fix buffalo today, archive

Smart City...

2007-11-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

I totally missed this recent segment...listen here!

Even America's most depressed downtowns are showing vigorous signs of life. It's a surprising development no one predicted in the bleak years of the 1970's and 80's when many so-called experts dismissed the idea of downtown revitalization as wishful thinking in the age of surburbanization.

Dave Feehan, who heads the International Downtown Association, is here to tell us how downtowns have defied predictions and come back strong. David has devoted more than 35 years to rebuilding and revitalizing cities, directing downtown programs in Des Moines, Detroit, and Kalamazoo, and neighborhood development programs in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis.

Also with us is Dennis Maher, a sculptor working in Buffalo who brings new life to abandoned buildings by using the waste of other restoration projects. Dennis defines his work as "afterlives, the attempt to renew and to give another life to the wasted remains of a city." Dennis is an adjunct professor at the University at Buffalo.

And we'll hear from Nate Berg of Planetizen and Walker Smith of Yankelovich with his commentary on the stress of change, this week on Smart City.

Listen to host Carol Colletta - list of additional stations/times - 7pm Sunday on WNED - 970 in Buffalo, NY. Past Shows are archived and the newsletter is published regularly.

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Artspace • BAVPA • Woodlawn Row Houses • my flickr

the creativity exchange • latest blog comments

2005-12-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

Napa adds to renewal of Michigan- Genesee area

Auto parts retailer in ex-Anthone store

By SHARON LINSTEDT
News Staff Reporter
12/2/2005

A long-idle retail storefront at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Genesee Street downtown has come back to life as a Napa Auto Parts store, joining a growing list of fresh investment in that neighborhood.

"It's a prime location with lots of potential customers," said Dave Jemiolo, manager of the company-owned Napa store that debuted this week. "Our corporate people looked at several locations downtown and took into account the redevelopment that is happening and how everything is moving upward."

The new Napa store, the company's third Buffalo location, fills space vacated in 1993 by Anthone Furniture, which had occupied the building for 74 years. The site was briefly used as a nightclub, but has sat boarded up most of the past decade.

Jemiolo said the turn-of-the-century building's unique characteristics, including interior support pillars, required a one-of-a-kind store layout.

"Napa stores are pretty much cookie cutter with everything predetermined, but this was the exact opposite. Everything had to be customized to fit into the space and around the pillars. It gives it a lot of character and a nostalgic feel," he said.

Another non-standard touch is the exterior wall mural that rises above the store on the adjoining building. Napa hired local artist Blair Rusin to come up with a 1930s scene of a bustling downtown Buffalo to give the site additional flair.

"It shows Buffalo at the height of greatness, lots of activity. Hopefully that's where things are headed again," Jemiolo said.

Napa's investment and unexpected flair has not gone unnoticed by neighboring business Quermback Electric Inc., located across the intersection at 215 Genesee St. Operating continuosly at the site since the 1940s, Quermback spent several years as the sole business at that corner.

"We've stuck it out down here from the good times to the bad," said Brian Radzwill, vice president of the family-owned electric supply company.

Over the decades Quermback morphed its operation from a full-service electric store with consumer showrooms to a company whose primary customer base is now the professional building trades. As neighboring businesses closed and foot traffic fell, it adjusted its hours to eliminate evening and Saturday sales.

Quermback now relies heavily on a small fleet of trucks to speed electric fixtures and supplies around the the city, the suburbs and beyond.

"We were doing fine without other businesses around us, but it was a nice surprise to hear what Napa was up to," Radzwill said. "It was great to see the boards come down off the building."

Napa may be the first new retailer in the neighborhood in decades, but it isn't the only new life. In recent months the Maritime and Pinnacle charter schools have both moved into renovated light industrial space near the corner of Michigan Avenue and Genesee Street.

A new medical facility project just saw groundbreaking on the northwest corner of the intersection which will bring nearly $5 million in capital investment, plus patient traffic.

The neighborhood also sits between the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to the north, and the emerging Michigan Avenue cultural tourism corridor to the south.

"This is another clear, in-your-face indication that our city is healing and improving," said Mayor Anthony M. Masiello. "That was a tough corner not that long ago and practically overnight there's a diverse mix of retail, medical, educational and cultural investment."

2005-11-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

100 Churches May Shut, Merge

Catholic Diocese faces precipitous drop in number of priests

By JAY TOKASZ News Staff Reporter11/8/2005

As many as 100 churches in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo would have to be closed or merged to bring the diocese in line with others of similar population, geographic size and priest numbers.
Diocesan officials said they don't know yet how many churches would be targeted for closing or merger.

But some members of a diocesan planning commission acknowledged during interviews with The Buffalo News that they anticipate anywhere from 60 to 100 parishes could be consolidated or closed over the next two to three years - in anticipation of a precipitous drop in the number of priests available to staff churches.

More than a third of diocesan priests are scheduled to retire in the next decade.

Diocesan officials forecast 142 diocesan priests will be available in 2015, down from 234 diocesan priests who are currently active in ministry. The diocese of about 700,000 Catholics in eight counties has 274 parishes and missions.

Diocesan officials, who launched a two-year restructuring process over the summer, have emphasized repeatedly that they won't know how many churches will be closed or merged until all parishes have had an opportunity to review themselves over the next several months.
"It's too early in the process," said spokesman Kevin A. Keenan. "We just don't have that."
Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, nonetheless, explained in a meeting with priests that dioceses with similar populations and priest numbers on average have 80 to 100 fewer parishes than the Buffalo Diocese.

In its analysis, diocesan officials examined 18 other dioceses, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hartford, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

Some already have gone through a restructuring, notably Pittsburgh, which trimmed more than a third of its parishes.

"Some have done it well, and other dioceses have not done it so well, and the difference really is how involved the people are," said Sister Nancy Hoff, president of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Regional Community of Buffalo, and a member of the planning commission appointed by Kmiec .

Some commission members agreed that the diocese probably would have to consolidate at least 60 parishes and possibly as many as 100 in an effort to make the remaining parishes more vibrant.

"That would be reasonable to expect," said Debbie Brown, director of sacramental and liturgical life at St. John the Baptist parish in Lockport and a commission member.

Monsignor Leonard E. Biniszkiewicz, pastor of St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus and also a commission member, termed such a pruning "very reasonable" to expect.

"Whether that's going to be the reality in the end, I don't know," he said. "The commission has not come up with a plan that's already in effect or anything like that."

Biniszkiewicz said the diocese, even when it was flush with priests, was overbuilt with parishes.
Several far-flung rural parishes were established with the idea that they would grow. They continued on for years, often as a training ground for young priests, even though the growth often never happened.

"It was not irresponsible; it was just the age we lived in. It's a totally different story now," said Biniszkiewicz.

The diocese's plan for restructuring, called "Journey in Faith & Grace," moved into its second phase last month. Over the next year or so, clusters of parishes will develop recommendations for the future configuration of churches and schools within the cluster. Those recommendations will be forwarded to the planning commission by Jan. 1, 2007.

Diocesan officials and commission members emphasized that no parishes have been targeted for closure at this point.

And some commission members weren't as convinced about widespread closures.
"I don't know whether the solution is always closing parishes. I'm sure some will, but there are other creative things to do," Hoff said.

The priest shortage isn't the only reason for the diocesan-wide restructuring.

To illustrate, diocesan officials have unveiled reams of statistics, available at the diocesan Web site, buffalodiocese.org.

Average weekend Mass attendance is down 15 percent since 1995; baptisms and marriages are down 41 percent and 34 percent, respectively, in that same time period; and the number of registered Catholic households has fallen 8 percent.

"Even if we had enough priests, even if money wasn't an issue, we still need a spiritual renewal," said Brown. "The statistics are alarming, but it's saying we're not getting the job done and people aren't coming. We need to be more spirit-led."

Nearly two-thirds of priests currently assigned to Catholic churches in the City of Buffalo either will be retired or serving in suburban or rural parishes within the next decade, according to diocesan projections.

The diocese has 50 priests working in 58 parishes in the city. That number would decrease to 18 priests by 2015, based on a model that diocesan officials are examining for how they might staff churches in the future.

The model is based on average weekend attendance in geographic segments of the diocese called vicariates.

The city, which is no longer predominantly Catholic, would see the biggest loss of pastors in those forecasts.

The projections are part of a list of guidelines developed by the planning commission.
The 28 pages of guidelines feature a "checklist" of indicators that parishioners should consider when determining whether a church is vibrant enough to continue.

The checklist asks rural parishes if they have at least 100 active families; urban parishes, at least 500 active families; and suburban parishes, at least 1,000 active families.

It also inquires whether the church is at least two-thirds full for each weekend liturgy.

"We have to start evaluating our parishes, and that, as far as I'm concerned, is saying to every single parish in the Diocese of Buffalo, do we have the right to exist?" Biniszkiewicz said. "As we do this now, hopefully we will create the kind of parishes where this need not happen again."
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related posts: "Annals of Neglect"

BN 10/13/05 Artspace

2005-10-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

Invigorating Main St. pulse, old factory will be new haven for artists to live, work
By MARK SOMMER
News Staff Reporter
10/13/2005

A project offering low-income, loft-style living and work spaces for artists - the most ambitious to be undertaken in Buffalo - was formally unveiled Wednesday.

The 60-unit project will be in and behind the historic 1914 building that housed Buffalo Electric Vehicle Co., an automobile factory, at 1219 Main St. It is the 19th project by Artspace Projects, the nation's leading nonprofit developer of space for artists and arts organizations.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., who helped secure critical funding, was on hand at Kleinhans Music Hall to celebrate the project's launch.

It was the second stop on her visit to Buffalo on Wednesday, sandwiched between an endorsement of State Sen. Byron W. Brown, Democratic candidate for Buffalo mayor, and support for a state promotional campaign for apples.

"This arts project will bring new life and activity into Buffalo, and further enhance the city's reputation as a creative arts destination," Clinton said.

"The arts are an engine for economic development. They clearly are the means by which we revitalize neighborhoods, buildings and communities."

Mayor Anthony M. Masiello hailed Buffalo Artspace as one in a number of projects that are populating downtown through conversions of historic buildings into lofts, apartments and condominiums.

The mayor said he hoped that Artspace Buffalo would also be a catalyst for more development of industrial structures for artists' living and work spaces.

The design by lead project architect Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects calls for 36 units in the renovated brick factory, also known as the Breitweiser Building. It was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Sizes for the living/work spaces in the five-story building will range from studio to three-bedroom and feature 10-foot-tall windows and exposed concrete floors. The top four floors will be "hard loft" housing - flexible, multipurpose spaces without much trim or adornment, along with exposed masonry walls, ceiling structures and mechanical systems.

Twenty-four units are planned for a new building behind it that architect Matt Meier said will be "a hybrid industrial warehouse environment" that maintains the feel of a residential neighborhood.

Monthly rents will range from $450 to $895, including utilities. There also will be ground-floor commercial space for arts-compatible businesses.

The event brought an outpouring of local arts administrators seeking a glimpse of the Artspace design.

"The timing is really perfect, because we have so many new developments going on downtown," said Lawrence Brose, executive director of CEPA Gallery in the Market Arcade.

"People aren't waiting any longer for something to happen. They are just doing it, and that's really great."

Louis Grachos, director of Albright-Knox Art Gallery, said, "It's an exceptional project, and it's rewarding for me as a museum director to see initiatives like Artspace really taking over in Buffalo."

Clinton's and Masiello's help in bringing the project to Buffalo drew praise from Wendy Holmes, vice president of resource development for 26-year-old, Minneapolis-based Artspace. "We wish we could have this much support in our own back yard," she said.

The $16 million project - which includes $1.1 million from the private sector - is expected to open in December 2006. Interior work is scheduled to begin this December. For information, visit www.artspacebuffalo.org.

