BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Queen City received the attention of the White House Tuesday afternoon.
Tom Perez, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, reviewed several infrastructure projects underway in Buffalo including transportation in the Theatre District and the divisive Kensington Expressway Project.
Perez also met with some of Buffalo's most influential people at The Exchange at Beverly Gray to discuss re-imagining Jefferson Avenue and the federal funding that might make it possible.
According to Mayor Brown's administration, this visit from the White House will bring:
- $25 million to Jefferson Avenue
- $15 million to Bailey Avenue for streetscapes
- $100 million to total the NFTA for streetscapes and equipment
"There needs to be an emphasis on the Black community. The Black community has been the most disenfranchised and has experienced the most harm, both from a social economic and spiritual aspect," said Citizens Alliance Economic Development Director Sydney Brown.
The Buffalo Urban League plans to relocate to Jefferson Avenue as part of this renaissance.
Buffalo Urban League CEO Thomas Beauford said, "Bring our 100+ employees directly into this community to add to the economic revitalization, using the services of local vendors and local businesses."
The goal is to build a stronger and a better Buffalo and the same goes for the Ellicot District and Masten District, which is now occupied by two trailblazing women.
Buffalo Common Council for Ellicott District and Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope said, "They're a very diverse community with different backgrounds, different needs but they all want the same things. We want our neighborhoods stabilized and this is part of it."
Resources after the mass shooting at Tops on Jefferson Avenue were crucial for Buffalo's East Side, one including the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
"Where were the resources for that community? It was really hard to pull all that together. There was no framework, there was no playbook. No one knew what to do and so that office was created to be a FEMA response to gun violence to mass shootings because of what happened so I live in gratefulness for that," Buffalo Common Council for Masten District Zeneta Everhart explained.
"May 14 was sort of a poke in the side to get us united, get us together, so that we can make Jefferson Avenue what it used to be," said Golden Cup Coffee Company President Larry Stitts.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE RELATED TO EAST BUFFALO REDEVELOPMENT:
