Although the neighborhood has been experiencing an upswing in development in recent years, a recurring prostitution problem has spurred some business owners, residents, and a city lawmaker to call for swift action. Niagara District Council member David Rivera wants law enforcers to consider reviving an earlier practice that involved the city posting the photographs of people convicted of soliciting prostitutes on the Police Department's website.
Rivera, a retired Buffalo police officer, said he believes targeting "johns" is an effective way to reduce prostitution. And because of it, I think we need to be a little more aggressive in terms of posting pictures of johns," Rivera told WBFO.
Advocates of the practice of "shaming" patrons of prostitutes note that the tactic has helped to curb the problem in other cities. Over the past several years, at least a dozen new businesses have opened on Grant Street. Many have credited the resurgence at least in part to a number of immigrants and refugees who have settled in the neighborhood and started their own businesses.
Rivera has represented the West Side on the Common Council for nearly eight years. He says he wants to make sure prostitution doesn't become an obstacle to continued development on Grant Street. View the discussion thread. Buffalo, NY — Buffalo's West Side is now home to a new business incubator that celebrates the neighborhood's diversity and hopes to spur economic development.
Immigrants and refugees from all over the world have brought an international flare and flavor to the West Side. People have resettled there from Somalia, Burma, Rwanda and the Dominican Republic to name only a few. Classical Share Tweet Email.
