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May 20, 2022

Food Access Data: How Many People Might Have Depended on Tops for Groceries?

We wanted to understand the scope of impact this tragedy had on food access in our city. To do this, we mapped the major grocery stores in the area and then calculated how many people lived closer to Tops on Jefferson Ave than to any other major grocery store nearby.

May 19, 2022

CNN Business: "The long struggle to bring a supermarket to a nearly all-Black Buffalo neighborhood"

By: Nathaniel Meyersohn | May 19, 2022  In August of 2001, more than 100 people gathered on the East Side of Buffalo, New York. The setting, an empty lot in a nearly all-Black neighborhood of this upstate New York city, drew prominent visitors. They included Hillary Clinton and Chuck …

May 16, 2022

Reuters: "An oasis in underserved Buffalo neighborhood..."

By: Jenna Zucker | May 16, 2022 For many people in the neighborhood, the Tops Friendly Market was an answer to prayers when it opened for business 19 years ago, providing an oasis of fresh groceries at affordable prices in the middle of an area long considered a "food desert." Before Tops …

February 3, 2022

WBEN: "Lawmakers weigh-in on call for community benefits agreement in new stadium deal"

By: Tom Puckett| February 3, 2022 When a deal on a new lease for the Buffalo Bills and new stadium is finally reached and announced, it will eventually make its way to the desks of Erie County and New York State lawmakers for review and approval. Without the details being yet known, some area …

February 3, 2022

Investigative Post Daily Post: "Stadium benefits campaign goes public"

By: Geoff Kelly| February 3, 2022 A coalition that wants a community benefits agreement attached to public subsidies for a new Buffalo Bills stadium has taken their campaign public, after months of quiet organizing. The coalition held a press conference Tuesday morning at Johnnie B. Wiley stadium …

February 2, 2022

WBFO: "Coalition calls for community benefit agreement tied to new Bills stadium"

By: Thomas O'Neil-White| February 2, 2022 A Community Benefits Agreement, or CBA, attached to a large-scale development project is an agreement that spells out what contributions could come back to the community impacted by the project. In Erie County, talk of a new football stadium for the Buffalo …

February 2, 2022

Buffalo News: "Advocates want legally binding community benefits agreement in Bills stadium deal"

By: Sandra Tan| February 2, 2022 If a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills gets built, it's all but a foregone conclusion that the team and its owners will benefit financially. But a group of community leaders are continuing the drum beat to ensure benefits don't just flow in one direction. Members of …

February 2, 2022

WKBW: "Coalition calls on Bills, state and county to promise benefits to community in stadium deal"

Ashley Rowe|February 2, 2022 While the Buffalo Bills, Erie County, and New York State are hashing out details for a new stadium, community members are working to make sure they're included in the plans. A coalition of groups that include the Partnership for Public Good and Buffalo Transit Riders …

February 2, 2022

Spectrum News: "Advocates want community benefit agreement included in new Bills stadium contract"

By: Brianne Roesser| February 2, 2022 A group of people in Buffalo are calling on lawmakers to include a community benefit agreement in the contract for the new Bills stadium. The new stadium will be funded by more than $1 billion in taxpayer money. Advocates with Voice Buffalo and the Partnership …

January 28, 2022

Investigative Post: "CBA proponents here seeking first win"

By: Geoff Kelly| January 28, 2022 Proponents failed in two previous attempts in WNY, although they did win some concessions. They're trying again with Bills proposed stadium. Will the third time be a charm?  

January 27, 2022

Investigative Post: "Linking community benefits to a Bills stadium"

By: Geoff Kelly| January 27, 2022 Advocates of a community benefits agreement for proposed Bills stadium want initiatives to address poverty and promote diversity and good-paying jobs.

January 25, 2022

Investigative Post: "How a stadium can benefit the community"

By: Geoff Kelly| January 25, 2022 Pro teams are increasingly agreeing to pay for community improvements, diversity initiatives and living wage jobs in exchange for subsidies for new stadiums and arenas.