City scrutinizes multiple-property owners

By Stacie Duderwick, Stephanie Ortiz and Jolene Zanghi
BengalNews Reporters
The city is reviewing its pending code violations policy to urge property owners to repair their business, residential and investment properties in hopes of preventing taking cases to court and prolonging actual renovations.


The current policy only considers violations at the actual, individual location of the property but through a possible revision of the policy, all of the properties owned by an individual would be evaluated.
 Blighted properties are the cause to the turmoil in a neighborhood, lawmakers and neighborhood activists have warned in the past.


The city permits and inspections division sent a plan to city attorneys to force business owners and contractors, licensed by the city, to reveal any pending cases their properties currently have in the Buffalo Housing Court.


“In the long run, this policy should improve the overall appearance of the city, as housing violations and property maintenance issues would have to be corrected," said Patrick Sole Jr., director of permit and inspection services.


The overall affect of altering the policy would bring more properties in the city up to code compliance. Properties would be required to correct existing housing violations in order to obtain a license, Sole said.


Requiring business owners and contractors to sign affidavits disclosing any housing court cases would allow the city to more effectively address code violations and in some circumstances be able to fix problems more efficiently.


“This policy could impact the number of court cases in housing court, however, the hope is that violations are corrected through notice of violations to the owners and without initiating housing court action,” Sole said.

Reinvestment into the neighborhood is required for the city’s West Side to overcome its stereotypical urban obstacles, Niagara District Common Councilman David Rivera said. However, the Columbus Park Association is prompting some debate by asking local politicians and urban planners whether reinvestment is worth removing landmark historic properties from the community.

The city should look to other states that have faced problems with blighted properties for solutions, Kathy Mecca said.

Kathy Mecca talks about working with the city:


Mecca is involved with preserving St. Mary’s-on-the-Hill-Episcopal Church on Vermont Street, which has faced media attention because of its deteriorating condition, an absent owner and targeted location.

The owner, who had been in housing court for two years, only was able to contribute minor repairs to the property. Only $50,000 of the total $175,000 repairs was paid for, Mecca said.

The city sold the property to her for $17,000 without having her demonstrate financial capability to do what she intended, Mecca said.

To prevent this problem in future renovations, Mecca said the city should consider a policy that does not allow individuals interested in purchasing additional property if they have more than two pending code violations.

The church sits on the outer edge of the city’s proposed demolition zone for its Peace Bridge expansion plan. The plan calls for a 45-acre demolition including five city blocks of homes and buildings, a total of 90 properties and 128 households. The removal of these properties would make way for an updated and modern bridge construction and a Duty Free shopping plaza.

“The simple truth is if you enforce the laws that exist you wouldn’t be in the condition and the situation you are now,” Mark Maiskovski, vice president of Columbus Park and a historic property owner of a home on Busti Avenue, said. “Surely, you can’t control a private owner from doing whatever they want internally, but you could certainly control them externally – that’s what housing and code violations are all about.”

Lesser-known leaders making an impact

By Shanice Keane and Brendan Lherisson
BengalNews Reporters

Elected politicians are the voices of their constituents and are the major figures most residents know, but there are also lesser-known leaders who are average citizens actively engaged in community affairs.

Through their constant participation with block clubs and other community organizations to improve the communities they live in, they have risen to the top as the loudest voices. These average joes are reverends of local parish communities, board members of non-profit organizations and members of community associations.

Rev. George Kirwin of Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church at 18 Greenwood Ave. is one of these voices. The parish was created in 2007 when the Buffalo Catholic Diocese merged three parishes. Kirwin and his new parish are trying to improve the image of the neighborhood by repaving sidewalks around the church and planting flowers around the neighborhood.

Kirwin works closely with Niagara District Councilmember David A. Rivera.

“I’ve been working with Councilman Rivera who has been very helpful on a couple of issues one being the sale of our school across the street, but also the creation of a garden to reach out to the neighborhood," said Kirwin.

The church fence facing Grant Street, where the garden is going to be located, has “been taken down in order to facilitate new lighting, benches, tables and murals. These murals will help make people aware of the ethnic representation and minority groups in the community such as those from Burma and African countries,” said Kerwin.

Another loud echoing voice in the community is Bob Franke, who is the executive director of the Grant-Ferry Association. The association is not only a collaboration of neighborhood businesses but also a major advocate for improving Grant Street, Ferry Street, and the West Side. Franke was recently blown away when he read in ArtVoice that Grant Street, is the “coolest up and coming area” said Franke.

According to Franke it was only through constant beating the drum about Grant Street, why anything has gotten done in the first place. He has dealt with the smaller issue of Grant Street, such as its appearance and cleanliness in addition to larger issues that he believes can change and advance the community if implemented correctly. For example, he believes Buffalo State College and its student housing are economic engines for the district and can better serve the community if the college was more engaged in working with businesses and residents on Grant Street, to the environment surrounding the college.

Bob Franke says community leaders have a tough job:


Although he’s not an elected leader it does not stop him from getting things done by City Hall and local leaders like seeing abandoned houses are properly looked at by the city.

“If there is a vision I think needs to be in place, I have a much better chance of advancing than most folks in the community, at the same time it can be a burden because you don’t have political weight,” Franke said.

Harrison Watkins, a community organizer for People United for Sustainable Housing (P.U.S.H) located at 271 Grant St., is another community leader. P.U.S.H is a non-profit community organization working to rebuild the West Side of Buffalo and create a better economic environment for residents.

