Categories for News

Jan 27

2025

Comptroller to audit OTB again

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For a third time in recent years, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office will audit the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. In a statement Monday, comptroller spokesperson Mark Johnson said the agency will audit “the financial operations of WROTB.” He said the comptroller’s office informed OTB of the audit last week and that it would begin in February. The review, broader in scope than the comptroller’s past audits, will take several months to complete, Johnson said. In a statement, OTB spokesperson Michael DeGeorge said the audit could include a review of agency finances stretching back three to five years.[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 22

2025

Vetting wannabe mayors from an East Side perspective

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Last week a group of East Side leaders met with declared candidates for Buffalo mayor to quiz them on issues ranging from city finances to investment in the city’s predominantly Black neighborhoods. The Urban Think Tank comprises prominent Black religious leaders, such as Bishops Darius Pridgen and Michael Badger, as well as business people, lawyers, elected officials and community activists.  City voters will choose Buffalo’s first new mayor since 2006 in this year’s primary and general elections. Samuel Radford III, an Urban Think Tank member, told Investigative Post the group wanted to see where the list of candidates — the[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 21

2025

The money behind Buffalo’s mayoral candidates

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The top two contenders for Buffalo mayor are both starting this election cycle with about a half million dollars in their campaign accounts. But their donor bases and the pace of their fundraising are far different. Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon has been on a tear, raising more money since he took office in October than he raised in 12 years as a member of the Common Council, with much of his money coming from the real estate developers and city contractors who bankrolled his predecessor, Byron Brown. State Sen. Sean Ryan, meanwhile, has tapped longtime supporters — especially lawyers and[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 17

2025

Judge tosses lead lawsuit against Buffalo

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Community groups last February rally in front of City Hall for more funding for lead inspections. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that contended the City of Buffalo is failing to enforce a law that mandates inspection of rental units for the presence of lead paint. Partnership for the Public Good and three other community organizations filed the lawsuit last July against the city and the Department of Permits and Inspections. It claimed a failure to fully implement the rental inspections law contributed to substandard living conditions for city residents and increased risks for lead poisoning[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 15

2025

Buffalo demolishes the ‘House from Hell’

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An excavator sits at the former site of 149 Arkansas St. following its demolition. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel The troubled house at 149 Arkansas St. that plagued an West Side neighborhood for years has finally been torn down. The property, a symbol of failures on the parts of police, city court and government officials, was razed by excavators Tuesday morning, following a demolition order that then Housing Court Judge Patrick Carney issued last August. This was the third demolition order that Carney issued for the vacant house, which has been a nuisance and safety concern to neighbors since November 2022,[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 15

2025

Scanlon’s approach to balancing Buffalo’s books

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Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon at a recent rally in front of City Hall. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel Editor’s note: This is the second of three stories on Buffalo’s acting mayor, Chris Scanlon. Today we report on his approach to dealing with the city’s fiscal problems. Monday’s story was a political profile. Wednesday, we report on the dilemma Scanlon faces with the police and fire departments. Nothing looms larger over Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon’s administration than the city’s precarious finances. The current year’s budget is balanced on paper with more than $40 million in one-shot revenues, as well as millions more[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jan 13

2025

NAACP legal arm sues Realtor alleging racial steering

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The NAACP Legal Defense Fund filed a complaint this morning against a Western New York realty company alleging racial discrimination among prospective homebuyers in Buffalo. The complaint accuses Charles Glander, real estate broker and founder of Avant Realty, of violating the Fair Housing Act by “steering” — an illegal practice in real estate that involves directing prospective homebuyers toward or away from certain neighborhoods based on factors like race. “We are very alarmed by that, and we hope that our action — filing this complaint and bringing these allegations to light — will help Black residents of Buffalo access housing[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jan 8

2025

Investigator should have never gotten the job

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Buffalo City Court building. Photo by Garrett Looker. A man who two years ago admitted to tampering with evidence and lying about it in court was, until last week, employed as a state human rights investigator in Buffalo. As of Friday morning, he was no longer employed by the Division of Human Rights, Investigative Post has learned. The individual, Eliezer Rosario II, was hired last July to investigate claims of discrimination in the agency’s local office. But, when Investigative Post inquired about his employment last week, a spokesperson for the agency said Rosario was “no longer an employee of the[...]

Posted 3 months ago
Investigative Post