Giambra is NOT the Only One Fighting

This article (HERE) was posted on Easter for the front page of the Buffalo News.

Basically to sum it up, it says that Joel Giambra is the mastermind behind the ECC fight. We are currently working on a statement for the press  to address this article because although we are thankful for what Joel Giambra is doing, we want the public to realize that other people are supportive and doing work to bring ECC's proposed building to the downtown core.YC4ECC has spent a lot of time and energy into building awareness, meeting with political figures, writing letters, working with council members for resolutions and pushing petitions all to push the health and science building to be built downtown. This article says nothing about our efforts and even hints that Joel is behind it all which is not the truth.

A real statement will be released shortly. In the mean time, take a look at the article linked above. Also, we put some photos in this post to show the readers that we have been active with talking at board meetings, working with the Buffalo common council as well as even passing out flyers at events this past summer.

ECC's Sprawl is NOT Convenient

So, this article (full text below) was posted today about how ECC's three campus system should remain because the writers son is a volunteer fire fighter about a mile away and it is convenient for his schedule.

We have several arguments here about why we believe promoting downtown investment is important for our region however, the main argument we want to drive home is convenience. 

Lets talk about convenience for a minute.

If an ECC student lived on Jefferson avenue, as many do, one would have to take two buses each way to get to ECC North campus which would take approximately one hour, or longer, depending on the bus schedule. All this time wasted for a 50 minute class? Hmmm... what is convenient about that? This also doesn't even begin to discuss the fact that the ECC student could have a job or a family to take care of at which, a two hour travel time for a short class could easily not be worth the effort and could deter the student from having success at ECC. Spending two hours on a bus is not convenient. 

We encourage you to take a look at the bus routes and see it for yourself. For someone who does not have a car, we should be promoting a college education that provides access to everyone.. oh wait, that is a part of ECC's mission statement, right? Yes, it is.

Here is the article.

http://wyrk.com/ecc-needs-to-continue-with-three-campuses-to-better-serve-western-new-york/

In case you don’t know it, I am a huge fan of Erie Community College. I graduated from ECC’s North campus in 1981 with a two year degree in English/Humanities. I then went on to a four year college and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcasting. My education from ECC gave me a perfect foundation to achieve a four year degree and it also put me on the path to the career that I have now. In September of 2010, I was honored as one of Erie Community College’s Distinguished Alumni for my work in broadcasting and local charities. That recognition from my Alma mater is one the highlights of my life and career.
Yesterday I read a very disturbing article in the paper where a former county executive is trying to derail ECC’s plans to build a new building on the North campus in Williamsville. Joel Giambra claims that ECC’s new building must be built downtown because the city of Buffalo is dying. Mr. Giambra wants ECC to consolidate its three campuses and have everything centrally located in downtown Buffalo. This would be a huge mistake. ECC is thriving and serving our community well because of its three campuses. The three locations are perfectly situated in downtown Buffalo, Williamsville and Orchard Park. I live about a mile and a half from the North campus in Williamsville. My son Tyler is pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice with all of his classes at the North campus. He is also a member of the Main Transit Fire Department located less than a mile from the ECC North campus. There are times when he is attending class and gets a fire call and has to leave the campus. Because of the close proximity of ECC North campus and the Main Transit Fire Department, he is able to help his community when needed and get back on campus all in a timely manor. If every ECC class were taught in downtown Buffalo, it would prevent my son from going to fire  and rescue calls while at school. It would also cost my son a lot more in fuel costs if he had to attend class in downtown Buffalo. With the price of gasoline these days, I don’t think he would be able to afford attending classes in downtown Buffalo. I don’t think Joel Giamabra realizes that many young people today are also in the same situation as my son. Money is tight and having a campus located near home is vital. It can mean the difference between being able to attend college classes and not.

