Articles for Garrett Looker

Sep 18

2023

Good news for city trees

After years of cutting down more trees than it planted, Buffalo is set to receive a federal grant with the potential to reverse years of deforestation and bring tree-lined streets back to the city’s East Side. “I see good things,” said Paul Maurer, chairman of Re-Tree WNY. “This is big, in terms of the impact … I hope we can make a really good dent, because as I drive or walk the streets, especially the city of Buffalo, we see a lot of need out there.”  Buffalo was awarded $8 million from the federal Inflation Reduction Act fund, based on[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Sep 12

2023

Many ways to fund a library in Buffalo

Inglewood, California, Mayor James Butts Jr. has a suggestion for Buffalonians interested in a new public library: use the Bills’ community benefits agreement. Butts would know. The community benefits agreement between his city and the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team – which originated as the Buffalo Braves – included $6 million for improvements to Inglewood’s public libraries.  “We asked for it specifically,” Butts said. Slashed budgets from nearly 20 years ago – in what’s known as the Red-Green Budget – “decimated” the Buffalo and Erie County Library system. Sixteen library branches were closed. As a result, several neighborhoods on the[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Aug 22

2023

Making the case for a library in a book desert

Concern over a book desert in the Broadway-Fillmore district has prompted a push for a new library branch in the neighborhood. The Central Terminal Neighborhood Association has two possible sites in mind: the vacant Plewacki American Legion Post building at 385 Paderewski Drive, or the Central Terminal at 495 Paderewski Drive.  “A lot of residents feel we were robbed when the library was closed,” said Chris Hawley, the neighborhood association’s president. “At the moment, it seems like there is an opportunity for a library to be established.”  The association is reviving its push for a library branch following an Investigative[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Aug 6

2023

Podcast: “Book deserts” signal disinvestment

Investigative Post’s I’Jaz Ja’ciel and Garrett Looker have reported on the state of literacy and access to books throughout Buffalo. Literacy experts say parts of the city’s East Side are “book deserts.” In this latest episode of Investigative Post’s Reporter’s Notebook, Looker and Ja’ciel talk about their months-long analysis of library data and book access. Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 26

2023

Our library system is hurting

Nakia Luper, a mother of three, has watched as the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood deteriorated around her. Stores closings. The Central Terminal crumbling.  And, in 2005, her neighborhood library shutting down.  “The kids used to go and have fun,” Luper said. There were “different activities going on at the library all the time. And then one day it was just gone.” The closest library is now three miles away. Luper said it’s not safe for children to walk that distance through blighted neighborhoods to take out a library book.  Nearly two decades after funding for the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jun 22

2023

Money in Politics: Primary Edition

This week, Investigative Post’s Geoff Kelly sat down with Ken Kruly, a political analyst who examines the ebbs and flows of campaign finance in Western New York. Kruly writes about local politics for his blog, Politics and Other Stuff. In this latest episode of Investigative Post’s podcast series, Kelly and Kruly take a look at the funding for candidates vying for the Buffalo Common Council and Erie County Legislature. Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

Posted 2 years ago

Jun 7

2023

Podcast: How tax breaks deplete school budgets

Last week, Investigative Post’s J. Dale Shoemaker reported on tax subsidies distributed by industrial development agencies — subsidies that deprive school districts of millions of dollars each year. In this latest episode of Investigative Post’s Reporter’s Notebook, host Garrett Looker sat down with Shoemaker to talk about his months-long analysis into how tax subsidies are affecting school districts. Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

Posted 2 years ago

May 17

2023

Mayor’s budget a step backwards on tree planting

Buffalo has been cutting down twice as many trees as it plants in recent years. It plans on cutting down more than three times as many as it plants under Mayor Byron Brown’s proposed budget. Investigative Post reported last year on the slow deforestation of the city, particularly on the East Side, where some neighborhoods are losing four trees for every one planted.  “By removing those street trees, and even planting smaller street trees, we’re going to run into the problem of creating more and more heat, more and more temperature increases,” said Nick Henshue, assistant professor of ecology at[...]

Posted 2 years ago
Investigative Post