Clinton also appeared Wednesday at a fund-raising event for Brown in his campaign office and joined Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, and officials from a trade association and JetBlue Airways in supporting a promotional campaign for New York State apples.

e-mail: msommer@buffnews.com

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Artspace Archive • Annals of Neglect • BAVPA • Where is Perrysburg? • Broken Promises...
Writing the City • Woodlawn Row Houses • Tour dé Neglect - 2006

2005-10-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

Buffalo News October 11, 2005

Group to study vacant properties in Buffalo, three towns
By MATT GLYNN
News Business Reporter
10/11/2005

Vacant and abandoned properties cause an unwelcome ripple effect, hurting property values and draining community resources.

A team of outside experts is trying to help Buffalo and three suburbs find solutions, mindful of the financial restraints the city and Erie County face. When their research is finished, they will recommend ideas that local decision makers can use to redevelop vacant properties, reclaim abandoned sites, and prevent others from falling into disrepair.

Experts with the National Vacant Properties Campaign recently visited Buffalo to interview a host of people who deal firsthand with the problem, through avenues like policymaking, the courts or nonprofit work.

Members of the assessment team will return later this month, to focus on vacant properties in Cheektowaga, Tonawanda and Amherst as part of the project's regional approach.

Joseph Schilling, the team's leader, concedes Buffalo is in a difficult position to tackle the problem, since the government is operating under a control board. But he said he was encouraged by the interest shown by the various stakeholders he and others in the group interviewed.

"There are a lot of people who are really committed to Buffalo," said Schilling, who is a professor at the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech in Alexandria, Va. He recently completed other vacant-property assessments in Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio.

Enthusiasm alone won't solve the problem, but Schilling said such interest is essential to build momentum for change.

Four organizations are collaborating on the vacant properties campaign: the Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC), Smart Growth America, the International City/County Management Association and the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.

The University at Buffalo Institute of Local Governance and Regional Growth, and the Amherst Industrial Development Agency are co-sponsoring the project with LISC.

Buffalo was one of seven urban areas around the country chosen from a pool of more than 50 to participate in the National Vacant Properties Campaign project, as Buffalo copes with vacant properties spawned by population decline and urban flight.

Among the problems team members heard local officials say they want to resolve: how to take control of vacant or abandoned properties more quickly, before they fall into disuse, said Michael Clarke, program director of Buffalo LISC.

Another issue team members are researching: increasing coordination among different efforts in the region to deal with vacant properties, so that strategies don't overlap or work at cross purposes.

In other communities, the campaign has encouraged greater local collaboration as a path to success.

Since the study has a regional approach, the team members will also look at vacant properties in Amherst, Cheektowaga and Tonawanda.

"Everyone is coming to understand that this is an issue to deal with," Clarke said.

In Amherst, the problem is primarily chronically vacant or underused retail and commercial buildings. Tonawanda and Cheektowaga have some vacant homes, partly due to population shifts or because some properties have lost market appeal.

The team members plan to finish a draft report by the end of the year and expect to make a formal presentation of their ideas in spring 2006, Clarke said.

2005-08-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

Partners for a Livable WNY - Archive

Here's an archive of e-mail reports I recieve from George Grasser regarding reports and events involving Partners for a Livable Western New York.

2005-08-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

Annals of Neglect...

"We'll have to be transparent, to make people feel
as if we're not concocting something behind their back."
- Bishop Kmiec

I'll be tracking Bishop Kmiec's "journey to avoid housing court" and matters relating to the catholic church's downsizing here in Buffalo, NY. I'll try to compare how other Catholic dioceses across the country deal with similar matters including abandoning inner-city property, “demolition by neglect” and housing court issues.

I think it would be interesting to compare "bishop's residences" in other cities experincing the Buffalo's decline and "detroitization" with the surrounding neighborhoods. When possible, it might be helpful to draw some correlations between the value of an average house and the value of the bishop's house. Said otherwise Bishop Kmiec...sell your Mansion, move into a rectory and lead by example. It's not that difficult.

And while Bishop Kmiec continues to reside at 79 Oakland Place, in the most expensive (highest assesment) residence in the City of Buffalo, it's helpful to remember what happens to former Catholic Church property when it's "flipped" to unsuspecting and irresponsible owners on Buffalo's east-side.

Writing and pictures appearing here on Fix Buffalo Today...

7/6/06 Kmiec's Folly
5/26/06 WWJD?
5/5/06 Saving Transfiguration
5/5/06 Backsliding in Buffalo
3/18/06 Mecca or Rome?
3/6/06 Pew News
2/28/06 Journey to Avoid Housing Court
1/04/06 More Transfiguration Pics...
12/11/05 Sign of Things to Come?
12/4/05 A Collaborative Effort?
11/22/05 Another McChurch
11/13/05 St. Stans
11/13/05 Bishop Kmiec's Right Hands
8/28/2005 No Plans to Sell 79 Oakland Place
7/5/05 Flipping Churches
7/4/05 WTF Do I Know
6/30/05 Demoltion by Neglect Meets Urbex
5/26/05 Shrinking City...Shirking Church?

Buffalo News - Articles, letters...

6/9/05 Major Restructuring Planned
11/9/05 100 Churches May Shut

Diocesan Stuff...

Diocese of Buffalo website
"strategic plan" or "How we plan to avoid Housing Court - Just like we did in 1993"

Slide Shows...

Falling Down - 29 images of East Side churches ready for demoltion...flickr slide show
Dodge Street Interior - former German Roman Catholic Orphan Home, 564 Dodge Street
Dodge Street Exterior - ditto, exterior

2005-08-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

Information about Post Office Relocation

I received the following notes from Allita Steward this afternoon regarding the PO 14209's relocation...
____________________________

William Moncrief, Real Estate Specialist for the Northeast Facilities Service Center expressed the Post Office’s desire to expand its operations at the Buffalo, NY Station C Post Office. Postal regulations require that the USPS keeps the City of Buffalo and the local community advised as when expansion or relocation is under consideration. Due to a lack of available land adjacent to the existing facility or available space to reconfigure the interior of the facility, the existing location cannot be expanded to meet future operational requirements. The USPS plans to advertise for both an existing building and a site to construct a new facility. If we find that an existing building is not suitable, then they will construct a new facility.

Key People...

Timothy Wanamaker - Executive Director - Office of Strategic Planning
Room 920 City Hall
Buffalo, New York 14202
Phone: (716) 851-5050
Fax: (716) 845-0172
twanamaker@city-buffalo.com

Allita Steward - Community Planner - Office of Strategic Planning
Room 920 City Hall
Buffalo, New York 14202
Phone: (716) 851-5050
Fax: (716) 845-0172
asteward@city-buffalo.com

Local US Postal Service Personnel:

Victor C. Laudisio - Customer Relations Coordinator, U.S. Postal Service
1200 William St. Room 200
Buffalo, NY 14209-2407
Phone: (716) 846-2536
Fax: (716) 846-2407
victor.c.laudisio@usps.gov

Marvin Randolph - Customer Service Manager, U.S. Postal Service
1245 Main Street
Buffalo, New York14209
Phone: (716) 883-8708
marvin.t.randolph@usps.gov

National US Postal Service Personnel:

William S. Moncrief - Real Estate Specialist
Northeast Facilities Service Office
6 Griffin Road North
Windsor, CT 06006-0300
Phone: (860) 285-7181
Fax: (860) 285-1287
william.s.moncrief@usps.gov

Robert Lipman - President
The Crown Partnership, Inc.
45 John Street, Suite 1011
New York, NY 10038-3706
Phone: (212) 349-9400
Fax: (212) 843-8224
robert.lipman@crownpartnership.com

July 13th—Community Meeting Notes

The Postal Service has specified their preferences for the new post office location to have available:

11K sq. Ft
67- 73 parking spaces (to accommodate 21 customers, 28 employees, 16-21 postal vehicles)
A 1 story stand alone

The current location has a site area of 29,438 sq. ft. which includes:

6550 sq. ft. Net floor space
21k sq. ft. Parking and maneuvering
159 sq. ft. Ramp and stairs
205 sq. ft. Basement
101 sq. ft. Dock and maneuvering
423 sq. ft. Platform

Introduction of Marvin Randolph
45 Day period started on June 28th
Site selection is being performed, site to be determined after 45 day period by the private site selector
City proposed sites to Crown Partnership

Owner of Buffalo Motor Lodge will sell for $2.2 million (unofficially, according to broker from Pyramid Brokerage)
Would eminent domain be used to take a property?
Leasing back the PO from a developer – are taxes paid to the city on property?
PO would like a 1 – Story, stand alone structure
Community wants Proper Urban Design consistent with the Transit District Overlay

2 – story Post Office:
Back Bay in Boston
Potomac in DC

Loss of PO jobs to Rochester? Losses are typical of nationwide PO consolidation PO needs 11,000 sq/ft
Passports = $$
Customer Parking
Handicap Access
Dock Security
Dock Access – 6, 40ft vehicles a day, plus UPS
Interior parking for PO Jeeps – 21 vehicles

Balcom – possible traffic circle proposed by Bethel, still needs seed money
Main & Ferry – Willoby Insurance/1.6 Acres $500,000 (unofficial, according to broker from Pyramid Brokerage) Near the new Performing Arts High School
Jefferson Avenue
PO not married to Main Street
PO 1 mile, preferably ½ mile radius from current location
Gas station just beyond Utica
Just over an acre
Gas station contamination

City site-remediation reimbursed by the State
Very time consuming process

PO relocation ~ 18 months to opening in new location
Major cross street location?
Good for customer access
Safety-wise, not a problem
Houses behind a commercial property - Ferry & Main

Hold-out – would city take the property through eminent domain Federal government?

Society of St. Vincent de Paul Building and Enterprise Car Rental site Large site
Need to relocate services provided on the site
Packard Building

Cash owns the homes behind the site also

Main & Ferry – Car wash and Glass place
Corner Building owned by Scot Fisher – owns Oxford to Main on Ferry
Urban Corner – when included with two other possible developments
CAO property at Dodge and Parade
Focus on Main & Ferry

$32 million is being spent at New Performing Arts High School

Upcoming Meetings

Wednesday July 20th, 2005 @ 6pm
Tuesday July 26th, 2005 @ 6pm

Same information covered at all three meetings, opportunity for all in community to participate.

July 20th -- Meeting Notes

Rundown of Post Office requirements

Locate within ½ mile radius of present location
Preference for Main Street
Current PO is 7333 sq/ft
New: 11,000 sq/ft
Parking – 67 stalls: 21 for customers, 28 for employees, 17/18 for PO vehicle parking
Preference for a 1-story “cookie cutter” structure
Based on community feedback, open for anything
PO Real Estate Department makes the final decision on location
PO is soliciting input from the community as to site locations
PO will advertise for site solicitation within 15 days

Councilman Thompson:

Push to locate PO on Jefferson Avenue
Requested map with locations of facilities in the city
Wondered if the East Side is underserved by PO locations
Jefferson Avenue is undergoing significant improvements, and the PO relocation could help keep the ball rolling
Possible Jefferson Avenue locations:

Jefferson and Woodlawn
Jefferson and Riley
Numerous city-owned properties at both corners
Maybe a small retail site on Jefferson?
Does not necessarily make sense financially to the PO
These are called ‘Contract Stations’
Invited all in attendance to a Breakfast Meeting on August 13th at the Delevan/Grider Center

Residents who live west of Main Street may not make the trip over to Jefferson Avenue
Possible traffic congestion on Jefferson with new developments there
Residents from west of Main Street who walk to the PO will probably not walk as far as Jefferson Avenue
Problems with routing PO delivery trucks to Jefferson Avenue

Possible PO site: Main and Harvard – currently the site of a parking lot
Can pull customers from both the west and east sides of Main Street as well as Canisius College students
Located closer to the Scajaquada Expressway (NY-198)
Could bring cross-Main Street residents together in one location
Could be impetus for strong corridor development between Delevan Avenue and Ferry Street

New PO location should be placed away from “nefarious” activities
Should protect pedestrians from criminal activity

Correspondence can be sent to PO at:

Dave Patterson – located at 1200 William Street
Dennis Wnuk – located at 1200 William Street
Bill Moncrief – Real Estate Specialist

Timeframe:

18 Months from start to finish

Construction

PO will solicit local companies
Will follow diversity standards – Allita will look into what these standards are

USPS is becoming more retail oriented
What is the current number of walk-in retail transactions
New PO may include more PO Boxes, passports, more service windows
Final decision: about 75 days from first public meeting

PO Advertisement:

Will solicit comments from public as to possible sites
Will include all the parameters for which the PO requires for a site

Related Post: 14209 Re-Location Archive

2005-08-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

Pataki Press Release 8/18/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 18, 2005

GOVERNOR: $11 MILLION FOR BUFFALO ARTSPACE PROJECT

Project Will Bring Affordable Housing, Retail Space to Downtown

Governor George E. Pataki today announced $11 million in State funding to help renovate the former Buffalo Electric Vehicle Company building in downtown Buffalo. The funds, which were awarded through the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), will be used to create a mixed-use building complete with commercial space, artist lofts, family and special needs housing.

