Victoria Neenan

PUSH Buffalo is a local membership-based community organization fighting to make affordable housing a reality on Buffalo’s West Side. Push works to mobilize residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality, affordable housing, expand local hiring opportunities and to advance economic justice in Buffalo.

Work Highlights

• Conducted in-depth research on various aspects of inclusionary zoning such as its socio-economic objectives, availability of affordable units in Buffalo, policies adopted in cities similar to Buffalo, the legal feasibility of inclusionary zoning, and a list of city-specific recommendations.
• Produced a white paper on the need for affordable housing in Buffalo, the role of inclusionary zoning can play, as well as specific policy recommendations and future strategies that will help in the adoption and implementation of this initiative.
• Assisted with planning, outreach and document preparation for PUSH’s annual Community Congress.

In their own words

“Seeing knowledge gaps exposed in a community meeting gave context to issues discussed in the most recent planning class I took, which analyzed the role of the planner in varying contexts. I feel that most planners who work in the community development sphere are called not only to be planning technicians – such as real estate developers, landscape planners, or land trust managers – but also educators. Through the fellows it was nice to talk to people who get equally excited about inclusionary zoning and can also engage in a critical conversation about development and role that planners, policy, and private interests have in the evolution of a city.“

Impact

“Victoria’s work will directly be used to create new policy for the City of Buffalo regarding inclusionary zoning through the Green Code process. Victoria was an asset to our working group and added immense capacity with her skills and strong interest in affordable housing and interest in community planning.”  

Jen Kaminsky, Director of Planning & Community Development
Buffalo Neighborhood Stabilization Co.