HAMBURG, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side received calls from viewers concerned about who was staying at hotels in the Village of Hamburg.
We contacted the mayor of the village who told us about a meeting he had scheduled with Erie County to talk about the issue and set the record straight.
There were a lot of rumors floating around, so the mayor wanted to meet with members of the Erie County agencies involved with housing people at the hotels to make sure all of the information is out in the open.
"All the people at these hotels were put there by the Department of Social Services because they're homeless," Village of Hamburg Mayor Thomas Tallman said.
Mayor Tallman addressed the rumors.
"There are no sex offenders. The people have been all vetted for that," Mayor Tallman said.
Tallman says neighbors shared concerns with him about people who are staying at two hotels in the Village of Hamburg on Camp Road — the Quality Inn and the Super 8 — so he asked for a meeting with the county to find out what was going on.
"Some of the concerns that we heard, and some of them were unfounded, was that there were refugees and asylum seekers there. There are not," Tallman said.
Mayor Tallman says people are staying in 120 rooms total, and it's a mix of families and singles.
"In the case of the families we've been serving, literally, they would have nothing to eat at all. Since they're not near any large supermarket, they would have to walk to a convenience store and spend their last dollars on some convenience store food," Jay Bradway said.
Bradway volunteers at Revive Wesleyan Church and helps run an emergency food pantry. He was at the hotels on Thursday bringing healthy food to people.
"We found out just last afternoon that a woman and her two teenage daughters have been placed here. They used to live in Buffalo and their residence burned down, so Department of Social Services has put them in a motel out here in Hamburg momentarily until they can find another place. So they're without food. They only had the clothes they had and a couple of bags," Bradway said.
Mayor Tallman added that many of the people have jobs and are just trying to get back on their feet.
"The individuals there are there because they have no place else to go. They are there until they can find other accommodations," Tallman said. "They're in need."