"The Artspace project is a significant step in our continuing effort to redevelop downtown Buffalo," Governor Pataki said. "This project combines our commitment to affordable housing and economic development, creating new, high quality affordable housing opportunities, while transforming the historic Buffalo Electric Company building from a vacant structure to a vibrant new center. We will continue to partner with localities and the private sector to keep growing our economy and expand access to affordable housing for New York's working families."

U.S. Representative Thomas M. Reynolds said, "Artspace is an important project not only for the city of Buffalo, but our entire community. It means better housing, a stronger arts community, and greater economic development opportunities. I'm pleased to have been able to be a part of keeping this project moving forward, and salute Governor Pataki's continued commitment to our area and Mayor Masiello's vision."

Senator Dale M. Volker said, "Governor Pataki has continued to make long-term investments for the Buffalo region and this announcement furthers his commitment for the City of Buffalo to revitalize and diversify its housing market. With an economy that continues to grow and expand, comes the need for affordable housing and retail space. Today's announcement by Governor Pataki will allow this pivotal project to move forward so that both businesses and individuals can continue to live and work in the City of Buffalo."

Senator Byron Brown said, "The Artspace project will be an excellent shot in the arm for the rebirth of Main Street. With all of the development in the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Corridor, affordable housing will be a much needed addition. This project shows the commitment the Western New York Delegation and the Governor have made to revitalizing Downtown Buffalo."

Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples said, "Buffalo is a city rich in architectural treasures. This project not only restores these historic structures, but provides much-needed affordable housing opportunities for our city residents."

Buffalo Mayor Anthony M. Masiello said, "This project ensures that the creative class will contribute to the revitalization of our City. Almost every block of Main Street now has significant new investment; this continues the momentum of the Medical Campus and downtown housing."

L. Kelley Lindquist, President, Artspace Projects, Inc. said, "We are delighted that the Buffalo project has received this award. This project has been blessed with great leadership from both the City of Buffalo and the State of New York. Thanks to that leadership, we can now proudly envision a permanent and affordable home for working artists and arts organizations on Main Street in Buffalo."

The project is the rehabilitation of a historic vacant commercial building and the new construction of six townhouse-style buildings on adjacent vacant land. Once completed, the project will consist of 60 residential rental units and retail space.

DHCR Commissioner Judith A. Calogero said, "Today's announcement reflects the Governor's dedication to affordable housing creation and to economic development in the region as well. The best gauge of that commitment is his record: since 1995, over $9 billion has been invested in affordable housing in the State of New York, using a combination of State appropriations and Federal resources. As a result, more than 170,000 affordable housing opportunities have been provided for low- and middle-income families."

Funding for the $15.5 million project will be provided by the New York State Housing Trust Fund Program, the federal Low Income Housing Credit Program, the New York State Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, the City of Buffalo HOME and CDBG Programs, historic tax credits and a Community Preservation Corporation loan.

The Low Income Housing Trust Fund program addresses the critical need for safe, affordable housing opportunities for seniors, families and individuals. The Housing Trust Fund provides State funding to help construct new housing, to rehabilitate vacant or under-utilized residential property and to convert vacant non-residential property to residential use.

The Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC) was established to promote private sector investment in the development and retention of rental housing for low-income seniors, families and individuals. The program provides a dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal income tax liability for project owners in direct relation to the number of affordable housing units they produce.

The State Low Income Housing Credit program (SLIHC) is modeled after the federal program but instead provides a dollar-for-dollar reduction in State income tax liability for project owners and serves households with incomes up to 90% of the area median.

2005-08-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

City gives up rights to former J.N. Adam center

By BRIAN MEYER
News Staff Reporter
8/11/2005

An eight-month battle over the future of a Perrysburg site that was once home to Buffalo's tuberculosis hospital took another turn Wednesday when the Common Council voted to give up the city's reversionary rights.

The Council's about-face paves the way for the state to sell the 650-acre site of the former J.N. Adam Developmental Center to a logging company that has pledged to "responsibly" manage the forest. The 7-1 vote is expected to end a legal fight launched by Trathen Land Co. of Livingston County, which accused the city of illegally blocking its plans to buy the land.

North Council Member Joseph Golombek Jr. was the only dissenting vote at Wednesday's special session, which was hastily called in the middle of the Council's August recess. Sale critics later scolded lawmakers for holding the meeting when Council President David A. Franczyk was out of town and unable to attend. Franczyk, a vocal opponent of the sale, sent a letter to peers urging them to continue to block the deal. "Not only is our city being cheated on the purchase price, a measly $333,900 when the parcel in question was assessed at $4 million two years ago, but the bidder has no solid, written or any plan . . . to preserve or reuse the buildings," Franczyk wrote.

Mayor Anthony M. Masiello praised the Council for reversing opposition to the deal, noting that the state will give the city 90 percent of the sale price.
e-mail: bmeyer@buffnews.com

2005-08-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

About Artspace...

As now planned, the project will consist of 55 live/work units in two buildings: the Sarabeth Building and a new structure behind it. There will be 30 live/work spaces in the Sarabeth Building and 25 in the new structure, ranging in size from 800-square-foot efficiencies to 1,700-square-foot three-bedroom units. In addition, 13,000 square feet of commercial space on the street level of the Sarabeth Building will provide offices and other space for arts organizations and arts-related businesses. The area between the two buildings will be used as a common space where residents can plant, work, and perform. Residents will have easy access to the Main Street Transit line, Buffalo’s only subway line, which runs directly in front of the building; the nearest station is one block away.

Artspace in November selected the Buffalo firm of Hamilton, Houston and Lownie (HHL) Architects in collaboration with Architects Alliance (aA) of Toronto. HHL has an outstanding reputation in the area of historic restoration, while aA specializes in new construction. We believe this will be an ideal team to help us design and build a facility that will work for your needs.

When you start thinking about the project imagine the area of Buffalo's east-side that it impacts....a few short blocks away near Ferry and Main we'll have permanent home of Performing Arts High School, re-locating very soon. Combined with the dynamic offerings of Canisius College just to the north and connected by our subway (who said it doesn't go anywhere) and just a few short blocks away, WNY's first black cultural organization, the African American Cultural Center and Paul Robeson Theatre. Of course just around the corner is the recently refurbished Apollo Theatre and the brand new Erie County Public Library - designed by Robert Trayham Coles.

Not bad for an emerging arts and educational neighborhood on the City's east-side...here's the map.

For additional information...and pics you won't see anywhere else....

Artspace Construction Updates - from 6/2006

Artspace, New Neighbors 12/18/04
Sarabeth Artist Lofts, BN article 2/6/05
Artspace Coming to the 'Hood 2/7/05
Artspace Needs a Hand 2/14/05
Artspace in the 'Hood 8/18/05
Artspace Gets Funding 8/19/05
Artspace Un-veiled at Kleinhans BN article 10/13/05
$266,666...You Do The Math 10/14/05
About Coe Place, next door 11/26/05
Artspace Investment Impact 1/8/06
Artspace Investment Impact - Part II 1/13/06
Artspace Area Auction 1/22/06 - 39 Coe Place
Hamilton Ward House 1/30/06
Artspace Investment Impact - Part III 1/31/06
Artspace Investment Impact - Part IV 2/17/06
Residential Investment - 4/29/06
Behind 1219 Main Street - 5/6/06

Artspace Buffalo - Official site
Artspace USA - Official site
Other Artspace Projects - pics

Buffalo Rising Story 1/10/06

2005-08-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Monthly Row House Up-Dates

Follow these monthly up-dates to see the long slow process of "demolition by neglect" of one of Buffalo's historic land-marks. Remember this building was designated a "local-landmark," and sits diagonally across the street from the former Buffalo Traditional High School - soon to be the future home of Performing Arts High School. This building has been owned by the City of Buffalo since July, 2003.

update...February 2007 - if you are seriously interested in pursuing this project let me know. A local architect has recently completed a feasibility study that I can make available for your project.

click to enlarge

This cool map will orient you to 147-153 Woodlawn Avenue and this little 25 block corner of Masten bounded by Main - Jefferson and East Ferry - East Utica.

May 2008
March 2008
August 2007
June 2007 - Saved?
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004 - Photo 2, 3, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3 - Preservation Coalition Meeting
September 2004 - Photo 2, 3, 4
June 2004 - Photo 2, 3, 4
May 2004 - Photo 2, 3, 4
March 2004 - Photo 2, 3, 4

2005-08-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

More Wi-Fi

From the Buffalo News 7/29/05

Sleek wireless laptops shared picnic table space with hot dogs and Frisbees as business leaders and tech fans came together for Thursday afternoon's "Wi-Fi Day" in the Erie Basin Marina.

While Buffalo Mayor Anthony M. Masiello spoke of the importance of expanding wireless Internet hot-spots across the city, Nicole Walter and her husband, Todd Walter, sat nearby testing the connection at the marina, a hot-spot added last summer.

"It's lightening fast," said Nicole Walter, a 30-year-old sales representative for CXtec in Williamsville.

The Walters were planning to leave soon to go shopping for a carpet, but changed their minds. They decided not to leave the cool lake breezes and harbor views, and instead started their shopping online.

Stories like that please Les Hoffman. As director of technology and training for the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, Hoffman started the process of getting Buffalo wired for wireless connections.

A few years ago, Hoffman started BuffaloWiFi.org, a quasi-public entity that has set up eight locations where anyone with a wireless-enabled computer can get on the Internet for free. The organization is funded by private donors and utilizes the City of Buffalo's Internet service.

It was also the main sponsor of Thursday's event, which featured booths by various Internet service and equipment providers as well as contests for free equipment.

"We wanted to have a summer event where we can highlight wireless technology and future technology," Hoffman said.

Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, is a transmission standard for wireless Internet connections from a transmitter, which allows wireless-enabled laptops within a certain radius to connect to the Internet. Starting on college campuses and in coffee shops, it has now spread to suburban restaurant districts, parks, homes and office buildings.

Hoffman described the city's wiring as an effort to improve the Buffalo's business environment and image in technology circles. If the city wants to lure technical talent through initiatives such as the Center for Excellence in Bioinfomatics, it must provide these types of amenities, Hoffman said.

Buffalo ranked 56th in Intel's latest "Most Unwired Cities Survey," ahead of Rochester and Syracuse but behind many tech centers like Austin, Texas, and Colorado Springs, Colo.

"Everything is becoming wireless," he said. "So we're just keeping Buffalo up to speed with the rest of the world."

A small crowd came out for Thursday's event, and Hoffman said his organization did not have any numbers on how many people are actually using the Wi-Fi sites.

"But we know there's a demand out there for it, so we're not overly concerned," Hoffman said.

He said part of that demand would come from the younger generation, which is getting used to such amenities on college campuses.

That's true for Ed Schmidt and Ben Sheron, two recent Canisius High School graduates who are heading to college in the fall. Schmidt, who will attend the University at Buffalo, said he and his friend came to Wi-Fi Day to learn more about what's going on in the wireless world in the Buffalo area.

Both talk expertly about things like wireless cards and Internet protocols and say they've been "techies" for awhile. Schmidt said it all started in 5th grade when he got the family's old computer.

"(My mom) was very surprised I set the whole thing up myself, and its pretty much been known since then that I'd do something with technology," Schmidt said.

He called the wiring of his home city "a very good thing" and said he would seriously considering coming down to the marina to enjoy the weather and surf the Web.

