Hoyt Pulls Funding From West Side NHS
Ever since ArtVoice broke the news about the suspicious ousting of West Side housing activist Harvey Garrett from the board of West Side Neighborhood Housing Services, everyone has been wondering: What will happen next? Will this stick? Will there be some kind of investigation? When will the other shoe drop?
One dropped yesterday. In a letter to board Chairman Ramon Morales, Assemblyman Sam Hoyt announced his intention to pull his legislative initiative funding from West Side NHS—funding which has amounted, according to Hoyt’s office, to tens of thousands of dollars in just the last five years. In his letter, Assemblyman Hoyt openly questioned the independence and effectiveness of West Side NHS. Hoyt also cited the suspicious circumstances of last week’s board election, especially the unusually large number of absentee ballots, and the eleventh-hour addition of many City Hall employees to the membership roll just before the vote.
What will be the next development in this situation? Stay tuned.
The full text of Assemblyman Hoyt’s letter is below:
December 1, 2008
Ramon Morales, Chairman
West Side Neighborhood Housing Services
c/o Riverside Federal Credit Union
245 Vulcan St.
Buffalo, NY 14207
Dear Mr. Morales:
I write regarding several concerns I have about recent changes at West Side Neighborhood Housing Services (WSNHS). As you know, I have long supported WSNHS and its mission of improving housing opportunities on Buffalo’s West Side.
I am deeply disturbed by the manner in which Harvey Garrett was voted off of the board at the last membership meeting, which I attended. Mr. Garrett has been a staunch advocate for better citywide housing policies, and has done much, both as part of the WSNHS and as the executive director of the West Side Community Collaborative (WSCC), to revitalize the west side. Mr. Garrett is also the housing liaison for the Niagara District in Buffalo’s Housing Court, and a member of both the Preservation Council for the City of Buffalo and the Landmark Society of Western New York. Clearly, Harvey Garrett is a man with outstanding housing credentials who has played a very active role in west side housing concerns.
While I understand that I may not have all of the information regarding why Mr. Garrett was ultimately voted off of the board, it appears to me that it was a result of the politicization of the WSNHS membership. While only 17 members were present at the membership meeting, I understand that 37 people—many of whom had joined on the last day they could join and still vote, and who also happen live outside of the west side and work for the City of Buffalo—submitted absentee ballots to remove Mr. Garrett from the board. It is this politicization that troubles me most of all. WSNHS was created to be an independent housing agency serving a community in need. If WSNHS will now be dominated by a political faction more concerned with its own agenda than what is best for the original service area that seriously undermines the mission of the organization.
Though many of the individual programs WSNHS offers are worthwhile, WSNHS has now put itself in a position where WSNHS’s continued ability to be independent and effective must be seriously questioned. Therefore, I will no longer be providing the legislative initiative funding that I have secured for WSNHS—which has equaled tens of thousands of dollars in the last five years alone. There are other housing organizations that remain truly independent and focused on revitalizing the neighborhoods on the west side that would benefit the most from additional resources.
If you would like to meet with me to discuss these concerns further, please contact Michelle at my office at 716.885.9630 to set up a time and date. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
SAM HOYT
MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY
SH:tgg
cc: Commissioner Deborah Van Amerongen, Division of Housing and Community Renewal
Deborah Boatright, NeighborWorks
The Honorable David Rivera
The Honorable Maria Whyte
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Comment Options
Colin
Needs a bigger picture.
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TranspoGuy
Awesome. Gotta love Sam Hoyt.
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sonyactivision
BooYaa Sam!
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Hoss
How long until his Mayoral run?
There must be a better quality picture floating around out there. One w/o noise. One with his eyes open would be nice too.
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lastcall4am
It's refreshing to know that Sam Hoyt has a pair.....He has my vote for mayor
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al-alo
its good to know that an apolitical housing advocacy organization can be transformed into a pawn in a parochial political game.
how many times do i have to say it - democracy doesnt work!
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Drew
this may be a little bit childish, but---BURN!!!!
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Dan
> BooYaa Sam!
And boom goes the dynamite!
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BuffaloSoldier
It is good to know that the petty, childish political spat between the factions of Brown and Hoyt continue onwards. Now we are faced with an organization - that has done much good to promising neighborhoods - being stripped of its autonomy to do what's right for the community, and not politically. How typical of the Brown administration this is? Must be a Steve Casey slime ball tactic.
