BUFFALO, N.Y. — The boarded-up house on Arkansas Street stands as a testament to City Hall’s ineptitude in dealing with urban blight.
Not one, but two people — suspected drug users — have died inside the abandoned house since Sept. 26. That followed years of housing code violations and frequent complaints from neighbors about drug use and other quality of life issues.
A maintenance man alerted police when the first man overdosed, but officers didn’t go inside to check on him, according to neighbors and police reports. That didn’t happen until eight days later, when neighbors called police again because of the stench from the victim’s rotting body.