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Refugees made up only about half of all international immigration to Buffalo, and total foreign immigration only accounted for half of the total increase of population of the metro area (using Census numbers). Buffalo is also very positive for in-state migration, primarily from NYC, many of them foreign-born but not refugees. The growth of the Buffalo area Muslim community has really been astounding, increasing from about 5,000 20 years ago to a reported 100,000 today (per Khalid Qazi in the News, founding president, Muslim Public Affairs Council of WNY), with the number of mosques increasing from 2 to nearly 50 today.
Most of that growth seems to be Bangladeshi from NYC, but not all. Just in the last couple of months 2 Yemeni cafes and a Yemeni restaurant opened in the North Buffalo area, and not a week goes by that another Grand Opening isn't happening for another new business (usually on the East Side) that caters to the Muslim demographic (Buffalo Trade Center Bazaar this week, Apon Supermarket a couple of weeks ago, for example). Maybe not an Austin or Boise kind of growth (professional white people) but bottoms-up growth and investment is happening in (formerly) underserved areas.
Re: area Muslim population--that seems way too high. Two different Buffalo News articles from November 2023 put the city-only Muslim population at 5,000. Lackawanna has to have a few thousand, Amherst maybe 1,000 or something (though even that number seems high for Amherst), but beyond that? Even that mosque count...some of them have to be makeshift storefront mosques on the East Side, IDK.
This is a little off topic, but since you mentioned the latter half of the 20th century...I'm a fan of Mark Goldman's books on the history of Buffalo. Goldman grew up in NYC, attended I believe NYU for undergrad, then came to Buffalo for grad school. He eventually became a history professor at UB, then opened up a couple bars in downtown Buffalo/Allentown (one of which I frequented for years without knowing I'd later read books written by its owner). I know you're more of a downstater but if either you or ckh were aware of comparable books that analyzed the history of other parts of the state, I'd be interested to hear of them
I would say a series like the Images of America may be something you would like, as it covers a variety of areas. You may like North Star Country by Milton Sernett(a former Syracuse University professor), which talks about the Burned Over District, Charles G. Finney and the Underground Railroad in Upstate NY: https://books.google.com/books/about...page&q&f=false
There are others, but those are some that come to mind.
Refugees made up only about half of all international immigration to Buffalo, and total foreign immigration only accounted for half of the total increase of population of the metro area (using Census numbers). Buffalo is also very positive for in-state migration, primarily from NYC, many of them foreign-born but not refugees. The growth of the Buffalo area Muslim community has really been astounding, increasing from about 5,000 20 years ago to a reported 100,000 today (per Khalid Qazi in the News, founding president, Muslim Public Affairs Council of WNY), with the number of mosques increasing from 2 to nearly 50 today.
Most of that growth seems to be Bangladeshi from NYC, but not all. Just in the last couple of months 2 Yemeni cafes and a Yemeni restaurant opened in the North Buffalo area, and not a week goes by that another Grand Opening isn't happening for another new business (usually on the East Side) that caters to the Muslim demographic (Buffalo Trade Center Bazaar this week, Apon Supermarket a couple of weeks ago, for example). Maybe not an Austin or Boise kind of growth (professional white people) but bottoms-up growth and investment is happening in (formerly) underserved areas.
This site estimates the Erie County Muslim population to be a bit over 26k, based on 2020 data:
I would say a series like the Images of America may be something you would like, as it covers a variety of areas. You may like North Star Country by Milton Sernett(a former Syracuse University professor), which talks about the Burned Over District, Charles G. Finney and the Underground Railroad in Upstate NY: https://books.google.com/books/about...page&q&f=false
There are others, but those are some that come to mind.
Re: area Muslim population--that seems way too high. Two different Buffalo News articles from November 2023 put the city-only Muslim population at 5,000. Lackawanna has to have a few thousand, Amherst maybe 1,000 or something (though even that number seems high for Amherst), but beyond that? Even that mosque count...some of them have to be makeshift storefront mosques on the East Side, IDK.
I hear you, that's why that 100k statement was astounding, but your numbers are way too low.
- the latest Census ACS data shows around 19,000 foreign-born Buffalo area residents (over age 1) are from Islamic countries
- between 1/5 to 1/4 of the weekly home sales in the City of Buffalo have shown a South Asian or Arabic name as a buyer, about 8,000-10,000 home sales just in the City of Buffalo in the last 10 years
- the home sales trend continues, though now seeing many more also purchasing in Amherst and Cheektowaga (22% and 40%, respectively, last month in those towns)
You didn't go to the Fayetteville-Manlius area, in which the school district is the second or third most affluent suburban school district in Upstate NY in terms of median household income, with the adjacent Jamesville-DeWitt SD having quite a few upper middle class areas, including those that are affiliated with the local colleges/universities and hospitals living in both of those communities. Skaneateles is a small town SW of Syracuse known for its multiple million dollar properties and lakeside village.
As for that visit, I believe it was one on a Sunday and near the campus when it was just after Spring semester. So, that likely played a part in the desolate atmosphere.
