News

On February 16th, 2021, Open Buffalo along with the Emerging Leaders class of 2020 launched the Community Restoration Project (CRP). This campaign focuses on the passage of three bills in the New York State Legislature: (1) legalizing marijuana and funding communities affected by the war on drugs;  (2) “Clean Slate,” which would allow for automatic expungement of many criminal records; and (3) equitable taxation by increasing state taxes for the top 1% income earners in New York. We believe the passage of these three pieces of legislation can positively impact our communities by removing barriers to education, employment, and housing, by creating new revenue streams to funnel resources into our communities, and by eliminating the state budget deficit without continuing to exploit poor people while the rich get richer.

This is why we need to act now! We are demanding that state lawmakers pass the Community Restoration Project legislation during the 2021 legislative session. We know we can accomplish more if we have your help, so we are asking that you support the CRP by signing this petition and sharing it with your community network. In addition to getting the signatures we need to demand these legislative advancements for our city and state, we also want to make sure we are educating and informing the community and uplifting community voices.

Please feel free to contact us at info@openbuffalo.org with any questions you may have. We'd love to connect to discuss this campaign further and recruit a few dedicated community members to speak out and speak up with us. If you have a story to tell, or know of someone who would like to share their experiences, we would love to connect!

Don't stay silent. Sign the Community Restoration Project petition HERE.