I spent Saturday morning with Riverkeepers picking up litter along the shores of the Niagara River at Broderick Park. Fugitive slaves once crossed the river to Canada from here (before there was a bridge).
In any other city, the closer you get to the water, the nicer the homes, and the higher the property values. In Buffalo it's backwards: the westside, closest to the river, is the poorest – and the closer you get to the water, the worse.
The park itself seems virtually ignored by the city, probably because only poor people use it. Its neglected state makes it a welcoming place for all ne'erdowells. A cursory archaeological inventory of the litter I picked up will give you some idea of daily activities at the park: cigarette butts, dimebags, blunts, liquor bottles, condoms, McDonald's bags, dirty diapers, panties and plenty of discarded fishing line (from fisherman apparently brave enough to catch and eat fish with a high prevalence deformities and liver and skin tumors).
Today, the New York Times ran a story: After a Half-Century of Decline, Signs of Better Times for Buffalo. The article provides a concise history of Buffalo's 50-year decline and reasons for it's imminent turnaround (mostly an assortment of waterfront projects).
True, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore have experienced revivals by redeveloping their industrial waterfronts and piers into largely recreational use - while Buffalo has lagged.
What no one seems to be considering, is the possibility that those waterfronts will one day again be needed for industrial and shipping purposes. As oil becomes increasingly scarce and expensive, the canal will re-emerge as an important shipping corridor (it's about 35 times more fuel-efficient to ship via barges than by interstate trucking).
Buffalo might finally redevelop its waterfront into parks and shopping centers just in time to tear it all down again and reconvert it back to industrial use.
PS Maybe Bass Pro Shop is dragging its feet because our fish have tumors - just a guess - but it's hard to believe they'd open a flagship store outfitting customers with all the latest and greatest tackle...so they can reel in three-eyed fish.
