Housing / Neighborhoods Take Action

Paradoxically, Buffalo has both a crisis of abandoned housing and a severe homelessness problem. Top housing priorities should be preventing abandonment, preserving and rehabilitating existing units, and weatherizing housing to reduce energy costs and pollution simultaneously. Any new housing should be sustainable – strategically located to strengthen existing communities and ecologically friendly to reduce energy costs and pollution. As new development raises rents and property taxes in parts of the city, anti-displacement strategies become crucial in protecting vulnerable residents.

Related News View All

May 17, 2023

Community Groups Call for Three Priorities in the City of Buffalo Budget

Partnership for the Public Good and its partner organizations gathered at Buffalo City Hall to call for three priorities to be included in the City of Buffalo 2023-2024 budget currently being negotiated. Video of the press conference is available here.

March 25, 2023

Buffalo News: "The Editorial Board: Buffalo needs some practical solutions to an affordable housing crisis that grows desperate"

News Editorial Board | March 25, 2023 Enough with the studies and the reports. It’s time for action. Buffalo has an affordable housing crisis that’s been building since well before the pandemic and is now at near-catastrophic proportions. Between late 2019 and late 2022, the median …

March 7, 2023

Partnership for the Public Good, Cornell in Buffalo, and Partners Advocate for Three Policies to Fight Inflation and Support Working Families

Elected officials, researchers, and community members gathered in Buffalo today to call on New York State to adopt three policies that would fight inflation costs and help working families struggling with rising costs.

February 7, 2023

Buffalo News: "New housing task force will tackle Buffalo's 'affordability crisis.' Will this one make a difference?"

Caitlin Dewey | February 7, 2023 What do you get when you put five advocates, two landlords, two lawyers and a housing official in a room together? A solution to the affordable housing crisis, hopes the Buffalo Common Council. On Tuesday, the council appointed 10 representatives to a new Affordable …

Related Events View All

McCarley Gardens: Kelly Camacho and Dennice Barr on The Public GoodMay 16, 2023, 10:30-11 am

Dejia James

In February 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $57 million commitment to upgrading McCarley Gardens, an affordable housing development just south of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. However, renovations did not go as expected for residents. Residents shared a variety of concerns, including …

McCarley Gardens: Kelly Camacho and Dennice Barr on The Public GoodMay 16, 2023, 10:30-11 am

Dejia James

In February 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $57 million commitment to upgrading McCarley Gardens, an affordable housing development just south of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. However, renovations did not go as expected for residents. Residents shared a variety of concerns, including …

Surplus Funds: Keisha Williams and Kate Lockhart on The Public GoodMarch 14, 2023, 10:30-11 am

Sarah Wooton

What happens when profits from a foreclosed property exceed what is owed on that property? In the past, the prior homeowner would get the remaining money, or surplus funds, returned to them. But this year, the City of Buffalo removed this policy and is keeping over $3.5 million in surplus funds …

Surplus Funds: Keisha Williams and Kate Lockhart on The Public GoodMarch 14, 2023, 10:30-11 am

Sarah Wooton

What happens when profits from a foreclosed property exceed what is owed on that property? In the past, the prior homeowner would get the remaining money, or surplus funds, returned to them. But this year, the City of Buffalo removed this policy and is keeping over $3.5 million in surplus funds …

Related Resources View All

Title
Unburying Buffalo: Making the Case for Sidewalk Snow Removal
Using Publicly-Owned Vacant Land to Advance Sustainability and Equity in Buffalo, New York
Climate Solutions are Health Solutions: An Evaluation of PUSH Green's Home Energy Efficiency Program
Housing Discrimination Complaint Data in the Buffalo Region
Analysis of City of Buffalo In-Rem Auction Data (2011-2018)