Outrages & Insights

Redevelopment? Yes. Hotels? No.

Rocco Termini wants to restore the luster to the tarnished gem known as the Lafayette Hotel.

He wants to convert the abandoned AM&A's building into something other than the downtown's largest building code violation.

Good for him.

Maybe.

Maybe?

Yeah, maybe.

Because, as they say, the devil is in the details.

Termini is talking the possibility of hotel rooms being part of the mix.And being part of the developer crowd that can't possibly do a project without a government handout, his hand is no doubt poised to dip into our pocket.

The trouble is that practically every hotel in and around downtown Buffalo was built with public subsidies, and most of them are treading water -- at best.

In a story I did a year ago, I reported:

For nearly 30 years, politicians have poured more than $65 million into downtown Buffalo hotels — an average of more than $50,000 per room. The strategy produced five hotels — and a lot of red ink.

Some of downtown’s largest hotel operators say the last thing they need is more competition, especially subsidized competitors.

But that’s exactly the course City Hall is pursuing.

Indeed, since I wrote that story:

• Embassy Suites opened in the highly subsidized Avant building.
• Mark Croce -- the restaurant and parking lot operator who is pals with Byron Brown and Brian Davis -- has broken ground on a boutique hotel at Franklin and West Huron streets with the help of a $1.35 million grant from the state.
• A group that includes Sam Savarino wants to buy the Statler and restore a portion of the building to hotel space.
• Jim Pitts is still trying to get a hotel built on the waterfront in an Empire Zone .
• There's continuing talk of putting a hotel into Canal Side at the foot of Main Street.

Now, Termini is considering adding yet another hotel or two to the mix.

I think the phrase is "Good money after bad."

I mean, if five subsidized hotels can't make it for lack of demand, how will eight, nine -- do I hear 10! -- fare?

A year ago, Richard Geiger, then president of the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that more rooms would not help bolster the convention and tourism business.

“Based on current market demand, we have a sufficient number of rooms in the downtown core,” he said.

He's since gotten the boot from Chris Collins, and his successor, Drew Cerza, is singing a somewhat different tune, according to our story the other day.

In the end, Cerza believes that the market will decide how many projects move forward.

I think the market decided a long time ago. The problem is the politicians think they know better. They've been wrong -- tens and tens of millions of dollars wrong. The question is whether they'll keep making the same mistake for the sake of photo ops and rewarding campaign donors. 

Not everyone in local government has such a "subsidize now, ask questions later, if ever." Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster is one of them.

As for Termini, I wish him well with his latest undertakings. But please, remember to put up the safety railings before the fact.

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Brian Davis and Byron Brown play hard to get

Political bedfellows Byron Brown and Brian Davis are tough guys to pin down these days -- as always.

Investigators for the State Police and District Attorney showed up at City Hall on Wednesday intending to talk to Davis, presumably related to their investigation of the Ellicott District Common Council member's financial dealings. Depending on who you talk to, Davis either wasn't around or suddenly made himself scarce.

No surprise. I had the same experience when I tried to question him about everything from his bad debts to phony claims of a college degree.

Brown, meanwhile, waltzed into Thursday's meeting of the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency 15 minutes late, conducted a meeting that lasted all of five minutes, and blew out of the room. Suffice to say, there was no idle chit-chat.

While hizzoner was there, BURA approved contracts for six of the 14 human service agencies still awaiting approval of contracts that were supposed to kick in last May.

No discussion, no explanation of why the other eight agencies are still awaiting approval, and no discussion about the questions involving BURA's handling of the contracts of some 50 agencies that I detailed in Monday's paper.

Quick guess: what do you think Brown and Davis consider their favorite line from the movies?

Pathetic voter turnout speaks volumes

There are some 439 elected officials in Erie County. And they seemed to account for half the voters who bothered turning out to the polls Tuesday.

Turnout was a rock bottom 24 percent in Erie County, and even worse just north In Niagara County, where an estimated 18 to 20 percent of voters cast ballots.

Odd-numbered years are considered "off years," when neither federal offices, starting with the president, nor state, including the governor, are up for election. Turnout is historically lower, but this year it's in the basement.

Consider these trends:

In Erie County, some 141,000 voters went to the polls Tuesday, judging by the votes cast in the high-profile races, including county sheriff. That number is likely to climb to 150,000 or so by the time a few unreported election districts and absentee ballots are counted. By contrast, nearly 450,000 voters cast ballots last year. OK, that was a presidential year, when the vote is high, but consider the last off-year, 2007, when some 250,000 voters went to the polls.

