Possible turf war concerns residents

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Recent shootings on Buffalo's west side have residents concerned about a rise in youth violence and a possible turf war.

Buffalo Police are stepping up patrols for Friday night's fireworks at Riverside Park.

A rash of violence on the west side seems to be spilling over into the Black Rock and Riverside neighborhoods. Last Friday, a twenty-year-old west side man was shot and killed on Ullman Street.

Riverside resident Elizabeth Bakston said, "I saw the mother. She was crying her heart out."

But on the west side, in just the last three weeks, violence took the life of a young victim who was shot at West Delavan and Grant, and Wednesday at least ten shots were fired into a house on Hoyt Street.

West side mom Patricia Ayers said, "(There) could have been a lot of kids in here, and it should not have been put here. If people want a war, it should not be brought here, because we have nothing to do with it!"

There was another shooting on Potomac Thursday night. The violence is striking fear in the hearts of neighbors.

Greg Tansky of the For the Neighbors Block Club said, "We have residents and tenants in the neighborhood who are extremely frightened; so frightened they will not call the cops. For fear of their own life."

Tansky's coalition of seven block clubs is working with authorities to try to hold the west side together, but it's a struggle.

Tansky said, "We were forming two more block clubs over in the Potomac and Hoyt area, and those individuals dropped out because they feared for their life and safety."

But the block clubs seem to be making some progress. Federal authorities seized a property as a drug house. Now it is being auctioned off.

Even as a gang turf war seems to be shaping up, and threatening Riverside and Black Rock, block clubs are trying to hold the line there.

Joseph Golombek of the D-North District said, "To make sure that as soon as we see something that we perceive as being wrong, calling 9-1-1, calling the councilmember's office, and trying to nip things in the bud."

While city officials point out Buffalo's overall crime rate is down so far this year, Mayor Byron Brown and police brass are promising stepped up enforcement.