New Face in Delaware District Office Faces First Challenge
Eric Ortner
North Buffalo Rocket / West Side TimesMarc Coppola has been appointed as councilmember for Delaware District, by Buffalo's Common Council. He earned the appointment by being very active in the community for the past several years. The new council-member has announced his staff appointments, along with some of his top agendas. He already faces a tough issue in regard to Tops Friendly Markets.
Marc Coppola commented on his appointment by saying, "I am very excited about taking the Delaware District Office. I've been keeping up on the issues, and keeping up on City Government, and especially the issues relating to Delaware District as much as possible for a number of years. I am well up to the challenge to be the Delaware District Council-member. I am extremely excited!"
Monday, April 10 was actually Marc's first day of work and committee meetings. He said, "I have put in 131/2 hours with no lunch, and I had a great time."
The councilmember has already appointed his two staff members. The first of which is a familiar face to many. Caroline Kooshoian, who has served as the Delaware District Intern for four years has been appointed as a full time staff member. Caroline will be graduating from UB shortly with a degree in English. Councilmember Marc Coppola commented, "I am lucky to have her because she has been here for a while and she knows a lot about the office. So she brings in a wealth of experience to the office. She's young, she's energetic and she's excited." Caroline Kooshoian has lived in the Parkside Community all her life.
Ms. Kooshoian won't be the only staff member in the office. Joanne Lopez will also be staffing the phones, taking complaints and offering solutions. The new Councilmember Coppola commented, "Joanne has worked for the City of Buffalo in the Department of Inspections for a number of years. She understands how the system works. She and her family have strong ties to the community, and she'll be a great asset in that respect."
Mr. Coppola is jumping right into his position already tackling tough issues head on. He said, "An issue that I am very concerned about is improving the quality of life in the Delaware District and its neighborhoods. I think we can do that in two ways. First, doing the best that we can to keep after the housing issues and making sure that people are taking care of their properties accordingly. I am pleading with anybody with a substandard property to not only help themselves by taking better care of it, but also by being respectful of their neighbors."
Marc Coppola continued, "The second thing is I would like to see more police on the streets, whether it be in cars or even the bike patrol, which I think was effective because there were more police in the neighborhood. I am going to look into that more. I fully support the bike patrol it brings the police closer to the neighborhood really."
Councilmember Coppola wants to work together with businesses so that they are able to do business and stay viable. But at the same time he wishes to make sure that those businesses are community minded.
Mr. Coppola immediately has a chance to test his abilities by being the mediator between business and the community. The Tops Friendly Market located at Delaware and Linden is expected to close on May 17 when a new location opens at Sheridan Drive and Delaware Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda. Councilmember Coppola said,
"This office is very upset that Tops has decided to close that store. Many of our residents in the Delaware District from the North Buffalo area and from the South end of the district use that Tops because of its location. It is accessible from the bus route, and it is in walking distance for many, many people. Usually when a business closes it is because it is not busy enough. It is obvious they are not closing because it is not busy enough; all you need to do is walk in there on any day and that becomes apparent. We are sending a letter, and I am going to make a call to let them know how we feel. Myself, and now Senator Al Coppola will both be strongly lobbying them to reconsider. If they close it will be a detriment to the community."
Councilmember Marc Coppola will certainly have his work cut out for him. The Delaware District office is a busy place.
