Buffalo council honors neighborhood volunteers, refers dozens of items to committees

BUFFALO — The Buffalo City Council recognized neighborhood volunteers and educators and moved dozens of routine agenda items to committee during a meeting that also flagged concerns about upcoming property auctions.

Council President Ferra Leto presided as members opened with the pledge and an invocation. The council paused for condolences and approved the minutes from March 31 on a motion by Majority Leader Haughton Pope, which was seconded and adopted by the body.

The chamber then turned to a series of special presentations. Council members honored longtime community organizers Maryann Kedron and Margaret Shipaniak for neighborhood leadership, presented an Earth Month award to Stan Swisher for more than five decades of stewardship of Buffalo's waterfront and Erie Basin Marina, and recognized educators including Mora Connors for work with autistic students. "If you want to make your world a better place, you have to step up and do it too," Stan Swisher said after receiving recognition.

Council members also used the meeting to acknowledge dozens of University District block-club leaders and neighborhood volunteers, among them Reggie Griggs and Rosalyn Righetti. "I'm here today because of my mom," Rosalyn Righetti said, accepting an award and describing decades of community organizing.

On the business agenda the council moved a broad set of items: appointments, planning-board findings, special-use permits, license approvals and contract change orders were either approved, referred to appropriate committees or placed on file. Examples included motions to send items to civil service, legislation, finance and community development; a motion was made early in the meeting to take items 61 and 62 out of order and act on them.

A notable policy concern came from Council member Ryan, who said about 6,000 parcels may be slated for city auction and urged the administration to seek legal pathways to prioritize longtime neighborhood residents and disincentivize speculative bidding. "There are many in my neighborhood that could not afford to pay $180,000 for some property," Ryan said, urging the city to examine options that would keep homes affordable for local residents.

Several items of public interest were scheduled or announced: a Department of Transportation community meeting on April 16 at Canisius University regarding project '33, a University District cleanup on April 22, and a district session on the city budget. The council set committee referrals and next steps for several agenda items and adjourned after the regular business.

Votes at a glance - Approval of March 31 minutes: adopted (motion by Majority Leader Haughton Pope; seconded by Council Member Nowakowski). - Items moved to civil service: items 1–3 and other personnel/appointments (motion to send; seconded). - Land-use and planning referrals: multiple special-use permits and planning-board findings (moved to legislation/city planning board). - Licensing actions: several food-store and property-manager licenses approved with conditions or denied per the clerk's report. - Budget items: capital budget amendment and personnel amendment sent to finance for further consideration.

What’s next The council sent multiple items to standing committees for review; several committee meetings and community events were announced for mid- to late April. Council members said staff will follow up with stakeholders on nonfunctional streetlights, planning-board referrals and the list of auction parcels raised during announcements.

(Reporting by the Buffalo City Council meeting clerk and council members; quotes and motions taken from the meeting record.)