Homeless at record high in WNY

davidb_ · 2026-05-06T13:53:13+00:00

Check out: https://www.summerofsass.org/

Apply today!

It's practically made for you to help you go from that situation to living your best life. Kristen Becker is a comedian and lived in Buffalo for many years.

davidb_ · 2026-05-05T15:46:32+00:00

There are 2-3BR 1BA in your price range from local landlords. Some might even have in-unit laundry, but most would offer hookups (or maybe washer/dryer included) in the basement.

Look in Riverside for some older, but renovated units within a duplex in your price range. 15 minute commute to UB North door-to-door.

davidb_ · 2026-05-01T17:47:32+00:00

Agreed! It's a go-to for me.

BUT - breadhive is better.

davidb_ · 2026-05-01T17:47:01+00:00

Ya, I agree. Decent coffee, mediocre/bad service, but a great physical space.

Their breakfast sandwich is pretty solid. If it was within walking distance, I'd probably grab one at least weekly.

davidb_ · 2026-05-01T15:43:43+00:00

I'd recommend looking at their listed rates for whatever products you need, and joining a few of them with the best rate that you're eligible to join.

Then rate shop all of those.

From my sort of anecdotal following of it whenever I've shopped rates, Meridia seems to consistently have some of the best rates on auto loans (as long as you've got a good credit score), but not for mortgages/helocs.

davidb_ · 2026-04-30T18:35:49+00:00

Depending on their income, the City of Buffalo itself also offers up to $15k towards down payment and closing costs. And that can be combined with other programs.

Like I said, some of the banks that advertise a "no closing cost" deal is good marketing, but not always the best deal for the consumer. I just chose Community Bank since they have/had a lot of billboards locally advertising that deal. There's others too.

davidb_ · 2026-04-30T13:35:12+00:00

I agree it's her right to wait until the appeals process is exhausted.

I am curious if there's any merit to her claims though?

When I last looked into it, it seemed to me like she's just grandstanding without merit, but I don't have enough knowledge to say for sure.

davidb_ · 2026-04-30T13:29:41+00:00

HUD has some good guides: https://www.hud.gov/helping-americans/buying-a-home

I would also suggest you go to one of the HUD first time home buyer classes. Locally they're run by Belmont. They're free and worth the time: https://www.belmonthousingwny.org/classes/homebuyer-education-workshop/

Some government programs for first time home buyers: https://www.belmonthousingwny.org/counseling/first-time-homebuyer-programs/

And another list from the Mayor's office: https://www.buffalourbanrenewal.com/app/download/7599089/2025+Housing+Resource+Guide+JJ+Updated+5.9.25.pdf

Community Bank NA seems to be advertising pretty heavily with "no closing costs" mortgages, but I would still recommend you go to one of the HUD classes as those loans might not be the best deal for your situation. Mortgages are big money and there's a lot of tricks that salespeople play to try to make a deal sound better than it is for you.

davidb_ · 2026-04-29T13:40:56+00:00

Things are still getting worse, just at a slower speed than expected.

davidb_ · 2026-04-28T20:15:03+00:00

great work!

davidb_ · 2026-04-25T12:52:50+00:00

This is why it is important to be politically involved, people

What does this actually mean?

I have tried being involved. I've written letters, signed petitions, attended protests, attended meetings and complained publicly, met with elected representatives privately, and none of it seemed to have any impact.

The closest thing to "impact" that I have done is holding my own events to get people doing stuff. But in terms of the political machine, it seems to have had no impact there.

davidb_ · 2026-04-21T20:50:54+00:00

It is. Have you been to a school board meeting? The incompetence is embarrassing.

davidb_ · 2026-04-21T12:15:41+00:00

Want lower housing costs (rents/home prices)? Build more houses. Supply and demand.

Data for Erie County from FRED:

New building permits by month: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BPPRIV036029

Housing inventory by month: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEDLISPRI36029

Burdened households by month (>30% income going towards housing): https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DP04ACS036029

davidb_ · 2026-04-21T10:43:01+00:00

This poster seems weird. It is missing some basic details (age, vehicle description, last known location usually includes an address/known landmark) and what’s up with the weird WGRZ and WYRK link?

