Again, I ask, why is this such a complicated thing to understand? Is it simply terminology? Are we hung up on semantics?

Tell me.