Paladino -- love him or loathe him

  Few public figures in Western New York inspire such heated opinion, pro and con, as developer Carl Paladino.

    Some people, especially those he has  tangled with, consider him an insensitive bully whose only real agenda is Carl Paladino.

   Others consider him one of the region's most valuable movers and shakers, a man who puts his money where his mouth is, a man of action who accomplishes more than our elected officials.

   It's curious that Paladino's most recent targets are the Buffalo School Board and Superintendent James A. Williams. Other than some Sabres and Bills officials, Paladino may rank second only to Williams as the most controversial public figure in Western New York.

   So what do you think?

  -- Gene Warner

Comments

[marty farrell]

Just like jimmy Griffin, Carl gets things done his way and he doesn't mind telling people off if need be. This style obviously doesn't sit well with Donny Osmond and Allen Nerdament at the Snooze!

[udontknowme]

just another greedy developer!!

Oh he gets things done!(aka: lines his pockets!!)

Michael, what can paladino do to get this city moving again?
Build a bunch of shopping plazas? Call a spade a spade?( no pun intended)
OOOooooo. he rid us of the tolls on the 190, the least he could do after being a developer / taxpayer succubus.

[Ron]

At least the man gets things done. Local politicians talk a good story but do very little. Mayor Brown is busy taking the credit for all sorts of projects he had nothing to do with and talking big while doing NOTHING MUCH.

Carl talks a lot and gets a lot done. We need 100 more exactly like him.

[Victoria M]

I'm am a Buffalonian (moved to LA so my husband could be closer to his ailing father) but I don't particularly know much about this Paladino guy. So My comment is more of a question. With all the building up of Buffalo it sounds/reads like, he's done what has been his commitment to hiring across the board, city dwellers, latinos, folk receiving social service benefits etc, etc? If he's helping folk help themselves then he can't be 100% bad, but if he's just helping himself, continue to get richer then there is room to argue his intentions, and what sounds like bigotted comments.

[P.Truesdale]

Paladino loves Carl Paladino. The city of Buffalo is a bank account for him. How is he different from any other developer in the area. Oh I know, other developers give to charities and make donations from the huge profits they reap. I personally do not want racist bigots profiteering from my city and being hailed as a visionary. Show me where he gives something back to the city and the people he makes his comfortable life style from.

[Dwight]

If it thinks like a racist, and talks like a racist, that is exactly what it is, a racist. Come on Mr. outspoken, fess up. peace.

[armyfish22]

carl paladino has turned downtown into a parking lot...he cares about Buffalo if its lining his pockets,the only admirable selfless thing he did was spuring the removal of the tollbooths,and staying in south buffalo when he can easily afford to live in the burbs..

[cmc]

Who doesn’t love a passionately driven, yet flawed hero? He’s the mad man that makes sense, the outlaw that knows the law, the irreverent voice that stimulates attention regarding the leadership of the city and its public schools. Put me down on the Paladino “LOVE” list.

[Sean Connors]

'The Buffalo Common Council, in a 5-4 vote, condemned those remarks as “racially divisive.”'

What a waste of time and energy. I know they wanted the remarks struck from the record but this is America. What happened to the First Amendment? Mr. Paladino had every right to say what he said.

Did we not just fawn of Mayor Griffin who was just as brash and outspoken? Here Mr. Paladino sits fixing and patching mistakes made with in those 16 years Mayor Griffin "Got the Job Done" and Council Member Davis wants him ran out of Buffalo. I'm 27 years old and I'm tired of the bureaucratic nonsense, from the School Board to the County Control Board fighting with Chris Collins. IT IS EXHAUSTING"!!!!

I admire Mr. Paladino, I have for years. Buffalo is a very real city, Mr. Paladino is a very honest and real person.

[danno]

Keep in mind that Carl Paladino is a businessman. As such, he does nothing in the interest of anyone or anything other than Carl Paladino. The many abandoned Rite Aids dotting Buffalo, built (mostly) at taxpayer expense, are an example.

