Editing Buffalo, New York (section)

==Government==
{{Main|Politics and government of Buffalo, New York}}
{{See also|List of mayors of Buffalo, New York|Buffalo Police Department|Buffalo Fire Department}}

[[File:Buffalo City Hall, Interior, thirteenth floor, council chamber.jpg|thumb|left|[[Buffalo Common Council|Common Council]] Chamber, [[Buffalo City Hall]]]]

Buffalo has a [[Strong Mayor|Strong mayor–council government]]. As the [[Executive (government)|chief executive]] of city government, the mayor oversees the heads of the city's departments, participates in ceremonies, boards and commissions, and is as the liaison between the city and local cultural institutions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Article 4, Duties and Powers |url=https://ecode360.com/13551108 |url-status=live |access-date=2021-05-07 |website=City of Buffalo Charter |language=en-US |archive-date=October 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022064338/http://ecode360.com/13551108}}</ref> Some agencies, including utilities, urban renewal and [[public housing]], are state- and federally-funded [[New York state public-benefit corporations|public benefit-corporations]] semi-independent of city government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schroeder |first=Mark J. F. |author-link=Mark J. F. Schroeder |date=June 30, 2016 |title=City of Buffalo Comprehensive Annual Financial Report |url=https://www.buffalony.gov/Archive/ViewFile/Item/232 |url-status=live |access-date=May 7, 2021 |website=City of Buffalo |pages=35–37 |archive-date=May 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508012809/https://www.buffalony.gov/Archive/ViewFile/Item/232}}</ref> [[Christopher Scanlon]] has served as acting mayor since 2024, following the resignation of [[Byron Brown]].<ref name="x172">{{cite web | last=Duke | first=Adam | title=Chris Scanlon assumes role as acting mayor of Buffalo: "An incredible responsibility" | website=News 4 Buffalo | date=October 15, 2024 | url=https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo/chris-scanlon-assumes-role-as-acting-mayor-of-buffalo-an-incredible-responsibility/ | access-date=October 17, 2024}}</ref> No Republican has been mayor of Buffalo since [[Chester A. Kowal]] in 1965.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Bob |date=April 2, 2006 |title=Local GOP can't go it alone |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/local-gop-cant-go-it-alone/article_26988633-5fd8-5127-aec0-600f7fbe5461.html |url-access = limited |url-status=live |access-date=2021-05-07 |website=[[The Buffalo News]] |language=en |quote=Who was the last Republican elected mayor? The answer, for those needing help on the cocktail party circuit, is Chester Kowal, in 1961. Since then the Republican Party in Buffalo has largely proven irrelevant. |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507211546/https://buffalonews.com/news/local-gop-cant-go-it-alone/article_26988633-5fd8-5127-aec0-600f7fbe5461.html}}</ref>

With its nine districts, the [[Buffalo Common Council]] enacts laws, levies taxes, and approves mayoral appointees and the city budget.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dye |first1=Alana Barrington |last2=Norton |first2=Schyler |last3=Hawthorne |first3=Edward |title=Buffalo Common Council Fact Sheet |url=https://ppgbuffalo.org/files/documents/government/local_government_bodies/buffalo_common_council_2019.pdf |website=Partnership for the Public Good |access-date=8 May 2021 |date=February 2019 |archive-date=May 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510141728/https://ppgbuffalo.org/files/documents/government/local_government_bodies/buffalo_common_council_2019.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Bryan Bollman has been the Common Council president since 2024.<ref name="c687">{{cite web | last=Morello | first=Dillon | title=Councilman Bryan Bollman 'ready' to become Buffalo Common Council president | website=News 4 Buffalo | date=October 2, 2024 | url=https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo/councilman-bryan-bollman-ready-to-become-buffalo-common-council-president/ | access-date=October 17, 2024}}</ref> Generally reflecting the city's electorate, all nine councilmen are members of the Democratic Party. Buffalo is the [[Erie County, New York|Erie County]] seat, and is within five of the county's eleven legislative districts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Erie County Board of Elections |date=February 2017 |title=Erie County Legislative Districts |url=https://elections.erie.gov/MapPdf/CNTY-LEG-24X30_2017.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=May 7, 2021 |website=Erie County Board of Elections |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507221242/https://elections.erie.gov/MapPdf/CNTY-LEG-24X30_2017.pdf}} and {{Cite web |last=Erie County Board of Elections |date=February 2017 |title=City of Buffalo Legislative Districts |url=https://elections.erie.gov/MapPdf/Buffalo_Legislative-11_2017.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=May 7, 2021 |website=Erie County Board of Elections |archive-date=May 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510141725/https://elections.erie.gov/MapPdf/Buffalo_Legislative-11_2017.pdf}}</ref>