It seems that Mr. Giambra has a personal ax to grind. He tried to consolidate the three campuses of ECC while he was County Executive. His plan was shut down back then because it’s a bad idea. Now he is threatening legal action to stop the new building from being constructed on the North Campus. We don’t need Joel Giambra trying to fix something that is not broken. Erie Community College is working perfectly the way it is. President Jack Quinn are his staff are to be commended for the fabulous way the college is being run and serving our Western new York community.

Common Council Meeting - Tuesday, April 10th - 2pm @ City Hall. Come!!!

Hello Everyone!!
On Tuesday, April 10th at 2pm, both Bernice Radle and Greg Conley will be speaking at the City of Buffalo's common council meeting to show support for a resolution which asks the County Executive to withdraw his support of ECC building the health and science building in Amherst.

We are looking for people to come out and show support. We are VERY thankful that the common council continues to push this issue. Obviously they feel that this is important and will only be good for the students and the community. We must continue to push to bring this building downtown which will help bring ECC students closer to the jobs and networking opportunities within and surrounding the very successful Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

See you there. No signs allowed but if you have the Tshirts we made this summer, that would be neat to see.

April 10th @ 2pm. Common Council chambers in City Hall!

Go Buffalo!
-YC4ECC

ECC Should Utilize Sheehan Hospital Instead.

This comes directly from Buffalorising. Thank you to BRO for the maps and research on this one!

You can read the story here: http://www.buffalorising.com/2012/03/sheehan-closing-blocks-from-ecc-city-campus.html

Erie Community College officials are determined to build a $30 million academic building on its North Campus in Amherst.  Governor Cuomo's proposed 2012-13 budgetallocates $15 million in funding for the 110,000 sq.ft. building.  Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz is supporting a county match of $7.5 million as previously proposed by former Executive Chris Collins.  The college and its foundation are expecting to raise another $7.5 towards the capital project.

When first announced, the plan was to house health sciences programs in the new structure. That set off howls of protest from city officials and others calling the move shortsighted and questioning why health science programs weren't located at the City Campus or Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.  With good reason. 

ECC officials are now saying the new structure would be an "academic building" and the exact programs to be housed are yet to be determined.  No matter, the Buffalo Common Council earlier this month went on record supporting building near the City Campus where consolidation of the community college's three campuses has been tossed around for over a decade.

ECC may not even need to build if it can be convinced to expand downtown.  A building may be available soon.  Last week, Sheehan Health Network announced it is closing its facility at Michigan Avenue and Clinton Street for financial reasons.  The five-story building opened in 1979 and has 111,000 sq.ft. of space.  It's located just three blocks from the City Campus.  Sheehan also has coveted parking and plenty of room for expansion.  The property is 8.6 acres, four blocks east of Lafayette Square.

Lets Get With the Program.

http://news.wbfo.org/post/county-pledges-75-million-new-ecc-building-strings-attached

The WBFO post from last week talks about how ECC now has support from our county executive... Great.. Well, we are still happy that he sees the importance of making sure that the right programs are being taught in that building and that he wants a study done.

This summer, Bernice Radle, had the opportunity to address the City Council with a list of the programs that would be taught in this new building and they were ALL medical related. We don't imagine that this list has changed very much since the nursing and other health/medical related programs are very important at ECC.

Regardless of the classes, this money approval shows that our local government is not thinking regional as well as going against what our governor is pushing to do which is pushing our strength into our downtown core. Our regional government is supporting sprawl in a time where bus lines out to the campus are being taken away. We are supporting to build a new building when ECC claims the other buildings are out of date.. shouldnt we be putting funds into restoring the buildings we already have?

Sprawl, Sprawl, Sprawl. Why are we not building smarter and denser? Why is ECC running away from the medical campus when all others are pushing to be a part of it? Why does our County Executive support ECC despite the HUGE amount of public outcry on this issue? Why are we not thinking regionally?

Lets get with the program.

The Common Council Urges Poloncarz to Withdraw Support!

This appeared in the Buffalo News on Friday. Thank you to our council members for taking the future of downtown Buffalo seriously!

