North Buffalo Residents Express Concerns Over Housing
Eric Ortner
North Buffalo RocketOne of the key components of any neighborhood is of course housing. With this in mind, the North Buffalo Community Development Corporation hosted a housing forum on March 14th, 2000.
Some key public officials in regard to City Housing were on hand. Jennifer Persico, Housing Attorney, Frank DiJames, Supervisor of Slum and Blight, along with City Court Housing Judge Diane Devlin were all present at the forum. In addition, Councilmember Al Coppola's office was represented by his Senior Legislative Assistant, Valaine M. Perez.
A few problems were brought to light at the forum. One of the chief concerns of North Buffalo residents was an abandoned property located at 34 Villa. Aside from being a visual blight on the community, the structure has also been a hot spot for crime. Neighbors informed that bullets have been found inside the house. It is impossible to contact the owner of the property, and the City of Buffalo has already been forced to shut off the water due to a water main break.
Frank DiJames explained the procedure that will be required to alleviate this housing problem. He said, "Usually what happens is first we send an inspector to assess the situation.
Once that happens we do a Title Seize. Then we try to find out who the owner is… But, we can't just go and knock it down (without determining there is no owner)."
Another concern was in regard to the housing policy. Frank DiJames said, "There isn't a housing policy set in stone." He went on to suggest that anytime there is a problem house in the neighborhood, that residents, "leave a paper trail!" By this he meant neighbors should report problems to the Building Codes Violation Hotline, your councilmember, and the police. This way, if the case goes to court, there is plenty of documented evidence of the problems.
After a few more complaints regarding poor maintenance, inaccurate tax assessments, and "neighbors from hell," Housing Court Judge Diane Devlin made some comments. She said, "In cases of low level housing violations, we can cite people with tickets. I hold an open door policy and want to hear from the neighborhoods. I don't know everything; I need to hear from you. Write me letters about absentee landlords…Send pictures! Sitting and hearing about it in the courtroom is a lot different than when you actually go out and experience it."
Other neighborhood concerns included vacant and neglected buildings on Hertel Avenue.
Mary Iuvino, who is an active member of the Hertel-North Buffalo Business Association brought a few of these issues to light. She said, "Some of these buildings are total eyesores!" She then went on to raise specific concerns about buildings such as the former McDonalds on Hertel.
The housing forum had a free-for-all format. This led to several outbursts, making the whole scene quite chaotic at times. Even with this minor shortcoming, those who participated could leave feeling that their concerns had been heard by public officials.
