Kaisertown Coalition Community Meeting Minutes
Date: April 1, 2025
The meeting was called to order at 6:04 PM followed by the Pledge of Allegiance & a moment of silence for The Veterans that fought for our country. 22 members were present.
Dorrie McClain, President of Seneca-Babcock block club, updated us on what they are doing.
On April 5 a Dare to Repair event they are doing. Bring old items that need repaired to have them fixed free of charge; reservations are required. It can be a microwave, vacuum, lamp, sewing machine etc.
On April 12, there will be a paint recycling event in Larkinville. The Lovejoy district partnered with the Fillmore district will unload the paint and take it away and reuse it or dispose of it appropriately
On April 26, they are doing a community clean-up. The trash mob of Western New York has prized is you take a picture & put it on their Facebook page -you can win prizes! On the same date the Buffalo-Niagara Waterkeepers are doing a clean-up in Houghton Park.
Bryan Bollman.
The month of March for women’s month - Dorrie McClain was honored for the work she has done in the Seneca Babcock area.
In the next 7 days the City of Buffalo budget. We are looking at a 50-million-dollar budget, and he will be busy reviewing the city services and the budgeted amounts for those areas. Taxes are going to be increased, but he has also speculation on other fines and fees being increased – like an occupancy tax & permits etc., Looking at Bi-weekly recycling – could save the city about 2 million dollars; recycling totes are free to residents. If passed the residents would possibly be able to get a second bin free of charge. There is also a compost lot available to city residents being done as a pilot right now. Several complaints about the recycling trucks that litter as they go. Bryan has sent in complaints several times. He would like specific incidents if possible. The contract is put up for bid, usually Modern or Waste Management companies. They are the only 2 companies that have the trucks to do the job efficiently.
Revenue generating positions are being reviewed in the budget. Example used- building inspectors. Bryan supports the revenue generating positions. He is advocating for one piece of legislation that is in the infancy stages of inspecting barber/beauty shops & nail salons to verify they have a license to do business in Buffalo. He is trying to get more positions in the budget. 12 new inspectors were hired last year; it takes about 6 months to get them certified.
Discussion on the public auction of properties. Bryan is attempting to open the bidding up to homeowners first instead of businesses (LLC/slumlords) There is some legal issues associated with his ideas. To buy a property in the City of Buffalo you cannot have back taxes owed, back water/garbage bills etc. It is a challenge to keep it fair but to stop the properties from selling to slumlords.
Bryan spoke to the owner of Porky’s and the broken window was caused by a barroom fight and not vandalism. Discussion with the bar group should be closed by 2 am. With new bars opening, Bryan is attempting to have it proposed that they need to be closed by 11pm or midnight. Existing bars are grandfathered. He is getting push back; but he will keep fighting for us
The sale of St. Bernards was brought up. The Buffalo News reported that the sale of $815k Bryan is trying to landmark the church to be able to maintain the integrity of the structure. He has heard things through the rumor mill but has not confirmed anything currently. If an application comes before the community, we could maybe limit the hours of operation if they are doing some crazy activity – we could have the discussion at a future meeting. If he hears anything, he will encourage them to come to a meeting.
The grant program for the small businesses is still moving forward. He was able to allocate $75k for the businesses that were affected by the window breaking. It is for the Lovejoy district, it hasn’t been easy creating a small business program, but he has been meeting with the law dept and the city planning dept. A consultant has been hired who will manage the grant. He doesn’t have a timeline, but there is a path to getting them some money.
Jeremy Sasiadek; deputy District Director for the State Senator April Baskin. (Replaced Tim Kennedy)
Currently the Senator is working on the NYS budget. The budget was supposed to be passed today, but hopefully it will pass in the next week or so and he will be able to update us at the next meeting.
Bail reform negotiations have been discussed – there were multiple attempts to make amendments last year; however, this year nothing has picked up according to the legal department. So, he did not foresee any changes to that anytime soon. New reforms to the discovery law; prosecution presenting evidence to the defense.
Questions? None
Report of Officers:
John – April 19th is the Easter Egg Hunt at Houghton Park. @ 10 am. All are welcome. We would like some volunteers to assist with policing the park, so we don’t have any children getting hurt. Please join us.
Be careful about who you hire for repairs. You can contact Bryan’s office for recommendations of contractors. Make sure they have insurance and licensed to do business in the City of Buffalo
Make sure to lock your doors – tis the season for break-ins. Please be careful
Kevin – sick
Treasurers report was read – the same as last month
Secretary – Meeting minutes were emailed and it on the website.
Bobbie Joe – no report
The plans for Houghton Park are at Cindy’s office – if you have questions stop by. The sewer district will be put in tanks and have up to 6 -10 years. It is a 20-year master plan. The parking lot will be moved this year. The entrance will be at the intersection of Casmir & Spann. The initial work is going into safety and security. Boulders and cameras will be going in. The existing pool should be open this year.
Q. Why does it take 3 years to study the project.
A. It is a federal project Bryan responded and said it might be a good idea to get someone from the sewer district to a meeting to explain it.
Q. How guaranteed is the 8 million dollars?
A. 2 million dollars from Federal American Rescue Funding – that is already allocated in an account. Some of this money is paid to the consultant for the Master Plan. And the rest is implemented and being used over this year and next. So that is already secured. Then we received a 6-million-dollar grant from the state to do the pool. Because it’s a state grant, Bryan is less familiar with the funds right now but will check on it and let us know at the next meeting.
Q. What’s wrong with the pool that we have?
A. It has some cracks and issues & the shelter house is a mess.
A lot of discussion about spending the money & will it be there in a few years and not allocated to another area in the meantime? Bryan assured the group that there is funding by the city, state & federal government for the repairs and the updates.
Discussion on homeless people in the park and the mess. Bryan went to the back of the park with the community police officer. Bryan is advocating funding to put trails out of Houghton Park and doesn’t want to see the homeless setting up camp either.
Discussion about the speed bumps on the local streets. It was a state sponsored program It is a very controversial situation. To get the speed bumps in a survey was sent to each street and permission was requested from the residents.
Christmas in Kaisertown & National Night Out – still need more volunteers. We currently have about 8 volunteers. Dorie offered assistance with planning. Maybe UB, Officer Zgoda, M&T Bank, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts may have volunteers available.
The Veterans Flags – the grants have been filed, but will probably not be approved until late summer – does anyone want to do a fund raiser?
The Community Grant breakdown is at the front if anyone wants a copy
The election of officers will be in October; This year the President and Treasurer’s spot is opening. Please let Cindy know if you would like to nominate someone for the position. Dorie mentioned that the Block Club is very helpful in the election process.
Buffalo Bison tickets are available. We can get free tickets. We are planning on going as a group – Cindy would like to do a tailgate party prior in Granta’s and Sons Auto parking lot. The Machnica Center is closed the month of June, so we chose the June 10th game to get together.
Dorie brought free Covid tests if anyone would like one (or more) please help yourself.
Next meeting will be May 6th, and we will try to have the Buffalo Sewer Authority attend
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted
Cynthia S Lawson
Christmas in Kaisertown