BUFFALO, N.Y. —
Buffalo, like many across the country, has had to shift priorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the problems that have been highlighted as a result.
During Wednesday's meeting, the Common Council discussed taking a different approach to deciding how to allocate funds.
The Council discussed the projects that would be highlighted in their application for things such as the Community Development Block Grants. The Council decided this year that instead of separating needs with standard criteria, they would instead focus on the social determinants of health.
Social determinants are things outside of a person's control that prevent people in certain communities from being able to thrive.
The Common Council's plan includes prioritizing programs that help with things such as employment and education in order to better serve communities across the city.
"Generally, a lot of the priorities we’ve had in the past remind priorities. So our public facilities in terms of our community center and parks, our streets and our sidewalks that need to be repaired, primarily in low-income neighborhoods. Public service, the importance of public services. Both youth and senior," Brendan Mehaffy told 2 On Your Side.
Mehaffy oversees the Office of Strategic Planning for the City of Buffalo.
One area in particular, the 14215 zip code, which was hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, was discussed because of the overlapping needs in that community. The plan is to utilize the planned federal grant money to really focus on areas where present challenges were exacerbated from the pandemic.
Another topic that came up was the need for affordable housing. Councilman David Rivera, who represents the Council Majority Leader, voiced a desire to find ways to help people in his district move away from renting and move into home ownership.