By Mark Sommer
News Staff Reporter

Thousands of vacant houses and lots in Buffalo represent both a crisis and an opportunity, a panel of speakers said Wednesday at a forum in Temple Beth Zion.

The subject was part of a breakfast series hosted by Heart of the City Neighborhoods, a local nonprofit that rehabs and sells vacant homes.

A shift in thinking is needed so that the city’s housing stock is seen as an asset, said Sam Magavern, co-director of Partnership for the Public Good.

“We have very high-quality housing. It’s old, but that means it’s really well made. But we have an urgent need to stabilize, repair and rehab,” Magavern said.

“It doesn’t make sense to build new, because the buildings we already have maintain the urban fabric and make these neighborhoods a place where people want to live.”

Magavern said green retrofitting to reduce high energy costs is needed on a large scale.

Thousands of vacant lots, Magavern said, could boost community life if they are turned into urban farms, community gardens, playgrounds and pocket parks.

He cited the example of PUSH, which in its 25-block Green Empowerment Zone has acquired and found new uses for 45 properties.

Anthony Armstrong, program officer of the Buffalo office of Local Support Initiatives Corp., used Postal Service data to show dramatic population declines and high vacancy rates in Buffalo and, increasingly, first-ring suburbs.

“This really is a crisis situation for the region. Almost every census tract in the entire county has more vacant and undeliverable addresses than it did five years ago,” Armstrong said.

The vacancy problem, he said, was made worse by declining home values in hard-pressed areas in a real estate market where supply outweighs demand. But Armstrong said one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to finding solutions.

“Some activities are best coordinated at the regional level, some at the level of local government, and others at the block level. This needs to be taken on in a very cooperative and coordinated manner to make it work,” he said.

Armstrong suggested a pending application by Erie County, Buffalo and two other municipalities for a land bank could make it easier to gain control over vacant, run-down properties.

Ellicott Council Member Darius Pridgen said he has been hamstrung on the Common Council by a lack of transparency on city housing policies.

“I would ask [the public] to push us to make a clear process so when they have a few dollars and a dream, they can participate in rebuilding our communities and our neighborhoods,” he said.

A local non profit met earlier today to talk about vacant housing in Buffalo, and look at creative solutions for combating the problem.

Local leaders say a lot can be done to help eliminate vacant housing, but the most important thing is cooperation across municipal lines. Leaders say vacant properties can bring a host of problems.

“Not only do they impact property values, they decrease confidence in a neighborhood, they cost more for municipalities, for police services, for clean and seal, for road abatement, it’s more expensive for people to get insurance for their homes, there’s a host of problems that vacant properties bring.,” said Anthony Armstrong, Program Officer of Buffalo LISC.

This was the final installment of a breakfast series by Heart of the City Neighborhoods…
which runs a re-use program rehabbing vacant homes and reselling them to first time home buyers.

Download your team registration forms here!

Heart of the City’s 3rd Annual Kickball Tournament will take place on Saturday, June 2nd at LaSalle Park. This fundraiser is an effort to support neighborhood revitalization, and enjoy a healthy kickoff to the summer! This event will feature local organizations, community members, friends, and family from across Western New York. Teams will compete in our tournament, advancing with each win in the hopes of becoming 2012’s champions! Additionally, hotdogs, beer and other refreshments will be available for affordable prices at concession stands! We hope to see you there!

Join Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. and area organizations and companies on Saturday, June 2nd for our 3rd Annual Kickball Tournament in La Salle Park!

This fundraiser is an effort to support neighborhood revitalization, and enjoy a healthy kickoff to the summer! This event will feature local organizations, community members, friends, and family from across Western New York. Teams will compete in our tournament, advancing with each win in the hopes of becoming 2012’s champions! Additionally, hotdogs, beer and other refreshments will be available for affordable prices at concession stands!

Heart of the City is proud to say that 94% of our finances go directly into our community. Every dollar raised at our annual kickball tournament will be put into providing quality, affordable housing opportunities for our Lower West Side neighbors.

How can you show your support?

Register a team to compete! All team registration forms must be submitted by May 23rd. Download your forms here.

Come out and enjoy the games! Area residents are invited to join us on game day to cheer on competing teams and enjoy lunch at our concession stand.

Submit a donation! Can’t make it out on game day? You can still show your support by making a donation to HOCN. Visit our Donation page for more information.

Various activities are scheduled during Fair Housing Month to raise awareness about housing discrimination and inform people of their rights under fair-housing laws.

• From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, a webcast will be available for viewing at www.dhr.ny.gov. Titled “Emerging Federal and State Fair Housing Issues,” it’s part of a conference presented by the New York State Division of Human Rights and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Other activities include “Testify! Voices for Human Rights in the U.S.,” a compilation of short human rights videos from across the country. Julia Hall, a human rights attorney working with Amnesty International and previously with Human Rights Watch, is the keynote speaker.

