Buffalo Update: The Tale of Two Press Conferences

self | jimjohn

[jimjohn]

Notes from Erie County (Buffalo) New from 10:00 AM (12/28/2022):

First, allow me to set the stage for non-locals:

Two Press Conferences. First by Erie County executive Mark Polencars (D-White Guy), then by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown (D-Black Guy; looks great in a suit). See where this is going? Temps are rising. Both in the weather and the political halls of power.

 

• Death count now 35 and climbing (most in city of Buffalo - 26)
• Suburbs are open; city is not (that should tell you something – more on that later)
• Buffalo-Niagara Airport is back up
• Bus and Rail up with limited service.
• The National Guard is NOT ticketing folks. There are watching major intersections to ensure big snow vehicles and power restoration crews and work safely (abandoned vehicles being cleared)
• Nat. Guard is also going door to door in past or current downed power areas basically – to check for survivors that could not be reached.
• Stupid media question of the day: “Why were the Bills players allowed to drive home from the Rochester Airport?”
• No questions about looting.

County Exec called city out for not clearly streets - say they (and the state) are taking over.

Not pretty. It's going to get ugly. Urination match in progress.

County has already taken over clearing the Southside of town.

 

Buffalo (City) Press Conference:
 

• Mayor says 70% of streets cleared (so why continue the travel ban?)
• Want to open city tomorrow
• Says city did not call for National Guard to ticket folks (Don’t criminalize Buffalo residents)
• Mayor says 28 dead from Buffalo; there are other deaths that may not be storm related.
• Says City was Ground Zero of the storm.
• Only 450 homes without power.
• Buffalo PD has an “Anti-looting” detail. Snitches may call 716-847-2255
• Top Cop:
  a) body searches continue (all hands on deck – including dive teams)
  b) ATF in town using their snowmobiles (go figure)
  c) going door-to-door with national guard for more bodies
  d) at least 12 more deaths not related to the storm – and counting
  e) (oh yeah – about the looting):  “This is a problem…” 9 arrests; know who’s who, will make more. Cops are po’ed (I heard a fist pound on the podium, so - yeah). Says either turn yourself in, or we will be on your [fill in the blank] faster than “lake effect”.
  (Like I said in a previous post: stupid people on security cams and leaving footprints - all within walking distance of the crime scene. Stupid games win stupid prizes).
  
  
• Media Questions:
  “County Exec has thrown down, you gonna take that $hit?”
  Response: Play on the heart strings…. (won’t engage in the tit-for-tat). Doing the Mike Tyson dance of ducking punches. (The guy can politic for 60 minutes without saying a thing)
  
  Media, not letting up… “What’s up with the driving ban in the city while folks in the suburbs are open?” (good point)
  Mayor (the dance continues): [paraphrasing] “… look, we got our asses kicked here… didn’t hear the conference, and he didn’t say these things to my face!
  
• Stupid media question of the day: “Mayor, should you resign?” (Politics in full effect)
• Media: your report on street clearing doesn’t jive with what we’re seeing on google and other GPS tech – what’s up with that? (translation: media just called the Mayor on the BS)
• Mayor: No more questions about the County Exec. Whatever he has to say, he can say it to my face!
• Ah the race card (was waiting for this one – it was building): The Buffalo News (of course) asks about the ‘disproportionate number of dead were um… “people of color”. “what does the mayor say about that? Here I thought for a moment the Mayor was going to say “please lay off the race card”, but no, he had to ask the power company about why the power was worse in the ‘black communities’. Sigh…
• More on Looting (big on Buffalo’s East side): Female black reported wants numbers (they don’t have any yet)

Boom -  Mayor’s last response to the County Exec: ”Look, I’m peace and love, cool and calm, and I don’t lose my mind  during a storm” (drops mic).

[jimjohn]

Have popcorn and shovel - will travel (when allowed)

[jimjohn]

Dude, I HOPE you were listening to that. I say its time for a cage match...lol

[Chad C. Mulligan]

In defense of the mayor, cities have a much harder time clearing heavy snowfall because there’s just no place to PUT it. I lived through a couple in Boston, so I know.

