I want to respond to the recent News article regarding
Gregory Olma's failed East Bulfalo Community Ownership Project (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 political reasons. By trying to impugn
my motives, Olma attempts to
obfuscate the facts.
* Olma founded and ran a
housing program, funded exclusively 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 highly 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?