Tagged: Common council

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown says his $482.5 million budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 is slightly less than the current year while making some investments in city services.

The historic Trico Plant No. 1 on the edge of downtown Buffalo won't be designated a local landmark. The Common Council deadlocked in a 4-4 vote Tuesday.

The push is on to save a large piece of Buffalo's industrial heritage. Preservationists are urging city lawmakers to give the Trico building landmark status.

The full Common Council will vote on landmarking downtown Buffalo's Trico complex after coming out of committee without a recommendation.

Buffalo's array of food trucks received another year Tuesday as Common Council members approved new licenses and lower fees.

We should know by the end of the day what the future holds for food trucks that want to operate within city limits. The Buffalo Common Council is expected to vote on a 'Mobile Food Vendor Ordinance' during a special session Tuesday afternoon.

The fate of the Trico complex in downtown Buffalo is up to the Common Council after the city's Preservation Board voted Thursday to make it a local landmark.

The Hollywood movie 'Draft Day' starring actor Kevin Costner will be filmed in Cleveland, not Buffalo. Filmmakers made the decision based on the costs associated with shooting in Western New York.

Changes are being made to ensure that property owners in the City of Buffalo will be better informed about how their tax dollars are being spent.

The Buffalo Common Council's Legislation Committee on Tuesday approved requests for two new sidewalk cafes along Hertel Avenue. The committee also cleared the way for construction of a restaurant and apartment on Bailey Avenue. 

City lawmakers are taking steps to crack down on so-called "problem stores" in Buffalo.

Food dominated yesterday's Common Council Legislation Committee.

For all kinds of legal reasons, food and restaurants wind up before the Council.
That can include licenses or variances or many of the other myriad aspects of city government.

A major local developer wants to push a video store out of one Elmwood building and replace it with a Panera's; another store worries that a Panera's across the street will hurt business.
 

Governor Cuomo may be pushing hard for expansion work on the U-S end of the Peace Bridge, but the Common Council may not be ready to go along.

The current plan for bridge expansion calls for a much larger plaza on the Buffalo end.

The hope is that most Customs work will take place in Fort Erie before a truck gets on the bridge, easing the need for the far larger plaza Homeland Security wanted.

Working together, Albany and the Peace Bridge Authority plan to buy a segment of Busti Avenue to gain access to the now-closed Episcopal Church Home the state is buying.

Common Council Majority Leader Demone Smith is proposing job applications in the City of Buffalo eliminate any questions regarding criminal records.

The move reflects what many other cities have already undertaken in an effort to put qualified applicants before employers. The move would still allow these questions to be asked during interviews.

Smith's proposal would apply to city government posts, government vendors and many other jobs in the city.
 

Former Common Council member Brian Davis pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing $48,000 dollars in federal funds from the City of Buffalo. 

Davis  admitted the crime as part of a plea deal involving his cooperation with investigations at City Hall. 

"Today's developments mark one of the first times, in recent memory, that an elected official has been convicted of actually stealing money in his care," said U.S. Attorney William Hochul.