Name: City of Buffalo Common Council Meeting 9-15-2026
Uploaded: 2026-09-15T00:00:00Z
Duration: 1 h 4 min
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[0:08] 54321.

[0:13] Council member Bowman present. President. Pro. Tem Everhardt. Present. Council. President. Ferolito. Here. Council member. Golombeck. Majority. Leader. Hodgson. Present. Council. Member. Nowakowski. Present. Council. Member. Rivera. Present. Council member. Scanlon. Present. Council member. Wyatt. Here. Quorum is present.

[0:32] I'll stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:39] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. For today's invocation, I'd like to invite Pastor Sonny Lee up to the front.

[1:11] Hi, president and members of the Common Council. Um, I'm glad to be here today. Been here a few times and with my family. But as visitors. Taking pictures and enjoying the architecture. Honored to be here and offering the, uh, you know, invocation. 45 years ago, I first came to Buffalo as a student because my friend told me the weather is very nice. He did not lie. It was in July and 30 years ago. I chose to return to Buffalo, to live, to work and eventually call this my home. Not because of the weather, of course, because of a call to serve. And also the people here that I love. So thank you very much. And I want to take the opportunity today and for your service and then for what you have done so much and working very hard and to make this study indeed, the city of Good Neighbor. Now, let us pray.

[2:30] O Lord, the maker of heaven and the earth, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You are the all powerful, all wise and all loving father.

[2:45] I invoke your presence and also invite you to guide our meeting today. Thank you for all members in this common Council. Thank you for their heart, their love in serving the communities in ninth district and also in Buffalo City. I bless their meeting to be a most meaningful and fruitful one. Lord, we realize that with new challenges and opportunities that they all face. Lord, I pray that as they and share their different and opinions and perspective as they make difficult decisions. Grant each member the wisdom from above and to discern the humility to listen, and also the patience to understand one another. May this group of representatives, more than just representative, but a team of servant leaders that you use to work together in unity, and also for the peace and prosperity of the city. Bless this time as they gather with your presence, with your favor, and with your faithfulness. I pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.

[4:19] Colleagues.

[4:23] Council member. Golombek.

[4:28] Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, Riverside neighborhood lost. Uh. Kenny. Kimberlin. Um. Riverside institution, the Kimberlin family. I think there were two brothers, uh, that ended up each having ten children. And almost all of those children, ten children each. And almost all of them were boys. Um, so if you grew up in Riverside, black Rock neighborhood was one of those names of the families that, you know, were really a part of the community. Um, Kenny was only a couple years older than me, but he had some health problems over the past several years. And he's going to be very, very sorely missed by his family and his friends. Um, and I've mentioned this before that, you know, one of the hardest parts about this job is the wonderful people that we meet and that we care a great deal about. Um, and we lost, uh, in the North District in the West Hertel neighborhood. Uh, Jasper parish community, northwest Buffalo Community center community. Um, miss Juanita Anderson, um, since the 1990s, Juanita was the youth programs, uh, in the neighborhood in that part of the North District. Um, I've known her for 50 years, maybe close to at least 40. Um, and she was just a wonderful, wonderful woman. Um, she ran the programs. The kids loved her. Um, and I have to just tell one anecdotal story. Um, I think in 2000 or 2001, Northwest Buffalo Community Center started a, uh, Thanksgiving dinner for the children in the Buffalo Bills, won a couple of the unions, SEIU and others were all involved. And Juanita Anderson made, um, the macaroni and cheese, and it was the best macaroni and cheese that I'd ever had in my life. And I kept asking her and she said, it's a secret. It's a secret. So I got her and I got her good at a community meeting. I said, your son's told me what the secret ingredient was. And she kept looking at me and she said, no, they didn't. And I finally looked at her and I said, they said that you make it in your bathtub. And so she did it. She did not make it in the bathtub, but for the just forever. She would look at me with this little sheepish look on her face and say, I'm making you from my bathtub. But just what a wonderful lady. And I mean I, I, I, I loved her as a community activist and she's going to be very, very sorely missed by her family and her friends and her community.

[7:02] Councilmember Nowakowski.

[7:05] Thank you, Mr. President. A few weeks ago, Gwen Squire, a very big advocate in the disability community, passed away. Gwen, uh, lived with spina bifida. And, uh, she from an early age, I almost think since since infancy was adopted by a center employee. She went on to graduate, uh, Frontier High School to get a bachelor's degree from Hilbert College. And then a master's degree from the university at Buffalo. Gwen was a epitome of what it looks like to not only live a life of accomplishment, but one with dignity, and one where she was able to live and accomplish the things she wanted to do in the world, regardless of her disability. And it is such a stark reminder that all of us have that to live up to our God given potential and to live a life of accomplishment and dignity. Thank you, Mr. President.

[7:57] President Pro tem.

[7:58] Thank you, Mr. President. Um, today we are sending our condolences from the Madison district to the family of Miss Brenda Russell. Um, she was a true advocate of the community. Um, whenever I would see her, she always had a good word of wisdom for me. Um, and so the Madison district mourns. So we send our condolences to her family, um, and to anyone who ever, ever knew her. Um, she really was just a beautiful person. So thank you.

[8:28] Thank you. Colleagues. Council member. Wyatt.

[8:31] I just wanted to chime in on Brenda Hicks. Russell. Um, she was when we started stepping Stone Academy charter school, she was one of the instructors and just a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful woman. Um, as my colleague said, you know, whenever you would meet her, she would have some words of wisdom for you. Just a humble servant. And so my prayers go out to her family and her son, um, who just, you know, I, I, I met him a number of times and just a good young man. But, you know, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. So my prayers are with her family. Thank you.

[9:05] Thank you, colleagues. Now, we will now have a moment of silence for all of those names that were mentioned.

