Fair Fines and Fees Coalition Statement on Amendment ending the School Zone Cameras

Today marks twelve days since the City Clerk delivered the ordinance amendment passed by Buffalo Common Council in a 6-3 vote to Mayor Byron Brown for his signature or veto. To our knowledge, Mayor Brown has neither signed or vetoed the legislation, which means that per City Charter, the ordinance amendment ending the disastrous school zone speed camera program is now law. We thank Councilmember Rasheed Wyatt for sponsoring this legislation and thank Councilmembers Pridgen, Rivera, Feroleto, Bollman and Nowakowski for voting in favor. 

We celebrate this important victory on behalf of the everyday people of Buffalo who will no longer be exploited for profit by the City and the private camera vendor, Sensys Gatso. We mourn the fact that millions of dollars were taken from residents who can least afford it during a global pandemic, and that neighborhoods of color were targeted by the City yet again for these extractive and burdensome enforcement practices. We demand that immediate and significant investment be made into common-sense traffic safety improvements to make school zones safe by design, as is written in the ordinance amendment, and that the City prioritizes traffic-calming measures and street infrastructure investment in all neighborhoods before resorting to any new enforcement measures. These design improvements should be implemented through a ‘Just Streets’ framework that considers not only traffic safety but also racial equity and economic justice. We need better street design, not enforcement. 

We know that the City now has more resources than ever before to fund safe streets due to never-before-seen federal and state funds, and that therefore cost is no longer an excuse to ignore our crumbling streets. We call on Mayor Brown, the Common Council, and the Department of Public Works to work with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, the Fair Fines and Fees Coalition, Colored Girls Bike Too, and residents to systematically address the safety needs of school zones, and basic street infrastructure needs that have long been unaddressed. Asking the Common Council to address traffic safety needs in a piecemeal way using $1.3 million in “Neighborhood Initiatives” funding, as Mayor Brown did in the recently approved budget, is not enough. We need a cohesive and dedicated approach to make school zones safe for our children and to make Buffalo streets safer for everyone.

Related articles

B-ROLL: Governor Hochul Announces FY26 Budget Affordability Investments for Southern Tier Families

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dPBw9ke3xE May 9, 2025 - Batch Coffee, Johnson...

‘What a mess’: Laura Loomer again bashes Trump admin over ’embarrassing’ nomination



Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer is once again lashing out at the Trump administration – this time over the replacement for a nominee she herself helped tank.

Hours after President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for U.S. surgeon general – following complaints from Loomer – he announced a new pick: wellness influencer and metabolic health advocate Dr. Casey Means.

But Loomer still isn’t satisfied.

“Casey Means, the new Trump nominee for US Surgeon General doesn’t even have an active medical license in Oregon when she established her medical practice,” Loomer posted in a series of social media posts bashing Means – and her family.

“How is the top doctor in the US supposed to give medical guidance and advice to the nation when she doesn’t even have an active medical license in the state where she allegedly practiced medicine?” Loomer wrote.

ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams

“This is so embarrassing for the Trump administration,” the MAGA influencer added. She went on to tell her social media followers that Means “didn’t even support Donald Trump” and questioned the Trump administration: “Who is doing the vetting?????”

In a post just minutes earlier, Loomer questioned the title of the position itself. “The term Surgeon General is interesting given the fact that there is no requirement to be a Surgeon to be Surgeon General,” Loomer posted.

“Turns out you can be a social media influencer and become Surgeon General,” she said. In yet another lengthier post, Loomer went after Means’ father, who she claimed “wrote a pro-trans children’s book.”

“I’m told that Casey is VERY CLOSE with her father and shares his views,” she wrote. “So basically, we are now going to have a Democrat US Surgeon General who doesn’t even have an active medical license and whose family is writing books about how to make children transgender.”

“What a mess,” Loomer concluded.

Here are the A-listers mentioned in the Diddy trial so far

Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or...