The city is part of the [[Judiciary of New York (state)|Eighth Judicial District]]. Court cases handled at the city level include [[misdemeanor]]s, violations, housing matters, and claims under $15,000; more severe cases are handled at the county level.<ref>{{cite web |title=Court Structure - NYCOURTS.GOV |url=http://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/8jd/structure.shtml |website=[[Judiciary of New York (state)|NYCOURTS.gov]] |access-date=10 May 2021 |archive-date=March 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325181745/http://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/8jd/structure.shtml |url-status=live}} and {{cite web |title=Buffalo City Court - NYCOURTS.GOV |url=http://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/8jd/Erie/buffalo.shtml |website=[[Judiciary of New York (state)|NYCOURTS.gov]] |access-date=10 May 2021 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121184806/http://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/8jd/Erie/buffalo.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> Buffalo is represented by members of the [[New York State Assembly]] and [[New York State Senate]]. At the federal level, the city takes up most of {{ushr|NY|26}} and has been represented by Democrat [[Tim Kennedy (politician)|Tim Kennedy]] since 2024.

Federal offices in the city include the Buffalo District of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|United States Army Corps of Engineers']] [[Great Lakes and Ohio River Division]], the [[List of FBI field offices#New York|Federal Bureau of Investigation]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://buffalo.fbi.gov/ |title=FBI Buffalo Division |publisher=FBI Buffalo Field Office |date=March 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310043306/http://buffalo.fbi.gov/ |archive-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref> and the [[United States District Court for the Western District of New York]].

In 2020, the city spent $519 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=519000000|start_year=2020}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) on the effects of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web |title=2020-21 Adopted Budget {{!}} Buffalo, NY |url=https://www.buffalony.gov/1306/2020-21-Adopted-Budget |website=City of Buffalo |access-date=9 May 2021 |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509182441/https://www.buffalony.gov/1306/2020-21-Adopted-Budget |url-status=live }}</ref> The city in 2024 is hampered with a severe [[budget deficit]] attributed to the [[Byron Brown]] administration.<ref name="y062">{{cite web | last=Heaney | first=Jim | title=Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown's legacy of failure. | website=Investigative Post | date=October 15, 2024 | url=https://www.investigativepost.org/2024/10/15/brown-resigns-addition-by-subtraction/ | access-date=October 17, 2024}}</ref>

=== <span class="anchor" id="Public safety and crime"></span>Public safety ===
{{Infobox UCR
|aggravated_assault = 1,563
|city_name = Buffalo, New York
|year = 2019<ref>{{cite web |title=Crime, Arrest and Firearm Activity Report: Buffalo Index Crimes |url=http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/greenbook.pdf |website=New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services |access-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-date=May 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503023511/https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/greenbook.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
|source_url = http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/greenbook.pdf
|violent_crime =  2,533 {{positive decrease}}
|homicide = 47
|forcible_rape = 121
|robbery = 802
|burglary = 1,609
|larceny_theft = 6,008
|motor_vehicle_theft = 678
|property_crime = 8,295 {{positive decrease}}
|source_name = Buffalo City Police Department
|notes = Arson data not provided; 2019 est. population: 255,244
}}

