Saturday, April 14, 2018

Monarch source of neighborhood complaints


Residents surrounding the neighborhood on Forest Avenue have launched complaints about increased crime since the opening of Monarch 716, a 500-bed housing complex. 
The nine-building complex located on 100 Forest Ave., opened in the summer of 2017 to serve college students and others.  
Between Sept. 19, 2017 and March 18, 242 incidents have been reported, according to crimereports.com. Armed robberies, stabbings, and gun shots are the main crimes reported to the Buffalo police.
Neighbors complain of people loitering, playing loud music and the need for police calls on a weekly basis.
“I have lived here for 25 years and the value of this neighborhood has decreased since Monarch has arrived. I have two kids and I don’t feel comfortable with the amount of times the police are here and the amount of crimes I’ve seen reported in the news,” Sandra James, resident of Danforth Street, said.
Monarch 716 residents have tried to get out of their contracts due to the unsafe environment.
“Residents have complained lack of security and that has resulted in what we call apartment abandonment,” Savannah Morgan, Monarch 716 leasing agent said.
Many students signed up to live at the property from surrounding colleges including SUNY Buffalo State, Medaille and Canisius, although there are also non-student residents.  By Tiffany Channer and Kai Lewis