Oct 29
2015
Watch Jim Heaney’s full interview with Lancaster Supervisor Dino Fudoli as he explains why he’s behind in paying his taxes on two properties. The interview lasts 8:13. The complete story is here.
Oct 29
2015
Lancaster Town Supervisor Dino Fudoli has once again fallen behind in paying his property taxes. Investigative Post reported three years ago that Fudoli owed nearly $17,000 in property taxes on three houses and two vacant parcels he owned in Cheektowaga and Alden. He paid those taxes about a month after our story broadcast. Public records show Fudoli has fallen behind again in paying taxes on two of the aforementioned properties, both located in Cheektowaga. He owes $14,908 on 12 acres of vacant land off Transit Road near Rehm Road. The land was designated wetlands in 2009, effectively eliminating his ability[...]
Oct 19
2015
Talk of a renewed effort to begin planning for a second span at the Peace Bridge is overblown, Jim Heaney told Steve Brown on Sunday’s weekly installment of Outrages & Insights. Heaney said his sources tell him the Peace Bridge Authority is focused on its $185 million capital improvement plan that will take another four years to complete. Any serious consideration of a second span would likely be put off until the bulk of that work is done, he said. Heaney noted that bridge traffic has steadily dropped since the 9-11 terror attacks. Increased wait times are not the result[...]
Oct 6
2015
For the second time in five years, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has rejected Cheektowaga’s plan to reduce sewer overflows into Scajaquada Creek and other local waterways. The DEC says the town’s latest plan does not adequately address a core problem, the diversion of runoff into the sewage system from downspouts and sump pumps. One town council member, however, maintains that some of the blame lies with the DEC for taking three months to respond to the proposed plan. As the two sides square off, Scajaquada Creek remains the real victim. Investigative Post this year has documented a dozen dead[...]
Oct 1
2015
Susan Arbetter of Capitol Pressroom interviews Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney about a lack of minority hiring at SolarCity construction site. Heaney was also interviewed Thursday by Brian Lehrer of WNYC, the NPR outlet for New York City, on Buffalo Billion matters.
Sep 30
2015
Buffalo’s African-American community is starving for jobs, while the ongoing construction of the SolarCity plant in South Buffalo is employing hundreds upon hundreds of construction workers. Yet state officials agreed to cut the project’s diversity hiring goal – included on state contracts to ensure minorities get a fair share of work – from 25 to 15 percent. [continuing-coverage]That’s lower than on other high-profile publicly funded projects, such as the Buffalo schools reconstruction program and the University at Buffalo Medical School. It’s also significantly lower than the 25 percent minority workforce goal that was stipulated in the sales agreement that transferred[...]
Sep 17
2015
The state’s leaner and greener plan for the Outer Harbor still has some obstacles to overcome, chief among them the contamination of 60 acres adjacent to properties targeted for residential and commercial development. As Investigative Post reported in March, about 40 percent of the soil samples taken on the parcel detected contamination levels that made it unsafe for use as a park. The standards would be even stricter for using the property for residential purposes. If that’s not bad enough, one acre in the parcel is a partly remediated Superfund with a restriction against residential development. Officials concede it’s going to[...]
Aug 20
2015
Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney fields questions from WBEN News Radio regarding SolarCity and plans to open a large solar panel manufacturing plant at Riverbend in South Buffalo. Heaney discussed SolarCity’s mounting financial losses and described the project as “high risk, high reward.”