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Press Pass looks at the Skyway and Fort Erie

WBFO News file photo

Add Jim Fink of Business First to the growing list of those calling for removal of the Skyway from the Buffalo waterfront.

During WBFO's Press Pass conversation, Fink called the massive bridge an "impediment to economic development efforts on the waterfront."

While high-profile politicians like Congressman Brian Higgins are calling for demolition of the bridge, state D.O.T officials say they have no such plans. Instead, the agency is focused on spending millions in the coming years to repair the Skyway.

The topic was brought to the attention of Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy during a recent visit to the Buffalo waterfront. While Duffy was noncommittal, Fink believes Duffy and Governor Cuomo have "the political clout" to press the D.O.T. on the matter.

Fink has also been following the plight of the Fort Erie Racetrack.

"It is in some trouble."

A local group has been operating the track in recent months doing "a masterful job of beefing up attendance," Fink says.

But a new Ontario Provincial report calls for more of Fort Erie's thoroughbred racing to be moved to the Ajax track near Toronto.

Fink calls the idea another "Toronto-centric decision."
 

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Jay joined Buffalo Toronto Public Media in 2008 and has been local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" ever since. In June, 2022, he was named one of the co-hosts of WBFO's "Buffalo, What's Next."

A graduate of St. Mary's of the Lake School, St. Francis High School and Buffalo State College, Jay has worked most of his professional career in Buffalo. Outside of public media, he continues in longstanding roles as the public address announcer for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League and as play-by-play voice of Canisius College basketball.