Watkins believes that members of the community should not only rely on elected officials to better their communities, but rely on themselves as well. Watkins said he has helped organize protests in the community to bring awareness to what needs to be done by elected officials in order to improve the West Side. He along with fellow P.U.S.H members and different organizations have protested in Manhattan on Wall Street, against big banks that have cost taxpayers money in bailouts during the recession. In the past Watkins and P.U.S.H have helped start local community gardens like the one on 19th St., which was once a vacant lot. The latest project is the creation of a park on Massachusetts Ave., next to the Butler Mitchell Boys and Girls Club along with the rehabilitation of 11 houses on the West Side so low income families can purchase them.

Margaret Alfano is another community voice who tries to do her part to improve conditions on the West Side. Unlike Kirwin, Franke and Watkins, who have organizations supporting them, Alfano is a self-motivated lone community voice. Since becoming a community activist in the 1980s, she has become a housing court liaison to various block clubs, where members address to her their concerns about various houses in the community that city government needs to improve.

Alfano thinks that city leaders should be accountable to the community seeing as they were elected to do a job. One of her steadfast issues is housing violations, which has become a great headache for her. Alfano said that she has submitted to Citi Stat, an organization responsible for the management of city municipality agencies, information on houses that don’t have proper address numbers on them. This violation of the city housing code also poses a danger in case of an emergency because first responders could have a hard time finding the location.

“I’ve called the city’s 311 number multiple times and gave information to Citi Stat about houses not even having addresses on them, so that first responders could easily find them and I have yet to get a call back,” said Alfano.

Alfano has no interest in ever getting into politics. Years ago she was offered a job at City Hall due to her active involvement within the community and turned it down.

One figure Dr. Curtis Hayes, a community activist and an associate professor of Economics at Buffalo State College decided to throw his hat into the political arena.
Last summer he was appointed by members of council as the Ellicott District representative and for the first time he’ll be running for the position later this year. Haynes is an advocate for residents of the lower East and West Side and is currently helping families being forced out of their neighborhood by University at Buffalo, which just purchased McCarley Gardens located at 818 Michigan Ave., for $15 million.

Golombek announces second swipe at Hoyt

By John Fetter and Kyla Goodfellow
BengalNews Reporters

North District Common Council Member Joseph Golombek Jr. is throwing his hat into the ring a second time for a seat in Albany in what is set to be one of the most hotly contested political races in the state. The seat is now occupied by Sam Hoyt, long time standing state Assemblyman of the 144th District.

Golombek, who was sworn in as Common Council Member for the North District in January of 2000, declared his long-awaited candidacy in front of more than 300 supporters at the American Legion Post on Amherst Street. The building resonated with cheers and applause as Golombek delivered a 15-minute speech that laid out his campaign promises and his disdain for Hoyt.

Listen to part of Golombek's announcement:


“My opponent Sam Hoyt has been in the State Legislator for over 18 years. He views himself as a reformer but the facts speak for themselves,” said Golombek. “To get real reform in Albany we need to sweep the incumbents out of office. Reform will only happen if new people go to Albany. Sam has had his chance and failed.”

Golombek’s criticism of Hoyt’s run in office was echoed by many of his supporters.

“I’m supporting Joe 100 percent. I’ve known Sam for a long time but eventually enough is enough. It’s time for some new blood. I’m very much looking forward to Sam leaving office,” said Robert Franke, the executive director of the Grant-Ferry Association.

“Sam Hoyt has done nothing. Nothing but what he’s doing right now. He just stands there and smiles,” said Marie Woodman, a longtime Buffalo resident.

When Golombek ran for the seat back in 2004 he garnered 46 percent of the vote while Hoyt achieved 54 percent, winning the race buy 760 votes.

“In 2004 I ran for New York State Assembly and I narrowly lost. It was a very close election. I did well then and I know this time I can do better now,” said Golombek.

Golombek, who is a part-time history professor at Buffalo State College, said he was spurred on by the outcome and believes that this time he will rally enough support to come out on top.


“No one is going to outwork me going door to door. I’ve already lost five pounds doing it and I’m looking forward to doing more,” said Golombek.

Franke along with many of Golombek’s supporters have dubbed this year’s election too close to call. Others believe that this year Golombek will come out on top.

“Joe’s going to win this election. The constituents, the tax payers - SP of this state are fed up. It’s time for Sam to go,” said David Masse, a Riverside resident.

“Joe came so close to winning last time and he was relatively unknown and I think with the fiscal crisis going on right now, he’s got a terrific shot,” said Luci Buell, a Buffalo public school teacher.

“I know Joe has a lot of friends, a lot of people that work behind him and he’s a hard worker so I think it’s going to be very close but I think he he’s got a good chance,” said David Coaster, standing in the middle of the tightly packed room.

Golombek says if elected, he will bring reform and change to Albany.

“For a start, I’m going to vote against Sheldon Silver for speaker of the assembly. He has had too much power for too long and he needs to go,” said Golombek.

Golombek also believes a law needs to be passed that punishes elected officials when they don’t pass the budget on a time.

“There needs to be a provision in State law that allows incumbents to be recalled if the budget is not passed in time. Also when a budget is late, not only should the Assemblymembers and Senators not get paid, they should not get that money back once the budget is passed,” said Golombek.