Community works to dispel negative image

By Brian Alexander and Jennifer Waters
BengalNews Reporters

Forbes Magazine recently rated Buffalo as the 10th  most dangerous city in the nation.
Michele Graves, the community program associate for the Center for Health and Social Research at Buffalo State College, said several public and community organizations are working with certain neighborhoods that tend to be viewed as crime-ridden areas, such as the West Side, to improve the community’s well-being.

According to crimereports.com, there were 24 assaults, 46 thefts, 27 burglaries, one multiple case involving assault and 14 multiple cases involving theft on the West Side from Oct. 1 to Oct. 30.

Murals, like this one by the West Side Youth Development Coalition, help stop graffiti

Sean Mulligan, legislative aid to Buffalo Common Councilmember David Rivera, said the Niagara district is working with the Buffalo Police Department and the Commission of Citizen Services to implement a block-by-block approach to addressing criminal behavior in the neighborhood.

Beginning in 2008, Mulligan said the groups have been focusing on different sections of the West Side, starting with Richmond Avenue and working west street-by-street.

“We’re trying to focus in on problem areas and putting in a number of resources to see that those areas improve,” he said.

Mulligan said the number one criminal issue on the West Side is drug dealing.

Some of the strategies Mulligan said they are looking at to combat this problem include more strictly enforcing property code and cleaning up run-down neighborhoods to improve community morale.

In addition to the city’s efforts, many community groups are involved in preventing crime by promoting constructive social behaviors. The West Side Youth Development Coalition is one such group.

Graves, who is involved with the coalition, said the coalition has been working on a social norms piece by distributing posters with four messages about parenting, which have been developed over the past year, stating that social norms need to be enforced for their children.

“This is all to remind parents that you have responsibilities that start at home,” Graves said.

She said most parents feel they can rely entirely on the schools to provide these tools for kids, along with messages about guns and drugs.

National Night Out, which is always held the first Tuesday in August, was a daytime event held at the West Side Community Center where roughly 100 kids spend their summer days.

“We’re trying to give kids healthy alternatives to hanging out on corners. Simple things like relay races, balloon races, jump rope, and eating healthy foods, all interspersed with crime prevention and safety tips,” Graves said.

Graves said she credits part of the negative thoughts toward the West Side to the media.

“I think that when things happen and it’s reported in the media, all of a sudden people say ‘That’s not a safe area,’” Graves said.

When talking about the geographic area of the West Side, Graves said there are too many different neighborhoods to take into consideration, including transitional and wealthy neighborhoods.

She said she feels that if all people hear and see reported in the media is the West Side in reference to a crime, people ignore the fact that the same crimes are happening in areas like Amherst and Orchard Park.

“You just don’t see it because they don’t report it the way we do,” she said. “Also, municipal police departments, suburban ones, tend to be a little more insular about what happens.”

She also said she feels that crime stories are more widely reported in the city, particularly on the West Side, drawing more negative attention.

Graves said supervised activities like sidewalk chalk drawings and other art projects for kids will provide outlets for any potential negative activities.

“Sort of the other end of it, the positive end of that, would be alternatives. Making beautiful murals like they’ve put along the walkway on Scajaquada Creek and one planned on the West Side on the side of a business,” she said.

Mulligan said getting people involved would instill a sense of pride and responsibility, which will help residents look out for one another.

“The more people are out, watching things, the less likely criminal activity will occur because there are more eyes out acting as a neighborhood watch. I think that’s really the best way to decrease criminal activity and increase the perceptions of the community,” he said.   Edited by Crissie Russo