Despite the years of stalling from Gov. Cuomo and the state Legislature, fracking has still managed to deliver real dividends for New York. Thanks to fracking, the Buffalo Bills are staying put.
The two main reasons the NFL franchise won’t be moving are as follows:
First, Terry Pegula this week won the bidding for the team. Pegula owns professional hockey’s Buffalo Sabres — and thus was seen as the most committed of the bidders to keeping the Bills in their home of 55 years.
Second, the cash the self-made billionaire and his wife used to buy the team (and to invest in Buffalo) comes largely from the fortune he made in fracking.
He’s not the only one profiting. As The New York Times reported this week, the fracking revolution has set off a boom in nearby Ohio, with benefits rippling through the Buckeye State’s economy.
While our Upstate people are desperate for jobs, in Ohio fracking has helped the unemployment rate come down from 10.6 percent four years ago to 5.7 percent today.
The collapse of manufacturing has been one of the biggest factors in upstate New York’s economic decline. It’s a reason why so many upstate officials have long looked to fracking in the vast Marcellus Shale to provide the jobs and growth that have propelled states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
If Gov. Cuomo ever gets around to making a decision — and assuming it’s the proper one — our upstate counties will finally see real economic growth (and New Yorkers may see cheaper energy).
Until then, we’ll have to be content to thank fracking for preventing the Bills from shuffling off from Buffalo.