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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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Racial Discrimination and Eviction Policies and Enforcement in New York
New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights — Mar 1, 2022
This report focuses on the disproportionate impact of eviction on people of color, including in the administration of justice, in three major New York cities: Albany, Buffalo and NYC.
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Evicted in Buffalo: the High Costs of Involuntary Mobility
Sam Magavern — Mar 4, 2020
Here in Buffalo, People United for Sustainable Housing Buffalo (PUSH Buffalo) has been on the front lines of organizing, advocacy, and neighborhood redevelopment for Buffalo’s tenants. Many of PUSH’s members have been harmed by involuntary mobility, and PUSH staff members such as Aminah Johnson have spent long hours advocating for tenants in Housing Court and helping them find and keep safe, decent, and affordable housing. We undertook this study for PUSH Buffalo to document …
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Inclusionary Zoning: Creating Equity and Lasting Affordability in the City of Buffalo, New York
Buffalo Inclusionary Housing Coalition, Skye Hart, Victoria Neenan — Oct 12, 2016
The City of Buffalo is experiencing fast-rising rents and housing prices in the midst of severe and growing poverty. New housing is being built, with generous subsidies from the taxpayers, but most of it is luxury or market-rate apartments and condominiums. Far from aiding the affordability crisis, this new development is worsening it, particularly in neighborhood such as downtown, the West Side and Fruit Belt, where gentrification is underway and displacement of lower income …
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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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City of Buffalo 2009-2010 Action Plan
Sam Magavern — Jul 16, 2009
I am writing on behalf of the Partnership for the Public Good (PPG) to comment on the City of Buffalo’s 09-10 Action Plan. PPG’s mission is to help build a more just, sustainable, and culturally vibrant community through action-oriented research, policy development, and citizen engagement. Our 2009 Community Agenda has been endorsed by over 50 organizations, including Belmont Shelter, Buffalo Urban League, Catholic Charities, Community Action, Habitat for Humanity …
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HUD Homes: How they Can Promote Home Ownership and Reduce House Abandonment
Yumi Choi-Bose — May 1, 2008
For many, the American Dream still means owning a home. The home ownership rate in the U.S. fell in the fourth quarter of 2007 to its lowest level since the beginning of 2002--this from a record high in the middle of 2004. What is more alarming, however, is that the home owner vacancy rate went up 2.8 percent. The bulk of the vacant homes are foreclosed homes. Among such foreclosed homes are Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) homes that have come into …
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Marketing City-Owned Properties
Corey Rossi — Apr 30, 2008
An effective housing strategy must incorporate efficient disposition of city-owned property. A successful disposition program should include a marketing campaign that facilitates the transfer of city-owned property to productive use. Last year, the City of Buffalo initiated a marketing program that assisted in the sale of 125 homes. A major component of this marketing program was a catalog of City-owned homes. The City distributed the catalog to local nonprofits, …
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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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Housing Service Agency Structural Definition Report
Kelly Patterson, Robert Silverman — Nov 1, 2005
The Housing Service Agency Structural Definition Report was initiated in response to this emerging crisis. The purpose of the report was to examine strategies used by other weak market cities to address this crisis, and develop a set of recommendations for establishing funding priorities for community-based housing organizations (CBHO) in the City of Buffalo.