[9:19] On a motion by Majority Leader Halton Pope, seconded by Councilman Nowakowski, the minutes of the stated meeting held on September 1st, 2026 were approved. Council members, you have the late files before you. Any objections to the late files? Hearing none. Uh, you will have. That's okay. Thank you. Hearing none, we will have, uh, we will hear the agenda in its entirety. This does not take away your right to pause the meeting. If you hadn't had a chance to review the files. Now we will go to Council woman president Pro Tem Everhart for a special presentation.

[10:03] Don't touch it.

[10:06] Thank you, Mr. President. Um, so, as you all should be aware, um, in September, we recognize, uh, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. And over this past weekend, we had our monthly stakeholders breakfast in the Masten District. And we were honored to have Mr. Satterwhite, um, with us, who came to educate the residents about getting screened for prostate cancer. Um, but also talk about an event coming up and the residents really connected with Mr. Satterwhite, and he shared a lot of his story. And so I thought it would be pertinent that we bring him here to the Common Council this Tuesday. Um, to honor and celebrate him. Um, because he was truly a wealth of knowledge. He shared his own journey with prostate cancer. And so it is important that we recognize this, but that we also highlight these events that are taking place in our community so that everyone is getting screened early. And so with that, I would like to bring down Mr. Richard Satterwhite. Please give him a round of applause.

[11:24] And I will read his proclamation because, um, it's important. September is recognized as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, providing an important opportunity to raise awareness about prostate cancer, encourage early detection and education, and Recognize those who work to improve men's health throughout our communities. Richard Satterwhite, a 19 year prostate cancer survivor, has transformed his personal experience into a commitment to advocate and educate. As a certified Lay Health advisor and founding member of Man Up, Buffalo Incorporated, helping men and families across Western New York better understand prostate cancer and the importance of early detection. Throughout more than three decades of professional and community service, Mr. Satterwhite has distinguished himself as an educator, workplace consultant, advocate and accomplished artist whose leadership has strengthened public health workspaces and the cultural community of Western New York. Let it be proclaimed that the Buffalo Common Council does hereby recognize September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and honor. Mr. Richard Satterwhite for his courageous survivorship, dedicated advocacy and long standing commitment to prostate cancer education, early detection, men's health and service to the Western New York community. Congratulations, Mr. Satterwhite. Thank you.

[13:00] You're welcome. And you can speak if you'd like. Sure.

[13:05] Uh, Councilwoman Everhart, um, and my, uh, uh, it's it's awesome to be here. I can tell you I'm a little overwhelmed being here. I've never actually been in the chambers before, and this is actually awesome. So I'm, uh, to be around all these leaders. Um, um, thank you for what you do and your, uh, your life of service. Uh, 19 years ago, I dedicated myself to that same life of service to try to educate as many as possible about prostate cancer, the need to be screened. Early detection is very important. Not just prostate cancer, but across the board. Uh, and that's what I've dedicated my, uh, my life to my time. and also with my work through Roswell Park. I've been able to really help really focus on the community and making sure that lives are saved. Uh, thank you for this, uh, this honor and, um, yeah, uh, September 26th, by the way, at Roswell Park, we have an event called Cruisin for a cure. All right. It's a car show wrapped around a prostate cancer screening event. And I welcome men 45 to 70. If you have a history of prostate cancer in your family, make that 40 to 75. Right. Uh, we want you to get you an early, uh, and get you get you looked at and there's absolutely no cost for that. Come on down. Um. Thank you.

[14:21] We want to take a quick picture. Okay.

[14:25] I like to go buffalo.

[14:27] You do?

[15:08] From the top.

[15:13] One second.

[15:14] Are you ready?

[15:16] Is someone coming out of order?

[15:18] Mr. president.

[15:19] The motion is to take item number 41 out of order under resolutions.

[15:23] Seconded by Council Member Wyatt.

[15:26] Item number 41. Discharge item 26-000305. From Committee. A Community Development Committee.

[15:33] Motion to adopt.

[15:36] Seconded by Council member Bowman.

[15:38] Item number one. Permission to dedicate South Park Avenue parcels. Sorry.

[15:44] Motion to approve.

[15:45] Seconded by Council member Golombek.

[15:47] Item number two. Notice of appointment. Paralegal.

[15:50] Motion to send a civil service.

[15:51] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[15:53] Item number three. Request to amend abandonment, closure and transfer.

[15:57] Motion to approve items three through five.

[15:59] Seconded by President Pro Tem Everhart.

[16:01] Item number six submission of monthly Report.

[16:04] Motion to receive and file.

[16:05] Seconded by Councilman Nowakowski.

[16:07] Item number seven correspondence. Resolution item.

[16:10] Motion to send item seven through nine. Finance.

[16:13] Seconded by Council member. Scanlon.

[16:15] Item number ten. Appoint a clerk typist.

[16:17] Motion to send a civil service.

[16:19] Seconded by Council Member Wyatt.

[16:21] Item number 11. Appoint Chief Data Officer.

[16:24] Motion to also send this to Civil service.

[16:26] Seconded by Council member. Bollman.

[16:27] Item number 12. Permission to enter into agreement.

[16:30] Motion to approve items 12 and 13.

[16:33] Second by Council Member Rivera.

[16:35] Number 14 notifications area.

[16:37] Motion to receive and file.

[16:39] Seconded by President Pro Tem Everhart.

[16:41] Item number 15. Amend permission to hire.

[16:44] Motion to approve.

[16:45] Seconded by Councilman Nowakowski.

[16:47] And number 16. Notice of appointment. Seasonal lifeguard.

[16:50] Motion receiving file items 16 through 18.

[16:55] Seconded by Councilmember Scanlon.

[16:56] Item number 19. Change order for shades roof replacement.

[17:00] Motion to approve items 19 through 22.

[17:05] Seconded by Council Member Wyatt.

[17:07] Item number 23. Foodstore license 1076. Sycamore.

[17:11] Motion to send items 23 and 2024 to legislation.

[17:15] Seconded by Council Member Bollman.

