Wallowing on Welfare
Last week's Buffalo real estate transactions had the usual depressing news:
- West Side sales under $50,000 averaged a mere 23% of new GAR Associates assessed values
- 26 of 91 transactions (29%) were troubling under-$5,001, but won't be reported in Monday's Buffalo News
- 3 vacant lots (assessed $1.2K; $1.7K; $2.7K) sold for $202 each (17%, 12%, & 7%) of new GAR Assessed Values
- 36 Bennett Village Terrace sold in foreclosure for $5,300
Two-block-long Bennett Village Terrace (BVT) is a laboratory for Buffalo's failed housing policy. The first block is small, virtually identical, once attractive 'townhouses' selling for about $55,000 a dozen years ago. Upwardly mobile young professionals, including BMHA Exec bought many. Sharon West & Common Council Chief-of-staff Donna Davis. Then values began falling; investors moved in, values plummeted, foreclosures skyrocketed. In 1998 Citi-Corp sold 16 BVT units for $80,000 ($5K each); 2 more sold at $8,000 each. Seven recent townhouse sales have ranged from $4,462 (#46, 4/01) to $27,500 (#71, 8/00), averaging $14,752. The 2nd block is mixed suburban-style split levels, 2-fam. & 4-unit apartments, earlier assessed up to $120,000, as 3 recent sales were $60K, $68.9K & $69,000 (GAR-reduced assessments to $57.2K, $60.5K &$61K).
MOVING WEST . . . Things got so bad at BVT that Sharon West moved from #41 BVT in 1998 into public housing . . .albeit into the penthouse at once-elegant BMHA-owned Stuyvesant Apartments (Elmwood near. North). She left her daughter behind in BVT (who was later kidnapped in an ugly drug-related incident). One of West's friends related other problems with BVT break-ins when we shared a room in the Holding Center (with 17? . . I was sentenced to 35 days for "failure to evict" by Judge Broderick . . . sentencing occurred 2 short hours after I threatened a 'citizen's arrest' of blatantly-non-resident City Treasurer Marilyn Smith, still living at 292 Red Oak Wmsville . . . fired for failure-to-deposit, as I sat in Alden Correction Facility; is a 'citizens' arrest' of Nanula's $63,000-aide Tony Farina, who lives in Niagara County, not a free room at 521 Lafayette, timely now?!)
BEAUTIFUL POVERTY . . . As the first woman directing Buffalo's long-troubled public housing agency, West has transformed its look. Abundant flowers & manicured lawns accented by fancy BMHA signs mark every development . . with Stuyvesant leading as most lovely.
As countless low income neighborhoods are in precipitous decline . . with vacancies, foreclosures, demolitions & plummeting values everywhere . . BMHA has embarked on its costliest-ever projects.
- $48 million is demolishing & rebuilding long failed Frederick Douglass Towers, costing over $150,000 per apartment.
- Over $100 million will demolish just-remodeled Lakeview ($16 mil.) & rebuild units costing up to $1/4 mil. per apartment
22,854 VACANCIES & COUNTING . . . reasonable (wo)men question the wisdom of spending $1/4 million per apartment for the permanently poor as 1,000's of Buffalo's predominantly blue collar owners are losing life savings in their homes. But in a city where the real economy is weak, a booming government funded poverty industry, dominated by politically connected developers drives housing (non-) policy.
Does Buffalo even need public housing, with a real economic cost of $1,500+ / mo. to house 2 poor persons, as BMHA pays few city taxes. Adding insult, over 100 best-paid BMHA workers take paychecks to suburbs . . starting with Masiello-crony, BMHA Assist Exec Tom Wms, paid $73,000 with a mere GED. He does not live at 1258 West (881-1949) with his mother-in-law . . but with his wife on Thompson Rd, Clarence, beside their pool & sylvan pond. The Mayor has ordered our $37,000 Residency Officer #4 (in 4 yrs, from LA, not Buffalo!) to ignore the TOM, Tony & Larry Problem in City Hall.
BMHA Occupancy DOWN . . Costs UP . . .WAY UP!
