A New York University report released Friday criticizes aspects of the City of Buffalo’s response to Winter Storm Elliott.
Key findings state that physical assets, public communications, existing equity issues, and intergovernmental coordination all posed challenges when it came to the city’s response.
Thirty-one City of Buffalo residents died in the storm.
When it came to public communication, the report found that alerts concerning travel bans and stay at home orders "were not sufficient to fully convey the situation’s urgency." Just 16% of residents are enrolled in the city’s emergency text message alert system.
Speaking at a press conference Friday, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown acknowledged “even more needs to be done to make sure that information gets to members of the community."
Intergovernmental coordination was also a challenge, with the report stating it is likely that the problem of stranded vehicles was related to the timing for closing roads.
Under New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, more autonomy has been given to local governments when it comes to road closures. But this likely led to a "wait and see approach," which may have contributed to belated road closures. But Brown told reporters "there was seamless communication between myself, County Executive Poloncarz, Governor Hochul."
Buffalo’s emergency vehicle fleet, storage capabilities and warming centers were not sufficient to address the blizzard. Brown’s office said the city had since placed orders for 14 pieces of new snow-ready and other equipment, six of which are due to arrive around October this year.
However, with monthslong production times, it is not yet clear when the other equipment will arrive.
The blizzard also exacerbated existing equity issues: many residents who were not in a financial position to stock up ahead of the storm ventured out mid-blizzard for food and medicines, something Brown says the city is already addressing by securing state funding to support East Side homeowners with their water, sewer and tax bills.
"One of the things that we have proposed from an equity standpoint is to provide resources to assist people with different bills, to make sure that people are financially caught up to make sure that people are not financially struggling," Brown said.
In another step to help implement some of the report’s recommendations, Brown announced the creation of a storm response taskforce.
"The taskforce consists of about 20 members here from the county and state government agencies, there are also representatives from National Grid, local businesses, and neighborhood associations that will participate in this very important process."
The full report can be found below.