2005-07-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Motion for Summary Judgement - 6/8/05

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF Cattaragus

TRATHEN LAND COMPANY, LLC,

Plaintiff,

AFFIRMATION

-vs- Index # 69906

THE CITY OF BUFFALO,

THE STATE OF NEW YORK,

EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION,

DORMITORY AUTHORITY OF

THE STATE OF NEW YORK,

TOWN OF PERRYSBURG, NEW YORK

Defendants.

STATE OF NEW YORK )

LIVINGSTON COUNTY )ss.:

SCOTT D. CANNON, being duly sworn, affirms under penalty of perjury as follows:

1. I am an attorney duly licensed to practice law in the State of New York and make this affirmation in support of a Notice of Motion for summary judgment submitted by the plaintiff herewith.

2. This affirmation is based upon books and records kept at my law office and my personal knowledge of events detailed herein, unless stated “upon information and belief”.

3. This action was commenced on May 17, 2005 by the filing of a summons and complaint in the Cattaraugus County Clerk’s office. A copy of the summons and complaint is attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit A. The summons and complaint was then personally served upon each of the defendant’s as illustrated by affidavits of service filed by your deponent in the County Clerk’s office.

4. This is an action to quiet title to a 649 acre piece of real property in the town of Perrysburg, Cattaraugus County presently owned by defendant State of New York (“State”). This property is commonly known as the J.N. Adam Developmental Center (the “premises”). The State acquired title to this property from the City of Buffalo by virtue of two deeds filed in the County Clerk’s office, copies of which are attached to the summons and complaint as Exhibits 2 and 3.

5. The operative deed at Exhibit 3, filed in 1960, relates

“.... in the event that at any time subsequent to this conveyance the State Commissioner of Mental Hygiene determines that it is no longer economical or advisable for the State to continue to operation of said J.N. Adam Memorial Hospital for the care and treatment of mentally retarded patients, then, upon the discontinuance of such hospital by the State, the title to the above described and herein granted lands and the buildings pertaining thereto, together with all other rights and interest in the real property pertaining to said hospital and herein granted by the said party of the first part, shall, without obligation on the part of the party of the first part, revert to and be revested in the said party of the first part.” (hereinafter the “reverter clause”).

6. This reverter clause is the subject of plaintiff’s claims. As plaintiff has signed a contract with the State to purchase the premises, he cannot acquire good title under the cloud of the reverter clause.

7. It is beyond dispute that the reverter has been “triggered”, as the premises ceased to have been used for the care and treatment of mentally retarded persons since the spring of 1993.

8. Attached hereto and made a part hereof as exhibit “B” is the Answer of defendants State of New York, Empire State Development Corporation, and Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. In this Answer, all of the defendants admit, in paragraph “SEVENTH”, that the premises ceased to be used as a hospital for the care and treatment of developmentally disabled/retarded persons in April, 1993. This is significant as defendant State of New York is the titled owner to the property and managed the facility through the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

9. Also attached hereto as Exhibit “C” is an affidavit of Cindy L. Lauer, former town clerk and supervisor for the town of Perrysburg, in which she swears by her own personal knowledge that the premises ceased being used as facility for the care and treatment of developmentally disabled/mentally retarded persons in 1993.

10. Ms. Lauer also relates in her affidavit that at no time during her tenure as town supervisor did defendant City of Buffalo make any claim to ownership or possession of the premises. Ms. Lauer also relates that for the last dozen years she and others have expended great efforts in attempting to get this issue resolved for benefit of the people of the state and town of Perrysburg.

11. Attached hereto as Exhibit “D” is the Answer of defendant City of Buffalo. This defendant does not make a claim to ownership or possession of the property, but instead affirms that the reverter has not been triggered. This position is untenable and contrary to the undisputed facts.

12. Attached hereto as Exhibit “E” is an affidavit of Thomas S. Trathen, sole owner of plaintiff, in which he details his personal knowledge of the history of the premises, his contacts with Buffalo City officials, and his damages caused by the cloud hanging over title to the premises as contract vendee.

13. It also undisputed that defendant City of Buffalo has failed to commence an action to recover possession of the property within ten years of the time the reverter was triggered, per Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law §612.

14. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law §612, states, in relevant part:

“§ 612. Where action cannot be maintained; action based on a reverter or breach of condition subsequent

1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, an action to recover the possession of real property cannot be maintained where it is founded upon a claim of reverter of an estate in fee conveyed upon special limitation or founded upon a claim of breach of a condition subsequent, other than a condition of a lease for a term of years, unless (a) within ten years after the occurrence of the reverter or the first occurrence of the breach, the plaintiff, or any predecessor in interest then entitled to possession or to exercise the power of termination, shall have served upon the person or persons against whom the action might then have been commenced a written demand that possession be delivered, stating the ground thereof, and the action is commenced within one year thereafter or (b), if no such demand is served, the action is commenced within such ten years.”

15. Plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment on his first cause of action to quiet title under RPAPL §612, as there are no triable issues of fact before this court.

16. Summary judgment is designed to expedite civil cases by eliminating from the trial calendar claims which can be decided as a matter of law. Andre vs. Pomeroy, 35 N.Y.2d 361, 363 N.Y.S.2d 131 (1974). The function of the court when faced with a summary judgment motion is issue finding rather than issue determination. Mayland vs. Craighead, 144 A.D.2d 344, 533 N.Y.S.2d 946 (2^nd Dept. 1988).

17. Upon a motion for summary judgment, the facts must be taken as sworn by the defendant. Branerton Corp. vs. Untied States Corporation Co., 34 A.D.2d 1, 309 N.Y.S.2d 28 (1^st Dept. 1970). The plaintiff is entitled to the benefit of every favorable inference which may be drawn from the pleadings, affidavits, etc. Egan real Estate, Inc. vs. McGraw, 40 A.D.2d 299, 339 N.Y.S.2d 870 (4^th Dept. 1973).

18. The only issues before the court on Plaintiff’s first cause of action are whether or not the reverter has been triggered, and if so, was an action timely commenced by defendant City of Buffalo to obtain title and possession? It is respectfully submitted that the facts unquestionably support plaintiff’s demand for summary judgment as the reverter was triggered and no timely action has been commenced by defendant city to recover possession of the premises under RPAPL §612.

19. It is also submitted that plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment on his second cause of action under the doctrine of laches, as more than twelve years have elapsed since the reverter was triggered and defendant City of Buffalo has taken no action whatsoever to obtain possession or title to the property.

WHEREFORE, plaintiff asks that this Court grant summary judgment to the plaintiff on both of his causes of action; declaring that defendant State of New York has title to the premises and that the reverter clause is null and void; and awarding the plaintiff costs and fees according to statute.

Dated: June 8, 2005

Scott D. Cannon

Attorney for Plaintiff

28 Main Street, P.O. Box 446

Geneseo, New York 14454

(585)-243-9330

To: Michael B. Risman,

Corporation Counsel

City of Buffalo, Department of Law

65 Niagara Square, 1100 City Hall

Buffalo, New York 14202-3379

Audrey V. Bullen, Esq.

Assistant Attorney General

State Counsel Division, Real Property Bureau

Albany, New York 12224

2005-07-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

Lauer Affidavit...

This is a sworn and signed affidavit and provides additional background information regarding "The Deal" down in Perrysburg, NY. I've deleted the residence information provided in the original.

The is filed under Index #69906 in Little Valley, NY

Trathen Land Company vs.

City of Buffalo et al....

AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF NEW YORK )

CATTARAUGUS COUNTY )ss.:

Cindy L. Lauer, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

My name is Cynthia L. Lauer and I reside at (edited by me).
I am presently employed by the Town of Perrysburg as the town budget officer and am employed also by Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department as ????
I am making this affidavit at the request of attorney Scott D. Cannon. All of the facts stated in this affidavit are made by me based on my own personal knowledge.
From 1982 through 1985 I was employed by the Town of Perrysburg, New York as town clerk. From January 1, 1986 through December 31, 1985 I was employed by the Town of Perrysburg as town supervisor. In my capacity as both town clerk and town supervisor, I was intimately familiar with town business and in particular, many matters pertaining to the property commonly known as the J.N. Adam Developmental Center which is located in the Town of Perrysburg.
The J.N. Adam property was owned and operated during my tenure as both clerk and supervisor by the State of New York. Up until approximately March/April 1993, the J.N. Adam property was used as a hospital for the care and treatment of developmentally disabled/mentally retarded persons. This large property, comprising many acres of undeveloped land and numerous hospital buildings and support buildings, was a self contained community with its own water and sewer system and housing in which staff could live.
Unfortunately, the State of New York closed the facility due to financial constraints in March/April 1993, and ceased caring for developmentally disabled/mentally retarded persons on or about March???, 1993. Attached hereto as Exhibit “1” are copies of various newspaper articles that were published in local papers at the time reporting the closing of the facility.
I was aware that the City of Buffalo held a right of reverter on this property that was triggered when the facility closed down in 1993.
Since the facility closed, as town clerk and town supervisor, I devoted a substantial amount of my time and effort to get the property developed and back on the town tax roll, as the state did not pay taxes on the property and I was hoping to bring jobs into the town through the development of the property. In this connection, I met with officials from the City of Buffalo on numerous occasions to get them to release their interest in the property. I also met with state officials numerous times, and made countless phone calls and wrote countless pieces of correspondence in an effort to get the property restored and developed. Attached hereto as Exhibit “2” are copies of several newspaper articles published at the time concerning the Town’s efforts to get the property back on the tax rolls and developed.
As part of the foregoing, I was informed by Buffalo Mayor James Griffin and other City Council representatives that the City did not want the property, but that the City might be interested in a land “swap”, whereby the State would give to the City a piece of land down by the waterfront in Buffalo, in exchange for the release of their reverter right in the J.N. Adam property. For a variety of reasons this did not occur.
At no time during my tenure with the town, from 1982 through the present day, did the City of Buffalo take any steps whatsoever to assert any ownership rights in the property, and has done nothing but foil the efforts of others to put the property back to good use.
The property continues to sit deserted and is falling into significant disrepair. It is a shame that for the last twelve years this property has been allowed to remain vacant and to deteriorate, all to the detriment to the taxpayers.
The citizens of the Town of Perrysburg deserve a resolution to this problem that has plagued the Town for more than a dozen years. It is also important to the town to get this case finalized because the town will be acquiring the water system on the property to be used for a water district in the town that will be created on a portion of the property. Also attached hereto as Exhibit “3” is a period copy of a newspaper article detailing how the town would benefit by creation of the water district. This issue is still outstanding and the town still wishes to create the water district.

Dated: July 13, 2005

Cindy L. Lauer

Sworn to before me this

day of June, 2005.

Notary Public

2005-07-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Joe Golombek Resolution 7/11/05

RESOLUTION to be introduced to Buffalo's Common Council 7/12/05

Sponsor: Mr. Golombek
Co-Sponsor:

RE: Support for Judge Nowak and Housing Court Liaison Volunteers

Whereas, the issues addressed in Housing Court are critical to the future revitalization of Buffalo; and

Whereas, City Court Judge Henry J. Nowaks short tenure in Housing Court has brought about a proactive, Innovative and collaborative effort in addressing Buffalos housing problems; and

Whereas, As a Housing Court Judge Henry J. Nowak has imposed more fines (over $3 million) than his predecessors had in the previous four years combined ($525,712); and

Whereas, the increase in fines was accomplished by Judge Nowak suggesting that building inspector complain forms indicate a violation from a certain date, making fines $1,500 per day instead of just $1,500; and

Whereas, under Judge Nowaks term in Housing Court, defendants have been sentenced to community service by requiring slumlords to pick up garbage, paint houses, build porches and plant flowers; and

Whereas, Judge Nowak has issued orders to vacate properties being utilized by drug dealers. These orders to vacate are a crime fighting tool, giving police more flexibility to make arrests. Police can remove and arrest anybody on such properties immediately; and

Whereas, by taking the time to do legal research on the power of Housing Court, Judge Nowak determined that he could appoint a receiver and provide the receiver the power to go after 40 banks and lenders with outstanding housing code violations in the city; and

Whereas, under Judge Nowak, Housing Court cases are scheduled differently to allow Housing Inspectors more time to actually conduct inspections instead of spending every day in Court; and

Whereas, through the leadership of Judge Nowak, Housing Court Liaisons have been created consisting of dedicated community volunteers; and

Whereas, Housing Court Liaisons provide valuable community input into Housing Court decisions that impact the quality of life in our neighborhoods; and

Whereas, it is difficult to understand why the Permit and Inspections Department allowed a four month backlog of 523 housing cases to sit on tables instead of being processed for Court appearances, when I and others offered staff and volunteers to help with processing cases; and

Whereas, it is also difficult to understand why the City Permits and Inspections Department would not fully embrace the assistance of dedicated Housing Court Liaisons who are working to improve city neighborhoods; and

Whereas, it is truly unfortunate that the City Permits and Inspections Department has taken the position that they will no longer meet with Court Liaisons to discuss Housing Court cases; and

Whereas, typically City Court Judges are appointed by the Chief Judge of City Court for a one year term in Housing Court and then replaced by a successor; and

Whereas, it is important to continue the innovations and collaborations begun by Judge Nowak, by keeping him in Housing Court for another term; and

Now Therefore Be It Resolved

That the Buffalo Common Council supports keeping City Court Judge Henry J. Nowak in Housing Court for another one year appointment to continue his proactive and innovative efforts to address Buffalos housing issues.