As mentioned, some parts of the city are better than others, but it does have some solid to nice walkable options like Westcott just east of University Hill(Greater University Hill was recognized by the APA in the past for the mixed use nature of the area: https://www.planning.org/greatplaces...ersityhill.htm), Eastwood, Court-Woodlawn on the North Side, Tipperary Hill on the West Side, Franklin Square just NW of Downtown(with room for more development), a Downtown that has seen an increase in residents; as well as nice old money neighborhoods like Sedgwick: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0621...8192?entry=ttu
and some other areas within city limits. So, it depends on where you go within the city and area. BTW, you were probably looking for People's AME Zion Church on the South Side.
In terms of the OP, the thing that may also be appealing is the lack of serious traffic and in turn, easy access to things in the city or to places like the Finger Lakes, the Thousand Islands, the Adirondacks, Lake Ontario and plenty of nice smaller communities within a couple of hours, if that. So, that may be something to consider as well.
Another thing, if you are a person that like lectures, it is a region with a lot of colleges/universities. So, you may be able to attend lectures like the one you were looking for due to the strong higher education presence between Syracuse University, Cornell University, Ithaca College, Colgate University, Hamilton College in Clinton(a nice, walkable village outside of Utica), Le Moyne College, SUNY's such as Oswego, Cortland, Poly in Marcy outside of Utica, Morrisville and the Upstate Medical University; Utica College and a few community colleges as well. All are within an hour of Syracuse, if that.
There's also something like the Strathmore Speakers series: https://strathmorespeakers.com/ (Strathmore is a in the SW corner of the city)
If you like college sports, Power 5/ACC(Syracuse), Ivy League(Cornell), Patriot League(Colgate) and Northeast Conference(Le Moyne) Division 1 sports are all in the region. This is along with AHL hockey both in Syracuse and Utica, as well as AAA Baseball in Syracuse(NY Mets farm team).
It also has the NY State Fair, plenty of festivals, historical sites, parks; low key places like Sylvan Beach or waterfall areas like Tinker Falls in the Labrador Unique Area, Delphi Falls and Pratt's Falls(among others in the area) and a top 10 shopping center in the country(Destiny USA).
You are also about 4 hours or so from NYC, Toronto, Montreal, Philadelphia and a little bit longer to Boston.
So, while it has its warts and all, you can do much worse.
In terms of the bolded section, I forgot to include SUNY-Environmental Science & Forestry(ESF) next to Syracuse University and Wells College in Aurora(a former all Women’s college that is now co-ed), among a couple of others not listed.
I hear you, that's why that 100k statement was astounding, but your numbers are way too low.
- the latest Census ACS data shows around 19,000 foreign-born Buffalo area residents (over age 1) are from Islamic countries
- between 1/5 to 1/4 of the weekly home sales in the City of Buffalo have shown a South Asian or Arabic name as a buyer, about 8,000-10,000 home sales just in the City of Buffalo in the last 10 years
- the home sales trend continues, though now seeing many more also purchasing in Amherst and Cheektowaga (22% and 40%, respectively, last month in those towns)
This site puts Erie County's Muslim population at 1.8% of the total pop:
With Erie Cty having around 950k people, that'd put the county's Muslim population at around 17k people. Much more realistic than Qazi's 6x multiplier. I could believe anything in the range falling between the endpoints created by the figures listed by either of the two sites I referenced (i.e., 17k-26k), but Greg Abbott would have to start sending all of his busses to Buffalo for 100k to be doable (obviously, most of those migrants are presumably Christian Latin Americans, but ignore the facts for the sake of the joke)
In terms of the bolded section, I forgot to include SUNY-Environmental Science & Forestry(ESF) next to Syracuse University and Wells College in Aurora(a former all Women’s college that is now co-ed), among a couple of others not listed.
Ithaca's nice enough if kinda lonely-feeling. My brother went to Cornell and I nearly did, so I'm familiar with it. I once read a book that was a reflection on suicide/suicidal ideation, and the author happened to mention that he felt a strong compulsion to hang himself in his backyard when he and his partner relocated to the Ithaca area. Morbidly funny to me, as I found the area very depressing when I toured Cornell on a grey January day. I believe that author ended up in New Zealand
Ithaca's nice enough if kinda lonely-feeling. My brother went to Cornell and I nearly did, so I'm familiar with it. I once read a book that was a reflection on suicide/suicidal ideation, and the author happened to mention that he felt a strong compulsion to hang himself in his backyard when he and his partner relocated to the Ithaca area. Morbidly funny to me, as I found the area very depressing when I toured Cornell on a grey January day. I believe that author ended up in New Zealand
I guess it depends on the person, but it is an area that is steadily growing and if anything, is dealing with issues with affordable housing. So, if they deal with that latter piece, the area will likely continue to steadily grow.
It can be somewhat isolated due to not having interstate highway access, but it is within minutes of a couple of similarly sized cities and within an hour/hour and a half of Syracuse and Rochester.
I guess it depends on the person, but it is an area that is steadily growing and if anything, is dealing with issues with affordable housing. So, if they deal with that latter piece, the area will likely continue to steadily grow.
It can be somewhat isolated due to not having interstate highway access, but it is within minutes of a couple of similarly sized cities and within an hour/hour and a half of Syracuse and Rochester.
Tompkins Cty had ~94k people in 1990; it has around 105k now. That is indeed what passes for growth in Upstate NY
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