A Stadium can't house the homeless

In late March, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the plans for a brand new, $1.4 billion dollar stadium for one of New York's favorite sports teams, the Buffalo Bills. Another news story about a new stadium in the country is not new, however, the way that this new playing field will be funded is.

The new stadium is going to cost NY taxpayers $850 million, where $600 million will come from the state's overall budget, and the remaining $250 million will be funded by Erie County, where the Bill's stadium will reside in.

The concern here is very simple: why are New Yorkers paying for an establishment that lies under private projects? Certainly this money from the New Yorker's wallet would be better suited for public projects like funding for education, or housing, no?

In the secret negotiations between Hochul, county officials and the owners of the Buffalo Bills, Hochul asked the question, "how can we get the best deal for taxpayers?"

The answer is simple... don't make them pay for a brand new stadium. As opposed to the plans for the new building, it may have been better to keep the old stadium, the Highmark Stadium. Considering its history in the NFL as one of the oldest stadiums in professional football, the stadium would have remained a landmark in Buffalo and the country, thus saving residents millions.

Many have criticized the Governor, a Buffalo native (which explains a lot) about how the money could have been used to fund other programs in the state for those who actually need the money. Housing is just one aspect.

@Enterprise_NYC called on the governor on Twitter, citing that $250 million that will be used from the residents Erie County can fund the HAVP, or the Housing Access Voucher Program. The organization also criticized Hochul for stating that HAVP would cost much more than it actually would.

The HAVP allows for thousands of homeless people to be transferred to permanent housing, and for thousands of residents struggling to afford their rent and mortgage to stay home with no worries. But with the same money it would cost to initiate such a program, taxpayers instead are paying not even half of the cost of the stadium.

The question that is raised now is whether or not tax money will be used for more projects that have traditionally been funded by private donors and large companies. With the NFL bringing in millions, if not billions of dollars from their ticket sales and brand deals, it should be a no-brainer to have the NFL pay for the stadium and not residents.

The hope now is that the governor and officials in NY and the NFL will donate to the housing sector and provide for those whose housing is uncertain everyday.