Be It Further Resolved

That the Buffalo Common Council supports the work and efforts made by the dedicated volunteers who serve as Housing Court Liaisons.

Be It Further Resolved

That a certified copy of this resolution be forwarded by the City Clerk to Hon. Thomas P. Amodeo Chief Judge of Buffalo City Court

Be It Finally Resolved

That if necessary this item is referred to an appropriate Committee of the Council for further consideration.

2005-07-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Editor:

Friends?? of JN Adam -- Huh, this couldn't be further from the truth! Here we go with another handful of people who think they are doing the right thing, but in fact are contributing to the further deterioration of the once beautiful buildings. Time is running out to save the campus!!!

Let me take you all back a few decades. I'm sure most people are aware the the JN Adam site was a grand hospital for the care of people with tuberculosis, and then converted to a residence for the mentally and physically handicapped. It is also common knowledge that the land reverted back to the City of Buffalo once the state no longer used it for this purpose, which was March 22, 1993 when the last resident was moved out of the facility.

The Buffalo connection has been a stumbling block for decades, causing great loss of potential jobs and property tax base. The city has known for many years -- back into the Mayor Griffin era -- about the property ownership reverting back to them. The City of Buffalo cannot own land outside their boundaries without being liable for property taxes. For too many years they have eluded the tax liability and have caused great harm to the people of Perrysburg and surrounding areas. It has been bad enough trying to overcome the obstacles of the city's greediness and the state's inaction -- now we have a couple "do-good" groups trying to block efforts to finally get the site out of the government tug of war, and get our community out of the bottomless sink hole in the middle of it. The only way anything good will ever come to this property is to get it out of government hands.

The state has expended hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of many years to market the site and put it into a productive status, and has successfully put it out for bid twice. Every year that is wasted accelerates the deterioration of the buildings, and soon they will be beyond saving. It has been bad enough that the city's greed has cost our area dearly over all these years, and the "do-good" groups have created even more harmful obstacles.

The City of Buffalo has squandered away the value of the once-grand buildings, worth millions in the early 1990s than now can only bring a few hundred thousand at auction. That loss is their problem. What concerns me is the possible loss of the latest successful bidder and the positive impact for our community, plus the critical, time-sensitive water project funding. I estimate about half of a million has been lost in school, town, and county property taxes in just a few years. If calculated back to March 22, 1993 when it should have been returned to a taxable status, it is over $2 million! An even greater loss is the jobs and sales tax revenues that would have incurred in the past 12 years.

I have been a public servant to the community since Jan. 1, 1982 and have seen many opportunities come and go because of the political manipulations. In March of 1987, the state budgeted to build a state-of-the-art $4.9 million day program and therapy building on the campus, at the same time they were in the process of building the first six SRU (special residential units), commonly known as group homes. I wonder where that money went, or was it ghost money as a pacifier so we would support the group home project? A few years later, the state did pay about $5 million for the elevator system project in some of the buildings, and then a couple years later budgeted 2 more million dollars for the demolition of the end buildings where new elevators were constructed. That $2 million went somewhere else anyway. During the same time, I showed the buildings to a construction company owner who said he could restore the buildings for the $2 million, and to a demolition company's expert who said they were too good to destroy.

From about 1990 through 1993, I served on the Alternate Use Committee, along with many local political leaders, City of Buffalo representatives, JN Adam staff and local business representatives. The city was interested in a property exchange where they would acquire some Buffalo-area waterfront property owned by the state; in turn, the state would get clear title to the JN Adam property and possibly turn some of the land over to the town for development. Obviously that was another botched government deal.

Over the 10 years I served as town supervisor, we expended considerable time and effort trying to bring new life into the property. The Job Corps was interested in the site. We tried to get the Veteran's Retirement Home in on the site, but we were asked to back off -- more politics! We encouraged the Gowanda Psychiatric Center Offices to be located on the JN Adam Campus and retain the local jobs when GPC was closed, another failed effort. A few years ago, we were high on a short list of sites being cons\considered for a prison, but a few people put a monkey wrench in that. Every time something good gets going, we run into the same old blockades put up by politics, government greediness or power struggles, or a couple self-centered individuals.

It is time for the citizens in the community to put an end to the government nonsense and the meddling minority. The time is critical to get this property into a productive status. The town is not as incompetent as some people seem to think. We have zoning regulations and other means of ensuring the area's best interest is maintained. I'm calling for people to write letters to the City of Buffalo and state representatives to put an end to all this nonsense and quit holding this community hostage! Development of this nearly 700-acre site would be beneficial to all of the surrounding area, not just Perrysburg.

Cindy Lauer,

Perrysburg

2005-06-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

REVIEW & OUTLOOK

Kennedy's Vast Domain
The Supreme Court's reverse Robin Hoods.

Friday, June 24, 2005 12:01 a.m.

The Supreme Court's "liberal" wing has a reputation in some circles as a guardian of the little guy and a protector of civil liberties. That deserves reconsideration in light of yesterday's decision in Kelo v. City of New London. The Court's four liberals (Justices Stevens, Breyer, Souter and Ginsburg) combined with the protean Anthony Kennedy to rule that local governments have more or less unlimited authority to seize homes and businesses.

No one disputes that this power of "eminent domain" makes sense in limited circumstances; the Constitution's Fifth Amendment explicitly provides for it. But the plain reading of that Amendment's "takings clause" also appears to require that eminent domain be invoked only when land is required for genuine "public use" such as roads. It further requires that the government pay owners "just compensation" in such cases.

The founding fathers added this clause to the Fifth Amendment--which also guarantees "due process" and protects against double jeopardy and self-incrimination--because they understood that there could be no meaningful liberty in a country where the fruits of one's labor are subject to arbitrary government seizure.

That protection was immensely diminished by yesterday's 5-4 decision, which effectively erased the requirement that eminent domain be invoked for "public use." The Court said that the city of New London, Connecticut, was justified in evicting a group of plaintiffs led by homeowner Susette Kelo from their properties to make way for private development including a hotel and a Pfizer Corp. office. (Yes, the pharmaceutical Pfizer.) The properties to be seized and destroyed include Victorian homes and small businesses that have been in families for generations.

"The city has carefully formulated a development plan that it believes will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including, but not limited to, new jobs and increased tax revenue," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority. Justice Kennedy wrote in concurrence that this could be considered public use because the development plan was "comprehensive" and "meant to address a serious city-wide depression." In other words, local governments can do what they want as long as they can plausibly argue that any kind of public interest will be served.

In his clarifying dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas exposes this logic for the government land grab that it is. He accuses the majority of replacing the Fifth Amendment's "Public Use Clause" with a very different "public purpose" test: "This deferential shift in phraseology enables the Court to hold, against all common sense, that a costly urban-renewal project whose stated purpose is a vague promise of new jobs and increased tax revenue, but which is also suspiciously agreeable to the Pfizer Corporation, is for a 'public use.'"

And in a separate dissent, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor suggested that the use of this power in a reverse Robin Hood fashion--take from the poor, give to the rich--would become the norm, not the exception: "Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."

That prospect helps explain the unusual coalition supporting the property owners in the case, ranging from the libertarian Institute for Justice (the lead lawyers) to the NAACP, AARP and the late Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The latter three groups signed an amicus brief arguing that eminent domain has often been used against politically weak communities with high concentrations of minorities and elderly. Justice Thomas's opinion cites a wealth of data to that effect.

And it's not just the "public use" requirement of the Fifth Amendment that's undermined by Kelo. So too is the guarantee of "just compensation." Why? Because there is no need to invoke eminent domain if developers are willing to pay what owners themselves consider just compensation.

Just compensation may differ substantially from so-called fair market value given the sentimental and other values many of us attach to our homes and other property. Even eager sellers will be hurt by Kelo, since developers will have every incentive to lowball their bids now that they can freely threaten to invoke eminent domain.

So, in just two weeks, the Supreme Court has rendered two major decisions on the limits of government. In Raich v. Gonzales the Court said there are effectively no limits on what the federal government can do using the Commerce Clause as a justification. In Kelo, it's now ruled that there are effectively no limits on the predations of local governments against private property. These kinds of judicial encroachments on liberty are precisely why Supreme Court nominations have become such high-stakes battles. If President Bush is truly the "strict constructionist" he professes to be, he will take note of the need to check this disturbing trend should he be presented with a High Court vacancy.

2005-06-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Control board layoffs take a toll on eliminating city eyesores

Inspectors have cracked down on housing violations, but clerk shortages have stopped enforcement cold

By PATRICK LAKAMP
News Staff Reporter
6/22/2005

Buffalo housing inspectors have been on a roll this year, citing more homeowners and landlords for broken windows, rotting porches, crumbling chimneys and leaky roofs.

But that's where the crackdown ended.

Instead of being sent to Housing Court, their inspection reports are piling up on tables on the third floor of City Hall. Since February, few houses cited for violations have been referred to Housing Court, where a judge could order repairs.

And it's all because of a missing clerk, city officials said.

The clerk returned to work this week, filling the job that was vacant more than four months. Still, it could take months before all of the cited property owners can be summoned to court and the backlog of 523 problem properties eliminated.

And it could be too late for many of the properties to be repaired this summer. Time is running out for the judge to order the problem properties repaired before the cold weather sets in.

"That is mind-boggling. And it's a very good example of the way City Hall works," said Harvey Garrett, a West Side housing activist and volunteer community liaison for Housing Court Judge Henry J. Nowak. "This is not something you play games with."

It didn't have to be this way.

The City Court housing judge and Garrett's West Side neighborhood organization offered to help, with interns and volunteers, in processing the paperwork.

Hoping for action

But instead, Raymond K. McGurn, the commissioner of the Department of Permit and Inspection Services, opted to wait until the control board filled the clerk's job before accepting the offers.

"He's going to get working," McGurn said of the clerk who started on Monday. "And then I will be able to accept the judge's interns and put this whole thing back together and make a practical decision on what cases are going to be brought to court."

Meanwhile, run-down houses in the city remain an eyesore.

And people like Angela Middlebrooks are forced to wait longer for the judge to order repairs or demolition for dilapidated houses near their well-maintained homes in the Fruit Belt and other neighborhoods.

"We have had our fingers crossed hoping something will happen," Middlebrooks said.

Middlebrooks and her family live in a two-story, three-bedroom home that the Crisis Services case manager bought five years ago. It's one of the new houses built to help keep middle-class families in Buffalo.

But eyesores in the neighborhood haven't been renovated or torn down as fast as Middlebrooks had hoped.

A run-down, vacant house across the street - owned by a Grand Island resident - is missing its side door. A cushion has been placed across the opening.

There are other violations: broken windows, peeling paint, deteriorated siding and roofing, and loose and crumbling foundation blocks.

