PostBuffalo
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — U-Crest Fire Department responded to a reported fire in Cheektowaga Saturday evening.
According to U-Crest, the incident involved two separate fires in a residence, and the fires remain under investigation.
The fires reportedly occurred on Floreis Court, near where Genesee Street passes over the Thruway. Further information is not available at this time.
This is a developing news story. It will be updated as more information is learned.
CAMBRIA, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Niagara County Sheriff’s office responded to reports of a vehicle on fire in the Town of Cambria Sunday morning, and after rescuing the driver from the vehicle, charged him with driving while intoxicated.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that Aaron Judd, 24, of Lockport was traveling north on Shawnee Road and failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of Upper Mountain Road. His car went airborne for an estimated 30 feet over a ditch, struck a tree and traveled an additional 200 yards before coming to a stop, according to the Sheriff’s office.
The burning vehicle was reported around 5:30 a.m. The callers said they were unable to remove him from the vehicle due to damage from the crash. Patrols from the Sheriff’s office broke windows and pulled Judd from the vehicle upon arriving on location. He was taken to safety prior to the vehicle becoming fully engulfed in flames.
Judd was evaluated by Tri-Community Ambulance emergency services for possible injuries. Sheriff’s office patrols reported that he showed multiple signs of intoxication and charged him with DWI, failure to stop at a stop sign and multiple other vehicle and traffic law violations. He was given a future court date in the Town of Cambria.
Pekin Fire Company responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.
Mayor Byron W. Brown today reminded residents of several opportunities to get information about a career with the Buffalo Fire Department, ahead of the June 4, 2022 fire exam.
“Our goal is to reach as many potential fire recruits as possible through our “Home of the Brave” campaign, especially minorities, women and veterans. ” he said.
On Saturday, March 19th, Buffalo Firefighters will host a meet-and-greet The Broadway Market, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., located at 999 Broadway.
Through the end of March, a group of female firefighters will be in the Buffalo City Hall Lobby, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to answer questions and talk about a career in fire service.
The next Firefighter Civil Service Exam will be administered on Saturday, June 4, 2022. The deadline to file an initial application is Friday, April 29, 2022.
To be eligible, firefighter candidates must be:
•19 years old at the time of the examination and 20 years old at the time of appointment
•A full-time resident of the City of Buffalo as of January 29, 2022 and maintain city residency
Interested applicants can click here to download a copy of the application or stop by Buffalo City Hall, Room 1001, to pick up an application.
Our City Action Buffalo (OCAB), a broad coalition of Buffalo residents who have come together to support movement politics and people-powered campaigns, held its 4th annual State of OUR CITY on Tuesday, March 1st at Main Events Banquet Hall, in Buffalo.
Over 125 Buffalo residents participated in the event, including former Democratic nominee for Mayor of Buffalo India B.Walton and NYC Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams.
Speakers included poor and working-class residents, as well as Buffalo residents from every other socioeconomic background, who spoke about the challenges that continue to plague the City of Buffalo. They spoke from their lived experiences about such topics as climate resiliency, public education and transportation, investing in frontline arts organizations, affordable housing, immigration reform, and public safety.
Two weeks later, OCAB and Buffalo residents remain perplexed as to why Mayor Byron W. Brown has not yet delivered his annual State of the City address
We call on the mayor, Mayor Byron W. Brown, to deliver the State of the City in a timely manner, and respond to the queries and comments that his constituents raised at OCAB’s State of Our City, of which there were many. To not do so would be a blatant dereliction of duty.
“Mayor Brown has been all but absent since he won the election this past November.
The only time we hear from him he’s either touting another gentrifying project from developer Douglas Jemal or talking about the new Bills stadium, which will remain in Orchard Park,” said Our City Action leader Paul Morgan. “It’s time for the mayor to answer to his actual constituents, and host the annual State of the City. Better late than never.”
Additional Highlights-
“This is an organizing space. Just because there’s not an election going on right now doesn’t mean that there aren’t levers of power we can pull. This is not just our city, this is our time,” said State of Our City co-host and former Buffalo mayoral candidate India B. Walton.
“Every issue being brought up today impacts our kids much more than us. There’s nothing wrong with our young people. We’re the grown-ups and we’re not looking out for them. If a child gets what they need, they don’t pick up arms,” said Buffalo Public School teacher and Buffalo Parent-Teacher Organization member Eve Shippens.
NYC Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams said, “We’ve heard a lot about how the government has failed working class people while the cost of living becomes more unaffordable. Across the state people want affordable housing, healthcare, and real public safety.”
Valerie Juang of the Western New York Youth Climate Counsel spoke on the climate crisis and the need for a sustainability office, she said, “Our community knows what it needs. We have the resources and now we have to put them into action.”
Our City Action Buffalo (OCAB) is a multiracial organization that builds power through grassroots political organizing.
For more information about the organization, please visit: www.ourcityactionbuffalo.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Ukrainian and Polish communities of Western New York stood together Saturday, for a night of solidarity against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Adrian Kubicki, the Consul General of Poland in New York, spoke at the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center, voicing his support of the Ukrainian forces fighting Russia.
