We Deserve Better

All we were trying to do was submit comments to the Department of Transportation after their public scoping meeting, but we were not allowed.

On July 10th, one day before public comments were due for the NY Gateway Plans, Clean Air members and West Side residents, as well as some of our organizational  partners, like Heart of the City Neighborhoods, PUSH Buffalo, and Coalition for Economic Justice, held a press conference telling Maria Lehman of the DOT that the West Side deserves better efforts of inclusivity.

Even though we were promised fair and just public participation efforts, residents received short or no notice at all about the public scoping meeting; presentations, handouts, and relevant information regarding the project were all in English.  To top it off, representatives at the meeting blamed the low turnout on the residents!

We deserve better!

We deserve to be included in the decisions that affect our neighborhood! Those decisions should not be made  by people who do not live here, and that is exactly what we said outside the DOT before we tried to walk in and hand in our comments. Here’s a great video of members being denied entry into a public building.

The next day the DOT announces that the public comment period has been extended until July 22- a big WIN for residents!

It shouldn’t take a rally for the DOT to include residents in on the decisions that will affect their neighborhood, and potentially, their health.  We shouldn’t have to fight for our public agencies to do the right thing.