[17:17] And number 25 appoint Fair Housing Officer.

[17:20] Motion to send civil service.

[17:21] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[17:23] Item number 26. Foster license 7476 M wood.

[17:27] Motion to send items 26 through and including 29 legislation.

[17:31] Seconded by President Pro tem. Everhart.

[17:34] Item number 30. Contract for city of Buffalo and. Hanna. Demolition. Property. Board.

[17:37] Motion to approve items 30 through and including 33.

[17:42] Seconded by Council member. Scanlon.

[17:46] Item number 34. Cannabis establishment. Notice.

[17:49] Did we skip.

[17:50] Motion to receive and. Oh. Mr. president.

[17:53] Council member. Wyatt.

[17:54] Did we skip 33.

[17:58] Did I miss it? S14:

[17:59] You said 34.

[18:01] We did. We approved items 30, 33 and including 33.

[18:07] Okay. Because on mine it just says a legislation. Um, can we go back to 33? I just wanted to ask a question, Mr. Chair. Sure.

[18:15] Motion to revisit item number 33.

[18:18] Seconded by Council member Wyatt.

[18:19] So I had asked for this item that we would have some type of data regarding the reading outcomes, and I don't think I received that. Mr.. Chief of Staff that we received that.

[18:31] Miss. Mr.. Mr. president and to my colleague. Um, if you refer to a message we received all of the items that we asked for an email earlier today.

[18:42] Okay. I must have missed that one. Okay. Thank you.

[18:46] Thank you. Next item.

[18:47] Item number 34. Cannabis establishment. Notice.

[18:50] Motion to receive and file. Items 34 and 35.

[18:53] Seconded by Council member. Bollman.

[18:55] Miscellaneous. Item number 36. The permanent order regarding Council member contact.

[19:02] Motion to send items 36 and 37 to Community Development.

[19:07] Seconded by Council Member Golombek, who has the floor.

[19:10] Thank you, Mr. President. Um, item number 36 is a memorandum that was sent out by a commissioner earlier this year that coincides with when both you and the Majority Leader assisted me, um, when we were informed by the incoming administration, um, that we were allowed to contact anybody that we wanted because nobody can tell us what we can and what we can't do. Um, but that city employees were no longer allowed to respond to us. Um, they were no longer allowed to talk to us without having permission to talk to us. Um, I was a little concerned about that because, uh, um, I, I'm hands on and all of us have different roles that we, you know, in the districts that we represent. Um, but the one place that I really am active is with district and working with constituents. And as Mr. Rivera said a week or so ago, you know, he's gotten calls at two in the morning from people who are afraid to call 911 on their own. Similar things have happened to me. Um, matter of fact, yesterday I was walking to a block club, believe in black Rock, and, uh, several of my neighbors stopped me because kids were breaking into a vacant house on the corner of my street, and so I immediately contacted Chief Moreno and I immediately called 911. And the police were there, uh, very, very quickly. And luckily there were no kids in there. But we asked again for the city to board up this property. It's a zombie house. Um, and I've not been critical of the administration because I understand how difficult it is to go after properties that are zombie houses. And I'm not going to blame it, you know, because they've had nine months to work on this, that it's not solved yet because it may not be rocket science, but it is very difficult to fix these problems in the city of Buffalo. Well, we were told, and I think all of us at one point or another have had city employees that have said that, you know, they couldn't return our call. They couldn't talk to us. Um, this email came out or this letter that I got Ahold of, as I said earlier in the year, and I saved it because what's been happening over the last several months is I've had some constituents in my district who are concerned that, you know, you're not helping us like you used to in the past. Um, we gave you some problems and you didn't follow up while I did. I did follow up to the best of my ability. And I did, uh, try to talk to people and whatnot, but I don't want to get people in trouble in City Hall when they've been told you are not allowed to talk to council members. And so following up on this, I would like to request that we have somebody from the administration that comes to community development next week that can answer these questions. And, you know, maybe Mr. Swan, as the deputy mayor, could come and he could explain to us, you know, why we are not allowed to talk to or why city, uh, employees are not supposed to talk to us, why they're not we're not technically supposed to call them. Why we are supposed to go through an added level of bureaucracy by contacting the commissioner, the deputy mayor and liaison between the Council, which is a redundancy and an utter and a complete waste of time. When I need garbage picked up, I just want to call the supervisor and get the garbage picked up. When I have, uh, a bee infestation problem on rash, I want to be able to just make a phone call and have somebody take a look at it from the inspections department when I have a problem at 35 Rebecca Park that's been sitting there vacant after a fire for months and months and months and months, I want to be able to call the building inspector and just say what's going on, because I go to almost every single one of the black clubs in my district, and I've only once seen a deputy mayor at a black club. And if this is the way it's going to be, I want them to go on record and say, you know what, Council member Golombeck at our, uh, order is no longer allowed to assist the residents of the North District and beyond any longer. Because this is just a new day and whatever day it is in Buffalo, it's certainly not a better day. But I want them to say publicly, and I want to be able to tell my residents that, look, I'm not lying. I am not lying to you. I cannot follow up on things the way that I could with Mayor Masiello, the way that I could with Mayor Brown, the way that I could with Mayor Scanlon, because the new administration that doesn't know city government or most of the city of Buffalo knows better than everybody else. And it's frustrating. And somebody asked me, they said, are you frustrated over this? And I said, I'm frustrated for my residents. I'm frustrated for my constituents because we live in a district that needs help. We need it. We live in a district that needs the assistance, whether it's the mayor's impact team, whether it's the, um, the clean Sweep Program or any of those little things that you don't need on blocks where you have million dollar houses. But if you live in black Rock, Riverside, or the parts of North Buffalo that I represent, we need additional help. And if I'm not going to be allowed to help my constituents, I want the administration to admit, no, we are not allowing city workers to work with the council members. I want that out there. I want people to know that that is exactly what's going on. And then I'm going to request that the deputy mayors show up at every single black club in the city of Buffalo, but especially in the North District, so that my residents, instead of getting angry at me, that I can't help them now that they can talk to the deputy mayors who make an awful lot more money than we do here on this council, and God only knows what they do because they're not helping the majority of the constituents in the North District.

