Paperwork that takes two weeks in Amherst takes two months in Buffalo. It's another sign of the vacuum of imagination, the rut of habit, that permeates City Hall. Instead, they get whacked around and sent home bleeding. I want to do it. It frustrates the hell out of me.
Owners asking delusional prices for buildings also bar the door.
But most of the city's wounds are self-inflicted. The excuse is the city needs the money the fees bring in. But as long as City Hall demands its pound of flesh, downtown will be starved for life. Vacant building shells are the harvest of City Hall's folly. Going for the short money, the quick fix, kills you in the long run.