Open Letter To Mark Poloncarz: Apologize for the Eclipse

We were warned by our public officials, ad nauseam, about this eclipse. We were told that this would be the type of event that very well could cause gridlock on roads, long lines at businesses, and general chaos in and around Western New York. “Arrive early, leave late” read the signs on every thruway in the region. Hotels were, allegedly, sold out. 1-million people could come to the region for this once-in-a-lifetime eclipse was the line we were given. 

It never happened. 

While some did come to town, the roads were virtually bare. Businesses were, maybe, a bit busier in Niagara Falls but lines were far from out the doors. There was no chaos. In fact, if anything, it was one of the quietest days in WNY in recent memory. 

People stayed home as they were asked to do. Honestly, though, I think that was a good thing. We don’t take enough time to enjoy our over 1 in 100 Centillion chance of existing on this little blue ball floating through the vast infinite nothingness. We worry about jobs, drama, and material things way too much. We should have more days off just to enjoy the awe that is Mother Nature, the universe, existence, and the ones we love. 

If this is too hippy for you I apologize. We need more time off to do cool crap with people who are cool. How’s that?  

So, it didn’t hurt anything being off the roads and out of work. That’s not why I’m upset. It’s funny, though, how dead the roads were.

No, what I’m mad about is our public officials. You keep overblowing events. While, yes, it kept everyone safe because Gary (respectfully) wasn’t driving around in a Ford F-150 looking up at the sky on the 290 during the totality, it made promises and caused concerns that were just unnecessary.

First off, businesses in Western New York were banking on that 1 million people coming here. They lost. Not NEARLY that many people showed up, and the money they were hoping to make in a tough economy never materialized.  

Our public officials are crying wolf way too often. They screwed up the Blizzard of 2022 here. Badly. People died because of their lack of preparation, planning, and incompetence. What does that have to do with this? Ever since that blizzard they have predicted the absolute worst-case scenario for every weather-related event in WNY. In terms of snow storms, it caused everyone to panic over what ended up being pretty normal weather for the time of year. It’s not to say the storms weren’t rough, but they weren’t blizzards. They didn’t seem to warrant full shutdowns everywhere. I COULD BE WRONG, but here’s my concern: if you keep crying wolf, people will stop reacting. Your doomsday predictions will be ignored, and people will die because of it when something ACTUALLY bad comes here and they ignore you.

Then there’s our Country Executive, Mark Poloncarz. He was NOT HERE during the eclipse. For real, he went to Ohio. READ MORE ABOUT THAT CLICK HERE. 

So, Mark, riddle us this: it’s a major event that could be very dangerous for everyone in WNY. This is something YOU STRESSED many times.. and you leave? 

It doesn’t matter what YOU think, Mark. This looks awful and you owe EVERYONE here an apology. How could you think for 1 second this was a good idea? I'm sure you don’t care. You’ll probably see this as a poorly written (true) hit piece on you from someone who doesn’t agree with you politically. The thing is, it’s not. 

This was common sense, which failed you here and seems to be failing a lot of our government officials on all sides lately. 

By the way, a nice apology could come in the form of going after the parking lots in downtown Buffalo for price-gouging everyone. Parking that is usually $8-$15 a day was, according to several, over $75. Some said it was over $100. That’s illegal. 

“I’m the County, not the city,” then call out the city. You’ve done it before. This predatory behavior should never be tolerated in YOUR county. 

Mark, you’re not the only one who overblew this thing. It’s very possible you didn’t know and it’s a mistake. It happens. You should never have left, though. Own it and apologize. Please get together with Governor Hochul and come up with a better strategy than a doomsday prediction for every weather event. I’m legitimately concerned about what could result. 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.