Buffalo Contrarian Article provides a great look on police training facility and shooting range

An article in paper The Buffalo Contrarian, titled “Buffalo Police training facility: process whitewashes John Lewis mural,” provides an almost 3-page well rounded overview of the process and mobility that has taken place involving Buffalo’s proposed training facility and shooting range, located at 379 Paderewski Dr. on the East side of Buffalo. The article also recognizes previous organizing efforts around racial disparities and disinvestment in Buffalo, met similarly by a government that is unaccountable to its constituents demands.  Provided are some notable quotes the LOLA team pulled from the article, but we encourage folks to read the entire piece. Copies of The Buffalo Contrarian can be picked up at various locations around the city of Buffalo, including: Burning Books, Fitz Books, both Lexington Co-ops, the Crane Library, Merriweather Library, and Spot in Williamsville, if there are copies left.

Section 1

The front page of the paper is a photo of the John Lewis memorial painted on the side of the building that is proposed for the police training and shooting facility. The article opens discussing the The mural on the side of the proposed site of the facility. Notable quotes are below:

• “the mural is former Congressman and Civil Rights Movement titan John Lewis...The mural’s unveiling was March 7, 2021, in observance of “Bloody Sunday,” where Lewis and fellow marchers were attacked by Alabama State Troopers.”

• Quoted in the WKBW article: “Fillmore District Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski expressed the mural ‘speaks to that quiet power within all of us to lead and find meaningful ways to be the voice for change in our communities.’”

Section 2

The article then discusses various plans and reports involving needs in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. James Coughlin, the author of the  article, mentions: “Disinvestment in housing and other material resources, was instead met with increased policing of East Side neighborhoods. Given the pressing racialized socioeconomic and housing inequities in Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, it is perplexing to see a five-million-dollar renovation of the Matt Urban Hope Center, a former community center, into a so-called police training facility and shooting range.”

The articles then discusses the Broadway-Fillmore Strategic Investment Plan, a plan created by the city to address areas needing attention in the Braodway-Fillmore neighborhood. Coughlin states that “these reports [Broadway-Fillmore Strategic plan and other reports] illustrate a consistent theme; inadequate housing and economic disenfranchisement are the greatest threats to public safety for Broadway-Fillmore residents.” Coughlin then asks a key question: “How did the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, and more specifically, the Matt Urban Hope Center become the neighborhood for the proposed Buffalo police training facility?”

Sections 3: Gerrymandering in Broadway-Fillmore

The article discusses other ways the city of Buffalo officials have acted against the wellbeing of the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, incluing allowing gerrymandering via the district’s “screaming eagle” lines of Fillmore, based from the idea that the city needs to “racially diminish the black population” in the city. The article goes into depth on activism that we should not forget: there was pushback to the city’s gerrymandering from residents, largely supported by Our City Action Buffalo, where petitions, lawsuit, and repeated outcry from residents was largely ignored by the city.

Section 4: Community Center to Cop Facility

“The Hope Center provided homeless support services, a food pantry, and served as a warming center in the winter, that predominately served Broadway-Fillmore residents.” This is one quote from many great details on the important role 379 Paderewski used to hold in the community.

The article then breaks down the timeline and actions by various block clubs, city officials, residents, and LOLA volunteers taken against this proposed police training facility and shooting range, including speaking up at city’s budget hearing, petitions (circulating around the Broadway-Filmore oneighbrhood and the city at large), legal actions including pushback to zoning changes and lack of environmental considerations around the facility, and more.

You can pickup a print-only issue (No. 3 - Fall 2025) of The Buffalo Contrarian at various locations around the city of Buffalo, including: Burning Books, Fitz Books, both Lexington Co-ops, the Crane Library, Merriweather Library, Spot in Williamsville, and potential other sites.