It was even worse this year in Niagara County, where about 23,000 voters cast ballots, compared to 50,273 in the 2007 off year and some 96,000 last year, when Barack Obama and the old guy who ran with Sarah Palin squared off.

Here's a quick chart with the details.

And here's Bob McCarthy's story with more details, including:

The last time countywide races for sheriff and comptroller headed the ballot was in 2005, and turnout was 46 percent. The same lineup in 2001 produced a 30 percent turnout, which then was considered ultralow.

There's lots of nuances that come into play that help explain the variation in vote totals over the years. In 2007, for example, the races for mayor in Niagara Falls and Lockport pushed up the count in Niagara County. But there was a big issue on this year's ballot -- a proposal to downsize the County Legislature.

There were plenty of contested races in Erie County this year -- although I've got to note that candidates seeking 66 of 155 seats were unopposed -- and it didn't move a whole lot of folks off their couches.

In Amherst, turnout was 30 percent. Hamburg, 25 percent. Orchard Park, 24 percent. I could find a turnout of better than 50 percent in only one town or village in Erie County

The numbers were lame for county legislative races, ranging from 19 to 29 percent where there were contests.

Yeah, the absence of an election for mayor -- Byron Brown ran unopposed after winning the Democratic primary in September -- gave a lot of city voters license to stay home. But you'd think that an electoral push by Chris Collins, with his anti-urban agenda and the state of the county holding center, would have been enough to get more city folks to the polls to vote for sheriff and comptroller. 

All this gives lie to the argument that voters are in love with the notion that the smaller the government, the better, that the government closest to the people is better, etc.

Nope, when it comes to town supervisors, clerks, highway supervisors, tax assessors, council members -- to say nothing of school board members -- two out of three voters just don't give a hoot.

The ones who care include the pols themselves, who view government as a jobs program -- for them, their relatives and cronies.

Coupled with the success Kevin Gaughan is having with getting voters to downsize their town councils, I'd say Tuesday's dismal turnout underscores that voters believe they're paying for more government than they want.

Perhaps it's time they put down the bag of potato chips, shut off the TV and do something about it. 'Cause the politicians sure aren't.

(As for analysis of Tuesday's results, the Buffalo Pundit is worth a read. And don't forget to follow this blog and my reporting on Facebook and Twitter.)

Warren Buffett and the future of journalism

I'll admit to initially being a bit put off by the title of the speakers panel I'm participating in Thursday: 

"Journalism on the brink: When the daily paper becomes the daily blog, who wins and who loses?"

The again, it's kind of subtle compared to what Warren Buffett had to say this morning on CNBC:

"Newspapers have a terrible future."

Far be it for me to argue with the boss.

Buffett. whose Berkshire Hathaway owns The Buffalo News and a piece of the Washington Post, went on to note the steep decline in newspaper circulation reported last week.

"The truth is fewer people ... are going to be reading newspapers a year from now and two years from now," he said.

It's not the first time Buffett has let his feelings be known. Six months ago, he told the Wall Street Journal he would not buy a newspaper company "at any price. They have the possibility of going to just unending losses.”

I guess now would not be a good time to insert a YouTube video of Timbuk 3 singing "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades."

Instead, let me plug the speakers panel at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. It's sponsored by Buffalo Spree, whose current issue includes a story on the state of local online media.

The panel includes a cast of thousands beyond yours truly: Geoff Kelly, of Artvoice; Newell Nussbaumer, a founder of Buffalo Rising; Marc Odien and Chris Smith of WNYMedia.net; Alan Bedenko, i.e. Buffalo Pundit, da man among local bloggers; Brian Connolly, online editor here at The News; Ben Siege of Block Blub magazine; Elena Buscarino, editor of Buffalo Rising; and blogger Sharon Bailey.

I think you should show, if for no other reason than to see who can get a word in edgewise.

In the meantime, listen to what new media guru Jeff Jarvis has to say about what the future of journalism will look like.

In a recent post, Jarvis declared:

The future of news is entrepreneurial.

There’s a lot in that statement. It says: The future of news is not institutional… The news of tomorrow has yet to be built…. The structure – the ecosystem – of news will not be dominated by a few corporations but likely will be made up of networks of many startups performing specialized functions based on the opportunities they see in the market…. Who does journalism, why and how will change…. The skills of journalists will change (to include business)…. We don’t yet know what the market will demand and support from journalism…. News will look disordered and messy…. There will be more failures than successes in the immediate future of news….

