BUFFALO, N.Y. — Thirty years ago, Bill Zimmerman bought a property in Elmwood Village for its picturesque and pedestrian-friendly environment.
But now, he’s scared to even leave his house.
“You won't go out of your house to 7-Eleven between two in the morning at 6 a.m. or you could get harmed or killed,” Zimmerman said.
He fears it’s only going to get worse, and dozen of other Elmwood residents agree — which is why neighbors from all across the village flocked to its association meeting Tuesday night to make their concerns known and offer solutions.
“Here in Elmwood village, we don't have a lot of crime, so it's bad by our standards,” said Therese Deutschlander, President of Elmwood Village Association. “It’s been a safe place to live, and it's definitely introduced a different element to Elmwood Village that we're not accustomed to, nor are we willing to tolerate.”
Residents are specifically pointing to the intersection of Lexington and Elmwood where they say the Elmwood Heights apartment complex and the adjacent Speedway gas station have become a home for violent crime and drug activity.
The Buffalo Police Department was also in attendance at the meeting and acknowledged the neighbor's concern but said that the property’s landlord has been unresponsive.
“I think a lot of those things start there, making sure that the ownership and management of those properties are actually hearing those citizens and actually responding to some of the citizen complaints that they're having about the areas and making sure that they're accountable to those things,” said Buffalo Police Captain Tommy Champion.
The police captain would go on to say that they are adding additional police presence to the area, but for Zimmerman, it will take a lot more for him to be able to sleep at night.
“It's going to take a village literally to stampede, moms and dads to go up with picket signs and lawsuits, determination to make a cease and desist of this activity in our village,” he said.