Based on recent reports, Erie County Legislator Gregory
B. Olma's alleged waste of taxpayer money through his
East Buffalo Ownership Project (EBCOP), a group of ac-
tivists have begun a petition drive to have EBCOP investi-
gated.
Over 100 Fillmore District residents have signed a peti-
tion calling upon the City Council to launch a full scale
investigation into where almost one million dollars of
taxpayer's money, under Olma's direction, went.
"The only assets EBCOP has are 10 ramshackle proper-
ties worth about $60,000, total. Where is the other
$900,000?" asked Ricky Donovan, an at-large candidate
for Buffalo Common Council, and one of the leaders of a
coalition of activists looking to find an answer to where the
EBCOP money went.
Olma has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Olma
founded EBCOP in 1988 he said, to establish home owner-
ship in the Fillmore District. Twelve years and nearly one
million dollars later, Erie County assessment records show
that not one new home owner has been established.
Tax records show that the only sale EBCOP ever made
was that of a vacant lot for $1,200. According to news
reports, a home purchased from M&T Bank had to be de-
molished at taxpayer's expense and the lot was sold at a
considerable loss, to the neighbor.
Allegations have also surfaced recently that Olma has
used the program and its taxpayer's dollars to provide jobs
for people who help him in his re-election campaigns.
Many of the other EBCOP homes have remained vacant
and boarded up for at least six years. So what has EBCOP
been doing? "Nothing," said Steve Godzisz, a candidate
for the Fillmore scat longtime Olma ally Dave Franczyk is
vacating. "EBCOP people just collect salaries and play
politics," Godzisz said.
Council President James Pitts' assessment of EBCOP,
while not as harsh as Godzisz s, tends to lend credence to
his theory. "The real story is that EBCOP is a patronage
haven," said Pitts.
When questioned why almost no one in the community
has ever heard of EBCOP, Pitts responded that this
was further proof of EBCOP's insincerity in establish-
ing home ownership in the community. "They are sup-
posed to reach out to other housing not-for-profit agen-
cies ana to the community at large. They have failed
to do it."
Olma says he recently left the EBCOP board and there-
fore has no further connection to the troubled program.
Some are calling this a pre-election attempt, to distance him-
self from the burgeoning scandal surrounding his failed
housing project.
"How can he say he is not involved anymore," said local
attorney David Dale, who has been active in exposing
EBCOP's "shortcomings". "He started the thing and now
he is leaving the taxpayers with the mess."
A recent housing study commissioned by the City of
Buffalo agrees that it is indeed a mess. The study con-
cludes that EBCOP lias performed very poorly, that there
are conflicts of interests and that money is not accounted
for. Now actvitists want to know specifically just what
happened.
In a petition planned to be filed this week at City Hall,
and signed by communtiy activists such as Damell Jack-
son, Josephine Golata, Dan Jakobowski, Fillmore Council
candidate Steve Godzisz and about 100 others, it asks:
"Why the program's been allowed to continue being funded
for 12 years without establishing a single home owner?";
"How much in taxpayer funds has been allocated?"; and
"Have any employees of EBCOP assisted in the election
campaigns of EBCOP founder and director Gregory Olma,
and to what extent?"
Pitts thinks that in light of recent developments, the Coun-
cil might vote to suspend further finding for the program.
Olma, however, expressed hope that EBCOP might still
continue to get taxpayer's money if it is merged with the
Polish Community Center, currently under the direction of
his wife, Annette Juneciewiez.