That statement also holds many implications for sectors of the economy and society: investment (put money into the new, not the old)… public policy (don’t protect and preserve the incumbents but nurture the startups by creating a fertile and level playing field)… education (how do we train journalists when everyone can do journalism? – how do we train everyone?)… marketing (advertising won’t be one-stop shopping anymore and that means it may support news less)… PR (influence will be no longer be concentrated)… technology (there are opportunities here)…

Finally, that statement does not say some things. It does not say that the incumbents’ institutions will necessarily die, only that they have proven not to be the source of innovation and growth in news.

Hey, I think I have my talking points for Thursday.

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Block grant woes go from bad to worse

The city's block grant program may be more screwed up than ever.

Given its history, that's saying a lot.

And given the city's status as the nation's third-poorest city, that's a shame.

Not that anybody in a position of authority seems embarrassed about it, at least not enough to actually do something about it.

Of course, Mayor Byron Brown can fix the problem. But he hasn't exactly built a track record as a problem solver during his nearly four years in office, has he?

From what I learned during the course of reporting today's story, it appears Brown -- with his sidekick Steve Casey doing the dirty work, of course -- is using the program's millions in part to reward friends and punish enemies.

Let's move on to others who could be part of the solution, if they so chose.

For starters there is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It's real good at finding problems. Not so good at fixing them.

It has the ways -- it's the will that's lacking.

HUD and the city have been going back and forth since the feds issued their report in March that found 19 serious problems with the Brown administration's management of the block grant program. So far, 10 of the 19 problems have been fixed, ones that to varying degrees involve pushing the right paper across the table. But the root problems, starting with poor management, remain unresolved. The full updated report is here.

HUD has all kinds of regulatory powers. And it's got the power of the purse strings. Not that it acts that way. Heck, the feds won't even use the bully pulpit. Call them for a comment, a chance to nudge the city, and you get blah-blah-blah quotes from a flak. The last time anyone had anything stronger to say, HQ in DC called and told everyone to dummy up.

Perhaps Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, Brian Higgins and Louise Slaughter should tell HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to get tough. Our local delegation has been awfully quiet about the city's misuse of federal dollars ever since John LaFalce retired. Yeah, I know, they're all Democrats and want to act like We Are Family, but it is their constituents who are getting the short end of the deal.

The Common Council, on the other hand, has had a few things to say. But it's been mostly just talk.

For all its rhetoric, the Council in recent years has changed about 1 percent of the spending proposed by Brown in his block grand budget submissions. And there's been no push for structural changes.

Yeah, the Council was successful this summer in getting HUD's inspector general to agree to come in and audit the block grant program -- not that he's shown up yet. Far be it for me to discourage another pair of eyes from looking over the books, but what we need a lot more than another study is a solution.

Three Council members sit on the governing board of the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency -- the crew that mismanages the block grant program -- and I don't see them pushing for meaningful change on that front, either. Yeah, the mayor controls the board majority through appointments, but that doesn't mean you just go through the motions. And that's largely what's happening.

Then there is city's foundation community, which invests a lot of money dealing with the vestiges of poverty. It is in their interest to see that the biggest pot of money available to do likewise -- the block grant program -- is money well spent. But they're spectators.

Finally, there are those so-called advocates for the poor. There are a lot of fine people in their ranks. Unfortunately, too many of them feel they have more to lose by speaking out than the community has to gain, and Brown and Casey give them a justifiable reason for pause. But a lot of these advocates have, or want, a piece of the block grant pie. They'll grumble, but not much more.

It's all so Buffalo.

I guess this leaves it up to the citizenry to do something about it.

People, are you ready to rumble?

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Collins and Brown -- the sequel

So much for Chris Collins' rant about Sheldon Silver the anit-Christ being "unscripted" and "off the cuff," as claimed by his flak.

Artvoice reports:

When Erie County Executive Chris Collins called Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver an anti-Christ last Saturday night at a Republican dinner, it wasn’t the first time he’d pulled the line out of his bag.

He recently made the exact same comparison to a group of Buffalo State political science students, who were visiting the Rath Building. Two Buffalo State faculty members were present.

Geoff Kelly goes on to say:

But it’s clear to me that his remark comparing an orthodox Jew to Hitler and the anti-Christ was not “off the cuff” or “unscripted”; it was not a momentary lapse in judgment. The joke is part of Collins’ repertoire. He has used it more than once, who knows how many times.

Which begs the question -- anyone else hear Collins deliver this punchline?

This comes from an aspiring career politician who was quoted last week as saying he didn't want to name any Republicans who might be career politicians because "I don't want to get into name-calling necessarily."

Come to think of it, Byron Brown has an unusual double standard, as well.

