Scorecard: The Week's Winners and Losers
by Zachary Burns
The Week's Winners & Losers
Class WarfareIt’s stuff like this, Buffalo. Third-poorest city in the nation. Scores reliant on public transportation. And yet on Oct. 13, the chairman of the NFTA was resigned to the fact that a dramatic fare hike would be necessary to close a $15 million deficit. Sleep well, NFTA officials, knowing the comfort only a plush pension affords. |
Big Gay PaydaysBuffalo State Sen. Mark Grisanti saw some of the economic benefits of supporting equal rights on Oct. 13, splitting a take of over a million dollars from a Manhattan fundraiser for the four Republicans who voted in favor of marriage equality. I guess sometimes it really pays to vote your conscience. |
Election ShenanigansOn Oct. 18 the Erie County Board of Elections began to investigate reports that a small number of absentee ballots delivered in Lackawanna had been pre-marked for Republican Chris Collins in the race for County Exec. Say hello to another election season in Western New York. Let the dirty tricks commence. |
PreservesLocal volunteers did their best to dress up Buffalo on Oct. 19 and hide our shame from the thousands of guests from around the world attending the National Preservation Conference. Keep holding on tight to that nostalgic image of the past. Yup, I’m sure those streetcars and steel mills will be back any day now. |
ProtectionismTaking time out from his war against food trucks, noted small government advocate Carl Paladino recently made waves by attempting to drum up opposition to a $5.3 million grant—to a rival developer—to rehab the Statler Towers. On Oct. 19 Buffalo Place voted not to adopt Carl’s stance against the subsidy. |
By the numbers...
4.7
Millions of dollars in federal funding awarded to the NFTA on Oct. 13, including $1.2 million to study expansion of metro to UB’s Amherst campus. Meanwhile, increased legacy costs and decreased state funding have left the NFTA with a $15 million budget deficit. The NFTA is now considering fare hikes of 25 or 50 cents and service reductions. |
1,189
Registered sex offenders, including 283 with a high risk to repeat, in Erie County according to the latest figures from the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services. On Oct. 17 the DCJS launched a Facebook application that allows users to track Level 2 (medium risk) and Level 3 (high risk) sex offenders in their neighborhoods. |
72
Percentage of New Yorkers who favor higher taxes on those who earn greater than one million dollars annually according to results of a Siena College research poll released on Oct. 17. 83 percent of Democrats supported the measure along with 55 percent of Republicans. New York currently faces a $2 billion budget deficit. |
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