Nearly eight years after a major funding cut for capital improvements, several state lawmakers and labor organizers representing Western New York are calling for a so-called "math error" to be corrected. According to the FAIR Committee, the funding difference between upstate and downstate totals $6 billion. It started in 2008 when the Department of Transportation made what it called a "math error" reducing the region's infrastructure funding from 10% to just over 4%. That funding was never restored.
"We're spending $70-80 million at SolarCity, but we've got to be able to get the goods out of there and the people to SolarCity," said Sen. Marc Panepinto.
Speaking with a group of fellow state lawmakers at Canalside Friday, Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer said the Buffalo area is on the move, but local infrastructure is not keeping pace.
"For far too long, our roads and bridges have been getting worse and worse. It's time to really take on the New York City establishment and say that what's good for New York City is good for Western New York," said Ranzenhofer.
"We demand parity. We demand equal treatment. We demand equal resources."