Build it and they will come. Better yet, rebuild it and they will return.
Since the 1960s, Niagara Falls has lost over 50 percent of its population base. Most who fled did so to seek better employment. Some who left the Cataract City enlisted in various branches of the armed forces, while others attended out-of-state universities. Most never returned.
Since the Niagara Falls Reporter debuted in June of 2000, the majority of the Letters to the Editor that we receive can be broken down into two categories: Correspondence from those who have relocated and from those who never left. Oddly, the majority of the mail that is written by locals is critical of the city and the chances for revival, while most of the letters from former residents wax nostalgic for the days of yore and seem hopeful that they can be recaptured.
Armed with this knowledge, we decided to reach out to some former residents in an attempt to better understand the reasons behind their belief in a renaissance for Niagara Falls. Our hope is that this information will be of assistance to the tens of thousands of you who pick up the Reporter at local newsstands each week.
A 15-question survey was e-mailed to seven people who were raised locally and have since relocated with their families. All who received the survey were encouraged to forward it to friends and family members whom they are in contact with and who are also formerly of the Niagara Frontier. To date, 52 questionnaires have been completed, with more arriving via e-mail daily. The overwhelming majority of the respondents were from Niagara Falls; however, you will notice that the questions were broadened out to include those from other townships by using the phrasing "Western New York."
Here are the 15 questions that were posed to the former residents:
In addition to answering these questions, respondents were also asked to supply their age, occupation, marital status and number of children.
The average age of our respondents is 41. Most are either married or partnered. A high majority of those who responded work in white-collar or highly specialized fields -- possibly indicative of the fact that those types of positions are in short supply here. The average survey taker has 1.73 children.
In response to the first question, where they live now, the answers represented much of America, with the highest concentration being along the East Coast. Thirty-three of the 50 states were listed as areas of residency. Rachel Rowland, a performance auditor living in Phoenix, Ariz., takes the prize of furthest transplanted local, while Dina J. Bernat, an elementary schoolteacher from the Adirondack Region of New York State, lives the closest to her former hometown. David Grandin, a 20-year member of the United States Marine Corps currently stationed at the USMC headquarters in Quantico, Va., had the most interesting answer to the question: "I have lived overseas, in Hawaii, on the West Coast, East Coast and all points in between."
On average, the respondents moved away from Niagara Falls 16.13 years ago. This tabulation was complicated by the response of Dale Fritz, a telephone switch manager from Westminster, Md., who answered question No. 2 as follows: "Left in 1982, returned in 1986, left in 1987, returned in 1995, left in 1999."
The question of whether the respondent ever thinks of moving back to Western New York drew very impassioned responses. Over 75 percent said that they sometimes or often think of relocating back home. Kathleen Martin, a special assistant at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., had this to say about her thoughts on moving back to Niagara Falls: "Yes, I think WNY is a marvelous place and has so much potential. I work in the federal government and one of my goals in life is to come back to Niagara Falls and become involved in local government. Another dream is to get some momentum going to get a museum of science and technology established in Niagara Falls. I have all these ideas, but no time. The city and WNY have so much potential."
C. Davis, a sales professional from Jensen Beach, Fla., had an opposing view on the thought of moving back to Western New York: "Only in bad dreams!"
Most of the respondents still have family living locally and most listed better employment as the primary reason that they chose to relocate.
The questions concerning what they miss most and least about Western New York elicited some strong responses. Lack of good jobs, winter weather and high taxes were listed on a number of the survey responses as reasons for not missing Niagara Falls. Memories of kind people, good food, nice summers and Goat Island were listed as the main things that former residents carry close to their hearts.
Nobody summed up what is best about Western New York better than Dave Viavada-Chirello, a regional operations manager for Pep Boys out of Dallas, Texas, when he said, "Food, small town atmosphere, friends, ethnic diversity, Channel 7 News with Irv Weinstein at 11 p.m. stating, 'It's 11 o'clock; do you know where your children are?' Cheap dates, as you could walk around the falls for free or, if you were a big spender, less than a dollar would get you and your date to Canada if you walked across! I can't figure out why I never got a second date! Sammy's Pizza."
Most of the former locals feel that the thing that surprised them the most about moving elsewhere was how relatively easy it was to find a job that paid higher wages than they were receiving back home.
While most said that absence has indeed made their hearts grow fonder for the Niagara Region, Jim Everts, a test track manager from Huntsville, Ala., summed it up best when he wrote, "There are some things I miss, but it's also depressing to return and hear about the economy and other problems."
The biggest response that survey-takers said that they get when they tell people that they are from Niagara Falls is that many around the country think that we are just a short drive from New York City or are surprised to hear that there is an actual city of Niagara Falls.
Tom Golisano, the new owner of the Buffalo Sabres, may want to take heed of the answers to question No. 11. A full 91 percent of the respondents stated that they are Bills fans through and through, but only two of the survey responses mentioned the Sabres. It seems as if Bills fans remain so wherever they are located, but loyalty to the local hockey team dissipates once one passes the "Leaving Western New York" signs. As Kevin Klahs, a police commander in Twin Lakes, Wisc., succinctly stated, "The Bills will always be my team!"
On average, the respondents visit their old hometown once every 1.5 years. Most are in agreement that the area has gotten significantly worse since they moved away. Also, most of the married or partnered respondents say that their spouses enjoy the park area of the Falls, but are appalled at the condition of many of the neighborhoods in Niagara Falls and of Main Street in particular.
The final question of the survey may be the most important, as a full 77 percent of the respondents stated that they would move back to Western New York in a heartbeat under the right conditions. The most common response was a plea for better-paying jobs. Many respondents state that they regularly monitor the local job market and have not been able to locate positions that are comparable in pay to what they earn elsewhere. Many also stated that they are hopeful that the newly opened Seneca Niagara Casino will be the catalyst that downtown Niagara Falls needs to spur further growth and job opportunities.
Karen Signorelli-Russo, a group reservation coordinator in Las Vegas, Nev., was most passionate in what she believes must happen for the transplanted Western New Yorkers to return home: "In this election this November, the people of Niagara need to show they are ready for change and ready to prosper again by voting in a candidate who will make things happen for that great city! For 30 years Niagara has been plagued by bad politics and this year, I believe, is the last chance for Niagara. With the casino opening and the optimism I am hearing from everyone, Niagara needs someone strong in office who will not be afraid to take chances! If that candidate is not put in office in this election, Niagara does not stand a chance, because they are on the brink of something BIG here! They cannot stand to wait another four years! That city is so overdue, it's just got to happen!
"WORK -- Show us the jobs and we WILL come! There are so many young individuals wanting to move back but it's impossible to make a living. My husband and I talk about it all the time and we would move back in A NEW YORK MINUTE if the right opportunity came up. I would love for my son to know his family firsthand and not just by one visit a year or by pictures. I just cannot stress enough how very important this election year is for Niagara.
"Candidates, YOU MUST reach out to the young people in Niagara to get them out there to VOTE! They are the ones that can make the difference. Bring us home to help rebuild such a wonderful city! For all of you that have stuck it out for all these years, you deserve a better Niagara and I pray that you will soon get it. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!"
If the survey has taught one lesson, it is that Western New York may be gone as part of the daily existence of thousands of former residents, but it is surely not forgotten. Also, if the local job scene continues to grow, there is a varied and skilled workforce of transplanted Niagarans waiting to return to offer their assistance in once again making Niagara Falls into the "City of Light."
If you listen intently to the undertone of the thundering waterfalls as the healing mist circles ever higher into the April sky, you'll hear it and know it's true: Rebuild it, and they will come.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | April 8 2003 |