The housing committee discussed ongoing Fulton Street issues and how the Department of Development’s planned Pilot Residential Districts for infill housing will play into hopefully remedying some of that. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

Councilman Russ Bonfiglio, R-At Large, has gotten some firsthand knowledge of the issues facing Fulton Street residents.

Bonfiglio’s experience led to further discussion during Monday’s City Council Housing and Public Safety committees of the issues residents have described in the area as well as a new pilot program that aims to place new housing development on Fulton Street and other targeted neighborhoods throughout the city.

During the Housing Committee, Bonfiglio brought up the Fulton Street issue again, saying he went to the area and talked with people who came to the last meeting.

“I went there and talked with them, and I was there for about 45 minutes to an hour,” Bonfiglio said. “He wasn’t kidding. In that 45 minutes to an hour I was there — it’s that house across the street on Eighth — there were probably five drug deals while I was there.”

Councilwoman Regina Brackman, R-Ward 3, said she was hoping they would talk more about Fulton Street, as she had been involved in a Zoom call with several residents of that area. She said their biggest concern is that they do not feel that anything is happening, whether that be for the drug issues or trespassing at condemned buildings.

Crystal Surdyk, city development director, said that while drug trafficking is a public safety issue, for trespassing if someone does not have a permission slip to be at the condemned building they can and should be arrested.

Additionally, she said several properties there are slated for demolition, adding that Chautauqua County Land Bank officials know Fulton Street is a priority. But, Surdyk said, there is only so much to be done as it all takes time.

“They’re going to see a big change in that neighborhood once those properties come down,” Surdyk said. “There’s not going to be a place for people to squat or break in or participate in that.”

Surdyk said they are doing what they can, and this includes the planned Pilot Residential Districts, which will focus on targeted areas, including Fulton Street and Cross Street. In these areas they have been able to acquire parcels and are looking into doing a number of strategic demolitions and that will then be followed by infill housing projects.

The CFA submissions the Department of Development sent into the state at the end of July after approval from council are to help put in the infrastructure in these identified districts so they can be ready for the incoming infill projects, including water lines, sewer, new sidewalks and the rest that is needed for a new house to be built.

“Fulton Street is obviously very top of mind along with those other neighborhoods that I mentioned that we’ve been talking about,” Surdyk said.

It was then discussed that the council will also need to approve a negative declaration for the SEQR application with the project at the voting session, which applies to every area identified for the project, and that any new build will still need site plan and approval from the Planning Commission, though it will bypass needing any zoning variance.

“Again, it is a pilot project so it can be changed if we get into the zoning code update and we find that it needs to be adjusted in some way, we have the ability to do that,” Surdyk said. “That’s why we kind of are keeping it as a pilot so we can make those adjustments as we’re moving forward. But, we don’t want to prevent the forward momentum that we have with the state’s Pro Housing funding and all of the momentum that we’ve built with some of the developers that are really looking to develop and build new. We’ve been talking about it for a few years now and we’re finally there; this is that last piece that we need to get in place from a legislative standpoint to get that process streamlined.”