ALIGN

In fall 2009, the city's Capital Resource Corporation, a subsidiary of the Industrial Development Agency, announced it was awarding the developers $20 million in tax-exempt Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in order to jump-start the retail and housing part of the project. The city estimates that it will create 328 construction jobs and 108 full-time equivalent permanent jobs. However, there are no guarantees taxpayer money will create decent, living wage jobs for residents or displaced workers. The permanent jobs will be primarily part-time, low-wage retail jobs, and will actually represent a net loss of jobs in Albee Square.

I am an owner of Talking Leaves Books, an independent, co-op bookstore in Buffalo. We’ve always sought be a community center and a community resource where diverse and alternative populations can access books that most other stores don’t stock.…