Gentrification hurts the Buffalo community
March 3, 2016
Gentrification has become an increasing problem in the City of Buffalo, specifically on the West Side.
Gentrification can be defined as “the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer people.”
The West Side is known for its diverse environment, including immigrants and refugees from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Puerto Rico, Central America, and many other areas.
The area attracts so many immigrants because of its low cost of living. Apartments start at just $400 per month.
However, the problem with that is that the wealthy are looking to move in and purchase the property, resulting in improvements and increased real estate.
This pushes the poor out of the area because they become out priced. With this push, the immigrants are displaced from the West Side and pushed to the nearest area in the similar price range, that being the City of Niagara Falls.
The cost of living in the City of Niagara Falls is roughly the same, but crime rates are higher, unemployment is high, and it’s notorious for the high pollution rates.
Members of the West Side community are working together to stop gentrification, through the proposal of revamping Buffalo Public School 77 on Normal Ave. for community purposes. The school closed ten years ago because of tank related leaks and spills caused by poorly designed underground and aboveground storage tanks.
People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) Buffalo has been planning to save School 77, but needs the help of the rest of the community. For people to live sustainably, all those in the community need to get involved.
PUSH believes in the “community control of resources,” which means that people need to be aware of the area they live in and their surroundings.
As students of SUNY Buffalo State, our campus is located directly between the Elmwood Village and the West Side. Though we are not all from the Buffalo area, we need to be aware of those that need help in our community. To be invested in the place that we reside means to help all in the area.
Helping those in the community directly affects us. For example, education majors may someday be able to get a job at a school on the West Side of Buffalo. Business majors may someday want to start a company in the changing area. Communication majors need to be aware of the news there because they have a job to report the story. All students can be affected, and without the help now, we may be at a loss for that option.
PUSH wants their project to stay in the hands of the Buffalo community and as students, we too can help.
email: [email protected]
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Evin Conyer • Dec 19, 2016 at 4:50 pm
So I live on the Eastside, in what is considered to be not the best neighborhood. I have owned my home for 11 years and despite putting my heart and soul into it, I am still not able to complete all the repairs needed. I have fair credit, but due to the blight around me my home is not worth nearly enough to get any type of loan that would be enough to help me. In addition, I don’t seem to qualify for any programs through the city of Buffalo. There used to be a 50/50 loan program which to my knowledge the City had stopped due to a lack of funding. It just strikes me that they have funding for all these projects, yet very little for the home owners who already live in these areas…
Nina • Nov 2, 2016 at 2:10 pm
I am writing a paper on the gentrification of Buffalo for an Urban Sociology course in NYC, is there an scholars you know of that have done work on it so I could include some sources?
Thank you!!!
Editor • Nov 3, 2016 at 1:30 pm
Nina,
Reach out to our associate news editor Olivia Smith at email: [email protected]. She wrote this piece.
Thanks for reaching out,
Dan Almasi/Managing Editor
Kathleen • Mar 12, 2016 at 9:59 am
I bought this house, upper west side between Richmond and Grant about 12 years ago. There were 5 abandoned houses just on my block at the time. All but mine were foreclosures. The house next door had squatters that had hooked up to my house an electrical cord for electricity! The neighbors first question to me was are you going to live here? Since then all of the properties have been purchased and improved. A few have been flipped but for the most part it is a neighborhood of families who live in their own homes and have a rental apartment to lease. Every cent I had has gone into improving my home. This is my retirement. When I walk down to Grant I am sickened by the trash and litter on the street, sidewalk and peoples yards. From my block up towards Elmwood people take pride and keep their yards and surrounding sidewalks clean. If anyone wants to move in and improve the neighborhood from here down to Grant, please do. Because that is where you see the cruisers, hear the sirens and pray that no one is hurt. You call it Gentrification? I call it working my butt off for 40 years as a single mother to have a decent home and an investment that will be my retirement. Buffalo is ripe with opportunity. Homeowners care. Lets help people purchase their own and everyone else? Pick up, mow the yard, plant flowers. If you have a lousy landlord? Well then, you care about where you live…