UB Responds to Issues in the University Heights Neighborhood
This Q&A will answer many of the questions you may have about the University Heights neighborhood and how UB is working with students, residents and community leaders to address issues in the neighborhood. If you have other questions you would like anwered about UB's efforts, please feel free to contact us by email (http://www.buffalo.edu/community/contact.html) or call UB’s Community Relations Office at (716) 829-3099.
How safe is the University at Buffalo?
UB’s North (Amherst) and South (Buffalo) campuses are among the safest in the nation. Our annual crime statistics are consistently very low and, in fact, our crime rate is significantly down from 10 years ago. The University at Buffalo Police Department is state-accredited and is one of the best campus police departments in the state. UB’s Police Dept. consists of 61 highly trained professionals who provide around-the-clock service to the university community.
UB has a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Buffalo and Amherst Police departments that provides a framework for mutual aid and support in the neighborhoods around our three campuses.
How safe is the University Heights neighborhood?
The University Heights neighborhood, which borders our South Campus in Buffalo, is a very safe neighborhood, according to local crime statistics. Like many urban communities that border a college campus, however, the University Heights neighborhood is not immune to some safety issues. These safety issues are being addressed by UB, community members and the City of Buffalo.
What about reports of crime in the neighborhood?
Statistics show that many of these reports are related to the use and abuse of alcohol among young people who reside in or visit the neighborhood, including patrons of bars along Main Street. Some of these individuals are UB students and some are not.
The effects of drinking and partying are well documented in college towns across the country. Some of this behavior leads to co-called nuisance crimes, such as vandalism. More serious effects include random acts of violence, though this is a rare occurrence. UB’s Student Affairs Office advises students about how to safeguard their possessions and personal safety when living off-campus and these messages are having a positive effect.
We take very seriously any criminal activity perpetrated against or by students, and we have taken steps to make the communities in and around UB safer.
What is UB doing to improve student behavior in the neighborhood?
UB’s Student Affairs and Community Relations offices are working with students to curb excessive partying and related behaviors that occur in the neighborhood, and we are looking closely at what more should be done. The vast majority of our 28,000 students behave responsibly but we expect each and every one of our students to be good community citizens, in keeping with the values of our university. To reinforce expectations of appropriate behavior, UB:
- Has created a door-to-door education campaign, reaching out to 7,000 residences in the University Heights to remind students about proper behavior and ways to ensure personal safety.
- Offers orientation sessions and student fairs about off-campus living, how students can be good community citizens, and informs students about UB’s “zero tolerance” regarding inappropriate community behavior.
- Has created a “Neighbor-to-Neighbor” program that encourages students, faculty and staff, to help spruce up rental properties within the neighborhood.
- Requires students to abide by a university code of conduct or face disciplinary action ranging from mandatory community service to expulsion. Of the 940 students disciplined for improper conduct since 2005 only a small percentage are repeat offenders. This indicates the campus judiciary process is effectively deterring bad behavior.
What is UB doing to improve student and resident safety in the University Heights neighborhood?
A neighborhood-safety task force, led by UB, has been created to address and monitor threats to neighborhood safety. This group is working with community members, the Buffalo Police Department and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown to develop strategies to improve safety. The focus is on prevention of violence, theft and other serious crime and a reduction in nuisance crimes, such as vandalism and loud parties, which affect the quality of life of all neighborhood residents.
For our students, UB’s Police Department has created an early warning notification system designed to make students more aware of reported criminal activity off-campus and how to avoid it. In addition, UB Police have launched a very successful public awareness campaign to make students aware of their vulnerability to automobile break-ins. As part of the in initiative, University Police distributed almost 4,000 vehicle-burglary report cards to staff and student vehicles parked in South Campus lots in January and March.
Why doesn’t UB’s campus police department regularly patrol the University Heights neighborhood?
The geographical jurisdiction of the University Police is the campus, as well as streets that abut such property. Like any other police agency their statutory authority is limited outside of their geographical area of employment. However, UB Police are authorized to assist Amherst and Buffalo police during arrests and investigations, and they often do. To make UB patrols even more available to assist in peak times the UB Police Department recently implemented a power shift from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. This staffing upgrade was made in response to feedback from residents of the University Heights and the university community.
