“Where did the houses go? Unethical Demolition Strategies by the City of Buffalo causing Vacant and & Abandoned Property Issues In The Eastside of Buffalo That May Worsen Gentrification.”
By: Marshaun L. Quinniey
#MLQD #mlqdevelopments #MLQDWebsite
On August 29th Cheryl Harris Community Liaison for the WNY Law Center Vacant and Abandoned Property Program began 1 of 2 presentation about the negative impact of the City of Buffalo’s Vacant and Abandoned Properties and ways to address this problem. The 2nd presentation occurred on September 26th featured a presentation by Art Taggart, Jr. of the Belmont Financial Center that shared information for strategies for financing home purchases. The event was undertaken at 1423 Black Lives Matter Way (Fillmore Ave) in the CAO Masten Resource Center.
The event was organized in conjunction PHAM (People Helping All Mankind) to help communities and residents on the Eastside address the looming problem which is partially due to homes deteriorating while stuck in housing court. Also, evidence was supplied that this problem exists due to the city of Buffalo not having an adequate demolition policy that prevents neighborhoods from failing below 51% density levels, In other words the City of Buffalo does not have an adequate policy for rebuilding structures that have been demolished. I as a community member feel this practice is very unethical.
The term “unethical” is used because the city is not legally obligated to replace the house based on their technique for delaying demolition until the housing falls into a category of houses that that can be demolished without being replaced. The leadership of the City of Buffalo has been trusted by resident to act in their best interest to create and maintain beautiful neighborhoods throughout the City of Buffalo, but the leadership allow conditions to occur by allowing the number of vacant lots to continue to increase. In my perspective this sets up the Eastside to be in a position where only wealthy people and businesses that have access to capital can develop the property of the Eastside. Considering the history of redlining in the City of Buffalo, this strategy by the city is not favorable or conducive for helping constituent in the Eastside of Buffalo to take step towards building generational wealth. Hence, the negative effects that contribute to many people of the Eastside of Buffalo being gentrified out of their community and placed in a more negative state!
To anyone who plays politics to benefit the pockets of city leadership, to me this is an unethical practice because city leadership failing to replace demolished house in a timely manner with HUD money decreases the access to affordable housing available for current residents of the Eastside who have lived here for decades. Many may seek a place near a parental figure or family but may not be able to afford the increased cost of housing. These people are often not the people who are migrants, refugees, transplants from NY, or people who live in the suburbs who no longer want to entertain the expenses of commuting to the Great City of Buffalo, NY. They are people who have resided in the Eastside for generations and desire to continue to build with their family or loved ones.
Also, considering that the purchasing of a house is a way to for many to embark on path to building generational wealth, the strategy the city employs to demolish houses without a timelier replacement is a disservice and unethical practice to current residents. These residents have lived in the Eastside for decades, through the racist and unfair treatments of this community. These people should begin to get a step closer to reparation instead of the current treatment in the perspective of the writer.
The presentation by Mrs. Harris moved to the writer to the current perspective based on the presentation of fact that the failure to rebuild demolished homes has created large amounts of vacant lots. During the presentation Ms. Harris eventually, explained steps that can be taken by residents of the Eastside to address the wrongs of the city. She shared with the audience how to file a New York State Department of Financial Services Complaint to combat these types of problems. She shared the New York Department of Financial Services can fine banks $500 per day for failure to maintain vacant homes. She also explained how to file a Community Liaison/Block Club complaint form, which will allow neighbors of vacant properties to testify in housing court about how vacant properties negatively impact them.
The result of this meeting was that the participants wanted to form two groups. One group wanted to solve the problem by writing policy and developing petitions. The other participants wanted to learn more about acquiring and investing in the properties. The group that wants to address policy is anticipating a formal meeting on a date to be announced.
Ms. Harris has also arranged for a joint presentation with NAREB (National Association of Real Estate Brokers) Erie-Niagara Board of Realtist to provide a community education meeting about investing in properties on November 1st at 6pm at the Merriweather Library. All are invited to attend. NAREB, the local chapter which is ENBOR (Black Real Estate Professionals) will also have a press conference on October 13th from 1-3pm also at the Merriweather Library. Send RSVP to info@ENBOR.org to reserve your spot.
I as concerned community members share these details so the the entire Eastside community of Buffalo can adopt such a practice when appropriate. I hope to share such information with residents to supply a tool to those who need such a tool to move leadership of our community to effectively serve their constituents. However, without appropriate documentation city leaders are less able to do their job addressing unethical events that do not benefits the resident of the Eastside of Buffalo, NY.
This collective that participated in these events has gradually evolved with passion to solve these types of problems from previous meetings with Antoine Thompson, into the current group which has been blessed with Cheryl Harris’s input and leadership. The group is forming into a collaboration of concerned community members who desire to strategically correct the negative effects of the mental, physical, and financial effects of vacant homes on the Eastside community. Members also want to correct other challenges contributing to existing Eastside problems.
These people helping all of mankind in the Eastside of Buffalo invite all community members to participate in future meetings, that occur on the last Tuesday of every month. These are free events, and open to the public for the purpose of uniting people together to create solutions to our problems as a community of good neighbors. The next meeting is scheduled for October 31, 2023, at 1423 Black Lives Matter Way (Fillmore Ave) in the CAO Masten Resource Center of Western New York. The WNY Law Center is available at https:/wnylc.com/ or 716.855.0203 for legal assistance.
“Racism [in Buffalo] there comes not only in the form of a teen-age white supremacist murdering Black people at a grocery store. It is also evident in the policies that encourage disinvestment from public schools attended by Black students, in the annual failure to develop affordable-housing policies, and in the continued use of fees and fines that disproportionately impact Black residents.” Princeton Professor of African American Studies Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Buffalo’s Racial Segregation and Poverty is Shown – Hudson Valley Press)
“Those who control the money should not ignore the people who elected them!”