City

Housing Commissioner Joe Mascia — who was elected to five consecutive terms by a largely minority base of support — is widely expected to challenge longtime incumbent David Franzcyk for the Fillmore district council seat. Political observers expect that Mascia will

By Budd Schroeder By the time this column is published, the school districts will have their elections for the budget and school board members.  The general consensus is that there are problems in the educational systems.  Administrators and unions keep saying

Former school board president Dr. Barbara Seals-Nevergold published a statement that opposes recent efforts by Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes to replace the school board with mayoral control of district schools. Peoples-Stokes is the chairwoman of a powerful minority caucus in the State

On Thursday night, the Conservative party offered its nomination to Housing Commissioner Joe Mascia — a clear rejection of the longtime incumbent David Franzcyk, who has overseen the utter collapse of his Fillmore district neighborhood over the past three decades. Franzcyk requested

Congressman Brian Higgins, our region’s emissary to the federal government for more than a decade, has stepped into the crisis situation at the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority. He is demanding answers from Executive Director Dawn Sanders-Garrett. BMHA has a $40

A resident at Sedita Towers, a BMHA senior housing property on Summer Street, has been complaining to that property’s manager and maintenance supervisor that lights in the parking lot have been off for months. He became so frustrated that he

At Common Council proceedings earlier this week, the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority was authorized to transfer ownership of AD Price Courts, a historically significant public housing complex that has long suffered from deliberate disinvestment and mismanagement. The complex, now entirely vacant,

A mysterious letter seemingly written by an employee inside BMHA appeared in Housing Commissioner Joe Mascia’s mailbox earlier this week. The letter questions the education credentials of the agency’s Assistant Executive Director, Modesto Candelario. The letter makes the claim that he

The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority’s financial mismanagement has become so bad, that employees of the agency have been told to refrain from suggesting that stoves and refrigerators would be provided to tenants in their lease agreements. This development comes as

Local businessman Joe Ludwig just placed a stinging billboard advertisement attacking a career politician. Ludwig is challenging longtime incumbent Councilman David Franczyk, who has overseen the collapse of his Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood and the implosion of the Eastside’s Polish community. The

It was Commissioner Hal Payne who introduced the resolution approving a turnaround plan that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has demanded within 90 days of March 13, or risk a federal takeover of the agency. Federal officials

Housing Commissioner Joe Mascia is opposed to BMHA Chairman Michael Seaman’s alleged effort to allow the agency’s Executive Director, Dawn Sanders-Garrett, phase out of her role over several months. In an email to the Chairman, Commissioner Mascia expresses his disapproval

It’s time to buildout Canalside into a real neighborhood — dominated by affordable mixed use primarily residential development with ample storefronts and pedestrian oriented streetscapes. How can we do it? By creating an affordable housing tax credit — not dissimilar

Sabres General Manager Tim Murray is a media whore, very quick to take the podium after every game and make a media spectacle of himself. The narrative is almost always architected to enhance his self-importance: his decision making, his management

The Cheektowaga Democratic Committee hosted their annual Spring gathering this morning — heading into an election cycle that could change the political landscape for generations. Hosted by Mark Wegner, the Town Chair and Highway Superintendent, the event was wildly successful.

The Commodore Perry Projects are a pre-War depression-era public housing development in Buffalo’s Old First Ward. The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks. The agency was deemed “substandard” and HUD officials threatened a federal

Councilwoman Diane Benczkowski, who is widely expected to be the Town of Cheektowaga’s next Supervisor, is pleased that the Attorney General has dismissed allegations made by Frank Max against Mark Wegner, the town’s Highway Superintendent. The Town received notification of

The Town of Cheektowaga learned that the New York Attorney General’s Office dismissed the investigation that was forwarded by the Town Council in February regarding allegations of improprieties relating Highway Department operations and the use of time by employees. The development is