Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz and Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown aren't friends. And that was never more apparent than during December's blizzard emergency.
By Sandra Tan
and Deidre Williams
News Staff Reporters
The Christmas weekend blizzard that paralyzed Western New York for days and took the lives of at least 47 people exposed a host of gaps in the region's ability to fight back, from a lack of vehicles that could navigate the storm to the reality that being without power in a Buffalo winter is a deadly proposition.
While the city and county must work together during disasters, they don't always work together well. And the blizzard response left a lot of room for improvement.
Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said during a news conference Wednesday said that the county had taken over snow removal efforts in a large chunk of the city, from Broadway at the Cheektowaga line to the waterfront.
Just as a community battered by blizzard looks to government for recovery, the region's top two leaders – both Democrats – now appear locked in a major sniping match over the City of Buffalo's performance in cleaning up a Christmas snowfall of more than 4 feet.
Elected officials, union leaders and key Albany observers are raising new questions about the state and city response to last week's Christmas blizzard.
Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz and Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown aren't friends. And that was never more apparent than during December's blizzard emergency.
