By: Thomas O'Neil-White| February 2, 2022 A Community Benefits Agreement, or CBA, attached to a large-scale development project is an agreement that spells out what contributions could come back to the community impacted by the project. In Erie County, talk of a new football stadium for the Buffalo …
By: WBEN.com Newsroom| February 2, 2022 A local coalition known as Partnership for the Public Good held a press conference at the steps of the Johnnie B. Wiley Pavilion in Buffalo on Wednesday calling for Erie County Legislators to insist on a robust community benefits agreement as part of …
By: Geoff Kelly| January 25, 2022 Pro teams are increasingly agreeing to pay for community improvements, diversity initiatives and living wage jobs in exchange for subsidies for new stadiums and arenas.
By: Bryce Covert| January 20, 2022 After the state rolled back a progressive bail law, data from the Vera Institute of Justice suggests judges are ordering more people be held in jails, amid continued worry over COVID-19.
By: Matt Glynn | January 13, 2022 The city of Buffalo should make more-productive use of the vacant lots it owns, said Jeanette Koncikowski, executive director of Grassroots Gardens WNY. "While the city has long evaluated repurposing ideas for its 8,000-plus vacant lots, they continue to …
By: I'Jaz Ja'Ciel | January 10, 2022 As a former public defender, Miles Gresham encountered many people with marijuana-related offenses, most of them from Black and Latinx demographics. To let arrest records tell it, these communities possess and use the substance most. Statistically, however, …
By: Matthew Spina | December 30, 2021 As the campaign heated up, the union representing Erie County’s road deputies threw its support to John C. Garcia, a Republican candidate for sheriff. “John is the best candidate and understands the needs and concerns of our membership,” …
By: Deidre Williams | December 30, 2021 As Mayor Byron Brown readies for a fifth term, community leaders and organizations are preparing their own wish lists for what they hope to see him accomplish over the next four years. Concern for tenants tops some of the lists. The mayor needs to give …
By: Natalie Fahmy| December 9, 2021 The New York State Association of Chiefs of Police proposed changes to state criminal justice laws. Their plans include changes to bail, criminal discovery, juvenile justice, and appearance tickets. Deputy Commissioner of Buffalo Police Joseph Gramaglia said …
On September 17, 2021, the Buffalo City Charter was officially amended to include a new section (Article 13) known as the Right To Know law. This law gives every motorist in Buffalo the right to a paper document clearly stating the reason for being stopped by the police, and gives every …
By: Eileen Buckley | October 29, 2021 Police brutality is taking center stage in a brand new report issued Friday by the Partnership for the Public Good in Buffalo. “Getting rid of those few bad apples would go a long way toward doing that,” remarked Miles Gresham, …
By Michael Mroziak | October 29, 2021 The Partnership for the Public Good has released a new policy brief on the City of Buffalo’s police department, and what the PPG says is the city’s untapped power to discipline police officers.