CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y.(WKBW) — Many residents showed up to the Town of Cheektowaga council meeting Tuesday to voice their concerns about the housing of asylum seekers.
Some of these residents want to ensure that the town’s zoning and building codes are being complied with Cheektowaga hotels that are housing asylum seekers.
“I’m not against immigrants of any sort coming here. I think we should provide temporary housing with asylum seekers,” says a Cheektowaga resident. “But they gotta do it with the context of our law and our state law.”
Some of the residents want to ensure that the town’s zoning and building codes are being complied with Cheektowaga hotels that are housing asylum seekers.
These locals say they want the council to take action to properly house them.
“The concerns are real and valid and now Cheektowaga bears the burden,” says a resident. “For months the community has been asking for a safety plan to which we have been met in silence and indifference.”
The supervisor of the code enforcement tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person his job is to inspect the living conditions where asylum seekers are being housed.
“I think it’s important to make sure people are safe and the residents and the tenants of the occupied hotel are in safe conditions,” Richard Coburn says.
Supervisor Diane Benczkowski responds to the issue.
“We want to make sure that the asylum seekers are in a safe environment,” she says. “We don’t know that.
Some of those safety concerns were brought to light last week after prosecutors say 26-year-old Jesus Guman-Bernudez of Venezuela raped a woman in front of a three-year-old child in the hotel they’re being housed in.
“It was a domestic incident. It didn’t involve anybody from the public,” says Cheektowaga Police. “It occurred in the room where both the people and the suspect were traveling together.”
Councilman Brian Nowak wasn’t able to speak to 7 News at the meeting but he did say this in a statement:
“While there may not have been a concern for the public safety of permanent Cheektowaga residents, any behavior of this sort, in our community, is unacceptable. No child should suffer the trauma of witnessing violent crime.”
Cheektowaga Police also say they’ve been receiving some complaints about asylum seekers sleeping on porches and front lawns.
“If you have anything suspicious or anything concerning to contact our dispatch so we can come and document it,” says police.
As for the resolution of the Cheektowaga hotels housing the asylum seekers, the code enforcement officer has until August 18th to report back to the council.
From there the council will vote on the resolution.
7 News also reached out to the state for comment on its plans to help asylum seekers integrate with the Western New York community; they have yet to respond.