[25:23] Item number 38 concerns Buffalo Police Department.

[25:31] Motion to send police oversight.

[25:33] Seconded by Council member. Rivera.

[25:35] Petitions. Item number 39. Special use permit for 62 Niagara Street.

[25:40] Motion to send to City Planning Board and legislation.

[25:43] Seconded by President Pro Tem Everhart's.

[25:45] Submission is Civil Service item number one appoint complaint clerk.

[25:49] Motion to receive and files item one and two.

[25:52] Seconded by Council Member Nowakowski.

[25:54] Item number three notice of appointment. Assistant auditor.

[25:57] Motion to approve item three through six.

[26:00] Seconded by Council Member Scanlon.

[26:02] Item number seven. Notice of appointment. Labor to seasonal.

[26:05] Motion to receive and file.

[26:07] Seconded by Council Member Wyatt.

[26:09] Item number eight notice of appointment. Superintended a fleet maintenance.

[26:12] Motion to approve.

[26:13] Seconded by Council Member. Golombeck.

[26:16] Item number nine notice of appointment. Administrative Assistant.

[26:19] Motion to approve item nine through 12.

[26:22] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[26:24] Item number 13. Notice of appointments. Supplies of a maintenance. Superintendent of maintenance.

[26:30] Motion to approve.

[26:32] Seconded by President Pro Tem Everhart.

[26:35] Item number 14. Notice of appointment. Senior account. Clerk. Typist.

[26:39] Motion to approve or. No. I'm sorry. Motion to receive and file items 14 and 15.

[26:46] Seconded by Councilman Nowakowski.

[26:48] Item number 16. Notice of appointment. Labor two.

[26:51] Motion to approve.

[26:52] Second by Councilmember Scanlon.

[26:54] Item number 17. Notice of appointment. Deputy Commissioner of Streets and Sanitation.

[26:58] Motion to receive and file item 17 through 19.

[27:01] Seconded by Councilmember Wyatt.

[27:04] Item number 20. Notice of Status Change.

[27:06] Motion to approve.

[27:08] Seconded by Councilmember Golombek.

[27:10] Item number 21. Notice a status change.

[27:12] Labor to motion to receive and file items 21 through 27.

[27:17] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[27:19] And number 28. Notice of appointment. Park. Supervisor.

[27:22] Motion to approve items 28 through 34.

[27:25] Seconded by President Pro Tem Everhart.

[27:27] Item number 35. Appoint personnel. Assistant.

[27:30] Motion to receive and file items 35 and 36.

[27:34] Seconded by Majority Leader. Halton Pope, who has the floor.

[27:38] Mr.. Mr. chair, I just want to make sure we're. Item number 34. I believe that one is going to civil service. So motion to rescind the motion to revisit item number 34.

[27:50] That one. So we were waiting that that would have been a recommit, but we were waiting for an updated certificate appointment because it wasn't originally signed and we didn't know the salary, but they did get that to us. Thank you.

[28:03] Item number 37 appoint compensation and benefits specialist.

[28:07] Motion to approve.

[28:08] Seconded by Council member. Golombeck.

[28:10] Community development item number 38. Appointments to Buffalo City Court. Housing Advisory Council.

[28:17] Motion.

[28:18] Motion to approve.

[28:20] Seconded by Council member Rivera.

[28:22] Item number 39. Concerns. Buffalo. Parking violations. Bureau.

[28:33] Motion to receive and file.

[28:34] Second by Council member. Boman.

[28:36] Finance. Item number 40. Permission to piggyback a Sourcewell contract with Tyler Technologies.

[28:42] Motion is to approve items 40 through and including 48.

[28:48] Seconded by Council member Rivera.

[28:55] Mister. Mister. President. Motion to revisit item number 48.

[29:00] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[29:03] I just want to be clear. We were working with a brand new system, and reading this isn't as easy as it used to be with our new system. So the motion is a motion to rescind the previous motion.

[29:14] Seconded by Council Member Golombek.

[29:16] Motion to deny.

[29:18] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[29:20] Legislation item number 49. Food store license 405, Hampshire.

[29:24] Motion to.

[29:24] Approve. Seconded by President Pro Tem Everhart.

[29:28] Item number 50. Booster license 2082, South Park.

[29:31] Motion to approve with conditions.

[29:33] Seconded by Council Member Nowakowski.

[29:35] Item number 51. Booster license 3209 Bailey Avenue.

[29:39] Motion to recommit. Items 51, 52 and 53.

[29:42] Seconded by Council Member Wyatt.

[29:44] Item number 54. Booster license 2248 Main Street.

[29:47] Motion is to deny items 54 and 55.

[29:50] Seconded by Council Member Bollman.

[29:52] At number 56. Booster license 970.

[29:55] Motion to approve.

[29:56] Second by Council Member Golombek and Council President Pro Tem Everhart has the floor.

[30:04] Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to really quickly speak on the record about item 55 and the reasons for the denial, which are many. Um, so this is a application for a new food store in my district on East Delavan. Um, the owner of this building came into my office early or in the spring. Um, and I did ask this person to go out to the community, go to the block club meetings, the same spiel that I give everyone, um, talk to residents in the area. That person, um, did not do that up until last week. Um, which obviously poses a problem. Since then I have received numerous um letters as well as a petition, um, from the neighboring community, um, saying that they did not want to see this in their neighborhood. And so I will send those denial reasons to the clerk and the corporation counsel and thank you.

[31:00] Thank you. Next item.

[31:01] Item number 57. Garbage collector license.

[31:03] Motion to deny.

[31:05] Seconded by Council Member Wyatt.

[31:07] And number 58 garbage collector license.

[31:09] Motion to approve items 58 and 59.

[31:13] Seconded by Council Member Boman.

[31:16] Item number 60. Property managers license.

[31:18] Motion to recommit. Items 60, 61 and 62.

[31:22] Seconded by Council Member. Golombeck.

[31:25] Item number 63 concerns Chippewa Entertainment District.

[31:28] Motion to receive and file.

[31:30] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[31:32] Item number 64. Special use 2034 South Park.

[31:36] Motion to approve with conditions.

[31:38] Seconded by President Pro Tem Everhart.

[31:41] Item number 65 lodging House license.

[31:43] Motion to recommit.

[31:44] Seconded by Councilman Nowakowski.

[31:46] And number 66 tire handler license.

[31:49] Motion to approve the conditions. Items number 66, 67, and 68.

[31:53] Seconded by Council Member Wyatt.

[31:55] Item number 69319, 14th Street.

[31:59] Motion to approve item 69 through and including 74.

[32:04] Seconded by Council Member Borman.

[32:07] Item number 75 Special use permit 69 West Chippewa.

[32:12] Motion to approve with conditions.

[32:14] Seconded by Councilman Nowakowski, who has the floor.

[32:17] Thank you, Mr. President. So this has been, as you know, an ongoing discussion regarding Chippewa and its concerns for quite some time since the beginning of the summer. And since that time, I have been working with the mayor's administration, uh, the police inspections, stakeholders, you name it, about what is occurring on Chippewa, and to have an entertainment district that is safe and that is thriving. Now, I do not want to pin all of the problems of Chippewa on one person or one entity, since it is a multitude of factors. There's the parking lots that need to get into compliance. That. And now all these issues we're all working on. But the parking lots, we have, uh, different entities running by different permits. There's special events, permits, there's special use, there's dance licenses, there's cabaret licenses in an entertainment review district. And since I have inherited Chippewa, I have taken it from the approach that it should be. And that's through the the derivative of of the code and what it outlines. Now, what we have on Chippewa is even this past Sunday I got was given a call from and have spoken to the deputy Commissioner that said that there was a fistfight between two establishments. Uh, security personnel. I then got calls from the mayor and also individuals that were on a patio that witnessed this during the bills game. I feel right now, and so does the mayor and the and the police department that we as a totality, not just singling out one, but a totality of proprietors that we do not have partners on this street yet. Now I have to deal with people who are saying I'm over policed. There's too many police officers. You're prohibiting people coming from Chippewa Street. I have establishments that tell me in the same breath that there's not enough emergency personnel and police down there, and that it's required to do so. I then have still fistfights on Chippewa. I then have the police department that states that they are still spending $50,000 a weekend just to maintain an order of control down there. That is almost over $2 million a year in overtime for one block. It's going to be high time that my colleagues on the Common Council are going to jump on me and say, we don't want you to go over overtime. We would like those services in foot patrol in our districts. We are always scrutinizing overtime. We are always scrutinizing the police department's overtime and manpower, and that is unacceptable and also not sustainable. Now, what is before me is a special use permit that the applicant has asked the council and as district member to consider. They state that they want 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. for a college night for co-mingling 18 and plus and up on Thursdays. So they want 4 a.m. the mayor wants none of it. I have. Then other establishments that are saying a certain time, and they vary from the hours of none to 4 a.m.. So what I'm going to do is the first thing is make a decision. Number two, make no one happy. And third, also work with the administration, who ultimately, the mayor still has to sign this permit and come up with rules and regulations that I will be remaining consistent to anybody that wants to co-mingle on that on Chippewa Street. Now, it's the problems of individuals that are under. 21 coming to the district is not one establishment's issue or problem or causing it, but we have to speak in reality. If I am going to permit a co-mingling event on the entertainment district of this city, it is going to be promoted that this is an area for individuals that are under 21. So even if individuals are not causing an issue inside that establishment, I'm going to have a volume of young people that are under 21 years old that believe that this is an entertainment district for them, and then congregate parking lots, sidewalks. They're going to then I, I walked down two weeks ago, I almost I was livid when I saw individuals with ski masks on at 2:00 in the morning in an entertainment district. What does that show to safety in the overall vitality of that entertainment district? There are members of this council who used to drink when they had sheriff's cards. There's times where there's other generations of this council that college night was at the steer or somewhere else, and and it ended up working out. Or you went to a college party and then made it the university district's problem. There is a congregation of factors, and there is an environment that does not exist to allow co-mingling to be produced in harmony when it is in conjunction with alcohol and other entertainment areas. So while looking at this special use permit, I have to also negotiate with the mayor, this establishment, since they have applied to go past what the code allows is being approved with conditions, and it will cease operation at 11 p.m. I will then put in which I haven't stated in number seven of this condition is that I will, by resolution in 120 days, reopen this. If everything goes according to plan and there's no issues on Chippewa and we have more cohesion, we're not spending $50,000 in overtime. We are not having fistfights between bar establishments and their security personnel. I don't see a proliferation of emails telling on each other of some having weapons, some not, some license, some not. As you could tell, it's the wild wild west out there. Sometimes I need to make sure that I'm remaining consistent and that I'm exercising good judgment. Because one thing I do know is that if I permit something and something occurs in Chippewa Pass, the hours stated, I'm going to wear it. The cameras are going to be in my face. I am the district council member and I am chartered. Responsibility to have the public welfare and safety at the forefront of what I am always doing and thinking as a council member. So I have to look at this and scrutinize it and the totality of the Entertainment Review District. So I have seven conditions that are going to be that anyone wants to come to Chippewa and, and, and do commingling pass the stated hours. I'm going to say Congratulations. I'm Mitch Nowakowski, your council member. Here is the template of what we do and where we remain consistent in this district when it comes to co-mingling. And so I will file these with the clerk and that I have a specific conditions of when it will close. The special use permit shall be conditioned upon the submission and approval of a security plan by the Buffalo Police Department. The establishment shall be required upon entry to the premises to utilize handheld or mobile identification scanners to verify the authenticity of patrons photo identification. This permit shall be subject to 120 day review for modifications, where we can then work with the Mayor and Mayor's administration and Buffalo police and other stakeholders. If everything goes positive. But right now, things are still hot, things are not coming together, and I still have a funny farm of issues in characters that are creating a an establishment or an established review district. Entertainment district to not be working cohesively. And I just want to state again, this is not singling out one person. This is the totality of what establishments and what they promote bring not just in their establishment, but outside of their establishment. And I will file this with the clerk. Thank you, Mr. President.

