Can you tell me about this neighborhood in Buffalo, NY?

May 24, 2006 11:40 AM

50 Newton St., Buffalo NY: Good neighborhood or bad neighborhood? Heck, if you'd be so kind, just tell me all about this neighborhood.

I'm interested in a fixer-upper house for sale there, but I live seven hours away so I'd like to get an idea before driving there. So...crime levels? What sorts of people live there? Is there some decent amount of diversity? Libraries? Book stores? KKK? Parks? Is it a nice place to take a walk around the neighborhood?

posted by light bulb to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

Response by poster: Here's a map.
posted by light bulb at 11:50 AM on May 24, 2006

Best answer: Not the best area, no. That is off in the East Side/Old Polish neighborhood of Buffalo. There are beautiful but run-down houses in that area, and a fair amount of crime, and yet Buffalo is weird in that gorgeous areas exist in the midst of really run-down areas.
I can go drive by it later for you.
The Central Terminal is in that area, and they just redid that, but that is as far as the urban renewal goes there. Email in profile.
posted by oflinkey at 11:53 AM on May 24, 2006

Best answer: FixBuffalo is a blog devoted to neighborhood revival in that area. If you're interested in that street, ask the blogger there. He's really helpful and a nice guy.

Looking around his blog, you'll see the good and the bad of living there.
posted by voidcontext at 12:05 PM on May 24, 2006

Mostly you'll pictures of the worst houses in the area there, so keep that in mind.
posted by voidcontext at 12:07 PM on May 24, 2006

I'm sorry, one last post: that house is on Buffalo's East Side.

You also might want to consider looking on Buffalo's West Side, where there are some areas that are a bit further along in the rehabilitation process (between Niagara and Elmwood Ave, south of Utica).
posted by voidcontext at 12:11 PM on May 24, 2006

That house (50 Newton Street) is, according to the Buffalo Neighborhoods Map site says it's in Polonia.

There's a description at Auto-Free in Buffalo (which is a little outdated) called "Polish East Buffalo: Fading Away":

Indeed, Broadway west of Fillmore is the American ghetto at its worst. Men languish on street corners, and building after building is boarded up. Broadway just past the market is still more Polish than not, but is poor, and visibly transitional. The census tract including (and mostly east of) the market is one of the most dangerous parts of the city, with a whopping 18.8 robberies per 1000 residents -- more than ten times the robbery rate of census tracts between William and Clinton near the city limits.

Although the traditional core of the East Buffalo Polish community is dying, other parts of Buffalo's East Side are more prosperous. The general rule is that the further south and east you go, the nicer the neighborhoods get. For example, the blocks between William and Clinton Sts. east of Babcock have only 1-2 robberies per 1000 residents -- not as low as the suburbs, but as low as the average suburb in cities like Washington and Atlanta (which means it is safer than most inner suburbs in those cities).

The house you're talking about is closer to the nice part than the bad part, but still, the "American ghetto at its worst" (according to the page author) is just 8 or 10 blocks away by the google map.
posted by pracowity at 12:52 PM on May 24, 2006

Question for light bulb: I've heard a bit recently about people buying houses online in cities they may know little or nothing about. Is that what you're doing here, and if so... why, in heavens name??

The little i've heard/read about this is how it usually ends up a horror story.
posted by Artful Codger at 1:30 PM on May 24, 2006

Best answer: I've just looked at the map again -- your place is actually closer to the bad part than the good.
posted by pracowity at 1:37 PM on May 24, 2006

Response by poster: Wow, thank you everyone for these very helpful answers.

Oflinkey, that is an incredibly generous offer, but I think I'm getting a lot of good information here without putting you through that trouble.

Voidcontext...oh my goodness, he's talking about rotting BODIES. Bodies! I'm still going to email him but yes, that is definitely useful information.

Pracowity, again, very useful information.

Artful Codger, It's true, I know very little about Buffalo, but:
1.) I like Niagara Falls
2.) Buffalo is located about equally between my family and my in-laws, and I've been keeping an eye open for a place either around that area or in Pennsylvania for that reason.
3.) This place is $12,000 for a duplex. Of course it needs repairs, but it's so very cheap that I could buy it and do the repairs bit by bit without moving or giving up my current job in the meantime, then once it's ready just move and have no housing payment, plus an apartment to rent out while I live in the other half.

I guess the price should have been enough to answer my questions about the kind of neighborhood, though! Thanks, everyone...and I'd still love to hear more if anyone else happens by.
posted by light bulb at 1:58 PM on May 24, 2006

Any place inside city limits that's $12000 probably needs demolition more than repairs. I think you're well into Fight Club territory at those prices.

Google maps/photos is a help, too: it shows the house is right next to an active freight rail line, as well as an abandoned and decaying train station.
posted by cardboard at 2:22 PM on May 24, 2006

Best answer: Whatever you do, don't buy it without spending a couple days in the neighborhood, including weekend nights. And talking to the neighbors. Google maps unfortunately does not mark the crack houses.

You're thinking about paying $12K for a duplex? The reason the price is so good is that occasionally people get killed in drug gang spats not too far from the front door. Not to mention the walls are unlikely to protect occupants from the rare but not unheard of stray 9mm round.

Buffalo does not get the big body counts of more contested drug areas. But there is a reason the duplex is up for sale for $12K, and it ain't the paint.
posted by sacre_bleu at 4:05 PM on May 24, 2006

Response by poster: Sacre bleu indeed! Thanks for the info. I think my mind is quite made up at this point. You know how they say if it seems too good to be true it probably is...
posted by light bulb at 6:27 PM on May 24, 2006

light bulb, do look into other areas of the city, however. Buffalo is a decent city. North Buffalo, the Elmwood area or Allentown (although those two might be a bit pricier) and the Richmond Avenue area are all nice areas to live in. I live in North Buffalo, and there can be some deals here.
posted by oflinkey at 7:44 PM on May 24, 2006

Light bulb, do keep looking, I love Buffalo - it's a great town. Property is still very reasonable - $12,000 is sort of low, but you can find good housing for $50,000 or $60,000.
posted by voidcontext at 1:49 PM on May 25, 2006

Response by poster: I'll surely keep looking, and thanks again.
posted by light bulb at 2:06 PM on May 25, 2006