After years upon years of Buffalo being labeled with a scarlet letter as the city that can’t do anything right, things are starting to look up.  The new owner of the Sabres, Terry Pegula, has brought a new attitude to the team, and now the Buffalo Bills are proving to be a force that no one expected them to be this season.  The 3-1 run at the start of the season was enough to make every fan feel like maybe this year will be different.

Buffalo sports teams are not the only element that has things looking up for the city.  If anyone has taken a ride along the waterfront, it finally looks like promising potential for future development.  The success of the move of Thursday in the Square concerts to the waterfront this past summer shows what a gold mine the waterfront can be for the city.  One of Buffalo’s most marketable features is being located right on Lake Erie.  The waterfront is no longer an eye sore.  It’s amazing how new street lights, some grass seeds, flowers and repaved streets can make the area look clean and vibrant.

The waterfront is not the only place that has gotten a face lift.  The Statler Towers have finally found a saving grace in owner Mark Croce, who has taken on plans to revitalize the building and turn it into a staple of lucrative business in Buffalo.  Recently, the Statler held its third job fair hiring a variety of positions for the opening of a banquet facility and nightclub there next month. Even the Woodlawn Ford Plant is rehiring over 100 formerly laid off workers.

Buffalo is also taking steps toward preparing for its future.  Roswell Park Cancer Institute is breaking ground in an addition to expand its patient care and research facilities.  Roswell Park has been a leading institute for cancer treatment in the nation, and proves to be one of Buffalo’s biggest assets.  The medical facilities in Buffalo are among the best in the nation. The UB 2020 plan is also looking to expand many assets of the University at Buffalo, including its medical programs. Buffalo’s medical industry will be one of the leading innovative industries in the country.

People are looking beyond what Buffalo is not, and are starting to see what Buffalo has to offer. Buffalo has a diverse selection of festivals that span across every weekend of every season, and that does include the cold and snowy winter.  The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is world-renowned and the theater district is booming again with hopes to reopen Studio Arena.

Through the turmoil that has plagued America the past few years, Buffalo seems to be on a rebound; and while many areas of the nation are suffering, Buffalo is remaining strong and making strides for further improvement and all of this while still maintaining its reputation as the “City of Good Neighbors.”

Editorial
The Griffin

Photo courtesy of Flickr / chrisdlugosz