The mayor who was too busy to meet last week with the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development when the cabinet member made a rare visit to Buffalo is the same fellow who took time out from his busy day a couple of years back to help Leonard Stokes out of a jam.

Interesting.

And telling.

Speaking of telling, let me share this photo taken last week under the category of "a picture tells a thousand words."

Let's see, we've got HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Congressman Dan Maffei, Senator Chuck Schumer, and, on the far right, Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll.

A mayor meeting with a congressman, senator and cabinet member. Imagine that.

Two "class" acts

Let's see. We have Bryon Brown stiffing a member of President Obama's Cabinet in a rare visit to Buffalo and Chris Collins calling an orthodox Jew an "anti-Christ" and mentioning him in the same breath as  Hitler.

We know how to pick 'em in Western New York, don't we?

Let's start with Collins and a report from Bob McCarthy:

In a story first reported by the New York Daily News, the county executive -- who is exploring a run for governor next year -- referred to French seer Nostradamus' predictions that the world would experience three "anti-Christs" before the apocalypse. He then said it's generally accepted the first was Napoleon, the second Hitler, and was "pretty sure" the third is Silver -- an orthodox Jew.

Collins said it in the context of Silver as part of Albany's "three men in a room" budget process, in which the two legislative leaders and the governor make most budgetary decisions.

The remarks are already sending shock waves through the state's political establishment, and Collins has reacted, calling his choice of words "a poor joke."

"While we may disagree strongly on policy matters, my statement had no place in our political discourse and I am truly sorry to both the speaker and to anyone else who I may have offended," he said.

Are we talking poor taste, or something deeper?

I don't know, but let's examine Collins' recent track record.

His county attorney is steadfastly trying to block efforts by state and federal officials to find out what's happening at the county prison and holding center, in the face of escapes and allegations of prisoner abuse.

In his effort to elect four Republicans to the County Legislature, and tip the balance of power his way, he has aligned himself with the local Tea Party movement that includes some extreme right wing voices, as documented by the Buffalo Geek.

And, through the budget process, Collins has taken aim at numerous programs aimed at the poor and proposed a three-year funding freeze for a library system that is already hurting.

Does all this sound like a guy running county government like a business? Or a right wing ideologue?

Hey, I report. You decide.

On to the mayor.

Who do you see in the picture below. Or, more precisely, who don't you see?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's see, there's Brian Higgins. And Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and urban Development. And Chuck Schumer. All three flew in from out of town. Also pictured on the far right is, no, not Chris Collins, but Anthony Armstrong, of the Buffalo office of the Local Initiatives Support  Corp.

Why was Donovan here?

Schumer said the secretary came to Buffalo to learn more about the plan that he and Higgins are shepherding in Congress.

In other words, our lawmakers are hustling to set up a program that would likely help Buffalo, among other places, and the guy in a position to write the check wants to know more.

Brown was supposed to participate in the secretary's daylong visit. But nooooooooooo. He was too busy, according to Peter Cutler, his spokesman.

What was so important that the mayor couldn't meet with Donovan?

"It was just a busy day," Cutler said.

Busy with what?

"Some issues at the office."

No big deal Brown didn't take time out, Cutler assured me.

"He's met with the HUD secretary before."

But have near fear, Brown sent Deputy Mayor Donna Brown in his place.

"He wanted to make sure we had a presence."

I'm told by someone in attendance the deputy mayor showed up more than half-an-hour late.

Nice. I'm sure than made a good impression.

Now let me get this straight. The nation's top urban affairs official makes a rare visit to Buffalo and the mayor is too busy? The same mayor who shows up at every ribbon-cutting ceremony, who treats crime scenes as a a photo op?

Please.

I'm not in the guy's head, so I don't know for sure why he blew off the fellow in a position to bring a lot of money to the nation's third-poorest city.

But I do know that Brown was irate in March when HUD issued a report ripping the city's management of its block grant program, to the point where he called D.C. to demand that HUD silence Steve Banko, head of the Buffalo office. And I think it's pretty safe to assume hizzoner wasn't happy when HUD's inspector general agreed in July to audit the city's use of block grant funds.

So, was the mayor too busy, or still in a snit?

As I said earlier, I report. You decide.

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Brown fires City Hall trouble-shooter

Carla Kosmerl, a key behind-the-scenes player in City Hall, was fired Friday.

Her official title of late was director of administration and finance with the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, but over her six years she wore a lot of hats and was assigned a lot of the most thankless tasks in City Hall.