[The Mayor]

Oh hell yes. It was great theater but do we really need this right now?
Pulling carz couldn’t wait?

[jimjohn]

Not taking sides, but we have 2 Great Lakes and a killer drainage system - called Niagara Falls.

Point is: every suburb is back open. Buffalo is closed.

Everyone is asking: what gives?

[fhayek]

Suburb streets have been open for at least a couple of days. The big problem for the suburbs was, you had no place to go. Streets open, parking lots at stores and pharmacies still packed with snow. That has been getting better with each hour.

[PGR88]

Mayor says 70% of streets cleared (so why continue the travel ban?)

I wonder what his definition of "cleared" is? Some relatives live in North Buffalo, on a side-street near Hertel, and they say they have NEVER seen a snow plow on their street, regardless of snowfall amounts.

After a big storm, its typical that temperature rises (as it is this week), so with that and cars driving over the snow, street eventually clears itself.

[pepsi_junkie]

In defense of the mayor, cities have a much harder time clearing heavy snowfall because there’s just no place to PUT it.

Isn't there a large body of water somewhere nearby they can dump it in?

[Dilbert San Diego]

As I understood it city streets are harder to clean because you can’t just drive a truck with a blade and push snow to the side.

It is a time consuming task of having to load snow on dump trucks and then driving those trucks somewhere to dump the snow. All of that is much more time consuming than driving a truck with a blade on the front and pushing snow out of the way.

[fhayek]

In the suburbs, you generally can’t park on the streets during winter (at night anyway). And the front lawns are deeper. In the city, the cars are more likely parked on the street, and the houses practically come u to the sidewalk. One or two stalled cars in a side street requires a tow truck, a high lift and dump trucks. It just takes longer.

[jimjohn]

Okay you know the area. this one came right off the lake with Buffalo in the direct line - which means Cheektowaga, Lancaster and Depew should be (and was) in the direct line of fire.

They are open. The city is not, I know its harder to get the snow off the smaller streets, but here’s my point: You have a travel ban - while most of the help the city needs are coming from outside of the city.

Fortunately, it’s warming up. It’ll be more manageable soon.
But there are a LOT of lessons from this storm - for everyone.

[woodbutcher1963]

OKAY, I will say it. The people who live in the city are LAZY.

They expect the city to come and clear the streets.
In a situation like this you have to take care of yourself and your neighborhood.

IF you are waiting on the town road crew to come to your rescue you could be waiting a long time.

We had thousands of trees come down here in NH since Friday.
You go out with your chainsaw and cut it up. You push the logs out of the way with a tractor.

You go out in the street and you clear it with snow blowers and shovels.

[PGR88]

But there are a LOT of lessons from this storm - for everyone.

I can't imagine any significant changes. I live in New York, and its such a one-party, bureaucratic state, nothing changes without money from Fed.gov, union buy-in, directives from Albany, and several court cases. Its created a mentality of complete stasis among government and population.

Storms will continue to hit Buffalo, and people will continue to complain about snow plowing. Its an iron law.

[dfwgator]

OKAY, I will say it. The people who live in the city are LAZY.

In other words, they are Democrats.

[jimjohn]

BINGO!

This will be a key part in my after action report.

[woodbutcher1963]

This has always been the case in all of these natural disasters.
The municipal crews are overwhelmed. You have to take care of your neighborhood by yourself.

This past Friday a buddies neighborhood had over a dozen White Pine trees come down across their road. A cul de sac neighborhood. The MEN/SONS of the neighborhood got together and went out and cleared the road with their own chainsaws. The power was off. So, when the electric company crew came through they were able to get power hooked up quicker.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Why would you have trouble disposing of stuff that isn’t supposed to exist any more?

[woodbutcher1963]

This has always been the case in all of these natural disasters.
The municipal crews are overwhelmed. You have to take care of your neighborhood by yourself.

This past Friday a buddies neighborhood had over a dozen White Pine trees come down across their road. A cul de sac neighborhood. The MEN/SONS of the neighborhood got together and went out and cleared the road with their own chainsaws. The power was off. So, when the electric company crew came through they were able to get power hooked up quicker.