Articles for Garrett Looker

Jan 31

2023

Government meetings are secret – and legal

State law mandates that local legislative bodies conduct their business in public. But a loophole allows elected officials to caucus in private, and a new report finds that many legislative bodies do. The Erie County Legislature is among those that not only caucus, but discuss public matters, according to a new study released by the New York Coalition for Open Government. These “secret meetings” held behind closed doors throughout the state’s local governments “completely gut” the Open Meetings Law, leaving the public in the dark, according to the report. “The public meeting becomes just a show or just a sham.[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jan 12

2023

Podcast: Reporting on Tesla’s solar factory

When plans were announced for a solar panel manufacturing plant in South Buffalo, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo described the project as a “game changer.” Based on the promise of not only a gleaming new plant and more than 1,400 jobs, but a whole new clean energy sector that would employ thousands more. Cuomo poured nearly $1 billion of state tax dollars into building and equipping the project. Has it delivered as promised? Investigative Post’s J. Dale Shoemaker dug deep to answer that question. Officials from Tesla refused requests for interview. Bureaucrats with the state economic development agency that oversees the project[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jan 4

2023

Podcast: Reporting on police misconduct

The Buffalo Police Department is under fire of criticism from local activists, alleging racial and civil discrimination. Officers’ frequent use of racial slurs, including the “N-word,” and unequal, discriminating policing efforts in different neighborhoods are two of thr allegations levied in a lawsuit by Black Love Resists in the Rust. Geoff Kelly has reported on the lawsuit the Buffalo Police Department faces, including officer misconduct and potential oversight from the Department of Justice. Kelly sat down with Garrett Looker, host of our podcast series, to talk about his reporting. Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 16

2022

Podcast: Reporting on 149 Arkansas

The windows and doors of a West Side house are boarded up, debris scattered throughout the yard. Inside, two individuals have died, their bodies left to decay. The dilapidated house at 149 Arkansas St. has been the source of numerous calls to emergency personnel. Its owners have been hit with multiple housing code violations and thousands of dollars of unpaid summons. Local residents have said the property’s owner, the Buffalo Police Department, and City Hall have skirted accountability. In their stead, the residents of Arkansas Street are left to deal with the property’s effects, including the stench of a decaying[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 2

2022

Podcast: Lack of transparency around Bills stadium

In the coming weeks, Erie County officials are poised to allow the future Buffalo Bills’ stadium effectively to skip New York State’s environmental review law. Activists and experts say doing so results in a lack of transparency and little consideration for the environment. The deal’s major players — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and the Buffalo Bills organization — would not offer further details. Their silence fits a pattern of stonewalling. Investigative Post has successfully sued Erie County and New York State to obtain public records before, and continues to be met with little communication. Community groups have called for[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Nov 10

2022

Podcast: Reporting on evictions

On Thursday, Investigative Post reported on the number of eviction warrants issued in Buffalo City Court, more than 3,700 this year alone. Across Erie County, primarily in Buffalo, landlords have moved to evict tenants in numbers greater than anywhere else in the state, save for Kings County, which encompasses Brooklyn. Reporter I’Jaz Ja’ciel sat down with Garrett Looker, host of our podcast series, to discuss her reporting. You can watch the interview via our YouTube channel or listen to it as a podcast.

Posted 1 year ago

Oct 20

2022

A city Buffalo can learn from

Buffalo and Durham, North Carolina, are similar in some key ways. They both have about a quarter of a million residents. About four in 10 are Black. They also share a problem — a lack of trees in Black neighborhoods. But Durham’s response — to develop a comprehensive tree planting plan — contrasts with Buffalo, which is cutting down as many as four trees for every tree it plants in East Side neighborhoods. The result: Durham is planting more than 1,500 trees a year, compared with about 300 in Buffalo. In fact, Durham planted more trees last year than Buffalo[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Oct 19

2022

Federal dollars could help re-tree East Side

The City of Buffalo spends a lot of money — $568 million this budget year. Most of it is spent on cops and firefighters. Very little is spent on planting and maintaining trees, which play an important role in the health of city residents. In fact, the city’s population of trees is shrinking, as two trees are cut down for every one that is planted. Help could be on the way, however. The federal government has earmarked $1.5 billion under the Inflation Reduction Act to pay for the planting and maintenance of trees in urban centers. The money will be[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Articles for Garrett Looker

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