In back of Middlebrooks' house, another vacant house was cited for six violations, including trash strewn about the yard, broken windows, peeling paint and deteriorating gutters.

Both houses were inspected more than two months ago; neither owner has been summoned to court yet to answer the violations.

"I like the area," said Middlebrooks, 31. "New homes are being built. But in between, you have all these vacant pieces of garbage that need to be cleaned up or demolished."

Fruit Belt hurting

And now, Nowak worries the backlog means dilapidated houses like the ones near Middlebrooks will not be brought before him until the construction season is over.

The backlog hurts the Fruit Belt more than any other city neighborhood. The Fruit Belt has 64 properties cited for code violations that have not yet been referred to Housing Court. The Broadway Fillmore neighborhood has 54 properties, the second highest number.

"A four-month backlog and its impact are not acceptable . . . to those residents that continue to suffer the effects of blighted, vacant properties adjacent to their own," Nowak said in a letter last week to Mayor Anthony M. Masiello.

"Neighbors will have to wait another year for the blighted properties next door to be repaired, or even give up and move out of the city," the judge wrote. "More importantly, these houses can continue to be havens for criminal activity and will require significant time and energy from our city police and fire departments, not to mention the increased costs for emergency demolitions."

McGurn said his hands were tied until last week, when the state control board supervising City Hall's finances approved filling the vacant clerk's job.

Since February, one clerk has been trying to do the work that three clerks did a couple of years ago, he said.

McGurn said he lost the flexibility to reassign other employees to help process the paperwork after his department lost 43 positions in two years. He did not move an inspector over to help with the clerical work because that would put the city at risk of losing the federal reimbursement for the inspector's salary, he said.

"These guys are building inspectors, they're not clerical people," McGurn said. "They're carpenters, engineers and electricians who know their fields."

The lone clerk who had remained on the job all along has been busy keeping up with existing Housing Court cases. She was able to get a handful of the most serious cases ready for court.

When Nowak's two interns showed up at the office to help, the clerk didn't have time to train and supervise them, McGurn said.

"It takes her more time during the day to do that," McGurn said of his clerk. "And she's a dedicated employee. She's fantastic. But now she's being asked to supervise someone when she has her own work? She doesn't want to get any more behind than anybody else."

"Bumping' delayed job

Problems in the department started in November when a clerk was laid off. In a process called "bumping," a laid-off police report technician exercised her right to take over the clerk's job because she had more seniority.

But she didn't stay long in the job. She returned to her previous job as a report technician. Her last day working for McGurn was Jan. 31. McGurn said he sent the paperwork seeking her replacement to city budget officials on March 11. Last week, the control board approved putting the former clerk back into his old job.

McGurn said he delayed posting the opening for three weeks in a bid to bring back the department's previous clerk, who was already trained. To get that clerk back, McGurn waited for other laid-off police report technicians to find other jobs before he posted the department's clerk position as available.

The delay couldn't have come at a worse time.

The city's 15 housing inspectors are writing more housing code violations than before. They typically write 2,000 cases a year. But from July to December, they wrote 1,644 cases. And that pace has continued this year, McGurn said.

"It's very simple to me. When you raise your bar from 2,000 cases a year to 3,300 a year, and go from having three (clerks) working to one person working, you're going to get a backlog," McGurn said. "You certainly can't blame one lady who works over there. And we do not have the staff here."

Garrett, the housing activist, doesn't blame the clerk. He blames McGurn.

"If he's a couple of weeks behind because of a staffing issue, that's understandable," Garrett said. "But to be four months behind when he's being offered interns and volunteers is unacceptable and mind-boggling."

e-mail: plakamp@buffnews.com

2005-06-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

Ex-landlords are fined $79,000, face trial

By MATT GRYTA
News Staff Reporter
6/21/2005

Two former Buffalo landlords were fined more than $79,000 on Monday and told that they face trial next month on further city housing and health code violations at their former city properties.

Venere Hutchinson, 29, and his wife, Dana, 33, who were once cited as among the city's worst slumlords, received the sentence in Housing Court from Judge Henry J. Nowak. The judge told the couple that unless they pay their fines in the next 30 days, they face jail terms.

Venere Hutchinson was ordered to pay $58,300 in fines on five properties, and Dana Hutchinson was ordered to pay $21,000 in fines on five other properties in which she was the listed owner.

The Hutchinsons have been in custody since being found about two months ago in Tennessee. Police said they were using fake identifications and were wanted in Buffalo on housing and health code violations linked to their properties.

Peter J. Savage III, the city's Housing Court prosecutor, said the city has spent $115,000 to demolish Hutchinson properties and faces an additional $30,000 in estimated demolition expenses on others.

Savage and Sheila M. Burke, the Erie County Health Department's representative to Housing Court, said the Hutchinsons are due back in court July 7 to answer more housing and health code violations involving lead paint and structural problems on 11 of the couple's former properties.

The Hutchinsons face trial on multiple grand larceny and fraud charges linked to an alleged $2 million real estate swindle that defrauded at least five lending institutions.

They are accused of obtaining 40 city properties from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a few thousand dollars each and then fraudulently obtaining second mortgages for as much as $100,000 above each property's assessed value.

2005-06-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

Main Street Sites for 14209

Here's the city's official property descrition for:

1618 Main Street 177' x 194' which is the largest portion of this vacant area

1616 & 1614 are two narrow parcel owned by the same person who owns 1610, the recently burned out brick building just to the north of Autozone.

1653 Main Street is owned by Maier Management fka Freddies Donuts.

2005-06-16T02:42:00.000-07:00

14209 Re-Location...

I'll place all my posts and additional information regarding the re-location of PO 14209 in one easy to find location. Please comment on individual posts and not here on this page. Thanks...and don't forget to e-mail pictures of urban post offices from anywhere that contain the sort of design elements that you think the new 14209 should possess.

Buffalo's Latest McPost Offices!

Map of Possible New Sites

Legal Descriptions

Post Office Community Partnership Act

Cyburbia Forum Thread

First Announcement 6/14/05

McPost Office - 1st Public Hearing 6/15/05

New Buffalo Post Office Pics 7/4/05

Meeting Minutes from Allita Steward 8/22/05

2005-06-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

Nickel & Dimed...

While political life here in Buffalo and Erie County continues to implode and plans to Revitalize Buffalo seem to be increasingly more unlikely with 15 people/day leaving the city, and where burned out and blighted images of Buffalo become more familiar than images of Beirut or war torn Baghdad, there is at least one dedicated group of local folks who really understand the deep systemic fault lines that are now exposed for all to see. Free Buffalo will challenge some of your basic assumptions about how political and economic life is organized and how Buffalo Politics has been force fed, intravenously into us for generations.

So, if you consider yourself to be "open-minded" and "tolerant", someone who "embraces diversity" and "alternative points of view" explore this, position paper from Free Buffalo.

Jim Ostrowski is not the only "libertarian" here in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Ralph Raico from the History Deptartment at Buffalo State College is an internationally recognized scholar and intellectual heavy weight when it comes to using your mind when there are no longer dots to connect and where the map you thought was going to work no longer fits the territory.

Before making anymore plans to Revitalize Buffalo...try revitalizing your mind! Still reading and open minded? Check out what Dr Raico has to say about the hair-brained political choices are being served on today's menu. Whip out your iPod and get the podcasts. It's all free for the taking, a virtual graduate level course on how to stop this ship from sinking.

Field Trip for Your Mind
Raico Essays
Raico Mp3's

35 mp3's for your iPod

Yeah...I had a two hour sit-down with Jim Ostrowski Wednesday evening and three other like minded people. Spare me the ad hominem arguments, study the issues and learn how to Free Buffalo today for tomorrow!

btw...Free Buffalo is working alongside Primary Challenge to help bring some fresh blood to the local political scene. Oh...did somebody see that Primary Challenge endorsed Judy Einach for Mayor! I wrote about Judy's endorsement awhile back!

2005-06-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

Neighborhood Preservation Collaborative

June 9, 2005 - Council Chambers

Home Owner Assistance – Harvey Garrett

The regular maintenance and repair costs associated with owning the older homes in the City of Buffalo are always expensive. However, these expenses are even more burdensome for low-income homeowners, especially those in preservation districts where architectural guidelines may prohibit certain cost-effective options. The distinctive character of windows, doors, fascia and other decorative elements is sometimes sacrificed in favor of economic functionality when the repair and replacement costs of vintage elements far exceeds that of their modern counterparts. Other homeowners in Preservation Districts who are unable to afford these additional costs may allow their homes to deteriorate to a point at which repair is no longer an option.

It is our goal to identify funding sources and cooperate with other service providers to assist low-income homeowners with historically appropriate repairs. By providing this “gap funding” it is hoped that the frequency of inappropriate alterations and demolition by neglect will diminish. In addition to financial assistance, we will provide practical advice and guidelines that will help homeowners identify cost-effective methods of preserving the historical distinction of their homes. For example, workshops on paint maintenance, landscaping and various other issues could give homeowners the sills and insight necessary to care for their architecturally significant homes without incurring additional expenses.

Neighborhood Awareness – Tim Tielman

Partnering with residents of historic neighborhoods for the promotion, identification and outreach of heritage sites is paramount to the Preservation Movement in Buffalo, NY. Through effective, open communication, we will foster partnerships that had been previously neglected.

This committee will combine the efforts and talents of our residents with existing preservation organizations and other groups to succeed. The current Preservation Districts in the City need to be promoted to their best potential. This committee will work with neighborhoods to identify the stories behind the scenes and other historic morsels to add flavor to future tourism endeavors and to allow each community to embrace its own history.

The Neighborhood Awareness Committee also will attempt to identify additional sites to be earmarked for recognition, while encouraging teams of citizens and preservationists to devise proactive solutions for their protection.

Evaluations - Scot Fisher

In order to prevent demolition by neglect, it is essential to identify structural issues with our historic buildings as quickly as possible. In all Preservation Districts, the current inspection procedure is to wait for citizen complaint based upon a simple visual inspection of the exterior of the building. By the time the building shows such obvious defects, the structural problems may be beyond repair.

It is far easier to achieve code compliance the sooner any problems are addressed. This committee will take an active role to identify historically significant properties in need of repair and the develop procedures to regularly inspect them so that any building code violations are discovered when they are far less expensive to remedy. This Committee will also establish a dialogue with each building owner and provide assistance, if necessary, to protect each building if it falls into disrepair.

This committee will also team with the adaptive reuse committee to assist building owners in finding creative solutions for properties that can no longer be used as originally intended. With the early and immediate focus the Evaluations Committee will provide, we can eliminate the notion of demolition by neglect in our City.

Comparative Research – Marilyn Rodgers

The Comparative Research Committee will communicate with successful preservation organizations and consider models throughout the United States. Research and evaluation of select and successful preservation initiatives will provide a benchmark for the future of all preservation districts throughout Buffalo.

Subjects of exploration include

Materials in development or recently launched that preserve the historic, as well as structural integrity of an architectural jewel for future generations
Funding programs form single buildings to entire neighborhoods
Tourism development
Partnering processes with other organizations, such as the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning.

Comparative Research will work closely with other committees in both providing necessary information and creating reports from investigations of other initiatives. Dialogue already has opened with the Historic Charleston Foundation, Landmark Society in Rochester, NY and the Chattanooga, TN Preservation League.

Adaptive Reuse – Richard Baer

This committee will investigate the adaptive reuse of existing, vacant or underutilized historic properties into new residential, commercial and combined spaces. We have seen examples of adapting historic structures, even utilizing damaged or near-rubble walls, into ready made, rich interiors while benefiting from century old craftsmanship. Old buildings preserve local culture and identity and create a sense of belonging. In a way, through this recycling, human resource energy is embodied along with material energy. Adaptive Reuse joins the past to be a part of the future, creating important connections through time.

Therefore, this committee will serve as a think-tank to review these models and develop processes, concepts and strategies for the beneficial conversion of existing structures. By effectively shedding our habits of tearing down old buildings and starting over, we can proactively utilize architectural residue from the past as a repository of vast physical, human and cultural energy. And thus, it will provide the City of Buffalo with new residential and commercial opportunities that also preserves one of its greatest assets – its architecture.

