How Buffalo Residents Are Fighting For Better Housing Conditions

According to multiple outlets like Zillow and others, the world is learning something that some people in Western New York have known for a while: the real estate market in Buffalo is booming. For the last few years, the real estate and housing market has been one of the hottest in the nation. When compared to national averages, the cost of housing in Buffalo is relatively low, and while building in New York State can be expensive, Buffalo's relatively low costs help make up for that.

With those facts, many people may think things are pretty good in Buffalo, which they are if you are in the upper income classes. If you are on the lower levels of society, things are not so great. And, if you find that you need to live in one of the region's many public housing projects, things are downright horrible.

There have been well-documented issues with the state of affordable and municipal housing in Buffalo. With years of neglect and mismanagement, the conditions that many people in Buffalo have to live in are considered deplorable by many.

Tenant's Gather To Organize For Improved Housing Conditions

The last few months have seen tons of residents of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority flood into board meetings of the Authority to demand improved living conditions. According to tenants, they continue to have to live with hazardous conditions like no water or heat, mold, and years of delayed maintenance.

The most recent meeting of the BMHA Board was canceled due to not enough members being in attendance to have a quorum.

To help strategize a plan to get the management and leadership of the public housing authority to give greater urgency to the plight of its residents, a few dozen members of the community met at the King Urban Life Center on Genesee Street to hear from frustrated tenants and come up with a plan.

The next meeting of the BMHA Board is set for Thursday, June 18, 2026, at the Martha Mitchell Community Center, 175 Oakmont Ave., in Buffalo.

Tenant Power Townhall and Community Meeting In Buffalo

After continued attempts to bring issues before the board of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, several members of the community gathered together at the King Urban Life Center to express their frustration at the conditions Buffalonians have to live with in Public Housing, along with strategizing how to approach city leaders on how to make government-sponsored housing more habitable on Friday, June 12, 2026.

Gallery Credit: Ed Nice