Tom Perez, Senior Advisor to President Biden, Visits Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — President Biden’s senior advisor and Buffalo native Tom Perez visited the Queen City on Tuesday.

Perez, along with Mayor Byron Brown and other leaders, toured infrastructure projects on Buffalo’s East Side and downtown.

The visit comes just a week before the two-year anniversary of the 5/14 shooting and as the race for the White House heats up.

Perez made four separate stops around the city on Tuesday. He focused on how federal funds contribute to redevelopment projects.

The first stop was Main Street, where money is used to get cars back on the road as part of the nearly completed Cars Sharing Main Street project.

“Federal investments here in the great city of Buffalo help transform, revitalize and reconnect communities,” Perez said.

Perez visited the site of the billion-dollar Kensington Expressway project, supported by a $56 million federal grant. The project has drawn negative reactions from neighbors. A few participants stood outside the press conference Tuesday to make their voices heard.

Groups like the East Side Parkways Coalition say there hasn’t been enough public comment on the project and have expressed health concerns about the tunnel plan.

Both Brown and Perez say they listened to residents, but they say the tunnel is the best solution.

“We will continue to work to make this a big project to realize the benefits of reconnecting the community,” Brown said.

“The examinations were carried out and they were complete,” Perez added. “I would say they have been very, very inclusive. This is a project we will look back on with pride, because reconnecting communities means reconnecting opportunities.

They also stopped at the 05/14 Memorial, which should be unveiled to the public next week to mark the two-year commemoration.

“We cannot invest in every community without ensuring their safety,” Perez said.

The final project Perez discussed during a panel discussion was transforming the streetscape of Jefferson Avenue.

Brown then announced that the city would also use American Rescue Act funds for a comprehensive health and wellness center on Jefferson Avenue.

“We’re going to look back, I believe, years from now and say we’ve never done more impactful things at any given time than today,” Perez said.

Brown estimates that over the next few years, more than $300 million will be invested in the city’s infrastructure.