Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown (D) dismissed criticisms of his government's handling of the recent snowstorm that brought the city and emergency services to a standstill during an interview with CNN on Thursday.
CNN played comments made by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz where he went after Brown's administration for not being prepared enough for the winter storm.
“Just don’t want to see this anymore. I’m sick of it. I’m a city resident myself. I live in the city of Buffalo. And it pains me to see the other 25 towns and two small cities opened in times when the city isn’t. (...) And I know the mayor is probably not thrilled to hear it. I don’t care anymore. I want it done," Poloncarz said.
"I’m not going to pay attention to that. My focus is on the people of Buffalo. My focus is on making sure that people have the medical emergency services that they need, making sure that every home that was without power, has the power restored. And making sure that streets that were pummeled with snow and record wind gusts are open so that people can begin to resume their normal daily lives. That’s — that’s my focus," Brown replied. "I’m not going to focus on the pressure that people feel in challenging situations, I’m going to focus on moving the city forward."
When CNN anchor Poppy Harlow reminded Brown the criticisms were coming from someone within local government, Brown got defensive.
"Well, actually, he’s the county executive. He’s wrong. People have operated since Friday, working around the clock on little sleep. And I’m not going to focus on negativity," he said.
There have been dozens of deaths related to the snowstorm and looting occurred in some areas in the aftermath, with shots being fired in some cases.