In the midst of complaints that UB has abandoned the city of Buffalo, the University Community Initiative stands as UB's program to revitalize the areas surrounding South Campus, particularly the University Heights neighborhood.
The UCI is based on a partnership between UB and municipal neighbors Buffalo, Amherst, Cheektowaga and Tonawanda. UCI's mission is to enhance public safety, bolster commerce, increase home ownership opportunities and improve the public image of the areas bordering the Main Street Campus.
Despite the program's ambitious goals, some residents feel the university has not lived up to its promise to revive the downtown area.
"This neighborhood is lacking a lot," said Mel Kozakiewicz. "It has Talking Leaves, a tattoo shop and some restaurants, that's about it." Kozakiewicz has worked at Amy's Place, a Main Street restaurant, for three years and believes the neighborhood has continued to deteriorate during that time.
Of all the initiative's projects, the UHDC Inc., designed to purchase houses, renovate them, and then resell those homes to buyers, has garnered the most criticism.
UCI undertook a three-house pilot phase to determine the feasibility of the housing initiative. All three houses, 23 West Northrup Place, 31 West Northrup Place and 322 Lisbon Ave., have been renovated and are on market.
According to Gehl, after the UHDC purchased the three houses and sold one at a $15,000 loss, the UCI determined that it was competing with too many similar organizations.
"Basically, all the nonprofits were going to the same pool of houses," said Gehl. "This placed us in direct competition with community groups doing the same thing."
Greiner said that instead of continuing to lose money by reselling homes, the university wants to work with local groups on housing matters as well as help UB staff and students purchase homes in University Heights.
"I'm a believer in empiricism," said Greiner. "We had been advised that it [the UCI rehabilitation plan] was extremely difficult but we gave it a try."
While the UHDC project may not have lived up to residents' hopes, UCI director Danis Gehl said the initiative should not be judged solely on the acquisition of houses in the area.
"Housing is just one aspect of the project," said Gehl. "The other projects have been incredibly successful."
UB President William R. Greiner said that the university has done more for the area than any other public or private organization, and echoes UCI's general feeling of success.
Kozakiewicz, however, is not convinced. She continues to believe UB is not doing enough for the downtown community and should stop luring residents to Amherst.
"This city is depressed enough," Kozakiewicz said. "The school shouldn't be dragging possible city residents out to North Campus. The only thing I heard about [the UCI] was that they were buying up houses."
University Heights Councilmember Betty Jean Grant expressed frustration at what she considers UB backing out of a commitment to invest in the community encompassing South Campus.
Grant said the City of Buffalo, due to its budget crisis, cannot make up for UCI's promised financial investment in the region.
"UB is responsible since they made the commitment," said Grant. "The city is counting on them."
UB officials say the university has more than followed through on its part of the deal. According to Gehl, quality of life programs like the Regional Community Policing Center, which brings officers and citizens together to voice common concerns, have had a great impact and the UCI is still working on the housing issue. The initiative's focus, he said, has simply changed.
The successes of the UCI have been quiet, but Gehl insists that it is slowly gaining ground.
"We are very happy with our accomplishments," Gehl said. "And our involvement in the community will continue to grow."
