BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Residents who live near a vacant home on Buffalo's West Side say people are overdosing there. They said it took days for one body to be found.
A red, boarded up home on Arkansas Street is a cause for concern for a lot of people who live in the neighborhood.
"It doesn't make sense to me that it's so easy for this to happen," one resident said.
Out of precaution, they asked 7 News not to show their faces on camera or use their names.
The two neighbors said this home has been vacant for awhile, but people are still finding a way in. One said the home has been a problem since 2021 where a lot of substance abuse happens.
They said on September 13th, a maintenance worker went inside the home and found a man lying naked and unresponsive.
"The police came, spoke on their loud speaker demanding the man leave the house, but he didn't because he was unresponsive, and they left," one neighbor said.
This neighbor explained that police said they would come back, but claims they never did. Then on September 21st, days later, police showed up again after a neighbor called 911 about an odor coming from the home.
"The police just let that man rot in that house for over a week. I’m disgusted. I have no other words," a neighbor said.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said the man likely died from an overdose, but he added police did not know a body was inside when they visited on the 13th. He told 7 News' Kristen Mirand he believes his officers would never leave a dead body in a home.
Gramaglia said his officers frequently patrol this home as it has a history with the Buffalo Police Department. From July 1 until September 29th, this year, Gramaglia said they have been to the Arkansas Street home 86 times for patrolling and other calls for service including trespassing.
Gramaglia said BPD ordered for the home to be boarded up again on Friday, and officers continued to patrol the neighborhood.
On Monday, September 26th, a similar situation unfolded at the same home.
"And then I saw firetrucks come and ambulances come and I was like, 'Okay, it's another overdose,'" one of the neighbors said.
According to Gramaglia, it is believed another person overdosed in the same home. He said they are awaiting a toxicology report, which can take awhile. He said this is a sad continuation of the opioid epidemic in Western New York.
According to the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office In 2022, there were 145 confirmed opioid related deaths through 9/22/2022. 98 suspected opioid related deaths through 9/22/2022 are pending toxicology reports. In 2021, there were 286. In 2020, there were 246.
The two neighbors near this home now want this vacant property taken care of once and for all.
"Whatever they can say just to get us to take it and be like 'okay that's good enough,' you know? But nothing's happening. It's just getting worse," one neighbor said.
7 News' Kristen Mirand contacted Councilman David Rivera about these concerns in his district.
"I was angry before this incident even more angry now since the incident," Rivera said.
He said his office is familiar with this home as it has put in multiple complaints and 311 requests regarding the condition of the property.
"I sympathize with the residents. They have gone through this process and unfortunately sometimes we go through this many times and it don’t necessarily end up like this but it takes for a long time to get remedied," Rivera added.
In the meantime Rivera said he will continue to do what he has been doing.
"Unless we get a court order, unless the judge find’s somebody and hold them accountable, our hands are tied," he added.
Rivera said he did expedite a long-standing housing court case involving the Arkansas St. home from November to early October.
The neighbors, on the other hand, feel this still is not enough.
"We want collaboration. We want communities built together and voices heard. We want power to the voices," a neighbor said.
One neighbor pointed to this being a bigger, systemic issue in the city of Buffalo.
"We and our neighbors have been failed. The people struggling with substance abuse have been failed because the city would rather, you know, focus on this Buffalo renaissance and building up Niagara Street, Elmwood Village, Allentown without addressing the issues of the residents they’re pushing out," a neighbor added.
The neighbors told 7 News' Kristen Mirand they have put in several 311 complaints about this home and called the non-emergency BPD line, but they feel both services did not handle their complaints properly.
They hope change can start now and the issues at this Arkansas home can be addressed immediately.
"The main issue is that there’s these deeply rooted issues that can’t be addressed, can’t be solved, but we can start addressing it," a neighbor expressed.