Marketing & Development – Dennis Galucki

Marketing our City’s architecture, neighborhoods and park system is imperative to ensure pride in ownership, community and preservation. Many of our existing preservation organizations already provide service through tours, newsletters and other types of presentations. This committee will continue and enhance those efforts by communicating the activities of each group, identifying new landmarks and areas to promote and pooling resources when appropriate.

It will be important for this Committee, in particular, to work with all other committees, particularly Comparative Research and Neighborhood Awareness. This Committee can utilize the experience of successful campaigns form other cities to create a strong image to attract positive attention here. In addition, the educational outreach to those outside of Western New York can and should be provided to those residents living in and around the properties being marketed. Ultimately, this committee can improve Buffalo’s image both here and abroad by promoting both uplifting and nostalgic assets that too few people currently appreciate.

Legal & Professional Research - Richard Lippes

This Committee has been designated to take advantage of the professional and intellectual expertise of local, national and international specialists who may be called upon to assist Housing Court, the Preservation Board and even individual property on technical preservation issues. It will endeavor to identify the best people to address each issue that arises. In addition, it will critically evaluate both the substance and the best policies for our community, based on our own needs and limitations.

This committee will research and evaluate legal and professional tools for historic preservation, so that it can advise Preservation Board and other entities regarding methods and procedures that will not only protect our unique urban fabric but also promote democratic and equitable solutions. It also will work with other committees to address the legality of new programs and efforts, compare our existing legislation with that of other communities and determine whether legislative reform is necessary.

Architectural Salvage – Chris Brown

While demolition should never be the first strategy when dealing with any building in need of repair, it has become a practical reality in our City. If demolitions must take place, one of the three things can happen to the architectural elements within these structures: they are either destroyed and land-filled; salvaged by either demolition companies or completely unregulated third parties to be sold to the highest bidder; or salvaged by a local organization to be used on another property in the City of Buffalo. The aim of this committee is to avoid the first two alternatives and ensure the third.

With the current number of scheduled demolitions, for which there has been no architectural salvage, this committee merits the consideration of the Collaborative. If salvaged elements from Buffalo unique 19^th Century housing stock can be reinstalled into other City homes, which require period elements for restoration, this recycling can motivate all residents to enhance their homes and property values while providing the extra lift for neighborhoods and overall housing stock.

This committee will first define its role to ensure that its goal can be attained without encouraging demolition and will then seek to create the challenging process necessary to remove significant elements safely before demolition, protect them for future reuse and ultimately transfer them to appropriate properties.

2005-06-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

Representative Earl Blumenauer

Post Office Community Partnership Act

H.R. 1006

The Post Office Community Partnership Act outlines minimum community contact procedures for any proposed closing, consolidation, relocation, or construction of a post office. Additionally, the bill requires the Postal Service to comply with local zoning, planning, or other land use laws.

Why is the Post Office Community Partnership Act needed?

The United States Postal Service is currently exempt from all local zoning, planning, and land use laws. There have been several instances in which the Postal Service has been unwilling or unable to build new facilities or make changes to existing facilities in a way consistent with community plans. Furthermore, there are no laws requiring the Postal Service to engage local communities in proposed relocations or constructions of post offices. As a result, communities and neighborhoods across the country have been subjected to Postal Service decisions that have negatively impacted service and livability. The 26,000 federal postal facilities are not just remote outposts of federal activity – they can, often are, and always should be centers of community activity.

This bill provides communities an opportunity to be notified of Postal Service plans in advance, which will allow for interaction in the decision-making process between local government officials, the public, and the Postal Service. The Act also addresses the need for the Postal Service to abide by a community’s plans for growth management, land use, traffic management, and environmental protection.

What will the Post Office Community Partnership Act do?

H.R. 1006 amends Section 404(b) of Title 39 of the United States Code, which currently governs only post office closings and consolidations, to extend also to relocations and construction. The Act specifies notification requirements to be given to local government officials and persons who are (or would be) served by the post office.

The Act modifies the considerations that the Postal Service must currently consider when making a determination to take action on a post office. Modifications include considering:

the extent to which the post office is a part of a core downtown business area
the nature and extent of opposition in the community
concerns of local officials, including consistency with growth projections and land use plans
consistency with the size, scale, design, and general character of the surrounding community

The Act adds language to require that the Postal Service follow the local land use laws, procedures and public participation requirements to the same extent and manner as other private enterprises. All other entities and interests must follow local land use laws and the Postal Service is better equipped than most to manage this process. Therefore, it is time to ensure that the Postal Service operates within the framework and rules that a community imposes on its own citizens and businesses.

Support for the Post Office Community Partnership Act:

In the 108^th Congress, the Post Office Community Partnership Act was supported by 65 bipartisan cosponsors. The Act also received national support from organizations such as the American Planning Association, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Postmasters of the

United States

, National Trust for Historic Preservation, American Society of Landscape Architects, National Association of Realtors, and Smart Growth America.

For more information, contact Spencer Wilson in Congressman Blumenauer’s Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-4811, or Julia Pomeroy in the Portland District office at (503) 231-2300, or check out our website at http://www.blumenauer.house.gov/

2005-06-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

FOCUS: DIOCESE OF BUFFALO

Major restructuring planned for Catholic parishes, schools

Bishop assembling commission to guide process that may take from 18 to 30 months

By JAY TOKASZ
News Staff Reporter
6/9/2005

Bishop Edward U. Kmiec launched his first major initiative as head of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo on Wednesday, asking priests for their support in a sweeping effort to reconfigure the region's parishes and schools.

In an interview, the bishop acknowledged the need for an "intensive process of restructuring" and said the planning, which is expected to take 18 to 30 months, would likely result in closing some of the diocese's 265 parishes and 81 parochial schools.

"The presumption is there will be a different number," said Kmiec, adding that he couldn't be specific about the number of closings because he doesn't know at this point.

The bishop is creating a commission of clergy, religious brothers and sisters, and parishioners to guide the planning, which is being called "Journey in Faith & Grace."

Ultimately, the commission and Kmiec will accept recommendations from various subcommittees determined by geography.

"I have confidence in our people that they realize adjustments have to be made, and I think they'd be willing to join in the effort," said Kmiec, who was installed as the 13th Buffalo bishop last October. "This is a grass-roots type of endeavor."

Kmiec revealed the initiative during an annual meeting, known as a convocation, with priests at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora and in an interview with The Buffalo News.

The region's shrinking population and struggling economy, as well as a short supply of priests, are pushing the changes, Kmiec noted.

Priests and others weren't surprised by Kmiec's announcement.

"This has been on the burner for a long time," said Monsignor Thomas F. Maloney, pastor of St. Amelia parish in the Town of Tonawanda. "It's inevitable you have to do something. Some consolidation is necessary."

The parish already is feeling the effects of the priest shortage. For 48 years, it was assigned three priests to serve 10,000 Catholics connected with the church. It now has two.

Area Catholics, Kmiec said, "understand that something has to be done. There's an expectation of that."

Nonetheless, he added, "We need ownership from everybody. This will not be an easy process . . . We expect there to be tough moments."

Fred Jablonski, church historian for Precious Blood parish at 1240 Lewis St. on Buffalo's East Side, wondered if he and fellow parishioners will be celebrating the church's anniversary - its 106th - for the final time this weekend. The parish has only 100 families registered.

"There's a concern, but you've got to face reality. People have been talking about this for two to three years," he said.

The commission of 24 people will meet for the first time in late August at the seminary.

By October 2006, it will begin reviewing recommendations from parishes and subcommittees throughout the diocese.

The commission will then make recommendations to Kmiec, who will have the final say about which parishes close and which stay open.

Parish closings could happen in late 2006 or early 2007. Some school closings could come sooner.

The area's estimated 700,000 Catholics should also prepare for fewer Masses, even in parishes that remain.

Fewer priests for Masses

"We've got to revisit that very, very much," said Kmiec. "Our Mass schedules are still very much patterned after when we had a lot of priests."

"Journey in Faith & Grace" comes 11 years after Bishop Edward D. Head unveiled a similar reorganization process called "Visions 2000."

The process was put on hold when Head retired and was replaced by Bishop Henry J. Mansell, who favored keeping parishes and schools open.

Kmiec said the restructuring can be postponed no longer.

The number of active diocesan priests has declined since 1995 by 30 percent to 237, and parish membership and average weekend Mass attendance are down 12 percent and 13 percent, respectively, over that same time. Baptisms are down by a third.

By 2010, the diocese projects it will have 179 active diocesan priests, and by 2015, 149 priests.

"If we still had 274 parishes and missions, I can't imagine," said Sister Regina Murphy, director of research and planning for the diocese. "We have to be very concerned about the health and well-being of priests. And, of course, we're talking about older men."

The planning office has put together a question-and-answer document to explain the need for restructuring.

The document pays particular attention to the shift of Catholics from Buffalo to the suburbs. The city's 56 Catholic churches are only 22 percent filled during weekend Masses.

"People remember these places, but they're not necessarily in these places anymore," said Kmiec. "It can't be as it had been in the past."

The condition of parish buildings and their architectural significance will play a role in how the diocese addresses its city parishes, he added. Kmiec said a restructuring would allow parishes and schools to stay vibrant.

Schools strain finances

He noted, as an example, the financial strain faced by many parishes that run schools. Enrollment has declined 20 percent since 1995, when there were 30,563 students in 111 Catholic elementary and secondary schools. There are now 24,314 students in 97 elementary and secondary schools.

With tuition covering only half the per-pupil cost of education, some parishes spend the majority of their income on schools. That means "the other ministries suffer," said Kmiec.

Compared with other dioceses nationally, Buffalo seems to have more parishes "than our personnel and resources can handle and the number of Catholics here would need," said Murphy.

Besides, the church isn't immune to the same changes that have occurred locally in business, government and medicine, she said, citing consolidations, closings and mergers in those sectors.

"The essence of the church doesn't change, but the structure - the way it meets the needs of its people - that needs to be adapted to the time and circumstances," she said.

Difficult choices ahead

Parishes that survive a downsizing will be those that offer quality worship services and music, activities beyond Masses for their parishioners, preparatory programs for sacraments such as First Communion, confirmation and marriage, and service and charity outreach.

"We expect there to be tough moments. It's been like that in other places, and we expect the same," said Kmiec.

The diocese will keep parishioners apprised of planning efforts through church bulletins, the diocesan Web site and other diocesan media.

"We'll have to be transparent, to make people feel as if we're not concocting something behind their back," the bishop said.
________
related posts: "Annals of Neglect"

2005-06-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

Thoughtful Preservation

Nowak effort could spark orderly method of dealing with architectural heritage issues

Buffalo News 6/9/2005

If it takes judicial pressure to get Buffalo's disparate preservation forces to work together in a proactive effort to save the city's historic architecture, so be it.

City Housing Court Judge Henry Nowak, a jurist who already has made his mark on city planning and preservation, is convening a new Neighborhood Preservation Collaborative to swap the typical stop-the-bulldozers reaction to demolition threats with a reasoned and coordinated effort to assess the city's treasures and figure out the best ways to deal with them. It's a voluntary effort by all concerned, but the judge is using the prestige of his office and his record to make it work.

The collaborative - and Nowak stresses that word - will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. today in City Hall's Common Council Chambers, and everyone is invited. To start, Nowak has crafted a carefully thought-out committee structure and matched those jobs with the talents of some uniquely qualified interim chairmen.

This could be a watershed moment for a city that has suffered from the lack of an overall preservation plan and a fragmented preservation community, including at least three citywide or regional preservation groups that haven't always worked well together. Nowak's informal collaborative effort can bring them all under one tent. For too long, preservation issues largely have been dealt with either by the city Preservation Board addressing zoning and variance requests at the start of the preservation process or by Nowak's Housing Court that handles end-of-the-line issues of structural problems and demolitions.

