America's Fastest Dying Cities

[Linda_D]

Originally Posted by leftWNYbecauseofBS

Lackawanna, Cheektowaga and Tonawanda were populated by mostly middle class laborers, who carried a certain political mindset. While they moved out of the city, they took the mindset with them and it only was a matter of time before it caught up to them.

Amherst on the other hand, was populated mostly by upper middle class and upper class professionals. These folks carried a different political mindset and settled in Amherst because of "like minds" if you will.

...

Every area in WNY is going to shrink to some extent. It is how the shrink is managed is the key.



Even with the dense housing, the property values are different. I did two searches on RealtyUSA because it allows you to pull up only in specific towns.

In my search for Cheektowaga of homes that are under $100k, I found 145 listings. The same search for Amherst produced just 54 listings.

When you modify the search to under $60k, Cheektowaga has 37 listings. The same search for Amherst produced 6.

If you flip the search to look for high end housing, Cheektowaga does not have a single listing for over $250k. Amherst on the other end has 154. Even in the oldest parts of Amherst, the 14226 zip, you have 21 such listings.

As for UB in Amherst, yes that helps...a lot.


My main point in all of this is to say what happened to Buffalo and then to Lackawanna, Cheektowaga and Tonawanda is going to happen to Amherst is false. This is not a natural evolution. You CAN control things or at least manage some of the outcome.

The state of the COB is due to countless choices that were made that have compounded. The same with Lackawanna, Cheektowaga and Tonawanda. Amherst is a result of decisions as well, they just have been for the most part, different.

How many factories are or were located in the Town of Amherst? Compare that to how many factories WERE located in Buffalo, Lackawanna, Cheektowaga and Tonawanda. Amherst read the writing on the wall a long time ago in regards to the direction of the region.

Very astute observations, Lefty!

If you look at the COB, you will notice that the areas that were originally developed for upper class and upper middle class residents (Delaware Park, West Ferry, Delaware Avenue, Nottingham Court, Central Park, North Park, Parkside, Linwood Avenue, etc) have held their desirability and property values while the working class areas like the East Side have been decimated. Historic areas like Allentown, Johnson Park, Symphony Circle, etc where even modest homes were well-built and had architectural integrity have come back "from the brink".

Much of Amherst is very much like the high end parts of the COB while Tonawanda is more like the West Side (a mix of some high end/historical areas among lots of middle and lower end housing), and much of Cheektowaga is like the East Side (more middle and lower end housing with limited higher end). Even now, you can see that the higher end housing in all of these 'burbs remains desirable while the lower end housing is slipping.

[Save Us]

Now instead of areas of the same region that compete with one another,, it became areas of the country that competed with one another. People migrate for many reasons.. those that have the intelligence and ability will go to areas that "suit" them,, for people like lefty and me eventually, go to areas that reward their skill set and efforts. If it is welfare.. well then that is the population you sustain and cultivate. New York either doesn't get it ,, or doesn't care and as long as Albany with downstate influence is calling the shots.. all north and west will suffer.

This is why no matter how each municipality may be more successful than another,, it is still part of the same region. The folks that shun consolidation and regionalism will eventually pay a price. Eventually the public service unions may kill the collective golden goose.

If the above were not true then no one in Amherst would need to bade family members farewell for other areas.

This area needs to think more about being a region then say Amherst vs lackawanna.

In my opinion.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

Originally Posted by Save Us

This area needs to think more about being a region then say Amherst vs lackawanna.

In my opinion.

Regionalism is a great conversation and one that I love to have. Maybe a new thread?

I will say this. I think one of the biggest challenge in regionalism is the fact that it has been Buffalo working with Erie County. Oil and water as of right now.

I think things have to start small. Finding a way for Buffalo to absorb Lackawanna would be a great start in my opinion. The fact that Lackawanna is a "city" is a joke. It has 17,588 residents.

What this would allow is for the "new" COB to focus industrial development on the Bethlehem Steel site and clear the unused industrial sites along the Buffalo waterfront. No matter how you slice it, the region will never again need all the tracks of land that are sitting empty, waiting and wishing industry would come back.

[Save Us]

Originally Posted by leftWNYbecauseofBS

Regionalism is a great conversation and one that I love to have. Maybe a new thread?

I will say this. I think one of the biggest challenge in regionalism is the fact that it has been Buffalo working with Erie County. Oil and water as of right now.

I think things have to start small. Finding a way for Buffalo to absorb Lackawanna would be a great start in my opinion. The fact that Lackawanna is a "city" is a joke. It has 17,588 residents.

What this would allow is for the "new" COB to focus industrial development on the Bethlehem Steel site and clear the unused industrial sites along the Buffalo waterfront. No matter how you slice it, the region will never again need all the tracks of land that are sitting empty, waiting and wishing industry would come back.

Agreed,

In my opinion it will never happen...ever. This area will never be able to compete with other areas of the country. The infrastructure changes in government ..well you would need a neutron bomb and start all over. Special interests and Unions and their political puppets will ensure its destruction. The divide and conquer strategy this area's pol's have used to keep us under control is alive and well

The only way for NY to close the 4 billion gap has been and always will be to raise taxes........people leave etc....as you said it.. there have been thousands of posts on that subject.

The neutron bomb here is population loss, taxes, etc. That's why there will continue to be articles about the death of cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit.

See you in NC