Byron Brown blocks NAACP bid for East Side ECIDA grant

The nonprofit wants to convene a national advisory committee to examine what’s holding back development and economic growth, and propose a series of “action steps” to spur neighborhood revitalization. And it wants county dollars to help pay for it.

But Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown sees the proposal as an affront — and this week he successfully blocked, at least temporarily, a key portion of the funding that would be used for the initiative by the Urban Land Institute.

An angry Brown said the panel was unnecessary and that there was no coherent plan for the Jefferson Avenue corridor. He said more than $150 million in public and private investments were planned or underway in the corridor. He also called “insulting” a letter from the president of the Buffalo chapter of the NAACP, the Rev. Mark Blue, implying that nothing was being done.

“Jefferson Avenue is undergoing significant investment,” Brown said. “The city has offered to work with the NAACP on this planning process to include them. But to read a document that says there is no coherent planning for Jefferson Avenue is, quite frankly, insulting.”

Brown’s surprise tirade, delivered calmly but with “strong opposition,” was followed by silence from the rest of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency board and staff.

But that was enough. A request for $25,000 from ECIDA to help fund the panel was quickly put on the table for further behind-the-scenes discussions over the next month to avoid a vote.

“The mayor expressed some concerns at the meeting, so we’ll have to see what happens,” said John Cappellino, CEO of ECIDA, admitting it was unexpected. “I hope the parties can have a conversation and see if they want this to come back to the board.” We’ll see how those conversations go.

Blue, who also acknowledged being caught off guard, said Thursday that no offense was intended by the letter or the proposal.

“I think that comment was taken out of context,” said Blue, himself an ECIDA board member who recused himself from the vote. “It was not a derogatory remark at all. »

He said the NAACP’s proposal was “not in opposition to what the mayor is doing” and that he planned to contact Brown to set up “another conversation just to clarify things.”

Brown spokesman Mike DeGeorge said Thursday the mayor plans to meet with Blue.

“He’s very passionate. It just shows his strength of character and his attitude toward the city,” Blue said of Brown. “But that doesn’t mean he’s not doing a good job, because he’s doing a great job.”

The NAACP wants to focus the community’s attention on how to revitalize the historic commercial district and its surrounding area, which has suffered from economic decline and other challenges for years. The May 2022 mass shooting, which left 10 people dead, only strengthened this effort by highlighting the level of decline, the inequities people face, and the urgent need for change.

Blue formed an NAACP economic development committee to “explore ways the community could encourage economic growth for African American businesses and families who have lived in the area for generations,” according to an ECIDA memo to its board members. That committee, in turn, suggested turning to the Urban Land Institute.

The institute is the world’s oldest and largest network of real estate and land use planning professionals, with more than 45,000 members, who volunteer to regularly participate on advisory boards to help communities. Previous local committees have examined Central Terminal, the Richardson Complex, Gates Circle and Seneca One Tower in Buffalo, as well as the Rainbow Center in Niagara Falls, and provided recommendations for redevelopment of the properties.

Before the IDA meeting, the institute had agreed to help and planned to select eight to 10 national experts to spend five days in the Jefferson community in September. They would tour the neighborhood, talk to hundreds of business owners, community members and district “stakeholders,” hold informational meetings and review past studies and development plans.

A public presentation and a final report of about 50 pages would follow, with a series of recommended actions.

“The resulting analysis and recommendations will be community-driven, but with objective and independent solutions based on action,” the ECIDA memo said.

But even though the panelists are volunteers, the work isn’t entirely free either. The total cost is $135,000, covering expenses related to conducting the week-long panel before, during and after the visit, as well as designing and producing the public presentation and final report.

The NAACP has already secured $30,000 in donations from ULI, $20,000 from People Inc., CB Emmanuel and Uniland Development Co., $15,000 from M&T Bank Corp. and $10,000 in other donations. Another $25,000 is being sought from National Grid, and additional funds came in more recently, leaving only $25,000 the association hopes to obtain from ECIDA through Urban Development grants.

“Jefferson Avenue was once a thriving commercial corridor for black people, and I believe it can become that again,” Blue wrote in a May 17 letter to the ECIDA board of directors. “However, to move forward with the long-awaited rebuilding of this community, we need a cohesive vision and an actionable plan. »

And he noted that a “common problem” cited by the NAACP’s economic development committee “was the lack of a unified, comprehensive vision for the future of Jefferson Avenue.”

“Improving Jefferson Avenue’s businesses and neighborhoods will require efforts from everyone, including the City of Buffalo, Erie County, New York State, public and private community advocacy organizations, and the community itself,” Blue wrote. “But clearly defining a path forward is a critical first step.”

That’s what pissed Brown off.

“There is already great momentum on Jefferson Avenue. We have already discussed this with the NAACP,” he said.

Among existing investments, he cited:

• $23 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan to renovate Johnnie B. Wiley Stadium and Masten Park.
• A $50 million investment from the state to renovate and repair homes on and around Jefferson Avenue.
• An urban housing project in the Masten Park and Hamlin Park neighborhoods.
• A new health and wellness center proposed by Dr. Greg Daniel, called Nyameke Health.
• The Buffalo Urban League’s new headquarters, funded in part with $1 million in ARP funds from the city.
• Debt forgiveness for Jefferson homeowners for water bills and municipal taxes.

“I totally appreciate everything he’s doing, all the progress he’s made,” Blue said Thursday.

“The mayor is doing a great job at what he does, but the economic development committee wants to see what other avenues are out there. This is not to discredit the mayor or his team or make them indecisive,” Blue said. “We just want to see what other opportunities are out there that wouldn’t cost the city anything. This is about walking alongside.”