Latest News

May 16, 2022

Time: "The Buffalo shooter targeted a city haunted by segregation"

By: Eric Cortellessa | May 16, 2022 The Tops supermarket on Buffalo’s Jefferson Avenue is surrounded by streets lined with dilapidated houses. Around the corner is a small strip with two barbershops, a nail salon, and a heavily guarded M&T Bank. On most days, this part of town sees …

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 …

May 16, 2022

The New York Times: "The closing of the Tops market on Buffalo's East Side has created a 'food desert'"

By: Troy Closson | May 16, 2022 Across Buffalo’s East Side, many Black residents live in what is known as a “food desert” — an area with little access to low-cost, healthy selections. But when the Tops market opened on Jefferson Avenue in 2003, it helped fill a crucial need …

May 15, 2022

The New York Times: ""Nobody cares about us here': anguish and anger on Buffalo's East Side"

By: Troy Closson | May 15, 2022 They rallied at a Black Lives Matter demonstration on the concrete steps of a local park, calling for politicians to direct more resources to Buffalo’s Black residents living on the largely impoverished East Side. They tossed heavy bags of eggs, bread and water …

May 15, 2022

The Spectrum: "East Side community members mourn victims of racially motivated mass shooting"

By: Grant Ashley, Moaz Elazzazi, Kyle Nguyen, Kayla Estrada | May 15, 2022 Ten people were killed and three were injured in a racially motivated mass shooting at the Tops on Buffalo’s East Side Saturday afternoon. It was the deadliest shooting in Buffalo history.  Eleven of those …

May 15, 2022

The New York Times: "Gunman targeted Black neighborhood shaped by decades of segregation"

By: Anushka Patil| May 15, 2022 The high concentration of Black residents on Buffalo’s East Side — which the suspect in Saturday’s mass shooting said was his reason for targeting the area — is a direct result of decades of segregation and systemic racism, researchers …

April 24, 2022

Buffalo News: "More than 225 Western New York cops have been suspended or fired since 2017"

By: Charlie Specht | April 24, 2022 More than 225 police officers and jail guards in Western New York have been suspended, fired or resigned while facing allegations of misconduct in the last five years. A Buffalo News investigation of more than 1,300 police records that until recently were …

April 9, 2022

WBFO: "Local criminal justice reformer calls foul on bail reform rollbacks"

Gov. Kathy Hochul is rolling back criminal justice reform laws that have been on the books since January 2020 specifically giving judges more discretion in setting bail for defendants. Reform advocates like Partnership for the Public Good Policy Agenda Director Tanvier Peart are calling foul on the …

April 8, 2022

Buffalo News: "Agreement on bail reform will give judges ability to consider danger a defendant poses"

By: Maki Becker | April 8, 2022 The debate over bail reform has been one of the most contentious elements of Gov. Kathy Hochul's first budget negotiations as the state's top leader. Amid a jump in gun violence in cities from Buffalo to New York City, she sought to retool the landmark …

April 3, 2022

Buffalo News: "Advocates: No Bills stadium deal without strong community benefits agreement"

By: Sandra Tan | April 3, 2022 Community advocates are demanding that elected leaders refuse to approve any new Buffalo Bills stadium deal unless it's accompanied by a strong community benefits agreement to ensure that the Bills organization gives back to the people of Buffalo and Erie County.

March 30, 2022

WBFO: "Gramaglia laments bail reforms following car chase, shootout"

By: Thomas O'Neil-White | March 30, 2022 Following Tuesday night’s car chase, during which four people, including three police officers, were shot, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia rebuked bail reforms, saying it allows dangerous people out of jail and back out on the …

March 29, 2022

Spectrum News: "Western New York community advocate groups pushing for CBA in Bills stadium contracts"

By: Brianne Roesser | March 29, 2022 Community advocates are pushing for a return on investment from the new Bills stadium that will directly impact Buffalo. State and local leaders announced Monday that the new Bills stadium will go in Orchard Park across from the current one and cost about $1.4 …