After repeated requests, BMHA admitted spending $85,000 on advertising over 2 years .. .while REDUCING occupancy. In Jan. 1994, BMHA occupancy was 3,913 households; last month: 3,705 BMHA households . . a 7 1/2 year reduction of over 200 households. Yet BMHA gets the overwhelming preponderance of city housing funds for less than 7% of Buffalo's poor. It is deeply destructive. But Planning Commissioner Ryan made clear: there are no plans to reform BMHA, or the wasteful HUD programs funding BMHA. As Lafalce is silent after his call in July for HUD reform. We are not in good hands.
Atach: BMHA Occupancy by Development (1/94 - 10/01)
Richard Kern, MSW, 882-2388, Oct 12 , 01
WEBSITE: www.kernwatch.com email: Kernwatch@AL.com
PAGE 2 . . .Wallowing on Welfare City Hall WATCHOct.12
Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority Occupancy Jan, 1994 & September, 2001
| Project (HUD-funded) | Units: 1994/2001 (change) | Occupied 1/94 | Occup. 9/01 | Change |
| Lakeview 666 (to be totally demolished) | 666 | 548 | 240 | -308 |
| AD Price Cts | 170 | 133 | 126 | - 7 |
| Commodore Perry | 330 | 411 | 226 | -185 |
| AD Price Extension | 300 / 198 (-102) | 191 | 145 | - 46 |
| Com. Perry Exten. | 420 | 285 | 289 | + 4 |
| Jasper Parrish | 212 / 193 | 184 | 181 | - 3 |
| Shaffer | 233 | 188 | 195 | + 7 |
| LaSalle | 206 | 176 | 195 | + 19 |
| Kenfield | 658 | 236 | 619 | +383 |
| Langfield | 582 / 310 (-272) | 121 | 292 | +171 |
| Kelly | 44 / 30 (-14) | 30 | 27 | - 3 |
| Schwab | 35 / 34 (-1) | 34 | 33 | - 1 |
| Sedita | 101 | 100 | 84 | - 16 |
| Holling | 132 | 125 | 122 | - 3 |
| Kowal | 24 | 19 | 23 | + 4 |
| Elmhurst | 24 | 23 | 23 | 0 |
| Slater | 24 | 23 | 24 | + 1 |
| LBJ | 206 | 186 | 182 | - 4 |
| Camden | 12 | 11 | 9 | - 2 |
| Stuyvesant | 155 / 148 (-7) | 143 | 130 | - 13 |
| Msgr. Geary | 100 | 92 | 93 | + 1 |
| Mullin | 40 | 40 | 36 | - 4 |
| Scattered Sites(ABC) | 79 | 68 | 70 | + 2 |
| NYS-funded | ||||
| Ferry Grider | 210 | 204 | 194 | - 10 |
| Fred. Douglass Tw. | 747 / 487 (-260) | 342 | 147 | -195 |
| 27 sites (incl. ABC) | 6003 / 5035 (-968) | 3914 | 3705 | -215 |
Analysis:
- BMHA has reduced total units by 968 apartments & reduced occupancy by 215 households since 1994, despite relentless advertising ($85,000 over 2 years) & virtually double staffing compared to private sector
- Total waitlist is 904 (163 elderly/disabled & 741 families) while having 1,305 VACANCIES
- Averages: 55 days to prepare apartment; 283 days (91/4 mo.) from move-out to move-in by new tenant
- Tenants can't choose where to live; "offered" up to 5 apts in projects with "greatest percentage of vacancies"
- After spending $10's of millions, & denying 'choice' to desegregate, BMHA is more segregated than ever
- Five Maseillo-appointed BMHA Bd. members are paid $25 -$50 /hr to rubberstamp a failed political agenda, as 2 tenant-elected members are outnumbered or bought-off.
- We keep doin' it . . . caus' we always bin' doin' it . . . expectin' a different result. .. . . as Buffalo gets ever smaller, poorer, as housing values & tax base plummet
- Buffalo has a crisis of NO EXPECTATIONS
Richard Kern, MSW, 882-2388, Oct 12 , 01
WEBSITE: www.kernwatch.com email: Kernwatch@AL.com