Harvey deserves better, as does the West Side.
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onestarmartin
good for you sam, glad to see someone in office has some common sense...take notice city hall
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Dan
> BooYaa Sam!
And boom goes the dynamite!
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Assaroni
another Hoyt letter, Big Deal...still does nothing and this wont change a thing...
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joey
PLAYING POLITICS with neighborhood services organizations that have individuals with proven effective track records show that this ..Brown ...administration has it's own agenda....political power at a neighborhoods' expense. Those absentee peons who have no brains have only one concern and that is saving their own jobs. Exactly why, with this mentality, City Hall smells like rotten garbage and is willing to take the rest of its' neighborhoods with it. Yes, there has been much criticism of this organization WSNHS, BUT THERE ARE STILL THOSE WHO HAVE THEIR HEART AND SOUL IN THIS ORGANIZATION.. and , are or have been forced out. Brown has and will continue to use his political machine for his own advantage...City Hall has just been a stepping stone. Hope those who believe in him will see thru his petty politics and value him for his underhanded antics! Move on HG, ALL THOSE WHO KNOW YOU ..KNOW YOU ARE A BETTER MAN THAN THAN THE ONE PULLING THESE STRINGS!!
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Assaroni
Mayor Goldie Wilson, at it again! Goldie Wilson for Mayor...let's hope he's not our next senator...
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joey
PLAYING POLITICS with neighborhood services organizations that have individuals with proven effective track records show that this ..Brown ...administration has it's own agenda....political power at a neighborhoods' expense. Those absentee peons who have no brains have only one concern and that is saving their own jobs. Exactly why, with this mentality, City Hall smells like rotten garbage and is willing to take the rest of its' neighborhoods with it. Yes, there has been much criticism of this organization WSNHS, BUT THERE ARE STILL THOSE WHO HAVE THEIR HEART AND SOUL IN THIS ORGANIZATION.. and , are or have been forced out. Brown has and will continue to use his political machine for his own advantage...City Hall has just been a stepping stone. Hope those who believe in him will see thru his petty politics and value him for his underhanded antics! Move on HG, ALL THOSE WHO KNOW YOU ..KNOW YOU ARE A BETTER MAN THAN THAN THE ONE PULLING THESE STRINGS!!
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ncneuman
The above letter proves only Sam Hoyt is willing to go overboard in politicizing the West Side Neighborhood Housing Services. The mayor gave marching orders to no one, and unlike Sam, is certainly not proposing stripping funding from a good organization for political gain.
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Hoss
Much better picture. Thanks.
If only I was biking around with a short sleeve shirt on today...
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BacktoBuffalo
How exactly will the City of Buffalo benefit from this "takeover"? Is it solely about a power struggle between a community activist and City Hall - how does City Hall benefit from that?
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BacktoBuffalo
How exactly will the City of Buffalo benefit from this "takeover"? Is it solely about a power struggle between a community activist and City Hall - how does City Hall benefit from that?
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Rebecca
How does City Hall benefit?
Well, at this meeting the West Side NHS was voted to be renamed "Greater Buffalo Neighborhood Housing Sevices."
The new name would seemingly lead to a new mission. The mayor could divert the $1.3 million the organization has been sitting on to neighborhoods of his base which aren't on the "West Side." Currently, that money is available to Michael LoCurto's District, David Rivera's district, and Sam Hoyt's district - three politicians that Mayor Brown ran candidates against in their last elections. He lost all three races. He has no support in that neighborhood - so why not take money away from the residents there and divert it to his supporters?
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Colin
Needs bigger handlebars.
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BacktoBuffalo
Rebecca,
Maybe it is a better mission. Maybe a larger organization with a coordinated plan could acquire more funds. Why are we talking about Sam Hoyt anyway? Isn't he the same guy that was proposing a county-wide land bank? You think the West Side NHS is diluted from this recent action? Imagine if a county land bank emerged.
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Buffalo21stcentury
Rebecca....EXCELLENT EXPLANATION!!!
Brown was voted Mayor because of his minority status. Look at the Buffalo Forge Site which could have been an office/industrial park which was practically given to a minority owned church thanks to Brown.
