BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — If you transitioned from an office job to remote work during the pandemic, you're not alone. But that transition for many cities like Downtown Buffalo has resulted in fewer people filling the streets, leading to a decline in foot traffic.
I heard from a wide range of voices in the city about this struggle.
Jay Manno
Like many restaurants, owner of Frankie Primo's +39 and Soho Buffalo, Jay Manno, fought through the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I didn't really have a choice. I got kids, I got grandkids, I got responsibilities. And, you know, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," he said.
Before the pandemic, he said there was a hustle and bustle downtown.
"Well I mean both we were open seven days a week, all day, every day," he said. "Because there was so much action down here."
But he said after the pandemic, Soho got rid of lunch and only opened on the weekends for lunch and brunch.
"Frankie Primos, I've been really lucky. We've had a really strong lunch. We were able to keep that open a lot more during COVID than any place else was," he said.
Dottie Gallagher
Dottie Gallagher of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership said there are 20,000 fewer workers heading downtown.
"It's a huge drop in the number of people who are coming into downtown and remote work is a part of that but its impact is not only In the buildings where the remote workers loss of culture and a business and all that but all those ancillary businesses," she said. "Sue's Delis of the world and the Bijou those people can't survive and downtown can't survive if it doesn't have the kind of traffic that it needs."
Lisa Hicks
Lisa Hicks with the city's Office of Strategic Planning also spoke about the study during a recent Buffalo Common Council Committee meeting.
"Things are not recovering there's very little change in the number of people that are coming back into work," she said. "We don't know that a full recovery will happen anytime soon and that's not what we expected."
Mitch Nowakowski
Fillmore District Council member Mitch Nowakowski who represents downtown Buffalo said he's proposed converting empty downtown office space into housing.
"If we are able to successfully convert them, we're talking about long-term sustainability for urban core," he said. "If we're going to make conversions affordable and to make it actually happen, our state representatives have to bring home the bacon next legislative session for these conversions to happen."
