RIGHT 2 THE CITY Blog

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2021 Election: Brown, Walton paint opposing pictures of housing in Buffalo

By Jonathan D. Epstein

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

The two leading candidates for Buffalo’s mayor are painting very different pictures of housing development in the state’s second-largest city.

Mayor Byron Brown sees a city on the rise, driven by adaptive reuse and new construction that has drawn new residents to Buffalo.

His opponent, Democratic nominee India Walton, sees an aging city mired in failed policies of the past, and challenged by an inability – or unwillingness – to meet the housing needs of its poor and minority populations.

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Buffalo agency raided by FBI awarded $20 million in grants to Brown campaign donors

By Charlie Specht & Dan Herbeck

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

A Buffalo City Hall agency that was raided two years ago by federal agents has given $20 million in funds over the past eight years to contributors to Mayor Byron W. Brown’s campaign.

It has also sold property or awarded exclusive development rights to campaign contributors without public bidding, though the Brown administration says campaign cash has nothing to do with getting city contracts.

The Buffalo News analyzed eight years of spending by the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, at whose offices the FBI executed a search warrant in 2019. The agency doles out millions of dollars in anti-poverty money and economic development funds the city receives from the federal government each year.

This Louisville neighborhood has landed $20M to boost homeownership and business

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This Louisville neighborhood has landed $20M to boost homeownership and business

By Lucas Aulbach

Read the full article from Courier Journal, here.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, city officials and others celebrated the massive investment, part of a $200 million initiative from the bank and Enterprise Community Partners to support growth in nine neighborhoods across the country. Russell, Mayor Greg Fischer told the crowd, has a lot to gain from the funding after decades of neglect.

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Meet India Walton: Black Socialist on Democratic Ticket for Buffalo Mayor Snubbed by NY Dem Party

By Amy Goodman & Juan González

Read the full article from Democracy Now!, here.

As early voting kicks off Saturday in a nationally watched mayoral race in Buffalo, New York, we speak with India Walton, who shocked the Democratic establishment when she defeated four-term Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic primary. Since then, the self-described socialist has faced stiff opposition from within her party, with many top Democrats in the state, including Governor Kathy Hochul and Senator Chuck Schumer, refusing to endorse her. State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs even compared Walton to former KKK leader David Duke in an interview, for which he later apologized. Walton is a Black single mother, a registered nurse and longtime community activist. If elected on November 2, she will be the first mayor of a major American city in decades who identifies as a socialist. Walton says she is “hyper-focused” on her campaign and does not want to take part in the vitriol of her opponents. “I am running for mayor of Buffalo as an expression of love,” Walton adds.

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Black Covid patients receive fewer medical follow-ups, study shows

By Kynala Phillips

Read the full article from NBC News, here.

Black Covid patients are less likely to receive medical follow-ups after being hospitalized and more likely to experience longer waits until they can return to work, according to a University of Michigan study published Tuesday.

The study surveyed the health outcomes of 2,217 Covid patients in Michigan 60 days after hospitalization. The results found that more than 50 percent of patients of color were readmitted to the hospital within 60 days after being released. Patients of color were also more than 65 percent more likely to experience moderate to severe financial impact because of Covid-19.

Black patients, in particular, experienced challenges returning to the workplace after recovering from Covid. On average, it took Black patients 35.5 days to return to work, the longest delay of any racial group. Black adults were also less likely to be offered workplace accommodations when they returned to work in comparison to other racial groups, according to Dr. Sheria G. Robinson-Lane, a gerontologist and the lead researcher.

Selected Media

Black Covid patients receive fewer medical follow-ups, study shows

By Kynala Phillips

Read the full article from NBC News, here.

Black Covid patients are less likely to receive medical follow-ups after being hospitalized and more likely to experience longer waits until they can return to work, according to a University of Michigan study published Tuesday.

The study surveyed the health outcomes of 2,217 Covid patients in Michigan 60 days after hospitalization. The results found that more than 50 percent of patients of color were readmitted to the hospital within 60 days after being released. Patients of color were also more than 65 percent more likely to experience moderate to severe financial impact because of Covid-19.

Black patients, in particular, experienced challenges returning to the workplace after recovering from Covid. On average, it took Black patients 35.5 days to return to work, the longest delay of any racial group. Black adults were also less likely to be offered workplace accommodations when they returned to work in comparison to other racial groups, according to Dr. Sheria G. Robinson-Lane, a gerontologist and the lead researcher.

White House officials, anticipating vaccines soon for those 5 to 11, will rely on doctors, clinics and pharmacies

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White House officials, anticipating vaccines soon for those 5 to 11, will rely on doctors, clinics and pharmacies

By Katie Rogers

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

Biden administration officials, anticipating that regulators will make the vaccines available to 5- to 11-year-olds in the coming weeks, are laying out plans to ensure that some 25,000 pediatric or primary care offices, thousands of pharmacies, and hundreds of school and rural health clinics will be ready to administer shots if the vaccine receives federal authorization.

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Ocasio-Cortez to stump for Walton in Buffalo; Hochul remains on sidelines

By Robert J. McCarthy & Tom Precious

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

The hot contest for mayor of Buffalo is suddenly dominating New York’s political agenda as one of the state’s top figures plunges into the race and another clings to the sidelines.

The Buffalo News learned Tuesday that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Bronx will campaign in Buffalo on Saturday for a like-minded progressive, Democratic nominee India B. Walton, who is challenging four-term incumbent Byron W. Brown. At the same time, Gov. Kathy Hochul is making headlines by sitting out the race and expressing no preference for mayor of her hometown.

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