Press release:
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) recently met with daredevil Nik Wallenda at the state Capitol. Wallenda is set to walk on a high wire across the Niagara Falls Gorge, beginning on the American side of the border and ending in Canada. Hawley, who voted in favor of legislation allowing Wallenda’s plan, spoke with the stuntman about preparing for the feat and the impact it will have on Western New York.
“The bright lights of international media will be shining on Western New York when Nik Wallenda walks on a high wire across Niagara Falls,” Hawley said. “The event will give the area an economic boost, and will put all our region has to offer in the spotlight. Nik has shown hard work and perseverance in both his training and his efforts to gain legislative approval for his stunt, and I, for one, can’t wait to see him dance across the falls.”
it will give niagara falls
it will give niagara falls and buffalo an economic boost... not batavia
Jeff, it is up to us to make
Jeff, it is up to us to make sure that Batavia and Genesee Co. are recognized and touted when Buffalo/Niagara Falls or Rochester has an event.
We recently had this discussion on this board. There are some who will say that our area doesn't have attractions that will pull people away from the major cities.
It is fighting an uphill battle. I know, I'm working on a project where I am insisting that our area get the recognition and hopefully some of the economic boost.
we should have never let the
we should have never let the wings of eagles airshow get away....that was great for our economy....although i understand there were some pretty shady circumstances surrounding that topic...whether that is true or not i just cant say
So Steve Hawley is supporting
So Steve Hawley is supporting something that will be a boost to Western New York and it wont be at the expense of Genesee County. Seems pretty benign and no cause for busting his chops. Besides, there is nothing within his district over 3 stories that Nik Wallenda could tightrope walk between.
No argument against the value
No argument against the value of keeping Wings of Eagles in Batavia, but a picture (two pictures) is worth a thousand words...
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.031750000,-78.169666667&t=h&z=16
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.159666667,-76.892027778&t=h&z=16
One cannot suppress airport development AND keep airshows.
You know CM, we can always
You know CM, we can always count on you to pull something off the internet and give a shielded comment that doesn't put things in perspective.
1) The Corning elmira regional Airport serves 4 cities and 2 counties with a combined population of 184,883 people, It is a heavily industrial area.
2) Genesee REgional Airport pretty much serves Genesee county alone with a population of 57,868 people and light industry
3) It was just a few years ago that the airport was expanded was expanded to accomodate commercial Jets, and a plan is in place to improve the terminal. And remember, we had part of State st road relocated to accommdate theat expansion
The point is before you can expand the airport to be comparable to Corning/Elmira, you have to build both the industrial base and the population to support it. An expansion of that purpotion would cost nearly $1bil, this isn't our version of the field of dreams, and frankly, GCDEC and the county are doing a fairly good job of building the base that someday might make such an expansion feasible.
All the banter aside, we lost the airshow because of poulation and infrastructure.
all i know is that the
all i know is that the airshow brought huge income into our area because people came from all over to watch it....shouldnt have anything to do with population or industry or infrastructure....the airport was good enough to host wings of eagles then and is even better now to host it....by losing it to elmira we took alot of dollars out of genesee county
We did not "lose" the air
We did not "lose" the air show. They wanted Elmira and there was very little we could do about it. Go back and read how the group that owned many of the aircraft rejected offers from even Niagara Falls to move there and the split between the members who wanted to stay in Geneseo and who wanted to move to Elmira. The group did split and some moved to Elmira where they did not do that well and even lost the jewel of their collection, the B-17, named the Fuddy Duddy. But Batavia was never really in the running for the club to move here (wish they did).
Historically, whenever the
Historically, whenever the airport has sought renovation or expansion, it has been characterized as benefiting a few. The pictures comparing the two airfields reveal that our airfield has less parking opportunities, less spectator opportunities and less vendor/demonstration opportunites. If the residents of Genesee County wanted to keep the Wings of Eagles here, the lopsided advantages of the Elmira site needed to be addressed. Maintaining a modest airfield and hosting the Wings of Eagles event became incompatible ends. How can I be more clear? Aside from suggesting a hidden message, we essentially made the same points.
My point was simply that
My point was simply that before you can make massive airport expansions feasible, you first have to have the base that could support it.
As John pointed out, the Air show left because of a rift within that organization, NOT primarily because of our Airport.
With regard to airport expansion being for the few, that opinion can change as businesses settle here and/or expand here. Something that is starting to manifest.
There is no hidden agenda CM, I simply said just placing the images of each airport does not tell the entire story. Sometimes your brevity overshadows your point