Tag: City Hall

Apr 25

2013

Demone Smith’s continued defiance

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are among those who have gone on record in favor of tougher enforcement of election laws and other statutes aimed at promoting ethical conduct on the part of public officials. The catalyst to these calls has been two recent high-profile corruption cases that snared New York City politicians. Not that we needed two indictments to know something is rotten in the Empire State. Look no further than the “D” grade the state received on a risk for public corruption report card issued by the Center for Public Integrity. Nor do[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 1

2013

Q&A: Robert Gioia

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Robert Gioia is one of Western New York’s consummate insiders. At present, he holds two key positions, president of the John R. Oishei Foundation, Western New York’s largest philanthropic organization, and chairman of the Erie Harbor Canal Development Corp., responsible for developing Canalside and the Outer Harbor. Gioia’s career has straddled the public and private sector. His family operated the Gioia Macaroni Co. and he was a principal with the Food Group of Strategic Investments and Holdings Inc. from 1992 to 2007. On the government side, he chaired the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority during its construction of the new airport terminal in Cheektowaga[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Mar 23

2013

Q&A: Mayoral candidate Sergio Rodriguez

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Sergio Rodriguez isn’t daunted by the odds of running for mayor as a Republican in a city where Democrats hold a seven-to-one enrollment edge. Rodriguez, 32, is a native of the Dominican Republic. His family moved to the United States when he was 10 and grew up on Long Island. Rodriguez moved to Buffalo a decade ago after a five-year stint in the Marines. He earned an associates degree in business  from Medaille College, a bachelors degree in business management from D’Youville College and a masters degree in organizational leadership from Medaille. He ran unsuccessfully in 2007 to represent the[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Mar 22

2013

GOP job offer to Rodriguez a possible felony

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Sergio Rodriguez told me in an interview that airs Saturday morning on WGRZ’s Daybreak that unnamed higher ups in local Republican Party circles “strongly encouraged” him to drop his candidacy for mayor. He further asserts that they dangled a job as an enticement. Not so, Erie County Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy told WGRZ’s Scott Brown. In fact, he said it’s “silly” to even be discussing the allegations. Believe who you want. I wasn’t in the room and therefore can’t say for sure what transpired. I’ll say this much, however: I found Rodriguez to be a refreshing interview. He strikes me[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 26

2013

Recycling excuses

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Editor’s note: Investigative Post reported last November on Buffalo’s anemic recycling program. The story prompted a pledge by Mayor Byron Brown to take steps to bolster the recycling rate. Investigative Post follows up to see what the city has done. Coming soon: An update on recycling efforts in Buffalo public schools. Mayor Byron Brown’s administration has yet to meet its goal of doubling Buffalo’s curbside recycling rate in the year since green totes were distributed to residents. The city’s curbside recycling rate – based on what residents place in green totes – rose from 8 percent to 12.2 percent in[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 10

2013

Q&A: Buffalo Comptroller Mark Schroeder

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Mark Schroeder serves as Buffalo’s fiscal watchdog in his job as city comptroller. He made news recently by raising concerns about City Hall’s budgeting practices, which have involved the use of reserve funds the past three years to balance the books. Schroeder, 57, spent 25 years in the private sector, working for two food companies before moving into electoral politics in 2001 as part of a political organization lead by Brian Higgins. Schroeder served three years in the Erie County Legislature before winning election in November 2003 to the New York Assembly. He represented Orchard Park, West Seneca and portions of[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 8

2013

Concerns over City Hall spending

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Investigative Post and WGRZ team up to report on Buffalo Comptroller Mark Schroeder’s concern, and Mayor Byron Brown’s response, over the continuing use of reserve funds to balance the city budget.

Posted 12 years ago

Jan 27

2013

Q&A: Jordan Levy

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Jordan Levy is one of Western New York’s most successful entrepreneurs in recent times. He might be best known to local residents as the former chairman of the Erie Harbor Canal Development Corp., which is developing Canalside. He served in that capacity for four years before stepping down in 2011. During that time he first supported the controversial plan to construct a Bass Pro store in the inner-harbor then lead the EHCDC  in its embrace of a more popular approach dubbed “lighter, faster, cheaper.” Levy, 57, has enjoyed a long and successful career in the private sector. He is a general partner[...]

Posted 12 years ago
Investigative Post