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/erie-county/article754728.ece

Here is the text:

The Buffalo Common Council is asking Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz to withdraw his support — and county funding — for a proposed academic building on the North Campus in Amherst.

Council members favor building near the City Campus, instead.

Building in Amherst “would be the latest in a long line of critical planning mistakes that have plagued the region,” Council members said in a letter to the county executive.

The letter — signed this week by all nine Council members — comes after the Poloncarz administration recently gave assurances that the county would keep its commitment to contribute $7.5 million for a new $30 million building on the Amherst campus, which has fallen into disrepair.

“At a time when other regions across the country are acknowledging the inevitable long-term negative economic and environmental impacts of ‘sprawl’ development,” the Council letter reads, “Erie County appears poised to actively encourage and fund it in the amount of $7.5 million.”

The letter goes on to say that sustaining three campuses — in Amherst, Buffalo and Orchard Park — is financially unsustainable for taxpayers.

A Poloncarz spokesman did not want to comment on the Council’s letter Thursday, because the county executive had not yet seen it.

County lawmakers last year agreed to designate $7.5 million for the project, with the expectation that the college and its foundation would raise another $7.5 million.

That money would be used to match $15 million in state aid that is in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s proposed 2012-13 budget.

The Council is the latest to come out in opposition against the building on the North Campus.

Former Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra— who fought for years with ECC officials to consolidate the three campuses downtown to help strengthen and revitalize the city’s core — has been the most vocal critic of plans for North.

A group that calls itself Young Citizens for ECC also has been voicing its opposition.

Members of that group received support from the Council months ago, when city lawmakers — including North District Council Member Joseph Golombek Jr. and Ellicott District Council Member Darius G. Pridgen—tried to pressure ECC officials to reconsider the Amherst proposal.

So, it was no surprise the Council took the stance it did this week, said Jason Kulaszewski, a spokesman for Young Citizens for ECC.

“I’m glad to see that they did,” said Kulaszewski, an ECC alumnus. “It’s great to get that support from the people in power in the City of Buffalo.”

One of the points of contention has been the use of the proposed building.

Opponents argue that initial discussions were to use the building for health and science programs, but a building designed for that purpose would be better suited for the City Campus, near the emerging Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

ECC now says that’s not the case and the specific use for the building is still being determined.

ECC President Jack F. Quinn Jr. also did not know about the Council letter Thursday, but said he looks forward to ongoing discussions with the Council.

“Their views will be taken into consideration,” Quinn said.

jrey@buffnews.com

Letter Sent to the WNY Regional Economic Council.

Hello,
 
I write on behalf of Young Citizens for ECC, an advocacy group of students and young professionals dedicated to the growth and development of Erie Community College.
 
We are interested in bringing to the attention of the WNY Regional Economic Development Council an unprecedented opportunity to bring ECC's proposed $30 million Health Sciences Center for Excellence, slated for its North Campus, to the City Campus in downtown Buffalo. Such a facility could become the hub of the college's health sciences programs and contribute to the ongoing growth and development of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, now the leading job creator in Western New York.
 
We believe bringing this facility to the City Campus is the only alternative consistent with the smart growth and workforce development objectives of the WNY Regional Economic Development Strategy Plan. With 50% of all health sciences workers in the United States being educated at community colleges, it only makes sense for Erie Community College to become a more active partner in Buffalo's fast growing health sciences industry. The proposal simply must be shifted to the regional hub of downtown Buffalo where this investment can have the strongest impact.
 
The State University of New York recently submitted a proposed $15 million budget earmark to build this academic building at ECC's North Campus to Governor Cuomo for his consideration. The Governor has a 30-day window to amend this proposal. We are seeking the support of the WNY Regional Economic Development Council for such an amendment to shift this State investment to the City Campus where it can contribute to the ongoing development of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
 
We would be pleased to present our case at the next scheduled meeting of the WNY Economic Development Council. Thank you kindly for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me at (760) 408-7898 for further information.
 
Sincerely,
 
Bernice Radle
Chair, Young Citizens for ECC