[41:22] Majority leader thank you, Mr. President. I just have one quick question for my colleague only because this recently, um, just came up. I didn't know that these rare conditions are what the plan was with this particular project. But there are um, I just got a call recently and I just have a question regarding the parking lots that are there. Um, once they get blocked off, especially when you have individuals who've paid for parking, they can't get out and enough time. I don't know if that's something that you've considered or how that's going to be dealt with. Thank you.

[41:56] Thank you. Majority leader. Thank you, Mr. President. So if those parking lots are owned by an entity and they are open for business and parking cars, then their attendant will be there and that they will be able to, uh, take care of their patrons. But what was occurring and is occurring is those parking lots are not open for business. They're not taking revenue or parking them and collecting the revenue. They're just allowing individuals to go into those lots, park their car and then leave. So if that lot is open for business and collecting revenue, they then will have, uh, the ability to let those people in and out that park their, their cars.

[42:45] So the only question, and I would, I understand that if there was an attendant there, but some of the lots downtown, as you know, are privately owned by some other business like Park mobile or premium, etc. so if individuals park earlier before there's a shutdown and they've paid to park there and say it's 12 hours because they're parked there and these are not I'm not talking about children. These are adults who frequent downtown businesses who may be going to other locations other than what's just happening on Chippewa. Their cars were actually stuck in those lots, and they were unable to get them out because there are no attendants that are there. And so my only ask is to figure out what the plan will be going forward to ensure those individuals who are legally parked in those lots, who pay using whatever apps are available, have access to their vehicles afterwards.

[43:35] If you are open for business and you are collecting revenue and paying to park there, you must have an attendant at all times during operation. If you do not. The mayor and the Department of Inspections will pull your permit. It's your property. It's your responsibility and you need to have someone there for your customers to be able to get their vehicles at times that they pay.

[43:58] Thank you so much.

[44:01] Next item. Item number 40. Commissioner of deeds.

[44:03] Motion to adopt.

[44:07] Item number 42. Resolution to adopt a two year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining and data processing centers.

[44:14] A motion to send to Community Development.

[44:17] Seconded by Council member Golombek.

[44:20] Item number 43. Enforcement and transparency of tow truck licensing.

[44:24] Motion to adopt and send the remainder of the legislation.

[44:26] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[44:29] Mr. president, on this item specifically, and we'll talk about it at length a little bit later. Um, this item, as I explained to my colleagues, this item came out of one of my constituents, a business owner was trying to have some individuals towed, was advised by the city that they have to use a licensed tow company in the city of Buffalo. And I will say repeatedly, this is something that existed prior to this administration. It's nobody just paid attention to it. There is no listing of licensed tow companies on our city website so they wouldn't know who to find them. And so this is a matter of figuring out how do we list these agencies or organizations that are actually licensed by the City of Buffalo on those? And to make sure that there's diversity as well. So people all have access to use several types of tow companies. Um, and just making sure our systems are transparent and open and available for the public. Thank you.

[45:25] Adam. Number 44. Honor the life and legacy.

[45:27] Motion to adopt.

[45:28] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[45:31] And number 45, protecting tenants from landlord.

[45:34] Motion to adopt and send the remainder to legislation.

[45:38] Seconded by President Pro Tem Everhart. Majority leader, you have the floor.

[45:42] Thank you so much. Um, this is no secret. This item came out of a Multiple dwelling unit in the Ellicott District, whose water was turned off due to nonpayment by the landlord. And so this is addressed. Looking to determine what issues can be addressed by, um, this city to ensure that our residents I had seniors, I had those with disabilities, families and residents and tenants in general who were, um, inconvenienced because of lack of payment by a bill, an organization, and since then have found that there are not just water, but there's I saw one bill that had $96,000 in arrears owed for utility payments, which in the event that that gets turned off can impact an entire community. And I while it's an issue right now in Ellicott, I am certain that this is something that goes throughout all of our our districts. And so I'm wanting to find a way to make sure that we protect the tenants that we all represent here in the city of Buffalo. Thank you.

[46:48] Item number 46. One more. Directing Corporation. Council to approve as form a local law.

[46:53] Motion to adopt and to send the remainder to legislation.

[46:58] Seconded by Council member Wyatt.

[47:00] Mr.. Mr. president, this item. Specifically and we will discuss this in um in council. But the I believe the title of this should have been a little bit more clear. This is because this particular item, the council itself actually passed a resolution and submitted the language for a local law that just needed to be approved to form. There is no question that corporation council, and we agree based on our policy advisor and talking to them, said that this requires referendum. The issue is that this item was never approved to form, and therefore it missed the deadline for this to be submitted for city residents to vote on it in the general election in November. So this item, along with other several other items that are on here. Um, actually ask corporation counsel to just do what we've asked as the duly elected body and to ensure that if an item is supposed to be approved to form, especially if it needed referendum, that it's taken care of, that it's taken care of and sent to the appropriate parties just to prove it so that it can be voted on by the public as a whole. We will discuss this in committee at length, but I just want to be clear about what it is. It's not just about Legislative Council, it's about several other issues that we had. But there was an opinion that said that there was a need for referendum, and because this was never done and never submitted appropriately for the council to make sure that it was written the way we asked for it, and two, to the clerk to allow her to take it to the Board of Elections. We've missed a deadline. So this is something we look forward to having a deeper conversation with Corporation Council next week at Committee. Thank you.