She began under Tim Wanamaker focused on the city's use of block grant funds and oversaw an overhaul of the city's relationship with housing agencies it funded. She was assigned an ever-growing list of duties -- including director of housing and fair housing officer -- and was was given the task a couple of years ago of reviewing the finances of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp.

Then, when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a critical audit last spring, she was assigned to deal with that mess. All while serving as director of the Office of Strategic Planning.

I've had limited dealings with her over the years and found her to be earnest, knowledgeable and under no illusions. She was perhaps the most overworked employee in City Hall. Lots of responsibilities, worked long, long hours.

Some sources I hold in high regard held her in high regard, and one told me this morning she was set up to fail. He expects that she'll be scapegoated for the city's continuing problems with the block grant program. 

Other sources told me they felt her effectiveness has been hurt by all the work she had taken on -- or had been assigned.

And a few are saying "good riddance."

Look for more in Tuesday's paper.

  

I'm live on Facebook and Twitter -- get in on the action

I'm continuing to experiment with new media tools and have added a Facebook page in addition to the Twitter account I set up several months back. I encourage those of you who follow this blog to track my work through one or both.

In a sense, Facebook will allow me to open yet another reporting front. First there was print, then the blog, then Twitter. Where it ends, who knows. But I'm aiming to find out.

I've been using Twitter to give readers a heads-up on my latest blog post and will continue to do so. Don't worry, I don't bore people with what I'm having for lunch.

The Facebook page is going to function in part as a feed of my my stories and blog posts at Outrages & Insights. I also plan to post additional content, value-added news, comment and links, if you will. Stuff from me you won't find elsewhere.

Those who sign up to follow me on Facebook can also post comments and content to the page, which allows readers to go way beyond the simple posting of comments on the blog. I'm hoping this helps me build an online community. I'm intrigued and excited about the possibilities.

I was hoping I could build a community around my blog, but I've been disappointed. In retrospect, my expectations were too high. Anonymous posters do not make for a community. Snarky comments, yes. Verbal food fights, yes. But community, no.

Buffalo News policy requires that I keep almost all knucklehead posts up -- unless they really cross the line -- even though I think they are the equivalent of peeing in the pool and driving away many serious minded people who might otherwise have something intelligent to say.

The Facebook page is mine, however, and I will remove inappropriate comments. So, don't libel, don't flame, don't cuss -- in short, don't be a jerk.

The opportunity for mischief is less simply because people posting to Facebook have their names attached to their words. That tends to have a civilizing effect.

I'm hoping readers jump right in by signing up as a "fan" -- I hate the phrase, but Facebook didn't ask me -- and weighing in. For starters, I'd like to hear from people about what they'd like to see on the Facebook page. I'd prefer that you post your comments on Facebook, rather than the blog.

And if there's some technical wizard out there who has ideas for bells and whistles, I'd love to hear from you. Among other things, I'd like to know if there's a way to feed my Twitter posts directly onto my Facebook page. You can do it on personal pages, but it doesn't appear doable for fan pages.

One word of caution for those who want to "fan" the page. It seems there are two fan pages entitled Outrages & Insights, so make sure you fan the correct one.

How this all plays out, who knows. As I said, this is an experiment. In my business, it's change or die, and, folks, I don''t care how much gray hair I have, I'm stickin' around.

In other words, I ain't singing Pete Townshend's infamous line.

If you're game, and already on Facebook and/or Twitter, you probably know what needs doing to follow me.

If you're new to the applications, you'll need to sign up for an account. Both services are free and registration is simple. Here are the links to register for Facebook and Twitter.

Go for it.

State Senate can never have enough lawyers

The State Senate has some 82 lawyers in its employ, according to payroll records. My math tells me they are scheduled to make a collective $6.2 million this year.

So, now that the Senate has decided to take up the fate of convicted Sen. Hiram Monserrate, what has it done?

You guessed it. Hire outside counsel.

Reports the New York Daily News:

The committee that will determine Sen. Hiram Monserrate's fate in the Senate could prove costly for taxpayers.

Committee chairman Sen. Eric Schneiderman just announced the Senate has gone outside its own shop and retained Daniel Alonso to serve as the committee's special counsel.

Alonso, a partner at Kaye Scholoer LLP, is working pro bono. But associates at his firm, which has been formally retained by the majority, can receive up to $350 an hour, said Senate Democratic spokesman Austin Shafran.

The number of associates will depend on the extent of the work, Shafran said.

Hmmm, which YouTube video says it best?

Is it Howard Beale's "I'm mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore" rant from "Network"?

Not bad. But that's not it.

This is more John McEnroe. Yeah, definitely John McEnroe.