BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — As soon as next year, 51 empty lots in Buffalo’s East Side could be on their way to becoming new homes. The city just put out an ask for developers to help revitalize the Masten and Hamlin Park neighborhoods.
It doesn’t take a whole lot of driving in the neighborhoods to run into an empty lot.
“While they’re well maintained by the City of Buffalo, they’re still vacant,” the president of the Hamlin Park Community & Taxpayers Association, Esterphine Greene, said. “They’re not paying any taxes to the city. The city needs money, so why not fill them with houses and put families in them?”
WATCH: 'Revitalizing neighborhoods': City of Buffalo asking for proposals to revive empty East Side lots with homes
Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon announced a reinvestment in 51 of those city-owned empty properties.
The plan, which is well over a year in the making, is to sell each of those lots to developers at a below-market price of just $1,000. Developers would then build brand-new homes to be sold to new neighbors.
Now, the city has put out a request for proposals with an August 29 deadline. I'm told the hope is that construction begins as soon as next year.
“It’s more than building houses, it’s about rebuilding trust, revitalizing neighborhoods and restoring opportunity,” Scanlon said. “My administration is not going to sit around and talk about plans; we are going to take action.”
Scanlon’s announcement comes just days before Tuesday’s primary election, where he is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for Buffalo mayor.
We asked the other four candidates what their plans were to develop this area of the city at our 7 News Mayoral Debate on Tuesday.
“We also have a program called 'Block by Block' where we are going to rebuild new houses into vacant lots throughout the City of Buffalo,” Sean Ryan said.
“They're talking about all these inanimate things, but they're not talking about the people. The people are damaged. You can build all the buildings you want. It does no good to put broken people into new buildings,” Garnell Whitfield said.
“We have to be more proactive with addressing those issues with our permits and inspections problems, and then, be a little more aggressive in using those lots for housing,” Rasheed Wyatt said.
“We need to make sure we are addressing our system and structural issues in every quadrant of the city, East and West, North and South,” Anthony Tyson-Thompson said.
