BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — How are Western New Yorkers reacting to this shutdown? I headed to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site on Delaware Avenue to get reaction.
"I think that it's a ploy – theatrics really,” said Steve Giamberdino of Buffalo.
"It's terrible, I hope they get it together,” said Natalie Coley of Maryland.
Right now, there appear to be no travel interruptions due to the shutdown; however, that could change as thousands of TSA employees are required to work without pay.
“Who's going to want to come to work and they know they are not getting paid?" Coley said. "I would never want to go to work and not want to get paid.”
The TSA sent a statement saying in part it's "prepared for an orderly shutdown," but also warns "an extended shutdown could mean longer wait times at airports" and is asking passengers to be patient.
Coley was traveling through the airport after dropping off her son at a Western New York college. She’s very upset with the shutdown.
"If people can't work, if people can't have health care, if people can't eat – this is going to be a third-world country,” Coley said.
Giamberdino was flying out to Florida but stopped to talk about the shutdown.
“I wish our government would get their act together and work together,” Giamberdino said.
“What would you say to folks who are holding it up?” I asked.
“Get over it – they lost the election. We voted for this. We want exactly what's going on,” Giamberdino commented.
I also stopped by the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site on Delaware Avenue, the only nearby National Park site. It is where Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in after President William McKinley was shot in Buffalo in 1901.
"We are probably one of the only national park sites right now that is open,” explained Spencer Morgan, executive director of the site. “We are the only National Parks site here in Western New York, the closest National Park site to, of course, the Women's Rights in Seneca Falls.”
Morgan told me one-third of their funding comes from the National Parks Service, but they raise two-thirds of their own funds, and that's why they're open.
"Unless we receive other guidance from the National Park Service, our partners there, we are business as usual,” said Morgan.
The TR site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 and was the first to be added in Erie County. It provides educational and community programs throughout the year.
“It's very important that we keep this site open and operating during government shutdowns,” said Morgan.
Visitors are welcome at the TR site and can now ask an AI-generated hologram of the past president a question.
I asked what the hologram’s thoughts were on this government shutdown:
“The notion of a government shutdown, I must say, would be most troubling," the hologram said. "I held the belief that the federal government’s chief duty was to serve its people with efficiency and integrity, and deviation from this path could be detrimental to public welfare. In whatever matter causing such a shutdown, I would urge all parties to find a resolution quickly, prioritizing the needs of citizens above all. As every public official must strive to fulfill their obligations and act in the nation's best interest.”