[48:43] Excuse me.

[48:45] Mr. President. Lisa Yeager, assistant corporation counsel. I just wanted to speak on the item. Um, I'm well aware of the position of the majority leader on this issue. I think it's at least the second time we've had it before the council. Um, I would just counsel that, um, the corporation counsel is not in a position to approve as to form anything that requires a referendum, which means a vote by members of the city and, and members of the community. If the majority leader, um, was interested in this becoming a referendum item like the 11 that were submitted on behalf of um.

[49:35] I'm trying to think of the exact word.

[49:37] Charter review.

[49:38] Commission. Yes. Thank you. The charter Review Commission. I. But we had a shorter word for it. But anyway, um, those referendums were accomplished by the date of August 3rd, which the majority leader was well aware of. Um the and I've had a conversation with our corporation counsel again, I'm an assistant that um it wasn't clear from asking us as, as a law department to approve us the form that the majority leader in the alternative wanted us to submit it on August 3rd as a referendum item. There's certainly a number of things, um, that are submitted to corporation counsel, uh, where you'd want them approved as to form. But the alternative is not necessarily, uh, crafting a referendum that would then go to the board of Elections to be put on the agenda for citizens of the City of Buffalo to vote on. So. So I'm clarifying, um, that that that didn't happen because that wasn't the understanding of corporation council. No malice at all. No, I understand.

[50:56] Let me let me be clear. Since you decided to speak on this item, when we brought it to you and asked for an opinion. And again, you say you're assistant corporation counsel, so this is not on you. But since you choose to speak on it, I will address it. When an item was brought to Corporation Council and asked for an opinion Corporation counsel then said it was referendum, it had to go through referendum. What did not come from corporation counsel to this council. And it's not just me because we voted on it unanimously, is that this item itself does not need to be approved to form. It definitely does need to be through referendum. And it was not we were not advised as counsel or since you choose to make it about me as majority leader, I was not advised in anything in writing that also said that this item just needed to go to the clerk by this date. If that had been said, then something else would have been addressed. However, it wasn't and I will also like to state for the record that this resolution does not just include this item, it includes several items that have not been adhered to. From property manager issues to other pieces of legislation that my colleagues and I have approved. And this is not under just this corporation counsel. This existed prior to this Corp. counsel as well. And so there are several items that, as council members, we are duly elected. We have the ability to ask for something to be done if the clerk submits, submits it as a resolution says, we're just asking for a response to come back. If there is something different that needs to be done as the law department, then tell us that. Don't just tell me that it needs to go to referendum and then offer nothing else in advance. You should offer some other information on that. You do not advise us of this. This is not an attack and there is no malice that is there. But there was no clarity from our law department who represents us, who tells us what needs to be done, and so we can discuss this. As I stated before, I would love to have a deeper conversation in committee, but I want to be clear what the ask is because because there was no clarity. We've missed a deadline, and this is something that will have to be addressed next year by the public. Thank you.

[53:04] With all due respect, um, Lisa, we I believe, uh, submitted to your policy, uh, counsel, who is, uh, registered attorney in the state of New York. Um, that there is a case exactly on point called York versus Raymond that deals with the city of Binghamton. And, um, I shared that case with him. So there was, there was plenty of Of information provided with regard to the fact that we would never approve as to form something that would then be considered illegal, we wouldn't do it.

[53:47] I appreciate that we're going to we're going to go to Council Member Wyatt, who asked.

[53:51] Thank you. I appreciate what you're saying.

[53:52] I'm going to be discussing this item in committee next week in legislation.

[53:57] Thank you, Mr. President. You know, this has been a constant problem and not with this minute, just this administration, previous administrations, that when we ask for something to be done, it's from on behalf of the legislative body. And we've been told, oh, you our council, I'm your council member, your council. In many cases, you're not our council because it's always a conflict. And so I think what we're trying to do is have council or have someone on our behalf do what we've asked to do. And it just seems like it's always a challenge. And I'm trying to understand why. Because if we as a legislative body, as supposedly our corporation counsel to do something. Then I would think it would have to be done. It shouldn't have to go through the mayor for an approval. It should. We've asked for it. And so this is a constant challenge. And so I think we missed an opportunity because when we when the mayor doesn't agree with us, then we have somebody that is going to acquiesce from against what the council wants for the mayor, because they're basically working for him. And so we really have to get this ironed out because we can't continue to go like this. I've been on this council for 12 years, and we've always had this issue. And when we need something, when we want something, we can't get it done because it's a conflict. And for us to continue to go this way, it's just madness. So we can't do this. And so we need to do whatever we need to do to get this on the agenda. And I guess we missed the time frame for this last go round, but we need to do something going forward because there's always going to be this issue and we cannot win to meet the needs of our constituency. If our corporation counsel says, I have to do what the mayor says, and I don't think the mayor I don't think the mayor has waived. I'm just saying, when it comes to this conflict, you're going to weigh on another one side, not our side.

[55:48] That's inaccurate. I've never said, excuse me.

[55:52] It's inaccurate from your perspective, what you have. But I've been here for 12 years. You have not. And so when I talk about what we've been, what's been an issue? It has been. So it may not be in this instance, I guess what you're saying. But I'm saying overall it has been. That's it. Thank you.

[56:09] We're going to discuss this item in legislation.

[56:11] Thank you.

[56:12] Microphone on. There we go. Um legislation next week to discuss this further unless any of my colleagues have anything else to add. If not, next item.

[56:20] Item number 47 insurance and financial responsibility.

[56:24] Motion to adopt and send the remainder to finance.

[56:27] Seconded by Council member Rivera.

