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Using Publicly-Owned Vacant Land to Advance Sustainability and Equity in Buffalo, New York

Sam Magavern — Feb 24, 2023

The City of Buffalo owns roughly 8,000 vacant lots. Over 3,000 acres of land, these vacant parcels are largely the result of historic discriminatory land policies, which encouraged white flight and left thousands of empty homes vulnerable to demolition. When the dust settled, the City found itself with thousands of vacant lots, many of which it has not sufficiently maintained ever since. Examples from Buffalo and around the nation prove, however, that vacant urban land can be repurposed for …

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PUSH Buffalo's Green Development Zone: a Model for New Economy Community Development

Sam Magavern, Skye Hart — Jun 29, 2017

2008 marks the year that PUSH Buffalo founded the Green Development Zone in Buffalo’s West Side. Encompassing 25 square blocks, the Green Development Zone (GDZ) is an area that PUSH is making more environmentally and economically sustainable. PUSH stands for People United for Sustainable Housing, and it is a non-profit corporation that uses a unique combination of community organizing, policy advocacy, and neighborhood redevelopment.  

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Buffalo's Proposed Unified Development Ordinance

Jessie Fisher — Mar 1, 2016

For the first time since 1954, the City of Buffalo New York is undertaking a comprehensive review and complete overhaul of its zoning code, the result of which has been popularly dubbed “the Green Code.”  The City, particularly Mayor Brown and the leadership and staff at the Office of Strategic Planning are to be commended for undertaking this important task.  While there are many positive aspects of this effort, some changes are needed in order to ensure that the final …

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Rebuilding our Neighborhoods: Improving New York State Housing Policy to Better Meet Upstate Needs

Sam Magavern, Aaron Bartley, Daniel Kelly, Anthony Armstrong — Aug 1, 2013

New York faces a wide variety of housing challenges.  While in the New York City region, where the population is growing, availability and affordability are the most pressing concerns, upstate regions have a different set of problems stemming from population loss, housing vacancy, abandonment, and deterioration.  To address the full range of issues, state housing policy needs a variety of tools in its tool box.  This policy brief discusses four ways that state housing policy can …

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The Black Rock Vacancy Initiative: An Analysis of Results and Obstacles

David Panepinto — Nov 23, 2009

This study focuses on the seventy-seven properties that were targeted by the Black Rock Vacancy Initiative.  First, forty-nine (49) of those properties were successfully resolved through the Initiative, including properties that were either resolved through Housing Court or by the City.  Second, fourteen (14) properties were not resolved through the Initiative at all.  This group includes active Housing Court cases, properties that Housing Court has lost jurisdiction over, and …

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A User's Guide to Bringing a Private Nuisance Action

Ryan Parisi — Nov 20, 2009

The first element of private nuisance is an “interference substantial in nature.”  This leads to the question: what is substantial? Whether interference is substantial depends largely on the facts and circumstances of each individual case.  The determination of substantiality is generally a question of fact for a jury as opposed to a question of law for the judge to decide.  Substantiality, involves a review of the totality of the circumstances based on a balancing of …

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Are YOU Registered? An Analysis of Buffalo's Rental Registry Code

Alexa Rissoff — Nov 19, 2009

Buffalo’s Dwelling Unit Registration code was passed in 2004 and became effective in 2005.  The City of Buffalo had previously enacted a Multiple Dwelling Unit Registration law, which required owners of multiple dwelling units (three or more units) to register their property and obtain a certificate of occupancy, but the City did not have any required registration for single and double residential dwellings.  The purpose of the Rental Registry code is to create a database that …

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Buffalo's Demolition Strategy

Sarah Lyons — Jan 1, 2009

Buffalo, New York is one of many U.S. cities that experienced an extreme decline in population since the mid-twentieth century.  Migration out of the city has been crippling, the population declining by nearly 50 percent from 1950 to 2000. Many people left the city for the surrounding suburbs, an area that experienced a 50 percent increase in population over this same period.  Now, Buffalo faces the challenge of an outdated infrastructure that is much too large for its 21st Century …

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City of Buffalo 2008-2009 Budgets and Four Year Plans

Sam Magavern — Mar 7, 2008

I am writing on behalf of the Partnership for the Public Good (PPG) to comment on the City of Buffalo’s 08-09 Action Plan Recommendation.  PPG is a new collaboration promoting a revitalized, sustainable Buffalo through research and advocacy.  Our 2008 Platform has been endorsed by over 30 organizations, including Belmont Shelter, Catholic Charities, Community Action, Cornell University ILR School, PUSH Buffalo, the Homeless Alliance of Western New York, and the Center for Urban …

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An Integrated Approach to Fighting Blight and Poverty in Buffalo's Low-Income Neighborhoods

Partnership for the Public Good — Dec 31, 2007

Recently released Census data confirms the City of Buffalo is now among the very poorest and most blighted large cities in the United States.  The report pegs Buffalo’s poverty rate at 29.9%, ranking second behind only Detroit.  This news was released within days of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s announcement of his “5 in 5” Demolition Plan.  This plan sets a goal of demolishing 5,000 houses in five years, on the road to stabilizing Buffalo’s vacancy …

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Blueprint Buffalo

Joseph Schilling, Lisa Schamess, Jonathan Logan — Dec 31, 2007

Regional strategies and local tools for reclaiming vacant properties in the city and suburbs of Buffalo.  

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Solutions for a Better Quality of Life: A Guide to Solving Neighborhood Issues

Center for Urban Studies, UB, Antoine Thompson May 1, 2004

There are several things you must understand in utilizing this document for concerns in your neighborhood.  First, it is meant to be an ever-changing document, reflecting today's problems and remedies.  Services change from time to time, and what worked to solve a problem last year may not work now.  Also, problems are solved differently district by district - the appropriate resource to contact in University Heights may not work in Hamlin Park, and vice-versa.  In order to …

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Vacant Land, Buildings and Facilities Asset Management Project

Rolf Pendall, Matthew Drennan, Susan Christopherson Jan 1, 2004

The purpose of the Vacant Land, Buildings and Facilities Asset Management Project (Project) is to develop recommendations for the sustainable, economical and productive conservation, development and management of vacant land, buildings and facilities throughout the City of Buffalo.  The Vacant Land, Buildings and Facilities report is a product of an effort designed to provide an overview of an array of related subjects and issues deemed important by Project participants.  The results …

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