The City of Good Neighbors is also the Nicest City in America.
Don’t take our word for it: It says so right in Reader’s Digest.
The venerable magazine that annually hands out its niceness award picked Buffalo on the basis of the city’s resiliency, work ethic and neighborliness, especially in the face of a historic winter storm that claimed the lives of 47 people.
“Despite natural disasters, shooting tragedies and Damar Hamlin’s near-death experience, Buffalo’s community is stronger than ever,” said the article explaining the choice.
“The thing that has made me a huge Buffalo fan is the people … they’ll do anything for you, but they will not brag about it,” said Kathleen Miller, an Oregon transplant who has lived in Buffalo for 30 years and nominated the city for the honor.
Buffalo was selected by a panel of five judges that included sports columnist and author Mitch Albom; Monica Guzman, who founded a nonprofit to “depolarize” America; and Bonnie Kintzer, the president and CEO of Trusted Media Brands, which owns Reader’s Digest.
Prominent in the case for Buffalo’s niceness was the story of Craig Elston, one of many heroes who emerged during the deadly Christmas week blizzard last year. Elston, who owns C&C Cutz barbershop on Fillmore Avenue, took to social media and said he would open up his business to anyone who needed shelter from the storm. A post on TikTok was seen by more than 800,000 people. Dozens took him up on the offer.
“It was crazy, man,” Elston told The Buffalo News at the time. “People told me I saved their life, that in another three minutes they felt like they were going to die from the freezing cold.”
Reader’s Digest included a letter from Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who nearly died during an on-field incident in January when the Bills played the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Buffalo’s love for me came to life for my family and me in so many ways,” he wrote. “I really don’t know if I can find the words to…
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