Buffalo Mayor responds after Erie County Executive calls city’s response to storm “embarrassing”

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz says he is frustrated with the response to the storm.

He called the City of Buffalo’s response “embarrassing” in a press conference on Wednesday. He suggested that New York State should take over the city’s future snow clearing operations.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown responded to those comments in a press conference of his own.

“Ground zero for this storm was in the City of Buffalo, which is the population center for Erie County and Western New York,” Mayor Brown said. “The City of Buffalo where streets are narrower, where homes are closer. So yes, we’re very capable of handling storms and handling adverse storms.”

Brown said that Poloncarz has never said those things to him directly and suggested the Erie County executive is crumbling under pressure.