[56:29] Mr. president, this item specifically is based out of what recently happened in my district there. Saint Anne's, as you already know, is a very large property that caught on fire. The facility itself is owned by several people, an organization, and it has no insurance. The city would basically incumbents, not just for that for this property, but several properties where we might demolition the property. Um, and we may or may not get resources back for that. This is asking that if you don't have insurance, um, there is a level of financial responsibility that can be proven to ensure the city is protected. Um, and, uh, that we are able to demolition those properties based on you having the money available to pay for it. We were advised back in January when, when the facility first caught on fire, that it could cost $2 million to demo it. Um, and then six months later, it was set on fire again. I don't know what the intent is. I'm not trying to figure that out, but I do know that if the state of New York doesn't currently have a requirement for any property to automatically have insurance, there are several other municipalities who found a way to make sure that there is some level of responsible financial responsibility by the owner or owners of these vacant, abandoned or recently purchased properties that will ensure that the city isn't held liable or responsible, or to carry the cost of a demolition. We can't afford $2 million. And if that's the intent to burn the place down so the city will take care of it and then you can rebuild on it afterwards. I have a problem with that. Thank you.

[58:11] Thank you. Next item.

[58:12] Item number 48. Ordinance amendment chapter 264-19.

[58:16] Motion to approve.

[58:17] Seconded by Council Member Nowakowski.

[58:19] And number 49. Calling for investigation into Buffalo Police Department.

[58:23] Camera room motion to send the police oversight.

[58:26] Seconded by Council member Rivera, who has the floor.

[58:29] Mr. chairman, um, Council member Rasheed Wyatt filed this resolution. However, he will not be here Tuesday, uh, September 22nd for the police oversight meeting at 11:00. Uh, however, I just want, uh, to put the police department on notice, um, to be prepared to come in. Somebody from Internal Affairs, uh, to answer some of the questions. So we just want to put it out there. Uh, the investigation was completed. Uh, so there's no reason they can't share information with us. We would like to know dates and times, actions that were taken, uh, in many cases, when you falsify, uh, payroll records, sometimes it can raise the level of criminality or even civil matter. And I'm not sure what happened here or what actions were taken. Um, the reason we know about this is because investigative post Filed the Foil report. I don't know why this council is not informed. I don't know when it happened, and it doesn't matter. We should have been informed about something like this. Whether or not we can recapture the money that was lost for people that left work and didn't work, the hours or falsified documents. So we need answers. And I want the police department, and I'm not even sure if this commissioner was present or was the former commissioner. I don't have dates and times, but I like the Dan Granville case that we had. Um, we looked into it. Um, we weren't informed until ten months after the fact. But however we did look into it and policies and procedures were put in place to prevent things like that from happening. So we want the police commissioner and her staff, command staff, whoever can answer questions to be present at Tuesday's council meeting. Police oversight meeting. Thank you very much.

[1:00:21] Thank you. Next item.

[1:00:23] Item number 50, Ordinance Amendment, chapter 264-18.

[1:00:27] Motion to approve.

[1:00:28] Seconded by Councilmember Golombek.

[1:00:30] Mr. president motion to revisit a few items. Items 30 through and including 32. Um.

[1:00:37] Second, under.

[1:00:38] Permits and inspection.

[1:00:42] Motion was to revisit items 30 through 32 and permits and inspections seconded by Council member Bollman.

[1:00:57] Thank you.

[1:00:59] Contract of city of Buffalo. Hanna. Demolition. Property. Board up in securing services.

[1:01:04] Motion to rescind the motion for items 30 through, including 32.

[1:01:09] Seconded by Council member. Golombek.

[1:01:11] Motion to send to legislation.

[1:01:14] Seconded by Council Member Rivera.

[1:01:17] A motion to revisit item number 68.

[1:01:21] Seconded by Council member. Bowman.

[1:01:31] And legislation.

[1:01:32] Yes.

[1:01:34] Item number 68. Used car dealer 1906. Genesee.

[1:01:37] Motion to rescind the previous motion.

[1:01:40] Seconded by Council Member Nowakowski.

[1:01:43] Motion to recommit.

[1:01:44] Seconded by Council Member Scanlon, I think.

[1:01:53] I made a committee meetings committee on civil service will be. Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 at 9:45 a.m.. Committee on finance following civil service will be Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 at 10 a.m. Committee on legislation will be Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 at 1 p.m.. Committee on Community Development will be Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 at 2 p.m.. Special Committees Committee on Police Oversight will be. Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026 at 11 a.m..

[1:02:25] Colleagues.

[1:02:29] Any announcements? S2:

[1:02:30] Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to invite residents who are interested, who are concerned, who have felt that they've been duped by spectrum to join us for a meeting tonight at Gerrard Place at 5 p.m., 2115 Bailey Avenue. Um, it starts at 5 p.m., so please come out and hear from the representatives from spectrum who will be there to answer questions. I know we've been hearing about improvements. A lot of people have complained about fees, a lot of people have complained about the service. And so this is your opportunity to weigh in and have a conversation and hear what the challenges are for spectrum and what they're going to do for the residents and the customer. Thank you.

[1:03:11] Thank you. Majority leader, Halton Pope. Thank you.

[1:03:16] Thank you, Mr. President. Ellicott District Residents. We are back and we have our monthly stakeholders meeting will be on Saturday, uh, September the 19th at 10 a.m. at the Roswell campus. We will be in the Zebra Family conference room. The entrance is on Virginia Street. Please contact my office at 8514980.

[1:03:39] Should you have any questions, I look forward to seeing you. There will be a very robust meeting. Thank you.

[1:03:45] Excellent. Council member.

[1:03:47] Council president, I misspoke. Um, the police oversight meeting is Wednesday the 23rd at 11:00. Thank you. Okay.

[1:03:57] Any other announcements?

[1:03:59] Motion to adjourn.

[1:04:00] Seconded by Council member Golombek.

City of Buffalo Common Council Meeting 9-15-2026

Transcript