Reporter Volume 26, No.8 October 27, 1994

By CHRISTINE VIDAL
Reporter Editor
What should government and individuals be doing today to ensure that
New York State's economy is strong in 10 or 20 years?
	This was the basis for an Oct. 18 teleconference featuring a
panel of economic developers, business executives and community
leaders from Western New York and Southern Ontario. Titled "Agenda for
Growth," the program was sponsored by NYNEX Corp. and co-sponsored by
the Business Council of New York State Inc. and the Greater Buffalo
Partnership.
	UB President William R. Greiner presented the keynote address
at the three-hour teleconference, held in the WNED Broadcast Center in
downtown Buffalo. The program will be condensed into a one-hour show,
which will air at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 on WNEQ Channel 23.
	"Our region has enormous potential for a strong economy and an
exceptional quality of life, particularly if we begin to think and act
regionally," Greiner told panelists and the audience of area leaders.
But "that effort requires a very deliberate collaboration on the part
of every sector of the community, from education to government to
business," he said.
	Western New York is a terrific place to live and work, Greiner
said, populated by "highly skilled and well-trained people possessed
of an excellent work ethic, a sophisticated, well-educated general
populace which values excellence." There is a down side to the region,
however - taxes, he said.
	"A great many people in our community assert that it's bad
doing business in Western New York because of taxes, other publicly
imposed costs, and state and local regulations," Greiner said.
	Referring to the January issue of Forbes magazine, he quoted
an article that claimed "that 'the dead hand of taxation and excessive
regulation' weighs heavily enough on New York businesses, especially
small businesses, to drive out the very firms that could do the most
to maintain the state's economic competitiveness."
	The secret to the region's future, Greiner concluded, is to
stop "drawing lines, and arguing over where to draw the lines, and
getting our lines crossed in the process."
	We need to rethink the region, he said. The city and the
suburbs need to work together better, and Western New York and
Southern Ontario need to join forces to create an innovative regional
economy.
	"We need to think like Western New York, Inc.," Greiner said.
	That spirit of cooperation was a continuing theme as a panel
discussion followed the keynote address.
	Moderated by Lewis B. Kaden, a partner in the law firm Davis
Polk & Wardwell and adjunct professor of law at Columbia University,
the panel, in addition to Greiner, included: James F. Anderson,
president, James Management Co. Inc., JRC Realty Co., and JATAC
Development Co.; Mark E. Hamister, chair, president and COO, National
Health Care Affiliates, Inc.; John D. Hoffman, president and CEO,
Warren-Hoffman & Associates Inc.; Judith Ann Kossy, president, Western
New York Economic Development Corp.; Patrick P. Lee, president,
Enidine Inc.; Robert B. Mackenzie, consul general, Canadian Consulate
General, Buffalo; Diane J. McMahon, owner and executive vice
president, Stovroff & Herman Inc.; Andrew J. Rudnick, president,
Greater Buffalo Partnership; Henry Louis Taylor, founder and director,
UB Center for Applied Public Affairs Studies; Edward F. Voboril,
president and CEO, Wilson Greatbatch Ltd.; and Peter K. Wendel,
president, The Peter K. Wendel Group.
	Western New York is doing a good job, said Mackenzie, but one
of the least understood assets of the region is its proximity to
Canada. "This frontier you're on is...one of the most dynamic economic
areas in the world," he said.
	Tourism could be one means of boosting the region's economy,
the panel said, although they disagreed on the role the development of
Buffalo's waterfront should play.
	Development of Buffalo's waterfront would provide a tremendous
boost to the area, especially "if it's a mega attraction," said
Rudnick. Such an attraction could bring to Buffalo the 11 million who
visit Niagara Falls each year, which "exponentially increases the
economic impact" of the waterfront, with visitors potentially staying
in the region several days rather than several hours.
	Others felt, however, that it is more important to Buffalo's
future to develop the surrounding inner-city neighborhoods. UB's
Taylor noted that without support for those neighborhoods, "the outlaw
culture and the vice of crime will ruin that waterfront" the same way
that tourists have become a target in Miami. Buffalo needs strong,
stable neighborhoods in order to move positively into the future,
Taylor said.
	Other issues important to the future of the region are the
relationship between Erie and Niagara counties; improvement to the
area's transportation network, particularly Buffalo International
Airport and developing the leaders of the future.	The leaders of
the future "are not identified yet," said McMahon, "and are going to
have to come from future generations."