Living with a complex problem
By Mark Scheer
Thursday, June 10, 2026

Demondi Johnson doesn’t think more officers are the answer.

The 20-year-old Jordan Gardens resident believes a better approach would involve more opportunity.

“Until they find something to keep the kids occupied, they are going to keep having problems,” said Johnson, a Niagara Falls High School graduate and current student at Gannon University.

At his home a few blocks from the spot where Gov. George Pataki spoke Wednesday about a new initiative to deter neighborhood crime, the former high school basketball star described his North End community as a place in need of the kind of help police officers don’t normally provide.

While often considered a high-crime section of the city, Johnson said patrols are heavy in his neighborhood, but problems persist because the presence of police officers doesn’t get to the heart of the real problem — a lot of young people with few constructive options and plenty of time on their hands.

“All the fighting is because there’s nothing to do,” he said. “Nothing at all. Nobody wants to live here. It’s not even going to be a city much longer. They don’t offer anything for the kids. Jobs? There are no jobs.”

Across the street, Lois Betton said she too would rank police protection lower on the list of community needs than say job creation or community development.

“What is there to protect?” Betton said, referring to a large number of vacant homes and storefronts on her street. “There’s nothing here. Give us some jobs. Give us better roads. Give our children something to do. There’s nothing here for any of them.”

Dorothy Harper, who has lived on 21st Street since 1946, said she too is disturbed by the large number of empty and dilapidated buildings in her neighborhood.

She also said she welcomes any plan that might weed out some of the vagrants and criminals who often call those properties home.

“It’s just not safe for the older people,” she said.
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