| Date: | February 1, 2022 |
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Date: Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at 9:00am
Location: Johnnie B. Wiley Pavilion (the Rockpile, former home of the Bills), in the parking lot on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Dodge Street
This press conference will highlight the need to deliver community benefits across Erie County when we invest public dollars. We stand to spend approximately one billion dollars in public funds on a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, and it is vital that the public see real, lasting benefits from this expenditure.
Public benefits can be guaranteed by a robust community benefits agreement (CBA). In examining other CBAs for similar projects around the country, we can see what public benefits are possible and what other communities have successfully negotiated in exchange for their participation.
Community leaders will speak about what’s possible in a Community Benefits Agreement and what we need here in Erie County. Speakers will include:
Karima Amin, Storyteller and Former Buffalo Public Schools Teacher, on Remembering the Rockpile and the legacy of the Buffalo Bills across Erie County
Miles Gresham, Esq., Policy Fellow at Partnership for the Public Good, on What’s Possible in a CBA?
Bridge Rauch, Community Organizer at Buffalo Transit Riders United, on Stadium Public Transit for Workers and Fans
Dr. Myron Glick, MD, Founder and CEO, Jericho Road Community Health Center on Investing in Wellness for All
Finally, this press conference will call on local leaders to go beyond the minimum labor and hiring standards required by state law, to insist on a CBA with specific commitments, including better-than-minimum minority and women-owned business participation, unionized labor, funding for wellness, housing, and youth sports programs, and worker and fan public transportation. Community organizations and taxpayers are asking their elected officials to demand a substantive, long-term Agreement that brings benefits to all communities in Erie County.