BUFFALO - Today, March 12, 2025, Senator Sean Ryan called for the City of Buffalo to take action on an abandoned building at 2 St. Louis Place after years of neglect, and announced that holding negligent property owners accountable will be one of his priorities as Mayor of Buffalo. Ryan’s comments came in response to reporting by WKBW on Allentown residents’ concerns about the deterioration of their neighborhood in the wake of the loss of Mickey Harmon and Jordan Celotto.

“That 2 St. Louis Place has been allowed to be neglected by its owner to this degree for this long is unacceptable,” Ryan said. “The neighborhood has been sounding the alarm about this property for years. Eight months ago, I joined neighbors outside the building to urge the city to take action. While we were there, a squatter jumped out of the abandoned building and walked past us.

“It shouldn’t take a tragedy to get the City of Buffalo to care about public safety, but I hope this renewed attention on the building finally gets them to do something about it.”

Ryan criticized city leadership for failing to act on dangerously neglected properties, pointing to a broken system that allows absentee landlords and blighted buildings to put entire neighborhoods at risk.

"Negligent landlords and property owners are consistently allowed to let their buildings fall into disrepair, creating unsafe conditions for the people who live in and around them,” Ryan said.

As a state senator, Ryan has proposed stronger code enforcement, using receivership to take control of blighted properties, and investing in housing solutions that prioritize community stability and safety, like those that make up his City of Good Neighborhoods housing plan.

"As Mayor, I will take immediate action to change the way Buffalo responds to neglectful property owners,” Ryan said. "Buffalo needs leadership that prioritizes safe, healthy neighborhoods. That’s exactly what I plan to do.

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