What is UB doing to improve quality-of -life and community relations in the University Heights?
UB has hired a director of community relations, Vince Clark, who happens to be a long-time University Heights resident. A very active homeowner, Mr. Clark has made improving the quality of life and relationships in the neighborhood a priority of UB’s community outreach. Working with community leaders and neighborhood residents, UB has implemented several initiatives that are having a positive effect on the neighborhood and its relationship with the university. These include:
- On-going grass-roots collaboration with community groups, such as University Heights Collaborative and the University Heights Community Development Association, to encourage dialogue and creation of mutually beneficial solutions.
- Increased funding for the Home Loan Guaranty Program, an initiative to encourage UB employees to purchase homes as a means of stabilizing University Heights and other neighborhoods around UB’s South Campus.
- Creation of a “problem properties” task force to address safety and quality-of-life issues that arise in and around rental properties within the neighborhood.
- Creation of a neighborhood-safety task force to develop strategies for how UB community members and the City of Buffalo can reduce the incidence of crime in the neighborhood.
- Creation of a Community Relations Advisory Council to focus on issues of concern to community members and how UB can improve its relationship with the community.
- Creation of free community events, such as the “UB on the Green” summer concert series and a community Farmers Market, which gives neighborhood residents an opportunity to enjoy the UB South Campus and also helps to build good community relationships.
- Creation of a quarterly “UB Neighbor” newsletter mailed to 16,000 residences in University Heights and near the South Campus, updating them on UB’s community-relations initiatives and outreach on the South Campus and in the surrounding community.
Is UB abandoning its South Campus and the University Heights neighborhood?
Absolutely not. UB is investing millions of dollars in the South Campus, not abandoning it. We have 32 separate projects underway or set to begin on the South Campus, totaling more than $150 million. For example we’re building a $70 million School of Pharmacy, transforming Wende Hall into a new home for the School of Nursing, renovating Kimball and Squire halls, installing new site lighting on the entire South Campus, upgrading the campus’s underground infrastructure and completing transformation of Allen Hall into a new center for community activities.
As UB completes this work on the South Campus, we will add 2,000 more students, faculty and staff to the campus. This growth is expected to bring more homeowners and renters to the University Heights and generate business growth in the neighborhood’s business district.
As we achieve our UB 2020 plan to become a premier public research university and grow by 10,000 more students and 2,000 more employees, we expect UB’s economic impact on the region to grow from $1 billion to $2.6 billion. Much of this growth and economic spin-off is expected to be especially beneficial to neighborhoods and commercial districts bordering UB’s three campuses.
Why doesn’t UB buy the properties in the University Heights neighborhood, rent them to students and monitor their behavior?
As a state institution, UB simply doesn’t possess the resources needed to purchase large numbers of private residences and then provide the type of services required for this type of student housing.
Instead, we have focused our efforts on encouraging faculty and staff to purchase homes in University Heights under UB’s Home Loan Guaranty Program. Twenty-one UB employees have purchased homes around the South Campus through the program, joining nearly 500 of their fellow UB employees currently living in University Heights. We have a 5-year plan to interest many more employees in the program.
Shouldn’t UB be doing more for the University Heights neighborhood?
Yes, more needs to be done in this neighborhood, and we must do it in partnership with community leaders, homeowners and the City of Buffalo. The issues within University Heights are issues that require long-term, community-wide solutions. UB is committed to developing and implementing such solutions in partnership with the community and the City of Buffalo.
For example, UB is investigating development of a University Heights neighborhood plan, in partnership with the City of Buffalo and community leaders. Such a plan would provide opportunities for University Heights to strategically leverage UB’s growth on the South Campus. In effect, this plan would be a blueprint for improving and attracting investment in the neighborhood and its commercial district. This plan would raise awareness about the needs of University Heights and provide opportunities for local and regional leaders to support and develop the neighborhood.
Find out what's happening in the UB South Campus neighborhood
