Bass Pro: End of Civilization as we Know It?
I don’t understand why every anti-Bass Pro thing I read in the Buffalo News doesn’t sport that title. Because once you read the text, that’s not far from the point being made. The latest missive against the Missouri outdoor store comes courtesy of Cynthia Van Ness, Preservation Coalition President and Buffalo Issue Alerts moderator.
It was 2000, and in a breath of fresh air befitting the new century in a city long suffering from a stale, crony- based political culture, the Preservation Coalition of Erie County led a passionate grass-roots campaign to develop a historically sensitive Erie Canal district that honored the archaeological remains of a site known the world over.
Known the world over? I’m sure people in many places know about the Erie Canal district of Buffalo, but I doubt many people in other places do.
Our vision seized the imaginations of 15,000 Buffalonians who signed petitions calling for restoring the Commercial Slip and unearthing the original street network of Buffalo’s birthplace.
That particular sentence is the most important one in the entire piece. As I’ve written before, the fight in 2000 was about two things: street network and re-watering about 50 yards’ worth of the old canal terminus. The former remains in the Canal Side plan, and the latter has already been accomplished. The quaint seaside village recreation that was done in 2004 was not what the fight in 2000 was about.
Out of this participatory process, a consensus plan emerged with design guidelines respecting the Erie Canal harbor’s history. The 2004 plan, which won an award from the Waterfront Center in Washington, is under way, with the Commercial Slip rewatered, the bowstring bridge in place and the new Naval & Military Park Museum overlooking the slip.
“Respecting…history” is shorthand for, “build something new that looks kinda old, and put some plaques up here and there”. There was never a plan to completely recreate what was once there, and there’s nothing there now, so “preservation” is a misnomer. Again: the argument right now is over two competing historical re-creations; two somewhat different replicas of the old canal district. One being better than the other is a subjective matter.
Progress is there for all to see. The reconstruction of Central Wharf, scheduled for a ribbon-cutting later this year, has come to a screeching halt, postponed indefinitely due to pre-empting by a small group of unelected insiders.
Whoa, whoa, whoa stop right there.
Back in 2000, when the first fight was being waged, it was between the gubernatorial appointees at the Empire State Development Corporation, and a group of preservationists which included media and political types. Everyone involved was a member of a “small group of unelected insiders.”
In 2007, we have the members of ECHDC who were appointed by the duly elected governor. On the other hand, we have…? Pot, meet kettle. Don’t go down the small-group-of-unelected-insiders path unless you’re part of a large group of elected outsiders. No one elected Tielman, Van Ness, or Esmonde to wage war against the ECHDC. At least I can point to accountable, elected officials who populated the ECHDC itself.
Back-room, old-boy-network wheeling and dealing, which has crippled Buffalo for decades, once again rears its ugly head.
Sorry, didn’t the 2000 battle end in a consent decree? “Back room…wheeling and dealing” is sometimes shorthand for “mediation, compromise, and settlement.”
A big-box outdoors store and a suburban strip mall developer have been handed the most globally significant land in Buffalo, with million-dollar subsidies.
That small triangle of land is the “most globally significant land in Buffalo”?! Really?
This deal violates a legal agreement that this community hammered out and was successfully implementing. It fleeces taxpayers and sets a terrible precedent for every other national retailer eyeing Buffalo, who can also demand corporate welfare.
Bass Pro isn’t getting a penny of taxpayer money in its pocket. We are building the structure for them, and that permits the public to maintain control over what it looks like. I think that’s a good thing. The legal agreement wasn’t hammered out by “this community”, it was hammered out by lawyers for the state and lawyers for the Preservation Coalition. That represents, what? A fraction of one percent of the “community?”
The out-of-scale Bass Pro and ramp garage footprint obliterates our intimate cobblestone streets and trivializes the nearby New England Block, which housed Dug’s Dive, a likely refuge for fugitives escaping slavery. For the sake of tackle boxes and parking, we cheapen Buffalo’s role in one of the great moral achievements in American history.
