Dec 22
2015
Charlotte Keith discusses her recent story on malfeasance at the Buffalo Urban League on her inaugural appearance on WBFO’s Press Pass. Keith first broke the story a year ago, which was followed by a critical audit by the county comptroller that was released two weeks ago.
Dec 13
2015
What to do about the Buffalo Urban League and its president and CEO, Brenda McDuffie? Something, that’s for sure. As our Charlotte Keith first reported, and an audit released last week by Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw subsequently confirmed, the Urban League has been overcharging Erie County for services that include working with families to prevent child abuse. To make matters worse, the Urban League retaliated against the caseworkers who helped expose the problem, firing or running off all eight of them. To make matters even worse, Urban League officials stonewalled the comptroller’s audit and, on the eve of its[...]
Dec 9
2015
An audit by the Erie County Comptroller has confirmed allegations leveled a year ago by social workers at the Buffalo Urban League that their employer charged the county tens of thousands of dollars for work never performed. Among the abuses: bills claiming some employees worked as many as 170 hours in a single day. The audit also found the Urban League tried to stonewall investigators and retaliated against the whistleblowers who brought the problems to the comptroller’s attention. All eight have now left the agency – either fired or effectively forced out of their jobs. The Department of Social Services,[...]
Dec 9
2015
Dan Telvock reports on how 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 residents of the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood.
Dec 8
2015
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[...]
Dec 7
2015
While Buffalo is recovering, there is plenty of room for improvement, especially on the city’s East Side. That was the consensus of a panel discussion moderated last week by Jim Heaney of Investigative Post, who shared his impressions with Steve Brown on the weekly edition of Investigative Post. Panelists said the East Side lacks organizations with the capacity to manage redevelopment initiatives. The relocation of African American residents away from development hotspots was cited as another problem.
Dec 4
2015
Susan Arbetter of Capitol Pressroom interviewed Jim Heaney on Thursday about the recent deal in which New York State agreed to increase its already generous subsidy package to Alcoa’s plant in Massena. The interview runs from 22:03 to 36:58.
Dec 3
2015
Niagara Falls is losing not only 200 jobs but one of its riskiest air polluters with the announcement Tuesday that the Chemours Company is closing its plant on Buffalo Avenue the end of next year. An Investigative Post analysis of federal Environmental Protection Agency this summer showed the Buffalo Avenue plant’s air pollution poses the second-greatest risk to public health of any manufacturing plant in Niagara County because of its release of chlorine. In addition, a review of Occupational Safety and Health Administration data found the Niagara Falls plant had the worst worker safety record of any of the dozen plants in Niagara County[...]