“As you may know, Poland, and Polish people, are very vocal for Ukrainian people to fight in this war and to win this war,” he said. “This war that has been caused by Russians, by Mr. Putin. Senseless and unprecedented war.”
“We are everywhere where we can to show our support to Ukranian people,” he said. “Polonia — Polish diaspora here in Buffalo and in other places [are] very much involved in raising funds to support Ukrainians.”
County Executive Mark Poloncarz said it’s important to show the local community, as well as the country of Ukraine, that we stand in solidarity.
“There’s a strong Ukrainian-American population here in Buffalo, just like there’s a strong Polish-American population,” Poloncarz said. “And we want the Ukrainians in our community, as well as elsewhere, know that we stand with them.”
Both communities have locked arms for an annual event ever since Russian aggression back in 2014. Poland has accepted more than two million Ukrainian refugees in the last month, and more are expected. News 4’s Don Postles was at the event as the master of ceremonies.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — There was lots of excitement in downtown Buffalo Saturday.
Buffalo had it all — March Madness, celebrating UB women’s basketball going dancing in Tennessee and even St. Patrick’s Day celebrations ahead of Sunday’s big parade. It was a busy weekend, something that really hasn’t been seen in the last few years.
“Old Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s Day parade returns to Buffalo
Buffalo is back. Two years ago, many local favorites shut down due to COVID-19, but this weekend, the City of Good Neighbors was out in full force.
“This was an incredible weekend,” Williamsville resident Chris Cook said. “You’ve got St. Patrick’s Day — it’s 70 degrees on St. Pat’s day, the March Madness games and it’s so good to see people out and partying and just doing what we do in Buffalo, man.”
Randall McPhee, vice president of the Buffalo Irish Center, said it was great to have everyone back.
“It’s tremendous to have our friends back,” McPhee said. “It’s a tight-knit community, the Irish-American community in Western New York, and you miss them.”
Dewitt Lee III, cofounder of Buffalo Bull Pen, looked back on how the community came together during the pandemic.
“We’ve spent the last two years helping each other survive,” he said. “We spent the last two years looking after one another.”
Some basketball fans traveled from afar to enjoy all the Queen City has to offer.
“The people are great, the town is beautiful and great food,” said Arkansas native Bradley Plunkett.
While the pandemic set many businesses back, The Rose Bar and Grill is looking forward. Opened in 2019, the restaurant was forced to close, but now, two years later, they are back.
“We certainly appreciate the community, because The Rose would not be here if it wasn’t for the community being so supportive,” said Lisa Roosevelt, owner of The Rose. “We can’t say thank you enough.”
This weekend is a celebration not only of the events in Buffalo, but of the return of a city who built back stronger.
It seems everyone is excited for the future of the city, and to return to their favorite local activities. In the St. Patrick’s Day Irish spirit, Buffalo welcomed tourists from near and far for March Madness, bidding them a “Céad Míle Fáilte” — a hundred thousand welcomes.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Gun violence was the topic of conversation Saturday at McKinley High School in Buffalo.
The Sigma Gamma Rho sorority held its youth symposium at McKinley, which has been recovering from a shooting and stabbing outside the school over a month ago. The discussion focused on what’s contributing to gun violence and the penalties and impacts from carrying illegal weapons. Some say today was all about creating a dialogue.
“We need to hear from our young people, we need to hear their voices,” said Yolanda Gatewood, president of the sorority. “We wanted to make sure that they had the opportunity to know that we’re not just here to tell you what to do, but what you want us to do to try to help you guys out of this situation.”
Leaders there hope that message sinks in, and that young people think twice about their decisions, and reach out for help if they need it.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Saturday marked the return of a great tradition, the “Old Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Many people lined the sidewalks on South Park Avenue and streets near the Valley Community Center for the return of the parade, which was canceled the past two years due to COVID. This year’s parade kicked off at noon and ran through the Valley and Old First Ward neighborhoods. Many people who attended were just happy to be able to get together again.
“Its great to be back out,” parade goer Gary Przewozny said. “After last year, with the hiatus, it’s great to be out celebrating.”
“It’s a great day in Buffalo,” added Sherrie Przewozny. “The parade is back, we’re so happy and its beautiful out. A little rain, but that’s okay. We’ll take that.”
The parade also serves as a big fundraiser for the Valley Community Association’s programs and services each year.
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — Many are getting in on the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations — even the animals at the Niagara SPCA.
It was St. Paw-ty’s day Saturday at the SPCA Saturday. They celebrated by hosting a lot of fun activities that anyone could take advantage of. There was a crafting fair, a bake sale and even a fish fry fundraiser supplied by BW’s Smokin’ Barrels Barbeque. Proceeds went to keeping the SPCA going.
“We want to raise awareness for the shelter for the community,” events and marketing director Liz Marshall said. “And then it also helps us receive the much needed funds that we need to keep the shelter up and running for all the shelter animals that we have.”
The Niagara SPCA will soon turn its attention to planning a 10K dog walk in July.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Red Cross is assisting five people after an overnight house fire at 30 Reservation St. in the City of Buffalo.
Fire officials say the blaze started on the second floor around 1:30 a.m. Saturday and is estimated to have caused $150,000 in damages.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.