Bass Pro and a garage “obliterates” the street? How so? The plans I’ve seen maintain that streetscape that PresCo fought so hard for in 2000. Are the cobblestone streets any less “cobblestone” or “streets” because of Bass Pro or the parking lot?
The “For the sake of tackle boxes and parking” line stinks of little more than anti-retail snobbery. I’d love to see the reaction from preservationists if someone suggested plopping a Larkin Admin Building replica on that site. Big box? Yep. Out of scale for the area? Yep. Holy Grail for local preservationists? Yep. Heads would explode.
But Bass Pro is an easy target. How many times have you seen one opponent or another irrelevantly bring up Wal Mart in any discussion about Bass Pro on the waterfront? No one has accused Bass Pro of engaging in the business practices that Wal Mart is known for, so that’s unfair. What all that amounts to is represented by a simple equation:
Bass Pro = fishing & hunting = NASCAR = rednecks = poor dentition = Wal Mart.
It’d be funny if it weren’t tragic, because upstream is empty land on the water’s edge, close to existing parking, that better suits a big-box retailer. We can have a vibrantly urban, historic, walkable canal district of museums, shops, apartments and cafes lining 200- year-old cobblestone streets and we can have a Bass Pro. The Webster block has been “shovel ready†for 50 years.
Why lie? You’ve made it crystal clear that you think Bass Pro is an evil taxmoney monster, so why now suggest where else it should go? Would you still oppose the Canal Side project if Bass Pro were moved to another block but Benderson was going to construct the quaint museums, locally owned fair-trade shops, apartments, and cafes? Why aren’t “bars” and “restaurants” included in that laundry list?
Preservationists are often called obstructionists, a pejorative label we accept in honor of all the obstructionists that Buffalo needed when the Larkin Building was demolished, when Humboldt Parkway was sacrificed, when “urban removal†destroyed neighborhoods and when other wrongheaded backroom deals were carried out.
See? OMG! Larkin Building!!
Comparing Canal Side to 50s and 60s era urban renewal is incorrect. Comparing the empty weeds and gravel of the historic block with the Larkin Building is incorrect. Comparing apples and staplers is incorrect.
Photo by MJ Worthington.
But in this case we bow our heads to Larry Quinn, Bob and Mindy Rich and everyone who gave away our place in history to Benderson and Bass Pro. In the “obstructionism†game, they make us look like rank amateurs.
Again: if the identity of the developer and the anchor retailer were different, I’d bet the outcry would be minimized. Benderson is an easy target, and Bass Pro (as we’ve already outlined) is equal to Wal Mart.
We can build a quaint lakeside replica (which, incidentally, in no way, shape, or form would resemble the dirty, nasty, rough-and-tumble of the 1800s canal dock district) and invite 10,000 Villages and locally owned hemp retailers to come in. But who’s going to build the buildings? And who’s going to come? I don’t think the Erie Canal terminus is as globally known or cared-about as Cynthia suggests. But because it was there, the street grid and canal terminus will be restored.
Apart from that, all we’re talking about is historical interpretation.
Will tourists from the Falls come down to see a quaint little lakefront village and have a cup of coffee and a stroll under the Skyway? I tend to doubt it. As I’ve said before, the vast majority of tourists come to look at things, buy things, and eat things. If you’re marketing to the millions who come to that gorge 20 miles from Buffalo, give them something to do, for God’s sake. You can’t eat a meal on green space unless you bring it yourself. Green space doesn’t pay any tax. Apartments aren’t a tourist draw, and there are loads of cafes in Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake already.
But if you market the area as a shopping and entertainment destination, part of which (that one triangular block) replicates the history of the old canal district, people will be drawn. Add a very sought-after national retailer as an anchor which can, in turn, attract other popular retailers that might otherwise balk at the opportunity to site next to the Marine Drive Apartments, and you have a recipe for success.
We can, indeed, have it all. Historical re-creation and contemporary commercial success.