Look at minority president howard over at Buffalo State who is buddies with Brown. Howard refuses 10,000 applicants a year, refuses to build dormatories to satisfy needed demand (creating so much pent up demand that private developers are building dormatories) and complaining that the Ambassador Bridge cannot have the land because Buffalo State needs it to expand but then refuses to expand.
I APPLAUD HOYT AND HOPE THAT HE RUNS FOR MAYOR!
There is absolutely no reason why eastside streets like Broadway, Genessee, & Jefferson cannot have their own business districts simlar to Elmwood and Hertel.
There is no reason why there cannot be Eastside NHS and South Buffalo NHS!
Creating a citywide NHS is simply a way to rob funds, politicize its mission and remove the focus of its membership from the grass roots neighborhood and community volunteers that want to accomplish something in their community.
IT NEEDED A SAM HOYT TO STAND UP AND SHINE A LIGHT ON THE CORRUPTION POLLUTING GRASS ROOTS VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY GROUPS.
Did you know that city hall is over 50% empty? Did you know that the Department of Homeland Security - Immigration Services just signed onto 32,000 sqft at Fountain Plaza. Now if Brown were any kind of a mayor he would invest in upgrading city hall and filling it 100% with city, county, state and federal agencies so the taxpayer isnt paying for an empty building. BUT UNDER BROWN CITY HALL INTERIOR IS OUTDATED, THE FLOORS ARE UNWASHED AND STICKY, ITS FILLED WITH TRASH AND IT SMELLS FOUL!
BROWN MAY BE GREASING HIS POLITICAL MACHINE BUT HE IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE FAILED MAYORAL LEGACIES OF MASIELLO AND MAKOWSKI.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS IN A CITY RUN BY CITY UNIONS! THEY ACCOMPLISH NOTHING FOR THE CITY AND FOCUS EVERYTHING ON THEIR OWN POLITICAL AGENDAS WHILE THE CITY SUFFERS!
WHERE THIS GOES ... NO ONE KNOWS....BUT REMOVING THE FUNDING IS THE FIRST STEP. IF THE WESTSIDE NHS ISNT REFORMED THEN IT ANOTHER WILL BE CREATED WITH A DIFFERENT CHARTER AND THAT IS WHAT WILL RECEIVE FUTURE FUNDING WHILE THE OLD ORGANIZTION IS ABANDONED.
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Buffalo21stcentury
by the way....speaking of Buffalo State and dormatories....what exactly is happening with the Pearce Arrow Factory! It was last announced that it would be redeveloped into a dormatory for Buffalo State students with apartments and retail which would be a wonderful boost to the surrounding neighborhood. I wish somebody would do a follow up story on it!
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sonyactivision
@Colin, He pimped his ride so he could attract more young interns and assistants in Albany.
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Quark
I think this is a great move and that the only way to ensure that the West Side actually comes back is to fund good housing and advocacy groups like PUSH, and Heart of the City!! These groups actually go out there and talk to the community and see what the community wants in a housing organization. Thanks Sam for standing up and making the hard decisions that are necessary to create a better Buffalo!!!
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crisa
"NHS"/"Neighborhood Housing Services" is an incorporated title. NHSs are also organizations. In an Internet search, NHSs are USA-wide.
But in a search of: neighborhood housing services buffalo ny all that comes up for the first few pages are Buffalo, NY's west, Nwest and then the south sides!
If NHS's services are suppose to be citywide in Buffalo, NY, ya sure wouldn't know it trying to find it online! But NHS, as a corporation, IS suppose to incorporate ALL of the City of Buffalo, NY; not each section competing against each other for found dollars (or the illegal use of those dollars.)
It is necessary to search deeper to find that in rural areas, where the NHS Inc. and its orgs, apparently do not reach (or might not be welcome?--I remember when Belmont Shelters was exclusively sub or rural but not city- involved) there are incorporated REVITALIZATION services (in rural areas) and in the suburbs, it's all about PRESERVATION.
Cool stuff!!! I love the Internet!
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Assaroni
Mayor Brown and the City of Buffalo is like the UAW and Detroit Automakers...failed businesses. And the reason there is nothing on the eastside is becasue the only business district one could create there is for 40's and 9mm's
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davvid
Assaroni, you could put the Republican Party on your list of failures.
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