Categories for News

Jan 23

2023

Another subsidized tenant for STAMP

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A remote industrial park in Genesee County will soon have its second tenant: Edwards Vacuum, a company that manufactures equipment used in the semiconductor industry. But luring Edwards Vacuum, a British company, to the Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park, or STAMP, has come at a cost: $39.2 million in taxpayer subsidies. That’s in exchange for 600 jobs over the next decade, with 343 being hired in the next three years. And that’s just the beginning. In addition to $22 million in subsidies from Empire State Development, New York’s economic development arm, and $17.2 million in property and sales tax[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jan 19

2023

Tax breaks for fast food in Niagara Falls

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A fast-food franchise developer is looking to bring an A&W and Moe’s Southwest Grill to downtown Niagara Falls — and is seeking $172,000 in tax breaks to do it. IDA subsidies are available only to projects that would not be economically feasible otherwise. But the developer told Investigative Post he doesn’t need the tax breaks from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency to proceed. “This is a little help, but we are able to do it without it as well,” said Muhammad Shoaib, the franchisee and developer. The subsidies he’s seeking have also drawn criticism. “Business subsidies are bad, but[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jan 5

2023

Censured surgeon has left Children’s Hospital

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Updated Monday, Jan. 9, 1:06 p.m. Four-and-a-half  years ago, one of Western New York’s leading pediatric surgeons was censured by the New York Department of Health for negligence and professional misconduct. Today, she’s back at the operating table, licensed to perform surgery in four states. But she’s left Buffalo behind, selling her house here and setting up a new practice in Roanoke, Virginia.  In April 2018, pediatric surgeon Dr. Kathryn Bass — then director of trauma at John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital — was hit with a formal reprimand and two years of probation by the state health department after[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 30

2022

Buffalo doesn’t track actual evictions

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Landlords in Erie County, especially in Buffalo, are more aggressive in obtaining warrants to evict tenants than almost anywhere in the state. But no one tracks how many of those warrants result in tenants being put out in the street. Why not? The city doesn’t keep tabs, said Herbert Bellamy Jr, the city’s chief marshal. “We simply do not have the resources to compile that information,” Bellamy told Investigative Post in an email. Read our original report, voted top story of 2022 The risk of eviction was a problem in the city before the COVID-19 pandemic and the numbers show[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 26

2022

Tracking the plows in Buffalo

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  Updated: Wednesday, 1:15 p.m. This post has received a lot of traffic over the past couple of days, primarily, I suspect, because of the link to the city-affiliated map showing what streets in Buffalo have been plowed. The map might have been useful at some point, but no longer. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz disclosed at a press conference earlier Wednesday that county and state crews have taken on responsibility for plowing streets. Poloncarz termed the city’s effort “embarrassing .” The Buffalo Police Department tweeted that there are more than 450 pieces of snow fighting equipment clearing city streets,[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 8

2022

Lawmakers indicate no review for Bills stadium

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Updated: 5:05 p.m. The Buffalo Bills new stadium is now set to win approval from the Erie County Legislature without completing a full environmental review that’s been required of similar projects around the state. Legislators on Thursday signaled that they would issue a “negative declaration” next week under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, forgoing an Environmental Impact Statement. That would allow the Bills to skip a full environmental assessment.  After more than an hour of testimony and discussion, legislators said they felt comfortable moving forward without an EIS, something that was required for all major league sports venues built[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 2

2022

Cop accused of racist rant is suspended

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A Buffalo police captain accused of delivering a racist rant at police headquarters in May has been suspended without pay. Two Buffalo police officers and a mental health specialist filed a lawsuit in federal court on Nov. 21, alleging Captain Amber Beyer — head of the department’s Behavioral Health Team — made a series of offensive remarks in the team’s offices at police headquarters. Among the things she is alleged to have said: Black officers are more likely to be unfaithful to their spouses than white officers. All the male Black officers she knew cheated on their wives. White police[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 1

2022

Erie IDA eyes largest subsidy package in years

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Updated: 2:50 p.m. The Erie County Industrial Development Agency is entertaining a request for the largest package of tax breaks it has awarded in the past five years.  The $11.8 million in tax breaks for Sonwil Distribution work out to $621,000 per new job. In addition to hiring 19 new workers, the company would relocate 22 of its current employees.   But Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a member of the IDA board of directors, has raised “serious concerns” about the size of the subsidy package, according to a spokesperson. “There is no way I am in favor of $11 million[...]

Posted 1 year ago
Investigative Post

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