Buffalo is served by the [[Buffalo Police Department]]. The [[police commissioner]] is Byron Lockwood, who was appointed by Mayor Byron Brown in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mayor's Office |title=Mayor Brown Announces Appointment of Byron Lockwood as Interim Police Commissioner |url=https://www.buffalony.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=185 |website=City of Buffalo |access-date=13 May 2021 |language=en |date=January 17, 2018 |archive-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425091044/http://www.buffalony.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=185 |url-status=live}}</ref> Although some criminal activity in the city remains higher than the national average, total crimes have decreased since the 1990s; one reason may be the [[gun buyback program]] implemented by the Brown administration in the mid-2000s.<ref name = "CrimeEncyclopedia" /> Before this, the city was part of the nationwide [[Crack epidemic in the United States|crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s]] and its accompanying record-high crime levels.<ref name ="CrimeEncyclopedia">{{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Jeffrey Ian |author-link=Jeffrey Ian Ross |title=Encyclopedia of Street Crime in America |date=2013 |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |isbn=978-1-4522-7445-4 |pages=49–51 |language=en |chapter=Buffalo, New York}}</ref> In 2018, city police began wearing 300 [[Police body camera|body cameras]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=New York State Attorney General |title=Attorney General James Provides Funds For Police Body-Worn Cameras To The Buffalo, Niagara Falls, And Amherst Police Departments {{!}} New York State Attorney General |url=https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2019/attorney-general-james-provides-funds-police-body-worn-cameras-buffalo-niagara |website=[[Attorney General of New York]] |access-date=8 May 2021 |language=en |date=November 1, 2019 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128082733/https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2019/attorney-general-james-provides-funds-police-body-worn-cameras-buffalo-niagara |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2021 Partnership for the Public Good report noted that the BPD, which had a 2020–21 budget of about $145.7 million, had an above-average police-to-citizen ratio of 28.9 officers per 10,000 residents in 2020{{snd}}higher than peer cities [[Minneapolis]] and [[Toledo, Ohio]].<ref name="PPGPolice2021">{{cite web |last1=Kristich |first1=Colleen |title=Building A Safer Buffalo: Invest In Communities, Divest From Police |url=https://ppgbuffalo.org/buffalo-commons/library/resource:building-a-safer-buffalo-invest-in-communities-divest-from-police/ |website=Partership for the Public Good |pages=4–6, 12–13 |access-date=13 May 2021 |date=May 6, 2021 |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507033515/https://ppgbuffalo.org/buffalo-commons/library/resource:building-a-safer-buffalo-invest-in-communities-divest-from-police/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The force had a roster of 740 officers during the year, about two-thirds of whom handled emergency requests, road patrol and other non-office assignments.<ref name="PPGPolice2021" /> The department has been criticized for [[Police brutality in the United States|misconduct and brutality]], including the 2004 wrongful termination of officer Cariol Horne for opposing police brutality toward a suspect<ref>{{cite news |last1=Knowles |first1=Hannah |title=Judge rules in favor of ex-Buffalo officer who said she was fired for stopping a colleague's chokehold |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/14/cariol-horne-pension-ruling/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=13 May 2021 |date=April 14, 2021 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414211653/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/14/cariol-horne-pension-ruling/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and a 2020 [[Buffalo police shoving incident|protest-shoving incident]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hartfield |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Croft |first2=Jay |title=Buffalo officers quit special team after 2 officers are suspended for shoving a 75-year-old protester |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/05/us/buffalo-police-suspension-shoving-man-trnd/index.html |website=[[CNN]] |access-date=13 May 2021 |date=June 6, 2020 |archive-date=April 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412235039/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/05/us/buffalo-police-suspension-shoving-man-trnd/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Buffalo Fire Department]] and [[American Medical Response]] (AMR) handle fire-protection and [[emergency medical services]] (EMS) calls in the city.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Drury |first1=Tracey |title=AMR's Tim Frost is connecting emergency services from Buffalo to the Southern Tier |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2019/11/13/amrs-tim-frost-is-connecting-emergency-services.html |website=Buffalo Business First |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]] |access-date=26 May 2021 |archive-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622041804/https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2019/11/13/amrs-tim-frost-is-connecting-emergency-services.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The fire department has about 710 firefighters<ref>{{cite web |last1=Christmann |first1=Samantha |title=28 new firefighters bring Buffalo Fire Department to full staff |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/local/28-new-firefighters-bring-buffalo-fire-department-to-full-staff/article_b9d1a650-9c59-528d-a418-1e7cca3d2905.html |website=[[The Buffalo News]] |access-date=13 May 2021 |language=en |date=June 22, 2019 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516083010/https://subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Fbuffalonews.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F28-new-firefighters-bring-buffalo-fire-department-to-full-staff%2Farticle_b9d1a650-9c59-528d-a418-1e7cca3d2905.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live}}</ref> and thirty-five [[Fire station|stations]], including twenty-three [[Glossary of firefighting#E|engine companies]] and twelve [[Glossary of firefighting#L|ladder companies]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Article 14: Department of Fire |url=https://ecode360.com/13552038 |website=City of Buffalo Charter |access-date=13 May 2021 |archive-date=October 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022054544/http://ecode360.com/13552038 |url-status=live}}</ref> The department also operates the ''[[Edward M. Cotter (fireboat)|Edward M. Cotter]]'', considered the world's oldest active [[fireboat]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mroziak |first=Michael |date=August 18, 2017 |title=All aboard the Cotter for a special family reunion |url=https://news.wbfo.org/post/all-aboard-cotter-special-family-reunion |url-status=live |access-date=2021-05-06 |website=[[WBFO]] |language=en |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107225342/http://news.wbfo.org/post/all-aboard-cotter-special-family-reunion}}</ref>

