Poloncarz calls Buffalo blizzard response 'embarrassing'; Brown suggests county exec struggling under the pressure

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. Buffalo was the last municipality in Western New York to be under a driving ban, which was expected to continue to at least 9 a.m. Thursday. 

He then criticized Mayor Byron Brown and Buffalo leadership for their lack of speed in recovering from a major snowstorm.

"The city, unfortunately, is always the last one to open," Poloncarz said. "It's embarrassing, to tell you the truth."

Poloncarz added that the county possesses the resources – such as funds to pay contractors – to recover from a storm more quickly and efficiently than the city. He said the state has 65 pieces of equipment, and the county has 72 high-lifts and 119 dump trucks assisting the city's cleanout effort, in an area in which Poloncarz said the county is not responsible. The county executive said the line from Broadway south to the City of Lackawanna was the section in which the county had taken over, about one-third of the City of Buffalo.

He noted the county has mobilized well to form emergency teams necessary to respond to a crisis, such as the 858-SNOW dispatch team led by James Blackwell, the county's director of equal employment opportunity.

"I do not believe the city has ever had an emergency operations center open during this event or the last one" in November, Poloncarz said. 

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"I don't want to see this anymore – I'm sick of it – I'm a city resident myself," Poloncarz continued. "It pains me to see the other 25 towns and two small cities opened at times when the city isn't. The city has its own problems – because of the size of streets and the parking issues, I understand that – but we have more capabilities in the city, and if we have to, working with the state, we will find a way to get through these storms quicker by taking over operations if need be.

"I know the mayor's not thrilled to hear it, but I don't care anymore. I want it done."

During his subsequent briefing, Brown defended the city's response. He said he did not see what Poloncarz said and noted that he had talked to the county executive many times during the storm and Poloncarz had never said anything similar to his face.

Referring to Poloncarz, Brown said, "He has never once, directly, county executive to mayor, said any of these things to me. So to say that during a news briefing is a little strange, it’s a little odd. I don’t know where that comes from."

Brown, who is in his 17th year as mayor, then suggested the strain of around-the-clock storm response was getting to Poloncarz. 

"Some people handle that pressure a lot differently," Brown said. "Some keep working, some keep trying to helping the residents of our community, and some break down and lash out."

Brown stressed that Buffalo bore the brunt of a storm that reached "epic and historic" proportions. He dismissed a question about whether he should resign over the city's response. 

"I don't have a feud" with the county executive, Brown said as the news conference wound down. "I'm peace and love. I'm calm, cool and collected. And I don't lose my mind during a crisis."