Our vision, our work
Our Vision for Our City is so much more than a set of policies and budget items. Our Vision is our north star--the points we look up and forwards to make sure we are traveling in the right direction. At Our City Buffalo, Our Vision anchors our work in the community and keeps us focused on what matters most; the people of our city.
Buffalo has a housing crisis. In our city, everyone is at home
Our Current Reality:
According to our partners at Partnership for the Public Good, half of the city’s renters are paying unaffordable housing costs, and roughly one third are paying over 50 percent of their income for their housing. We are the sixth most segregated city in the country, and we have the second highest eviction rate in the state. That not enough? Big developers in Buffalo have gotten millions and millions of dollars of tax breaks and other incentives, while renters and low-income homeowners are left holding the bag.
Our Vision:
In Our City, housing is a human right. Here all of our neighbors have roofs over their heads every night of the week, whether they have been in Buffalo for generations or just a few days. In our city, our homes are cared for, our blocks are safe and our neighbors have what they need not just to survive, but to thrive. In our city, we are all at home.
Our community partner: PUSH Buffalo
www.pushbuffalo.org
Metro ain’t taking us where we want to go. in our city, noone is left behind
Our Current Reality:
If you use public transportation in Buffalo, you know how difficult and sometimes dangerous it can be to get around our City. From unshoveled bus stops causing falls and accidents, limited routes, stops and times for buses and trains and the lack of democratic decision making in the agency from riders themselves, transportation in Buffalo isn’t getting us where we want to go. We deserve better!
Our vision:
In our city, everyone has equal access to quality, reliable and robust public transportation. Here everyone can get to where they need to go with dignity and safety every step of the way. In our city, no one is left behind.
Our community partner: Coalition for Economic Justice
https://www.cejbuffalo.org/
City of Good Neighbors for who? In our City, we are all welcome
Our Current Reality:
When you call 911 for help, did you know that your information might be shared with ICE and Border Patrol? According to our partners at Justice for Migrant Families, the Buffalo Police Department has an active collaboration agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol. Immigrants and refugees are over-policed and under-resourced in this City, making us ask the question; city of good neighbors, for who?
Our Vision:
In Our City, all of our neighbors are welcome to work, play and pray without fear. Our blocks are filled with the sounds of languages from around the globe, with the scents of home cooked food and with a feeling of belonging for all of us. In our city, all are welcome.
Our community partner: Justice for Migrant Families
www.justiceformigrantfamilies.org
Buffalo left us in the cold. in our city, we take care of each other
Our Current Reality:
In 2024, more than half of Buffalonians live within one mile of a hazardous waste site. Exposure to hazardous chemicals in our air, water and soil have been proven to be linked to increased cases of cancer, autoimmune, respiratory and other diseases. Buffalo is a hotspot for lead poisoning and asthma, especially in low income communities and communities of color in the City. Right now, your zip code can dictate your opportunities to live a healthy life.
It is clear now more than ever before that our communities need to prepare for stronger and more frequent storms. After the deadly blizzard of 2022, Buffalonians are demanding that our elected officials fund our safety and security, no matter who we are or which neighborhood we live in.
Our Vision:
In Our City, we all have safe water to drink, soil to plant in and air to breathe. Here our safety, dignity and joy matter more than anyone else’s profit; our health and happiness are how we measure success. In our city, we make space for those fleeing catastrophe, we prepare to care for each other during storms and we don’t settle for “clean enough”. In our city, we care for us all.
Our community partner: PUSH Buffalo
www.pushbuffalo.org
Buffalo is failing our youth. in our city, we invest in our future
Our Current Reality:
Over the past 15 years, the city’s funding to BPS has increased by only $500,000. To keep pace with inflation, it would need to have increased by around $25 million. Put another way: BPS receives an average of 16.4% of the city’s budget, while police are allocated an average 20.4% of the city’s budget (calculated from COB’s budget: 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023). This year the city paid the police $19.7 more than BPS. At the same time, there were over 7,700 out-of-school suspensions — over 1,400 of those were for six days or more. Poor and working class students are almost 3x as likely to be suspended than their middle class peers. We have to ask the question--what is the education of our future leaders really worth to City leaders?
Our Vision:
In Our City, our children’s education is everyone’s responsibility. Our schools are more than just classrooms and desks, they are the hearts of our neighborhoods. In our city, every child receives an education that sparks their curiosities, honors their differences and prepares them to thrive in their communities. In our city, our children are our purpose.
The Buffalo arts “renaissan-ce” is only for the few . In our city, the arts thrive
Our Current Reality:
There are brilliant, talented artists throughout the City of Buffalo, though you wouldn’t know that's the case by looking at the City’s funding priorities. In 2022, 63% of funding for arts organizations in Buffalo went to only 5 organizations, 4 of them are west of Main Street. That means that our artists who don’t live or work in the main arts hub on Elmwood or the Theatre District aren’t getting the funding they need to fund the work that enriches all of our lives.
Our vision:
In Our City, arts and culture are the foundation of our communities. Here, artists' work, time and talents are respected, uplifted and resourced as a vital part of what makes our city shine. Art isn’t a luxury for a few, it is a right for all of us. In Our City, the arts thrive.
Our community partner: Frontline Arts Buffalo
https://www.frontlineartsbuffalo.org/
Protect and serve who? In our city, community safety means belonging
Our Current Reality:
In the City of Buffalo, how safe and served you feel by the police depends on your race and income. Drivers who live in majority-black neighborhoods in Buffalo were eight times more likely to receive multiple traffic tickets on a single stop than those living in majority-white neighborhoods, and four times more likely to have their license suspended for not paying tickets. Black residents account for 52% of all misdemeanor arrests in Buffalo, 40.7% all low level drug arrests but are only 37% of Buffalo population. Despite receiving more and more money each year (calculated from COB’s budget: 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023), the Buffalo Police refuse to invest in grassroots solutions and restorative justice.
Our vision:
In Our City, the people keep each other safe. Here we deal with conflict and harm with a spirit of restoration and transformation, not punishment and fear. We work together to meet everyone's needs without judgment or reservation. We invest in solutions that get to the core of inequality to lift all of us up. In our city, community safety means belonging.
Budgets are moral documents, and Buffalo’s is just wrong . In our city, we fund the peoples’ priorities
Our Current Reality:
Potholes, closed pools, uprooted trees, unplowed streets, warming centers losing power, broken fire trucks…the list of rundown, unfunded infrastructure in Buffalo goes on and on. Yet, despite the deadly consequences of shoddy infrastructure, City leaders refuse to raise revenue and invest our own tax dollars in our quality of life. Instead, according to our friends at Investigative Post, “in 2021, the city collected less in taxes than it did 15 years earlier” and yet “costs increased at twice the rate of inflation in that period”. The City makes up this gap by continuously going into debt and borrowing against the Buffalo Public Schools fund. Despite cries by community for changes, the City stays firm in their immoral budgetary plans and we all suffer for it.
Our Vision:
In Our City, we know that our budget is a moral document. We fund what matters most; making sure every Buffalonian has what they need to thrive. Here, we let the people decide how our money should be spent through participation, democracy and good planning. In our city, we fund freedom.
