Apr 3
2013
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz decries “multi-multi-millionaires who feel they are entitled to do a project without paying one red cent in tax.” The expanded interview will air Saturday on WGRZ’s Daybreak. The full interview and transcript will post to this website over the weekend.
Apr 1
2013
Robert Gioia is one of Western New York’s consummate insiders. At present, he holds two key positions, president of the John R. Oishei Foundation, Western New York’s largest philanthropic organization, and chairman of the Erie Harbor Canal Development Corp., responsible for developing Canalside and the Outer Harbor. Gioia’s career has straddled the public and private sector. His family operated the Gioia Macaroni Co. and he was a principal with the Food Group of Strategic Investments and Holdings Inc. from 1992 to 2007. On the government side, he chaired the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority during its construction of the new airport terminal in Cheektowaga[...]
Mar 23
2013
Sergio Rodriguez isn’t daunted by the odds of running for mayor as a Republican in a city where Democrats hold a seven-to-one enrollment edge. Rodriguez, 32, is a native of the Dominican Republic. His family moved to the United States when he was 10 and grew up on Long Island. Rodriguez moved to Buffalo a decade ago after a five-year stint in the Marines. He earned an associates degree in business from Medaille College, a bachelors degree in business management from D’Youville College and a masters degree in organizational leadership from Medaille. He ran unsuccessfully in 2007 to represent the[...]
Mar 19
2013
George Hasiotis is one of Western New York’s most interesting – and plain spoken – economic thinkers. He’s been in the news of late spearheading a proposal to build a multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex on the Outer Harbor that would house the Buffalo Bills. But his economic development credentials go well beyond the stadium proposal. He’s an expert on cross-border trade issues and co-founder of the Economic Club of Canada. He’s worked as a public affairs consultant for 20 years advising clients on international business matters. Locally, he’s an owner of Antoinette’s On The Hill Inc., whose holdings include the popular Antoinette’s Sweets[...]
Feb 17
2013
Alain Kaloyeros works in Albany but is emerging as a key player in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s effort to revitalize the Western New York economy. Kaloyeros is the senior vice president and CEO of the College of Nanoscience and Engineering at the University of Albany. Since 1988 he has lead the effort to develop a nanotechnology sector in the capital region, and by extension, the state, which has resulted in the creation of some 18,000 jobs. “He has spent the past two decades building the nano facility as the most advanced research complex of its kind at any university in the world,”[...]
Feb 10
2013
Mark Schroeder serves as Buffalo’s fiscal watchdog in his job as city comptroller. He made news recently by raising concerns about City Hall’s budgeting practices, which have involved the use of reserve funds the past three years to balance the books. Schroeder, 57, spent 25 years in the private sector, working for two food companies before moving into electoral politics in 2001 as part of a political organization lead by Brian Higgins. Schroeder served three years in the Erie County Legislature before winning election in November 2003 to the New York Assembly. He represented Orchard Park, West Seneca and portions of[...]
Jan 27
2013
Jordan Levy is one of Western New York’s most successful entrepreneurs in recent times. He might be best known to local residents as the former chairman of the Erie Harbor Canal Development Corp., which is developing Canalside. He served in that capacity for four years before stepping down in 2011. During that time he first supported the controversial plan to construct a Bass Pro store in the inner-harbor then lead the EHCDC in its embrace of a more popular approach dubbed “lighter, faster, cheaper.” Levy, 57, has enjoyed a long and successful career in the private sector. He is a general partner[...]
Jan 20
2013
Few people in Buffalo elicit a stronger response than Tim Tielman. To some, he is a champion of preserving the city’s urban fabric. Others consider him an obstructionist. Tielman, 53, is executive director of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture and principal of The Neighborhood Workshop, an urban design consulting firm best know for its design of Larkinville, aka Larkin Square. He is also a member of the Buffalo Preservation Board. Tielman has been involved in every preservation issue in the city for the past 25 years, usually as an advocate and sometimes as a plaintiff. His causes have included the Richardson[...]