• Programs will be held at 7 p.m. today in Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 341 Delaware Ave., and next Thursday in the Village Meeting House, 5658 Main St., Williamsville. For more information, call Grace Andriette at 847-0650.

• A spaghetti dinner will be sponsored by People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) to raise money to send local residents to the National People’s Action 2012 Conference. The dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. Friday at 271 Grant St. For more information, call Whitney Yak at

884-0356.

• A West Side Housing Partnership Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Loretto Ministry Center, 301 14th St. For more information, call Cornelia Dohse-Peck at

474-6485.

• The Erie County Fair Housing Partnership will host a speaker series next week in Buffalo. The weeklong event is free and open to the public on the following days:

3 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday — “Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Housing Rights,” presented by attorneys Jorien Brock with the Pride Center of WNY and Grace Andriette with Neighborhood Legal Services. The event will be held in Evergreen Conference Center, 119 Chippewa St.

5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday — “Tenant and Neighborhood Organizing,” presented by Whitney Yax, a PUSH community organizer. The session will be held in West Side Community Center, 161 Vermont St.

3 to 5 p.m. next Thursday — “Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Workshop,” presented by Beverly Moore, housing coordinator at the Buffalo Urban League. The workshop will be held in the Urban League offices, 15 Genesee St.

9 a.m. to noon May 4 — “Housing Discrimination and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities,” presented by Rayna Grossman, education coordinator and mobility counselor at Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME); Grace Andriette, supervising attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services; and Tashene Eubanks, fair-housing officer with the City of Buffalo. The event will be held in HOME offices, 1542 Main St. at West Ferry Street.

• Heart of the City Neighborhoods Inc. will present “Boarding Up Our Burdens,” a breakfast and lecture, May 9 in Temple Beth Zion, 805 Delaware Ave. The event will address how vacant houses are draining neighborhoods, what they cost residents and innovative ways to combat the blight. The breakfast will run from 8:30 to 9 a.m., followed by a lecture until 10 a.m. Register online at www.hocn.org.

On May 8th, Heart of the City’s Stephanie Simeon will be joining Sam on the show to talk about our organization and our current initiatives. Don’t miss out! Tune in by visiting www.wufoam.com or set your radio to 1080AM!

No Place Like Home Breakfast Series is a lecture and breakfast, broken down into three Wednesdays (March 14th, April 11th, and May 9th), to explore different housing issues relevant to our City of Buffalo. We hope that the professionals, students, and community activists who join us for this event will walk away with a better understanding of a housing issue and be knowledgeable on the tools he or she can use in their own day to day work.

Our third installation of this series on May 9th will look at vacant housing, a problem plaguing our city. “Boarding Up Our Burdens: How Vacant Houses are Draining Our Neighborhoods” will explore the cost of vacant houses on our city and creative solutions for combating the blight. The information provided can be used in your own neighborhood and those you work in, to ensure a better quality of life for all.

8:30am-9:00am  Breakfast & Networking

9:00am-10:00am Lecture

Speakers:

Anthony Armstrong (Local Initiative Support Coalition (LISC) Buffalo)

Councilmember Darius G. Pridgen (Ellicott District Common Council)

Sam Magavern (Partnership for the Public Good)

Preregistration is encouraged for this event to ensure your participation.
Register by clicking here or visiting us on our Facebook “Event Registration” page.

A special thanks to our sponsor

More information about this year’s tournament will be coming soon…

Want to get in the game?

Download your registration forms here. Registration runs from April 16th-May 23rd. Spaces are limited.

“Your Health or Your Home: Choice No One Should Have to Make” will examine common health hazards in homes and how to eliminate them. Speakers include Dr. Katie Grimm of the University at Buffalo department of internal medicine and pediatrics; Marixsa Sanchez of the Buffalo Pernatal-Perinatal Network; and Stephanie Kellner of the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo.

Admission is free. Registration is suggested. Register online at www.hocn.org.

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We are pleased to tell you that all City approvals have been granted for the Cynthia Gardens Development and funding has been secured. Construction for this development is planned to begin this Spring!

Cynthia Gardens will be located at 294-302 Hudson Street, now vacant land. It is two townhouse-style buildings that are designed to reflect the neighborhood’s historic character, using fiber cement or “hardy board” siding. The design calls for four 2-bedroom apartments and four 3-bedroom apartments, a direct response to the lack of quality affordable rental opportunities for working families in our neighborhood. In line with our Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, the units will come complete with energy-efficient appliances and heat-saving windows.

To stay up to date on this development, join our emailing list on our homepage or follow us on Facebook.