Still, hats off to him for putting the Thruway Authority in its place over the toll barriers. For that accomplishment, I can almost forgive all his other sins.

[Texas Kid]

This guy Paladino sounds like a Texas kind of guy. He's take charge and hard driving. Sort of like Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson, and Ross Perot. They want a winner, they go out and get a winner. Something you definitely don't see in WNY and Buffalo. Buffalo has a world wonder less than 20 miles away yet languishes as the 2nd poorest large city in America. A few Texan's could have turned this city around years ago by putting the unions and politicians in their place. However, reality is that the people in Buffalo think like its 1950 and wouldn't know anything about growing with the times. They love their old neighborhood politicians who are out for themselves as long as they're a Democrat and they don't see the long term benefits of future development because somehow this union or that union isn't getting enough of the pie at the time. It was progressive Texas Democrats who built San Antonio to what it is today (Henry Cisneros). With the "quality education" everyone in New York is bragging about and your high school property taxes to pay for it, how come the high tech industry passed New York by??? It's big around Boston, North Carolina, Austin, and Silicon Valley. I can tell you why, its run by men and women like Paladino who can't wait around for someone to quit whining about how their not getting their "fair share" of the development or some politicians waitng for an envelope under the table. If things are so bad in Buffalo, the residents have only themselves to blame.

[Michael Redmond]

Carl Paladino is what it takes to get Buffalo moving again. Forget the mayor,his friends and extended bureaucratic entourage.We need risk takers,entrepreneurs,developers with his vision.
Nay sayers,nimby types and believers in a welfare state will,I am certain,continue to shout at the winds of change.Michael Redmond

[Buffalo Bill]

Keep chopping wood Carl! You are helping everyone connect the dots to why the Bills will eventually leave Buffalo.

[lb]

He has that "can do" attitude that we all need. So what if he gets in your face??? So what if he has some faults - we all do. It is about time all of us take pride in this area and make it come alive again. Years and dollars of study after study has gotten us nowhere. However, look at Baltimore, used to be a dump - now a great place to visit. Who would have ever thought that anyone would want to visit Cleveland??? So . . . . it's about time Buffalo got off its' behind and moved forward. We have a great place here - time to capitalize on it !!!!!!

[Lydia Bezou-Hojnacki]

Leaders put their money where their mouth is. Palladino has spoken.

[Rowdy Roddy Watson]

I think it speaks volumes about Erkel that he has a spokeswoman respond to the article.

[enoughalready]

He's a doer, and we need more of him. Frustrating to many people, he does things on his own schedule (see comments about neglected buildings long-owned and vacant). He's also willing to take on the Establishment- Keep shaking things up Carl- perhaps the public will be woken from its decades-long sleep!!!

[No Disappointment Here]

Just a sense of wonderment why this man is being heralded in the Buffalo News without the pure reporting of the issues that he has been known for in neighoborhoods and preservation.

The Harbor Inn demolition without permit.

The Webb Building hole in the roof that had to be rescued by Rocco Termini.

The Graystone hole in the roof that is currently in Housing Court and his insistence that the commnuity liaison be gagged from testifying about the illegal activity and dangers to local residents.

There are more, but why list them here? It seems the News only wants to toast this man rather than provide a real report showing both sides.

[dld]

This man is what Buffalo needs - how many of our kids are graduating college and leaving because they want to find a good job - most of them say there is nothing here in Buffalo. How sad is that - we raise our children here, put them through college - only to watch them leave Buffalo. Buffalo needs change and if this man can get it done - where do I sign up to help him.

[jbs]

He may be obnoxious to some, but he is the antithesis of the do nothing politicians we repeatedly elect, and the freeloading union members and government workers this town is full of. He is driven to accomplish what he deems necessary for the success of his own business and doesn't really care what the rest of us think.
This town needs a thousand more "men of action" who are unafraid of challenge and change. Unfortunately, many of them have moved elsewhere looking for communities more accepting of progress and change.