BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dozens of business owners of Allentown took part in a special meeting Monday evening to make their voices heard on how to make the future of Allentown better.
This meeting of a call for change comes after a survey put out by the University at Buffalo that brought in more than 400 responses from local business owners voicing concerns over crime and parking in hopes something will be done.
“The council members, the police force. We’d need to hold all of them accountable for making it a safe place,” says Mickey Harmon, owner of Pine Apple Company. “The crime is not going anywhere let's be realistic about this. It’s the third poorest city in the nation regardless of how many condos you build.”
Others spoke about their concerns about the parking.
“Some of the concerns are definitely the new parking situation. People don’t get it, they’re crashing into poles that sort of thing,” says Giovanni Centurione, owner of Trend Up. “There was crime back in the holiday season, but things have gotten better.”
Professor Conrad Kickret of the University at Buffalo tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person the whole point of getting together is to create a vision for Allentown’s future.
“The city needs to pick up the district and make sure the investments have been done and it comes to fruition,” Kickret says. “This is really the first step of the future of Allentown.”
But do these stakeholders feel they’re being heard by the city?
“In my experience, no, we pretty much take care of each other,” says Centurione. “So if there’s something going on we just handle it on our own.”
Professor Kickret says he’s hopeful the city will take neighbors' concerns into account as they move forward with the streetscape project.
Buffalo Common Council member Mitch Nowakowski was reached, but hasn’t responded to 7 News requests for comment.