Adam K. Says:May 25th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Why do people assume that the powers that be are the same people who ruined Buffalo in the 70’s? Just because they’re still Democrats and Republicans?
Hint: Every city’s leadership is made of Democrats and Republicans.
What backroom old-boy network? Neither the leaders of the parties nor the politicians stay in office long enough to become old-boys.
Democratic Party Leadership has changed 3 times since 1995, and each of the last two chairmen were not exactly happy to be leaving. The Republican Leadership changed last year, and again, the new leadership couldn’t be trying to distance themselves from the old faster if they were on the Concorde.
These parties are not anywhere near as static as people believe.
So who are our old boys?
Larry Quinn? Because HSBC Arena seemed to turn out pretty nice, and that was the last thing he was in charge of.
Benderson? Yes, they deserve every last bit of the flack they get, and probably deserve more, but they’re local and efficient.
Bob Rich? How is he profiting from this again? I forgot because he’s not.
Bad argument. Next.
peter scott Says:May 25th, 2007 at 7:28 am
word bp
Pauldub Says:May 25th, 2007 at 7:29 am
Why does every editorial in the paper that is against Bass Pro have to include name calling? It’s getting kind of old.
At least they should try to come up with something a little more original.
I wish something would come up on the casino so we could have a little change of pace.
Pauldub Says:May 25th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Damn- in moderation because I used the “C” word….
ryan Says:May 25th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Friday, May 25 - My “You Might Be a Redneck If…” calendar reads:
You might be a redneck if Bass Pro Shop is forced to garnish your paycheck.
Dan Says:May 25th, 2007 at 8:50 am
> Again: if the identity of the developer and the anchor retailer
> were different, I’d bet the outcry would be minimized. Benderson
> is an easy target, and Bass Pro (as we’ve already outlined) is
> equal to Wal Mart.
So true. It seems like the same crowd that so loudly oppose Bass Pro are oddly silent when Ikea or Crate and Barrel are mentioned. Ikea isn’t coming to Buffalo for another 10 to 15 years at least, but that still doesn’t stop so many people from getting wide-eyes over a huge blue-and-yellow steel box on the waterfront, while they would otherwise fume over a more contextually appropriate and thoughtfully designed structure that has a Bass Pro.
It’s not unique to Buffalo. In the places where I’ve worked as a planner, announcements of proposed Wal-Mart and Home Depot stores are often met with loud protest and disgust, while you can hear crickets chirping when it’s Target and Lowe’s.
denizen Says:May 25th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Cynthia, whom I usually hold a lot of respect for, resorts to engaging in what I call crafty rhetorical ballet. This essay is loaded with so many distortions, hyperbole, embellishments, and half-truths I don’t even know where to begin. This piece would be a great exercise for 8th grade english students to dissect in terms of learning how to discern fact from opinion.
I normally have a lot of respect for Cynthia, but she and her cohorts are really barking up the wrong tree on this one.
Alot of the presvs. come from a very specific cultural mindset….academic, left-leaning, politically correct; basically out of touch with how the average person in WNY lives and thinks. There are some obvious cultural biases clouding rational judgment. The EV mentality only accounts for a very small slice of how WNY thinks and acts. It’s almost tempting to use the baby boomer ex-hippie, subuaru-driving cliche here, hehe.
About parking, I hate it just as much as them, but we have to put things in perspective. Most of the regional population drives everywhere and has been doing so for decades. It’s a way of life. Parking must be accommodated nearby, but it can be done in a discreet manner. I agree that it should NOT be crammed into the historic block where the proposed BP would go. People can walk a block or two. Until our REGION has comprehensive mass-transit infrastructure in place, most people will be driving to get to Canal-Side.
Also, the whole preservationist fantasy of Canal-Side becoming a quaint little “neighborhood” is laughable at best.
Let’s not kid ourselves here. CS will be a master-planned regional attraction; pre-fab to the bone. Urban neighborhoods are organic places that grow incrementally over time to meet the collective and individual economic needs and aspirations of thousands of different people.
