City legislators hope to make corner stores, which are typically the cornerstones of Buffalo’s neighbourhoods, safer and healthier places for its customers by passing legislation.
The new rules, according to council members, are important parts in the process of bringing harmony to the town. Furthermore, store owners believe that the laws will boost their bottom line.
Beginning on April 5th, all licenced food stores in Buffalo, as well as their owners and operators, have been required to comply with fresh food store regulations.
Bryan Bollman, a member of the Lovejoy District Council, says he has long desired to see tobacco & vaping sales to minorities and minors curtailed.
“And you can tell by the use of vibrant colours in their advertising,” says the author. So, what we was able to do was pass an ordinance—we were able to add to the code that no tobacco advertising should be shown in the windows of businesses in under 1,500 feet of such a school. According to him, “you should never be able to see smoking or vaping products through the glass.”
The addition of security cameras that are registered with Buffalo Police Department’s Buffalo SafeCam programme, according to Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski, is another significant development that has occurred.
When police need to recover surveillance that can assist them in cracking a case, “we’re seeing more and more of it in main corridors such as Broadway, in which we see significant activity,” he said. “They now have better intel and can rely on such stores to be an information is passed and can hand out surveillance which may solve crimes and perhaps even deter them,” he added.
The proprietor of Lovejoy Local Market expresses her delight at the improved conditions of the food store.
“I think it’s fantastic that the BDP has access to the cameras,” says the author. “That legislation is fantastic, and I believe it will be good to the community in terms of keeping away some of the riff-raff that a few of our stores attract,” said Colleen Russell, president of the Lovejoy Village Association.
The council members believe that in the future, they would like to see additional convenience stores that offer healthier options and function similarly to Lovejoy Village Market.
“If the closest approximation to your house is just a convenience store, consider yourself lucky. This means that you will have fewer access to stuff in general as a result of this. Let alone high-quality products. Consequently, I’d like to see corner stores transition more to a venue where they can provide items that can immediately uplift the surrounding neighbourhood, such as fresh fruit and veg, meals to go, and other healthy alternatives to beer, cigarettes, lottery tickets, and chips,” said Nowakowski. “Instead of beer, cigarettes, lottery tickets, and chips, I’d like to see corner stores transition more to a venue where they can provide items which can straight uplift the surrounding streets,” said Nowakowski.
Council members told FOX Buffalo that they are also working to ensure that some of the corner shops are not inflating prices, as well as taking a more aggressive position against the sale of outdated food.