With vacant and abandoned homes prone to [[arson]], [[squatting]], [[Prostitution in the United States|prostitution]] and other criminal activities, the fire and police department's resources were overburdened before the 2010s. Buffalo ranked second nationwide to [[St. Louis]] for vacant homes per capita in 2007, and the city began a five-year program to demolish five thousand vacant, damaged and abandoned homes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Belson |first1=Ken |title=Vacant Houses, Scourge of a Beaten-Down Buffalo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/nyregion/13vacant.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=13 May 2021 |date=13 September 2007 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185039/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/nyregion/13vacant.html |url-access= limited |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lyons |first1=Sarah |title=Buffalo's Demolition Strategy |url=https://ppgbuffalo.org/files/documents/housing_neighborhoods/housing_conditions_and_repairs/housingneighborhoods-_buffalos_demolition_strategy.pdf |website=Partnership for the Public Good |publisher=[[University at Buffalo]] Law School Housing Court |access-date=13 May 2021 |date=2009 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516083008/https://ppgbuffalo.org/files/documents/housing_neighborhoods/housing_conditions_and_repairs/housingneighborhoods-_buffalos_demolition_strategy.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> On [[2022 Buffalo shooting|May 14, 2022, there was a mass shooting]] in a Tops supermarket on the East Side of Buffalo where 13 victims were shot in a racially motivated attack by a [[white supremacist]] who was not a Buffalo native. Ten victims, all of whom were black, were murdered and three were injured.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/05/21/1100560941/the-youngest-of-the-10-buffalo-shooting-victims-was-laid-to-rest|title=The youngest of the 10 people killed in the Buffalo shooting was laid to rest|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523131309/https://www.npr.org/2022/05/21/1100560941/the-youngest-of-the-10-buffalo-shooting-victims-was-laid-to-rest|archive-date=May 23, 2022|publisher=NPR|date=May 21, 2022|via=Associated Press|access-date=January 11, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ten killed in mass shooting at Jefferson Avenue supermarket; shooter in custody |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/local/ten-killed-in-mass-shooting-at-jefferson-avenue-supermarket-shooter-in-custody/article_6e8132fa-d3b7-11ec-a714-2b3fbeaf848c.html |date=May 14, 2022 |access-date=January 11, 2023 |website=Buffalo News |first1=Lou |last1=Michel |first2=Ben |last2=Tsujimoto |first3=Maki |last3=Becker |archive-date=May 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514205116/https://buffalonews.com/news/local/ten-killed-in-mass-shooting-at-jefferson-avenue-supermarket-shooter-in-custody/article_6e8132fa-d3b7-11ec-a714-2b3fbeaf848c.html |url-status=live}}</ref>