We in western New York are blessed to have some of the world's greatest architecture located in our community. The Western New York Coalition for Progress believes that buildings of truly historic nature should be protected and redeveloped for future use.

However, as we enter a period of increasing development and the rebirth of Buffalo, we must ensure that such development is not stifled by the call for preserving everything that is old. Unfortunately, our community has a history of opposing every project, often in the name of historic preservation, and as result has been dubbed the “City of Constant Opposition.”

In order to help prevent the sort of ad hoc preservation battles that have plagued Buffalo in the past, the WNY Coalition for Progress calls upon the City of Buffalo to institute and enforce a zoning and historic preservation code that can be applied uniformly to any and all projects throughout the City.

The Western New York Coalition for Progress is in favor of new development projects that seek to maintain a balance between new and old, and rejects the notion that all new development at the expense of something old is harmful to our quality of life. A city and its surrounding community can only grow if development embraces our rich history and seeks to set a path of creating new architectural gems for our community.

Therefore, the Western New York Coalition for Progress supports the following two projects that we believe that are architecturally appropriate and will benefit our community:

• Niagara Square Federal Courthouse project; and
• Elmwood and Forest Avenue Hotel project.