Needless Fences
Everyone likes their nearby stuff. For one, Western New Yorkers are renowned for growing defensively accustomed to what’s offered in their own neighborhoods. The convenience of the closest Anderson’s, the familiar layout in the nearest Tops, and the overwhelming advantages of whatever pizzeria may be residing on an adjacent corner entice us all.
Many would never dream of patronizing businesses they can’t see from their dwellings’ roofs or even imagining where they might be. Union and Walden? Do they cross?
Of course it’s fine to support your local Mighty Taco. At the same time, it’s possible to go too far in the name of parochial fondness. There’s a point where pride in a minute region crosses into unnecessary territorialism.
For example, a group called the Kenmore Village Improvement Society has been posting fliers in the jurisdiction after which they’re named. Much like bottle rocket corpses littering the pavement on July 5, the bills are unavoidable for anyone traversing through the small patch.
As for their chief goal, they want to keep the Village a Village. There has been some talk of erasing the border with the Town of Tonawanda, and the Society has responded by not quite literally but sort of figuratively manning the line with pitchforks. According to the mission statement on their site,
The KVIS has voted to accept the following statement about village dissolution. The KVIS believes that the quality of village life would diminish by dissolving the Village of Kenmore. Therefore, we accept the three stage agenda and will employ our Mission Statement to convey our belief. Just to refresh your memory, our Mission Statement is: “…to improve the quality of Village life through consistent communication, engaging education, and thoughtful action.”
But the one thing that may improve Village life is eliminating it. By contrast, the senseless provincialism afflicting much of this county keeps people sheltered instead of feeling as if they’re on the same team. They apparently want their street sweepers sweeping streets a certain way, and they’re not going to risk losing it by switching towns.
Resistance to alterations aside, this area is plagued by redundant governments. The existence of ample administrations reeks of inefficiency. Of course, people want control over their own areas. But there’s just not that much difference between one side of the particular divide and another.
The loss of autonomy in question shouldn’t be treated as if certain blocks are going to find themselves ruled under fundamentally differing political systems. We’re not talking about handing West Berlin to the commies.
National comparisons don’t apply. It’s one thing for 50 state governments to offer different service and taxation levels. As New Yorkers who have stayed behind lamentably realize, each one competes for commerce and people; that acts as an incentive to reduce the state’s burden in most capitals aside from of course Albany. But there is only invented competition between contiguous suburban districts that are essentially offering the same services.
Besides, Kenmore and Tonawanda have proven they can share. The areas already split a school district, library system, and paramedics; uniting other governmental features is just a natural extension of the streamlining already in effect. The garbage trucks work the same no matter if you’re standing at one spot where Delaware Road ends at Delaware Avenue or another.
It’s understandable that the group wants to preserve what they like about where they are. People remain in their particular neighborhoods for the same reason they stay in the Buffalo area in general; everyone here already knows the laundry list of benefits.
Of course Kenmorites (Kenmorians? Nah: Kenmorers) want what they like about it to be maintained. But there’s little reason to think that the prefecture won’t be able to keep its character just because it’s being governed by a not-quite tyrannical regime about a mile over.
While some things might change for the better in terms of eliminating duplicate functions, the reality is not much will change at all. The goals and values are too similar to provoke chaos and resentment if the fusing occurs. That stands as the best reason to stop acting as if we’re kept in place by an Invisible Fence. We’re trained too well, although I suppose that means we deserve treats.
But the things people like won’t disappear. After all, we can still call the neighborhood Kenmore, and it would by all accounts still look the same. The municipality could enjoy maintained or even improved virtues.
For one, the value of working as one police unit far outweighs the response time differences allegedly seen in dueling fiefdoms. And we can all promise to still never dream of driving over 30 miles per hour in that new section of Tonawanda. Speaking of which, three Tonawandas seems like two too many.
4 Responses to “Needless Fences”
Leave a Reply
You do know that Kenmore has a population of 16,426 and Tonawanda has 14,766? Just because it’s The Village of Kenmore doesn’t mean we have 500 residents and are over represented.
It’s not just about the character of the Village. It’s the fact that you can’t just double the population of Tonawanda and expect them to use the same services they have in place for double the population. They will need the services we already have in Kenmore to cover the residents that live here. There would be no great tax savings. Most that live in Kenmore don’t mind paying a little more to have the police department that we are known for, or any of the other services.
“Tonawanda has 14,766″
You’re only off by a factor of five or so.
Tonawanda town, Erie County, New York total population estimate: 75,749. Source: U.S. Census Bureau http://is.gd/dKjiN
In all fairness, Ivan was speaking of the Tonowanda of 1934. Or something.
Or, numbers are hard.
Yes, I messed up… I was getting the data for the city of Tonawanda. Numbers were from 2000 and not 1934.
Either way, if I wanted to live in the Town of Tonawanda I would have …. guess what… moved there. I moved to the Village of Kenmore because like many others I like having our own police… DPW, etc. If you don’t live here, stop worrying about it, if we had problems paying for the extra taxes we would not have moved here!