I left in 1970. When I left, Buffalo had a huge industrial/rail base, and NYS has 45 elected representatives in Washington. Now NYS is down to the high 20's in congress. NYC and Long Island didn't miss a beat but the rest of the state took it in the shorts!
To a lesser degree that's still going on, except for the NYC metro area. I think it would/could reverse IF the tax liability were eased considerably. That being said, the taxman is doing the happy dance now that property values are recovering. I live in Virginia and have to laugh at all those "NY State is open for business" adds. Outside of a secure employment opportunity, there's no reason for anyone to move to NY state, especially Northern, Central and Western NY..
I'd love to see BUF recover but without the factories and the workers, it's not very likely..