November 07, 1999

I want to respond to the recent  News  article  regarding
Gregory Olma's failed East Bulfalo Community Ownership Proj-
ect  (EBCOP), in which  I criticized the program and in turn
was accused by Olma of having a hidden agenda.
     Olma alleged I was an operative of housing developer Frank
Parlato, who, Olma said, was looking to discredit him for polit-
ical reasons. By trying to impugn my motives, Olma attempts to
obfuscate the facts.
     * Olma founded and ran a housing program, funded exclu-
sively by taxpayer dollars, that spent $900.000 over 12 years and
yet failed to establish one home-owner.
     * All the taxpayers have to show for the money is 10 mostly
vacant houses worth, as an appraisal shows, $65,000.
     An independent housing study commissioned by Buffalo is high-
ly critical of EBCOP's "poor performance" record. The reviewer
also noted "potential conflicts of interest" within the program.
     * The EBCOP program has received taxpayer monies for the
entire six years Olma has been a county legislator, yet most of the
houses purchased, like the one on Peck Street pictured in The
News, have been vacant for years, adding to the blight and
decay of the neighborhood.
     * The program seems to exist merely as a patronage haven,
providing salaries to people for political favors. This suspicion is
strengthened by the fact that Olma now suggests merging EB-
COP with an agency headed by his wife.
     * If, as  the  article  indicates, Community Development Com-
missioner Joe  Ryan  is  "not alarmed" by the poor perfor-
mance of EBCOP, then we should investigate what would
qualify as alarming.
     My motivation for making this issue public is only this: As a
taxpayer, I am alarmed at this culture of non-accountability in
Buffalo. Aren't we entitled to more for our money?