Tenants and community activists spoke before the Buffalo Common Council at its Community Development meeting Wednesday, claiming the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority has been violating the state’s Warranty of Habitability law and city officials need to intervene.
The City Hall session came a week after concerns of living conditions were raised at two BMHA meetings where board members were present.
Complaints ranged from mold and leaks in apartments to community safety concerns coupled with a lack of response from BMHA officials and maintenance workers. Several residents explained how dire living conditions were in their units.
"The other day, I made a comment about the [leaking] ceiling tiles that they keep coming to replace every four months, and I was told by a BMHA person, 'Oh, that's not water; that's mice urine,'" said Jasper Parrish Tenant Counsel President Dawn Trotter.
BMHA commissioner and tenant Robin Edwards also spoke, representing herself as a "disgruntled resident" while sharing details of biohazards filling her unit after her toilet backed up for the third time in January.
"I'm a sitting commissioner, so if they could treat me like this, how do you think they're treating you?" she said in an appeal to other tenants.
Common Councilmember Rasheed Wyatt, who represents the University District, said he’s hopeful talks will be progressive moving forward so the needs of tenants are finally met.
“We all have to come together," he said. "We all have to be pulling in the same direction, and I'm hopeful that they will see and understand the heart of these people and be respectful and civil in how we respond going forward.”
Some residents also criticized city officials for failing to address the complaints of public housing tenants. Wyatt explained the city government does not have much jurisdiction on BMHA matters, as the authority is governed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, not the City of Buffalo.
"Some of it may be on us, but a lot of it is not on us. A lot of it is on HUD and how their guidelines work," he said.
BMHA Board of Commissioners chair Yvonne McCray and general counsel Roslyn McLin appeared on behalf of the board. McCray said she looks forward to collaborating with city officials and residents to work toward solutions tenants can see.
"I don't like to hear, and the board members don't like to hear, that residents feel disrespected," McCray said. "We will do better and we have to do better."
Some Common Councilmembers also addressed concerns about the housing authority's leadership.
"If you're not strong enough to get rid of people, then that's something we need to advise in the administration about making some larger changes in the structure of the board," said Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope.
Wyatt said he believes BMHA executive director Gillian Brown has been "ineffective" in his commitment to engaging with the residents and communities the authority serves.
"If you're not going to be hands on, and if you just want to be political or be the dictator, then you need to find something else to do because this is an engagement that is critical," Wyatt said.
Members of the Buffalo Common Council and of the BMHA Board of Commissioners agreed to hold discussions about the conditions of tenant units, the handling of work orders and the competency of the housing authority’s leadership. That meeting is expected sometime in April.
