Community development should not be done from City Hall, a former city development chief

and prominent business leader told the Common Council on Tuesday.

Larry Quinn also urged city officials to have the &#8220courage&#8221 to say no when they

face pressure to use anti-poverty money to create jobs for &#8220someone you know&#8221 or to

fund outside groups that don&#8217t provide services that fit into a long-term strategy.

In a candid conversation, Quinn said managing federal block grant funds requires officials

to make &#8220tough political choices.&#8221

&#8220You have to make a decision that it&#8217s not about City Hall jobs,&#8221 said

Quinn. &#8220I think we all know that a large percentage of the block grant funds go to

funding multiple nonprofits and, recently, a lot of employees in City Hall.&#8221

Quinn is vice chairman of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. and managing partner of

the Buffalo Sabres. He served as Buffalo&#8217s economic development chief during the

administration of Mayor James D. Griffin.

Quinn was invited to Tuesday&#8217s meeting of the Community Development Committee because

lawmakers wanted his advice as the city proceeds with an overhaul of its economic development

agencies.

Last month, Quinn sent a pointed three-page critique to an outside panel probing strategies

for fixing Buffalo&#8217s widely criticized anti-poverty and economic development programs.

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership was overseeing the review that consisted largely of former and

current city administrators. Quinn resigned from the panel because he thought it was studying

the wrong things.

Quinn says the changes must go deeper and be more radical than those the panel had

recommended. He said the group&#8217s draft report &#8220reflects more of the same thinking

that has led to failure upon failure.&#8221

During Tuesday&#8217s meeting, Quinn repeatedly said that community development is best

left to outside entities.

&#8220Community development should not be done from City Hall,&#8221 he said.

The key, Quinn argued, is to find responsible partners to implement well-planned

blueprints, holding these outsiders &#8220super-accountable&#8221 for their performance.

He also urged city decision-makers to limit the number of things they attempt to do with

block grants, warning that trying to tackle too many things can undermine efforts.

Quinn stressed that he didn&#8217t attend the meeting to &#8220beat up City Hall&#8221 or

its beleaguered agency, the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp.

Mayor Byron W. Brown announced last month that the entity was being abolished and its tasks

shifted to the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency.

Quinn said it&#8217s not really a question of what city agency will administer an array of

programs. The important things, he said, are prioritizing funds, finding responsible outside

partners to take the lead and holding all parties accountable.