BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — All eyes are on South Buffalo as South District Council member Chris Scanlon will soon become acting mayor.
Anna Hartog is co-owner of Park Edge Sweet Shoppe on Abbott Road.
"My sister and I grew up in South Buffalo, actually playing business on the corner streets and stuff like that, selling random trinkets...And for us to be able to continue that tradition in South Buffalo, this will be our 14th year. So to be able to do that for 14 years has been a blessing for us," Hartog said. "Chris is such an advocate for small businesses. He spearheaded so many small business initiatives that we never had before he stepped into office."
Mayor Byron Brown announced Monday he's leaving office and will become the next president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting.
Brown said he will be resigning his position as mayor "in the coming weeks," because there are "still a number of things" he has to address at City Hall. He has no firm start date for his job at OTB. You can watch our previous report below and read more here.
"I barely remember any other mayor, honestly, from I've grown up with him my whole life, and, you know, very thankful for everything he's done, but we're really excited for the change," Hartog said.
Miguel Rodriguez was born and raised in South Buffalo and owns a barber shop on Abbott Road.
"South Buffalo is its own community for sure. We all look out for each other for one everybody knows everybody and if you didn't know somebody, somebody knows somebody who knows somebody," Rodriguez said.
He's looking forward to a new chapter for all of Buffalo.
"It's gonna be amazing and everyone's excited for it," Rodriguez said. "He's just a South Buffalo guy he cares about South Buffalo and he'll care— he'll really take care of the city the way it needs to be taken care of."
Once Scanlon steps into this new role he will be taking on a budget of more than $600 million.
"He knows the next budget is not going to be an easy one," Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. "We know there are some financial difficulties facing the City of Buffalo I believe Chris Scanlon in his role as acting mayor is ready to take action from what he's told me. He said he thinks he can save taxpayer dollars by reducing expenses."
Scanlon will also be overseeing more than 3,000 employees including department heads.
"He's a big proponent of public safety. He's worked with us hand in hand since myself and my team came on board in 2018 he's helped us basically in every avenue that you can think of," Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo said.
Although we weren't given any specific date, Brown says he will leave office in the next few weeks.
