Ashley Jackson, Section 2. A Critical Synthesis: PUSH Buffalo, Moral Panics

In post-industrial cities, after the economic crisis, there has been long-term structural unemployment congregating in the Northeast and Midwest. The rust belt hold the country’s poorest cities, many residents collecting in Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo. The poverty threshold is the minimum level of income that is estimated for certain people in certain areas of the country and is measured yearly by the census bureau. Thirty percent of people living in these cities are below the poverty threshold for the country (Bartley, The Green Development Zone). There is not a national plan that is able to fix all aspects of an economic crisis that is nationwide, so many major cities are still facing issues that are the result of job scarcity and low socio-economic status.

In Buffalo, a community based organization, PUSH, was working towards the issues in the community such as lack of jobs and the declining neighborhood conditions by assembling a committee of residents with experience in organizing and management (Bartley, The Green Development Zone). Throughout this movement in the community, the board was able to provide work and on-the-job training to employ residents that could potentially be involved in crime or without work. Through different leadership and more awareness, the residents are able to fight against the poverty that was very prominent in their community. In the past, economic elites made the decisions that were only benefitting to themselves, but with the community taking control then benefits go right back into the community to work as an agent against poverty instead of redirecting it.

In New York City, government officials were fighting against graffiti in the subway.  What law makers didn’t think of when attempting to completely erase graffiti in the subways was that the crime would simply move elsewhere, as it did. Suddenly buildings and other public views were covered in graffiti, the crime was not stopped but moved in order to provide a safe and respectable looking city (Kramer, Moral Panics). This is what the decision making officials were doing in Buffalo with the poverty and neighborhood economy. Before PUSH nothing was being done to fix the problems that the community had been suffering with, but when corporation benefits are taken out of the equation then the community instead can began reconstruction their neighborhood economy.

Affordable housing is one of the big ticket problems that many face in large cities. Giving housing to the Buffalo community was one of the first and very successful plans that PUSH mobilized. The end goal was to rebuild the community economy and this project would not only provide homes but also promised jobs for the community residents. This provided facts and evidence that community organizers could make change and ties within the community and with the governing officials. Government ties with the community leaders would lead to more progression for the residents because the community based solutions were being seen as a new developmental directions that was proving to improve the economy.

There could be a connection made between Buffalo and New York City, both were trying to improve the conditions within the city by reducing crime. But how could crime be diminished with more regulations alone? The Buffalo community leaders provided jobs and training for residents (Bartley, The Green Development Zone). One resident claimed that without the construction job he would have been in jail. Changing the age that someone can legally buy spray paint will not lower the amount of crime within that city. For some reason graffiti is taken out of the category of art and seen as a “gateway” crime to more extreme crimes (Kramer, Moral Panics).

Struggling communities are often overlooked or replaced by large corporations and government officials that are trying to “clean up” cities. Some cities, such as New York City choose to place bans and extra regulations thinking that, as a result, crime and poverty will be diminished. Instead when the community leaders organized plans that are a true representation of what the residents need, like jobs and improved neighborhoods, many people that would have succumb to illegal activities are taken off the streets and provided with hope for the future. This address the problem with poverty and having too many residents below the poverty threshold. The economic issues are not cast away or replaced with a new stadium. PUSH gave the Buffalo community another chance to thrive through community based solutions.

In post-industrial cities, after the economic crisis, there has been long-term structural unemployment congregating in the Northeast and Midwest. The rust belt hold the country’s poorest cities, many residents collecting in Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo. The poverty threshold is the minimum level of income that is estimated for certain people in certain areas of the country and is measured yearly by the census bureau. Thirty percent of people living in these cities are below the poverty threshold for the country (Bartley, The Green Development Zone). There is not a national plan that is able to fix all aspects of an economic crisis that is nationwide, so many major cities are still facing issues that are the result of job scarcity and low socio-economic status.

In Buffalo, a community based organization, PUSH, was working towards the issues in the community such as lack of jobs and the declining neighborhood conditions by assembling a committee of residents with experience in organizing and management (Bartley, The Green Development Zone). Throughout this movement in the community, the board was able to provide work and on-the-job training to employ residents that could potentially be involved in crime or without work. Through different leadership and more awareness, the residents are able to fight against the poverty that was very prominent in their community. In the past, economic elites made the decisions that were only benefitting to themselves, but with the community taking control then benefits go right back into the community to work as an agent against poverty instead of redirecting it.

In New York City, government officials were fighting against graffiti in the subway.  What law makers didn’t think of when attempting to completely erase graffiti in the subways was that the crime would simply move elsewhere, as it did. Suddenly buildings and other public views were covered in graffiti, the crime was not stopped but moved in order to provide a safe and respectable looking city (Kramer, Moral Panics). This is what the decision making officials were doing in Buffalo with the poverty and neighborhood economy. Before PUSH nothing was being done to fix the problems that the community had been suffering with, but when corporation benefits are taken out of the equation then the community instead can began reconstruction their neighborhood economy.

Affordable housing is one of the big ticket problems that many face in large cities. Giving housing to the Buffalo community was one of the first and very successful plans that PUSH mobilized. The end goal was to rebuild the community economy and this project would not only provide homes but also promised jobs for the community residents. This provided facts and evidence that community organizers could make change and ties within the community and with the governing officials. Government ties with the community leaders would lead to more progression for the residents because the community based solutions were being seen as a new developmental directions that was proving to improve the economy.

There could be a connection made between Buffalo and New York City, both were trying to improve the conditions within the city by reducing crime. But how could crime be diminished with more regulations alone? The Buffalo community leaders provided jobs and training for residents (Bartley, The Green Development Zone). One resident claimed that without the construction job he would have been in jail. Changing the age that someone can legally buy spray paint will not lower the amount of crime within that city. For some reason graffiti is taken out of the category of art and seen as a “gateway” crime to more extreme crimes (Kramer, Moral Panics).

Struggling communities are often overlooked or replaced by large corporations and government officials that are trying to “clean up” cities. Some cities, such as New York City choose to place bans and extra regulations thinking that, as a result, crime and poverty will be diminished. Instead when the community leaders organized plans that are a true representation of what the residents need, like jobs and improved neighborhoods, many people that would have succumb to illegal activities are taken off the streets and provided with hope for the future. This address the problem with poverty and having too many residents below the poverty threshold. The economic issues are not cast away or replaced with a new stadium. PUSH gave the Buffalo community another chance to thrive through community based