BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Neighbors hope investments are made in the Jefferson Avenue neighborhood but haven't seen any progress.
If you travel to the area near Tops on Jefferson Avenue, you will see vacant lots, boarded-up houses, and a shuttered business. Neighbors say their neighborhood has been neglected for too long and May 14 happened in part because of that neglect.
Shortly after the mass shooting, politicians and other leaders flooded the area with promises to invest in its future. Now nine months after May 14 there are no visible improvements.
They hope that changes soon in order to make their community stronger and safer.
The community is known as a food desert. There's one lone grocery store - the Tops on Jefferson Avenue.
Franchelle Parker is the Executive Director of Open Buffalo. She says she won't stop working until she sees real investment in the neighborhood.
"As a community, elected officials, corporations, or just regular community members, all of us coming to the table and developing solutions. It's a piece of that journey. Until we've done that, I don't feel like we're doing justice to the lives lost on May 14th," she explained.
Neighbors say they would like to see more restaurants, a Walmart, retail shops, community centers, and basketball courts in the area. They also hope the abandoned homes and buildings are refurbished.
