HUD official tours Buffalo vacant homes
Donovan said visit to help determine ‘what works, what doesn’t, and what we can do on a federal level’
Published: October 24, 2009, 12:30 am
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The rough and tumble neighborhood along 19th Street on Buffalo’s West Side doesn’t usually get visits from the likes of Rep. Brian Higgins, Sen. Charles E. Schumer and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.
But all three ended up there Friday afternoon to promote new federal programs aiming to stem the blight of vacant housing they said lies at the heart of crime and blight in struggling cities like Buffalo. On the day following a separate commitment by Gov. David
A. Paterson to take similar steps on the state level, it appears Buffalo — with one of the worst vacant housing problems in the nation—is gaining lots of housing attention from lots of politicians.
“It’s hard to see how Buffalo would not be chosen,” Schumer said about his Community Regeneration Act during the event at 106 19th St. “It would be a very, very good bet that Buffalo will get some significant money here.”
Donovan, who served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development before being selected to lead HUD by President Obama,
presided over an event in a formerly vacant house that is among six being rebuilt on 19th Street. With nearby houses boarded up and Schumer calling them a magnet for crime, Donovan touted a host of Obama administration programs that he said assigns a top priority to vacant housing.
Schumer said the secretary came to Buffalo to learn more about the plan that he and Higgins are shepherding in Congress. And Donovan said the visit is part of an effort to determine “what works, what doesn’t, and what we can do on a federal level.”
In emphasizing the administration’s commitment to fighting problems like abandoned houses, Donovan continually returned to the president’s “Task Force on Cities in Transition,” which he said brings together top officials from many federal agencies. Crime cannot be overlooked in such an effort, he said, which is exactly why officials like Attorney General Eric Holder are involved.
“The one thing every city in this country needs is a true partner,” Donovan said. “That’s exactly what you get in Washington — a true partner.”
Schumer and Higgins have dwelled on the Buffalo problem in previous visits, pointing to its spread to first ring suburbs such as Cheektowaga. With more than 12,000 vacant properties in Buffalo alone, Schumer said his plan would establish or expand local land banks, demolish abandoned properties and develop comprehensive plans to deal with vacant properties.
The idea for Donovan’s visit, he said, was to see first hand the magnitude of the problem in Buffalo and impress on the administration the need for bills such as the one he and Higgins have proposed.
“Buffalo has some good ideas here,” the senator said. “What’s missing is money. That’s what Congressman Higgins and I hope to provide”
Donovan added the federal government is also addressing the problem in ways other than financial. He said HUD now has a new effort to support planning in areas hit by vacant homes, bringing ideas and technical assistance to the table, and providing “flexibility” in approaches in different cities.
“We can do bricks and mortar . . . and maybe do demolition,” Donovan said. “We need to have the flexibility across our programs to support local initiatives and ideas — not to have a one-size-fits-all policy.”
Schumer, meanwhile, said he looks to pass his legislation this year and hopes to have money available for a local program next year.
The federal attention on the Buffalo problem—which ranks with Detroit and New Orleans as the worst vacancy situation in the nation — coincides with new emphasis from Albany. Paterson unveiled a companion program on Thursday that Buffalo would serve as a pilot project for an initiative that will emphasize the rehabilitation of abandoned housing.
State officials say Paterson’s plan is complementary, not competitive, and pointed to his proposal for a “Green Development Zone,” a strategy for rebuilding a 16-block neighborhood on Buffalo’s Lower West Side.
The goal behind the zone, which would be located west of Richmond Avenue and south of West Ferry Street, is to create a national model for green-designed neighborhood revitalization. The emphasis would be on housing rehabilitation.
rmccarthy@buffnews.com
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