CS will be a contrived, historic-themed place no matter who ends up getting their way. It will be fake from tjhe get go; it might as well be as big of commercialized moneymaker theme park as possible; the goal should be to spark a re-concentration of regional economic activity in Buffalo’s downtown core.
STEEL Says:May 25th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Ditto what Pundit said
Pauldub Says:May 25th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Denizen is spot on.
Even though I am a baby boomer, subaru driving, not ex - hippie type
BuffaloRox Says:May 25th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Although I agree with alot of what BP says he trivializes two points. First, the preservationists fought for more than street network and rewatering. To say otherwise is wrong. NYS early efforts to recreate the Erie Canal terminus, led by Empire Development Corp, included talk of recreating buildings and history. Second, the Erie Canal terminus arguably is the most globally significant land in Buffalo. I’m not sure what else is more significant. Buffalo’s growth and history is inextricably linked to the Erie canal.
While David Torke takes pot shots at the preservation crowd for ignoring the East Side (rightly IMO), I’ve never read any comments from Tim Tielman or other preservationists expressing a preference for IKEA or Crate & Barrel over Bass Pro. Dan clouds the issue by creating an inconsistency where none exists. BP had a great post on why IKEA is not appropriate for this location.
I’m all for building up this area. The Naval and Military Park is sufficent green space. I’d like there to be multiple unique stores and restaurant/bars so that this doesn’t become a single destination stop. Reality dictates that there will need to be public parking nearby. Quincy Market in Boston has a parking garage adjacent to the site and many garages within a block or two that serve downtown workers and tourists alike. Make that canal are accessible to a waterfront park on the outer harbor where the Coast Guard station is and, hopefully, will be relocated or some other nearby greenspace. I don’t feel that we need another pocket park that isn’t maintained after it is built (e.g., lights in Cathedral Park that are supposed to illuminate the trees don’t work and the park between North and South Division near ECC not only has a water fountain that doesn’t work, but is overgrown and acts as a summer camp for the homeless).
Size Nine Half Shoes Says:May 25th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I recently heard a story from someone traveling in Africa who met some kids in a small, poor village. He told them where he was from and was stunned when one of them started singing “I have a mule and her name is Sal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal.” Kids, by the way, for whom English was not their first language.
Argue the other points, but thanks to a catchy folk song, Buffalo and the Erie Canal are in fact known the world over.
david Says:May 25th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
BP and others…
Guess you missed the date - April 1st - for the Walmart piece!
The water front is big. NO one, that I know, is saying that Bass Pro isn’t welcome. The question is why do Bob & Mindy Rich and their Florida neighbor Johnny Morris get to dictate where Bass Pro gets built and in so doing change the terms of the earlier agreement.
Role Reversal… for additional images and the Flynn Battaglia sketch of the terminus area…
Oh well…guess if you live in suburbia (or Florida) you have one notion of historical interpretation. Trying to suggest that it’s the correct one is a different topic.
david Says:May 25th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
oops…here’s the link…
http://fixbuffalo.blogspot.com/2007/05/role-reversal.html
Tom Says:May 25th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
BuffaloLeanSoFarToTheLeftThatOurBrainsAreFallingOutAlerts
TseTse Says:May 25th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
LOL How weird A Revered archeological site? Right up there with the Parthenon and the Pyramids! Cynthia needs a reality check. Comments like her’s smack of Grandiose delusional disorder. What , in reality, this boils down to is a small clique of unelected, self-important elitist who refuse to compromise. They will use every method at their disposal to thwart any input from the general public by degrading elected or duely appointed officials.
What community does she refer to? Was there a ballot initiative? Who was asked ? In fact, mis-representations, and half-truths indicate contempt for the public at large, as if the rest of us are too stupid to know any better.
So 15,000 signed a petition . That means 275,000 didn’t. Weren’t asked? or refused?
Yup. « all things buffalo Says:May 25th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
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