Categories for News

Sep 28

2015

Park planned on a polluted creek

Published by

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and the Niagara River Land Trust are taking on a risky project. The $850,000 plan announced Monday is to demolish a decrepit former car repair shop on a brownfield to construct a half-acre public park with a paddle boat launch for one of the state’s most polluted creeks, the Scajaquada. On one hand, the project at 1660 Niagara Street in Black Rock could accelerate more investment into the badly polluted creek. On the other hand, without more cleanup, the project will leave exposed one of the creek’s most polluted sections, that even during the press event reeked[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Sep 20

2015

Heaney analysis of Buffalo Billion probe

Published by

Jim Heaney of Investigative Post, whose reporting foreshadowed the ongoing federal probe of developer contracts awarded under the Buffalo Billion program, took to the airwaves over the weekend of offer his take on U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s investigation. Heaney told Maryalice Demler of WGRZ Friday evening that the probe will almost certainly focus on Alain Kaloyeros, the Albany nanotech guru who is quarterbacking the Buffalo Billion program. Sunday, in an interview with Dave Debo of WBEN News Radio, 930 AM, Heaney covered a range of related issues, including the investigation, the state’s pay to play culture and the significance of[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Sep 20

2015

Heaney: Probe should focus on Kaloyeros

Published by

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s investigation into contracts awarded under the Buffalo Billion program can’t help but scrutinize the actions of Alain Kaloyeros, who is quarterbacking the program, Jim Heaney has told Maryalice Demler of WGRZ. Heaney also said the investigation has statewide implications because Kaloyeros has emerged as Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s point man on major economic development projects in Rochester and Utica. Heaney said Kaloyeros has operated in a non-transparent manner in Albany for years, exported that approach to Buffalo and will likely do likewise elsewhere upstate unless challenged.

Posted 9 years ago

Sep 17

2015

Contamination a challenge on Outer Harbor

Published by

The state’s leaner and greener plan for the Outer Harbor still has some obstacles to overcome, chief among them the contamination of 60 acres adjacent to properties targeted for residential and commercial development. As Investigative Post reported in March, about 40 percent of the soil samples taken on the parcel detected contamination levels that made it unsafe for use as a park. The standards would be even stricter for using the property for residential purposes. If that’s not bad enough, one acre in the parcel is a partly remediated Superfund with a restriction against residential development. Officials concede it’s going to[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Sep 16

2015

State kills plan for swimming at Gallagher Beach

Published by

It turns out it’s not safe to go in the water at Gallagher Beach. State officials announced Wednesday they have shelved plans to open the beach along Route 5 in South Buffalo for swimming. The decision marks a retreat from plans announced two years ago by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins and Mayor Byron Brown, who were excited at the prospect of a beach within the city limits. What’s changed? Investigative Post has been reporting on water pollution and and soil contamination at the beach. State officials initially refused to even commit to testing to determine if there were[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Aug 26

2015

Labor groups protest hotel subsidies

Published by

Around 100 people from local labor groups gathered Wednesday morning to protest the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency’s awarding of tax breaks to hotels. They say low-cost hotels like the Budget Inn on Niagara Falls Boulevard, where the protest was held, should not receive subsidies because they don’t create good-paying jobs. The protest was organized by the Coalition for Economic Justice. Investigative Post reported on the subsidies in January, documenting how the IDA’s indiscriminate granting of tax breaks to hotels defied the recommendations of a 2011 study commissioned by the state. That study found that the city had already had a “glut” of lower-end hotel[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Aug 17

2015

Buffalo steps up recycling efforts

Published by

Buffalo officials have finally launched what they are calling an “extensive public awareness campaign” in an effort to boost its anemic recycling rate. This campaign, announced Monday, comes almost three years after Investigative Post reported how the city had failed to spend more than $400,000 earmarked for recycling education and promotion. City officials said the goal is to exceed the national recycling rate of 34 percent by 2018. They have a long way to go. Buffalo will need to more than double its rate in three years to reach that goal. In 2012, the city introduced the green tote program, which allows residents to[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jul 30

2015

Poloncarz plays down problems at CPS

Published by

For workers at Erie County Child Protective Services, high caseloads and missed deadlines have become the norm. But Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is adamant that the department no longer has any serious problems. “We’ve made great progress and we’re headed on the right track, there’s just always a little more work to be done,” Poloncarz said. County Legislators disagree. They voted 7-4 Thursday in favor of asking Poloncarz to personally discuss the performance of CPS at a special public meeting. But Poloncarz said he would not do so and dismissed today’s vote as “a political stunt.” The county executive, up for re-election in November, had ducked questions[...]

Posted 9 years ago
Investigative Post

Get our newsletters delivered to your inbox * indicates required

Newsletters *