Categories for In-Depth

Dec 8

2015

No action in Battaglia Demolition dust up

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State and city officials have failed to follow through on promises made over a year ago to clean up operations of a construction and demolition debris facility that’s the subject of a decade-long dustup with neighbors. As a result, Seneca-Babcock residents said they endured yet another summer of dust, noise and diesel truck fumes from Battaglia Demolition’s operation off Seneca Street. Battaglia Demolition collects concrete, bricks and other construction and demolition debris. The facility also crushes concrete and brick, which residents say stirs up clouds of dust that settle on their properties. In addition, up to 200 trucks a day[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Nov 25

2015

Our diversity report on WBFO

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Charlotte Keith reports on hiring of construction workers at SolarCity project. While contractors and unions are meeting 15 percent affirmative action hiring goals, African Americans account for only about one-third of those workers. Some African American leaders maintain the pipeline of unionized workers needs to be more diversified. Web and television story can be found here.

Posted 10 years ago

Nov 25

2015

Of job growth and mojo

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Not to rain on the parade, but despite talk from politicians about Buffalo’s resurgence, job growth in Erie and Niagara counties continues to lag behind the nation and state. Sounds like this might make for a good discussion.

Posted 10 years ago

Nov 24

2015

Diversity, but few jobs for African Americans

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Diversity hiring goals set for the construction of the SolarCity plant in South Buffalo have not translated into a lot of jobs for African-American workers. While African Americans make up an increasing share of the project’s workforce, they accounted for only 5.7 percent of those on the job for the quarter ending this September, an Investigative Post analysis found. That’s in a city that’s almost 40 percent African-American and a county with a workforce that’s 11 percent black, according to the state Department of Labor. The project is nevertheless meeting its minority workforce goal of 15 percent, largely through the[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Nov 12

2015

Greenleaf garners support despite complaints

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Greenleaf & Company has a history that includes numerous tenant complaints, prosecutions in Housing Court and unpaid bills and taxes. Yet officials have lined up in support of the firm’s proposal to build off-campus student housing adjacent to Buffalo State College. College officials acknowledge they did not perform a background check on the company before they started collaborating on the project. Mayor Byron Brown said Greenleaf’s difficulties should not disqualify the company from the project. Meanwhile, community members said Housing Court Judge Patrick Carney voiced support for the project at a community meeting this summer even though Greenleaf had pending cases[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Nov 11

2015

Housing firm has checkered history

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A landlord working with Buffalo State College to build off-campus student housing has a history of renting apartments with leaky ceilings, electrical hazards and insufficient heat. Take 353 Bird Ave., for example. The ceiling in the downstairs dining room has been stained for a couple of years from a leak that tenants believe comes from an upstairs toilet. The ceiling has collapsed on at least two tenants during that time, including Elizabeth Coffie. “It looked like colored rain and the smell was awful,” she said. Rather than fixing the problem, she said, the landlord simply replaced the ceiling tile. The[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Oct 29

2015

Complete Dino Fudoli interview

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Watch Jim Heaney’s full interview with Lancaster Supervisor Dino Fudoli as he explains why he’s behind in paying his taxes on two properties. The interview lasts 8:13. The complete story is here.

Posted 10 years ago

Oct 29

2015

Dino Fudoli is a tax delinquent – again

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Lancaster Town Supervisor Dino Fudoli has once again fallen behind in paying his property taxes. Investigative Post reported three years ago that Fudoli owed nearly $17,000 in property taxes on three houses and two vacant parcels he owned in Cheektowaga and Alden. He paid those taxes about a month after our story broadcast. Public records show Fudoli has fallen behind again in paying taxes on two of the aforementioned properties, both located in Cheektowaga. He owes $14,908 on 12 acres of vacant land off Transit Road near Rehm Road. The land was designated wetlands in 2009, effectively eliminating his ability[...]

Posted 10 years ago
Investigative Post