A number of fixBuffalo readers sent this in today - WGRZ's Special Report: Abandoned Housing Crisis in Buffalo. It's notable that Mayor Brown and his staff now understand the extent of problem and how intelligent planning and new policy will help.
"There are some neighborhoods that look like the Third World," said Buffalo Mayor Byron BrownHere's the story. Here's the video:
Related posts:
- Buffalo, NY - The (new) Green Zone (4/23/10)
- Vacant/Undeliverable - 2010 (4/23/10)
- Dan Kildee - Flint, MI (4/22/09)
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8 comments:
That report was shockingly good. Did it actually air on television?
Yes, good report but also way behind the curve. The abandonment of the East Side has been incrementally occurring over the past 25 years and something the City's leadership preferred to pretend was not taking place.
This isn't just an East SIde problem - it spread to the West Side long ago. The area bounded by Grant/Niagara/Ferry/Amherst is being rapidly abandoned. Between Grant and Richmond doesn't look so hot, either. South of Ferry is even worse.
Darn, I sound like one of those Nabobs of Negativism.
Nattering nabobs of negativism, that is !
The excellent WGR video documentary on the eastside housing crisis reported by David Torke raises other important issues too seldom discussed.
See: http://fixbuffalo.blogspot.com/
AND
http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=76773&catid=37
While the Mayor is interviewed in the video, and presents a weak comment that landbanking is 'premature' . . . despite massive blight & abandonment approximating 'third world conditions' in many eastside neighborhoods . . . there is no effort to interview WNY HUD Manager Steve Banko, who should be at the center of HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT issues.
Bflo gets about the highest per capita HUD aid in the US because of its deep poverty, too often subsidizing developer profits & patronage jobs in a booming POVERTY IINDUSTRY, but longtime HUD manager (& former Masiello-Chief-of-Staff) Steve Banko seems only to surface with proposed solutions when analyzing the Vietnam War.
WHY?
And, while WGRZ shows blighted 132 Person & 104 Swinburn as illustrations of irresponsible local investors hiding behind "LLC's" . . & show their $1/4 million home at 378 Troy Del Way in Wmsville (near Maple & N Forest) . . all without addresses . . no names are mentioned.
WHY?
There is a too-common culture in WNY of "NAMES WITHELD, TO PROTECT THE GUILTY".
The LLC owner of 132 Person, 104 (& 68 & 30) Swinburn, plus 46 & 234 Ashley is GREDWICK BROTHERS LLC. And the people behind the LLC are Donald A Jr & Reginald F Gredwick, who apparently inherited the properties from their father Donad A in April 199, when they formed the LLC.
They have 'dumped' several other properties along the way (and #30, #68, & #234 above are now vacant lots), as the City placed a $65,023 lien against them in 9/26/08.
And there are currently three active cases against them in Housing Court
Why are names repeatedly withheld? Is it to TO PROTECT THE GUILTY?
Dick Kern
The excellent WGR video documentary on the eastside housing crisis reported by David Torke raises other important issues too seldom discussed.
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"And the people behind the LLC are Donald A Jr & Reginald F Gredwick, who apparently inherited the properties from their father Donad A in April 199, when they formed the LLC.'"
These are the same Gredwick brothers who were prosecuted for sexually molesting a minor and possessing child pornography.
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10001678EF9AA1A4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
http://www.amherst.ny.us/govt/police/police_detail.asp?dept_id=dept_16&div_id=div_23&menu_id=menu_05
Knew Donald Gredwick growing up. The situation is likely not getting better with the Gredwicks: Donald is in prison and not getting out anytime soon:
http://161.11.122.150/paroleboardcalendar/details.asp?nysid=07386929J
and Reginald changed his last name: http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article2450.ece
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