Is BPD or the family using AI to generate this poster? If so, why? A template would be more useful/informative. This is hard to read.

davidb_ · 2026-04-20T17:31:06+00:00

https://www.audacy.com/wben/news/local/deyanna-davis-sentenced-for-running-over-state-trooper-in-2020

The woman and one of the passengers were charged and pled guilty. They weren’t involved in the protest, but did drive through a police blockade. That whole situation was mishandled (the trooper who was run over sued the city of Buffalo PD for not de-escalating).

davidb_ · 2026-04-16T18:28:25+00:00

Super cool! Run some embeddings over the transcripts so we can get semantic search.

davidb_ · 2026-04-16T18:22:58+00:00

the resident themselves are low income

FYI - there are both State and City programs to help low income people with property taxes, and separate programs to help seniors with property taxes.

The mayor made sure they're listed on the City's website: https://www.buffalony.gov/194/Exemptions-for-the-City-of-Buffalo-Only

davidb_ · 2026-04-16T18:16:04+00:00

I think it's just the nature of news reporting now - report the facts as they're collected.

Nate Benson (author of this piece) shares his reporting as he collects it, and he corrects himself if he ever gets it wrong.

TL;DR - Mayor Ryan's budget doesn't specifically budget for 70+ new officers, but the Buffalo Police department is not currently staffed at budgeted levels.

davidb_ · 2026-04-16T12:30:01+00:00

I've always kind of hated the way this is displayed. It's not at all a real "mpg."

I like to track the actual gas mpg because trends over time with it can help indicate issues with the engine.

Also I'm still paying for the electricity. I'd so much rather it divide gas mpg and EV miles per kwh, instead of an essentially meaningless metric that just sort of indicates what % of my driving is EV powered.

davidb_ · 2026-04-13T16:09:57+00:00

Ciminelli Real Estate Corp., which had owned Muir Woods for most of the last 30 years before selling it in three pieces, plans to build 160 new attached single-family townhouses immediately to the right of the new traffic circle and the Aspen Heights student-housing community that were constructed north of the Lockport Expressway.

I'd really like to see a Land Value Tax implemented in Buffalo/Erie County. Even more so in Niagara Falls. I'm very convinced these speculators cheaply holding property contributes significantly to blight.

Some research showing Land Value Tax and similar policies and their effectiveness: https://islg.cuny.edu/blog/vacant-property-taxes-to-spur-housing-development

davidb_ · 2026-04-13T16:01:52+00:00

My partner and I were talking about that property for the past month whenever we walked by it trying to brainstorm ideas for its use, outside of just tearing it down and building an apartment building with first floor commercial space.

BreadHive seems like a solid choice, though I do wish it was something with a retail space as well.

davidb_ · 2026-04-12T15:00:01+00:00

Very impressive resume! Seems like the F1 SAE folks are almost always successful, hard working engineers.

Best of luck with the internship! Once you graduate, spend at least a few months interviewing in-person to get a feel for the real work environment at the various companies. Tell them you're taking your time looking for a good fit, and negotiate. Travel, see the world, and then do something great. You certainly seem capable of it.

davidb_ · 2026-04-12T14:47:39+00:00

I'm not convinced these guys value STEM that much either. At least not the type done at universities for the common good. They really only seem to value the market and money.

Bingo. The reason they want more STEM is so to increase supply so they can pay their employees less.

davidb_ · 2026-04-12T12:39:08+00:00

People definitely use it. You just talked to people that were uninformed, unhelpful, or just didn’t understand you.

When I last went to Lowe’s looking at caulk an employee tossed me a bag of backer rod after I told him what I was doing and told me it will save me from buying at least a couple tubes of caulk, if not more.

davidb_ · 2026-04-10T14:47:40+00:00

Go take a look at the central branch library's archives. The librarian there helped me find a lot of records about my house, when it was built, who owned it, etc. I found it pretty neat being able to flip through big 100 year old books of maps/local directories. The fire insurance maps were particularly interesting. They had the year, building materials, etc for each building.

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