Much of the strength in Nowak's idea lies in his comprehensive look at the preservation process, a key element in any city's effort to not only preserve its treasures but incorporate its heritage into plans for the future. It took years to develop a preservation policy, no surprise in a city still working toward a comprehensive master plan. While there has been hope for comprehensive surveys springing from pilot projects done in selected neighborhoods by local architect Clinton Brown's firm for the Preservation Board, a much wider effort is needed.

Nowak sees a set of committees dealing with issues such as adaptive reuse, finding ways to help building owners fund heritage-saving restoration, salvaging key architectural elements from homes about to be demolished and a committee to research and evaluate preservation initiatives in other cities.

Scot Fisher, who has led the effort to restore a Delaware Avenue church for singer Ani DiFranco's studio, would lead an evaluation and inspection committee. And leaders of major preservation groups - Richard Lippes of the Preservation Coalition, Dennis Galucki of the Landmark Society and Tim Tielman of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture and Culture - would lead committees for legal and professional research, tourism and educational marketing and development and neighborhood awareness.

"It's so tough to be proactive, because it really takes a lot of work if you're on your own," the judge said.

Nowak hopes the work will assist the Preservation Board, unite preservation interests, post real accomplishments and "pretty much eliminate the whole notion of demolition by neglect in this area." It's a tall order, but a good start.

2005-06-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

2005-06-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

Urbex...Planet wide...

This is all cut n pasted from Modern Ruins and Urban Exploration. Check back for updates...

Updated June 16, 2004

Newest Links

Derelict London

Sleepy City

Abandon Spaces (dead link?)

Abandoned Asylums and Hospitals

Abandoned Asylums

Angels in the Architecture Northern Michigan Asylum in Traverse City, Michigan

Bartonville State Hospital from the Ghosts of the Prairie page.

Boyd's Sanitarium in Dripping Springs, New Mexico

Buffalo Psychiatric Center Photographs by Joe Hayden depict this former asylum in the United States designed by H.H. Richardson.

Byberry Mental Hospital

Byberry

The Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England

The Castle on the Hill Danvers State Hospital

Clinton Valley Center abandoned asylum in Michigan, now demolished

Clinton Valley Center more pre-demolition photos

Danvers State Insane Asylum very nice site, has a video clip with some interior shots of the hospital.

Danvers photos from Jeremy Barnard photography

Dark Passage

Diversatech aerial photos of an abandoned mental hospital in Manteno, Illinois

Dixmont Insane Asylum

Eastern State Penitentiary As seen on MTV's Fear. The penitentiary was closed in 1971. It is listed as a historical landmark and is open for tours April through November.

Essex Mountain Sanatorium

Fairfield Hills State Hospital in Newtown Connecticut. This hospital was used on MTV's Fear.

Fairfield Hills photos

Historic Asylums

Historic Asylums Message Board (too many pop up ads) Of particular interest; Bartonville State Hospital (said to be haunted) and Danvers State Hospital.

King's Park Psychiatric Center - A Documentation

Kirkbride Buildings

Light Into Darkness scenes from an abandoned asylum (Danvers)

Manteno State Mental Hospital

Metropolitan State Hospital in Massachusetts

Noho's Abandoned Asylum More pictures of North Street Mental Hospital in Northhampton, MA.

North Street Mental Hospital Ian Herrick's photos of an abandoned asylum in Northhampton, MA.

Norwich State Hospital

Pennhurst State Mental Hospital

Pilgrim State Asylum

Project Ardmore abandoned juvenile mental institution in Livonia, MI

Reno or Bust Metro Times Detroit article on an abandoned mental hospital

Rochester Psychiatric Center

Rockland Psychiatric Center

St. Louis City Hospital

Sunland Hospital in Tallahassee, Florida

Tales of Eloise Eloise Hospital aka Wayne County Asylum in Detroit

Teens get big scare while ghost hunting in abandoned hospital article about a group of teens who were mugged while exploring Jefferson Davis Hospital.

Vintage Postcards of Hospitals in Hamilton, Ontario

Vintage Postcards of Hospitals in Worcester, Massachusetts

Amusement Parks, Water Parks, and Zoos

Asbury Park, Then and Now

Defunct Amusement Parks

Idora Park abandoned amusement park in Ohio

Cemeteries and Catacombs

Adam's Stull Page

Bachelor's Grove

Bachelor's Grove Cemetery An excellent site on what is called Chicago's most haunted cemetery. pics

A Fine and Sacred Place Pics from several Philadelphia cemeteries and the Pennhurst State Mental Hospital.

Old Bones cemetery art

Old Cemeteries, Arsenic, and Health Safety

Ossuary information on Jan Svankmajer's short film, The Ossuary.

Sedlec Ossuary

Spelunking the empire of death Salon.com article on exploring the catacombs of Paris and the cataphile scene

Spider Gates Cemetery in Leicester, MA. 8 pics and a map.

Spider Gates Cemetery investigation into the rumours surrounding this cemetery. Nice pictures.

Stull Cemetery Background information on Stull Cemetery on Ghosts of the Prairie's Haunted Kansas page.

Underground Paris Photo tour of the Paris catacombs.

Farmhouses and Other Rural Ruins

Deserted Farms 90 black and white photos of abandoned farmhouses in Iceland

Ghost Towns

Ghost Town Index listing of ghost towns in the US

Ghost Towns of the West Ghost towns listed by state.

The Legend of Dudleytown, Connecticut

Mike's Ontario Ghost Towns and Abandoned Places

Monument Gallery pictures of ghost towns

NJ Pine Barrens exploring the ghost towns of southern New Jersey

Hudson Valley Ruins

Bannerman Island History

Bannerman Castle Trust

Hudson Valley Network - Historic Site

Hudson Valley Ruins Photographs and background information on several ruins in the Hudson Valley area. There are also photos of Bannerman's castle illuminated at night.

Xydexx's Exploring and Modern Ruins Bannerman's Castle, Briarcliff Lodge

Other Modern Ruins

Abandoned House of the Week Metro Times (Detroit)

abandoned-buildings.com (dead link?)

Abandoned buildings in Belgium

Abandoned Buildings of the Northeast photos of abandoned building and structures found in eastern New York and western Connecticut

Abandoned Memories Wayne County Child Development Center

Abandoned NJ

Among the Ruins pics of buildings destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871.

Barbados ruins

Blackshock photos of industrial, gothic and other dark scenes (Czech Republic and Slovakia)

Cincinnati's Abandoned Subway

Dead Malls

Desolation photos of abandoned buildings in Italy

The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit

Forgotten Michigan

Houston Buildings

Industrial Archaeology

Industrial Archeology in California

Kudzu Covered Houses in Georgia

La Fábrica destruction of a factory. (requires Flash)

Lost America Night photography of the abandoned roadside west

Military Ruins Bunkers, tunnels, cannons, arsenals... near La Coruna, the northwest coast of Spain.

Missile Bases for sale Have a couple of million to spare and a desire to live somewhere really unique?

Modern Ruins Project

Montreal Abandoned Buildings

Pacific Electric Subway abandoned subway line in Los Angeles

Phillip Buehler's Modern Ruins A photographic essay on the abandoned, decaying artifacts of the twentieth century.

Rash Reflections Photography pics of abandoned buildings in New York and New Jersey (click on Acid Kittie)

Roadside Art Online: Ruins 11 pics

Ruins page is in Japanese but there are some good pictures of abandoned buildings.

Ruins in Japan

SBNO abandoned amusement parks

Side O' Lamb Asbury Park in New Jersey

Subterranea Britannica UK Cold War defenses

Subterranean Fortress One man, his shovel, and 14 years of digging.

Tim Feresten - Photographs Michigan Central Railroad Station, industrial interiors, and an abandoned house

Underground Kent

Tunnels and Drains

Abandoned Subway Stations in NYC

Abandoned Tube Stations in London

Cave Clan Australia

Closed stations in Paris' Subway

Dezafekt underground quarries of Paris, tunnels, subway,catacombs, pictures of the urban underground.

Drainage Exploration Boston, MA

Drains of My City urban exploration in Edmonton

Exploring the Twin Cities

Iowa State Steam Tunnels

Minneapolis Drains

Mysteries under Moscow article on a group called "Diggers of the Underground Planet"

New York City Underground from nationalgeographic.com

New York Underground selected images from the book, New York Underground: Anatomy of a City

Notes from Underground City Pages (Twin Cities, MN) article on exploring drains and tunnels

Paris Souterrain catacombs and tunnels (in French)

Promenades souterraines [French] [English version] the forbidden French underground

Under OSU Ohio State University Steam Tunnels

Remnants of Abandoned Stations, Tunnels, and Station Entrances found on the MBTA

Storm Draining in Australia

Tunnels of Vanderbilt University

Under Cal Steam Tunnels at UC Berkeley

Undercity NYC tunnels and some useful info for would be urban explorers

Underground History Disused Stations on London's Underground

Virginia Tech Urban Exploration

Urban Exploration

Action Squad Minneapolis urban adventures

Bangor Explorer's Guild Bangor, Maine

Boston Urban Exploration LiveJournal community

Columbus Underground urban exploration in Ohio

Explored New Jersey

Infiltration Infiltration: The zine about going places you're not supposed to go.

Jinx Magazine urban adventure.

Lost Destinations exploration in New Jersey

Lost Indiana

Newfoundland Urban Exploration Society

Nite Crawlers UE in Centralia, WA

Offkilter urban exploration in England

Ohio Exploration Society

Ohio Lost Ohio's forgotten places (turn sound down if at work)

Ohio Trespassers

Online and Underground Salon article on tunneling and exploring abandoned buildings.

pdXplore LiveJournal community

pdXplore UE in Portland, Oregon

Rural Ruin LiveJournal community

Under NY

Urban Adventure

Urban Adventures in Rotterdam

Urban Decay LiveJournal community

Urban Exploration Alberta

Urban Exploration Web Ring

Urban Explorers Network

Urban Exploration France

Urban Exploration Australia

Urban Exploration Front LiveJournal community

Urban Exploration Resource - Canada

Urban Lens UE in New York city

urbex.org.uk UE in the UK

urbanVenture new site. Not many pics yet but click on Transmit for a video clip of Metropolitan State Hospital.

DM Gallery urban exploration in Finland

Urban Speleology Minneapolis based.

Zone-Tour: Database of Urban Exploration

Misc.

Castles for Sale

Castles of the United States There are over 100 castles listed on this site, most with a picture.

Creepy Cleveland Folklore, Myths and Monsters in Northern Ohio

The Devil's Tramping Ground in North Carolina.

East Coast Paranormal research Society

Forgotten NY

Frederick Wiseman's Titicut Follies info on Titicut Follies , a documentary filmed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. (1967)

GPSWNJ GPS coordinates of interesting sites in NJ, including those mentioned in Weird NJ magazine

House - The story of an abandoned house and its spell

Lithic: Unusual Sites in New England

The Lost Playground mainly Weird NJ type stuff, expanding to cover other states (dead link?)

Lovecraftian Sites in New England

The Midnight Society abandoned buildings, hauntings, and NJ weirdness

Night Photography by Larrie Thomson

Photographing Ruins photo.net article by Shaun O'Boyle (oboylephoto.com)

A Record of Excursions and Adventures in Massachusetts Stone Circles, Dolmen, Chambers, Caves, and other oddities

Roads to Ruins guide to the medieval castles of Germany with hundreds of photographs and maps to the locations of the castles with histories and travelers information.

The Marsden Archive
The Marsden Archive apparently sells prints of Simon Marsden's photographs but you have to order their brochure (free) to find out what is available and neither the brochure nor the website lists prices. A calendar and greeting cards are also available.

Yahoo Weird NJ Fan Club

Related Books

Asylums

Eloise: Poorhouse, Farm, Asylum and Hospital by Patricia Ibbotson

Medicine and Magnificence: British Hospital and Asylum Architecture, 1660-1815 by Christine Stevenson

Hudson River Valley Mansions

Phantoms of the Hudson Valley : The Glorious Estates of a Lost Era
by Monica Randall, out of print but Amazon has used copies

American Castles: A Pictorial History by Amy Handy and John Burdick

Simon Marsden
Marsden uses infrared photography to capture the haunting qualities of the ruins he photographs.
Unfortunately, most of Marsden's books are now out of print.

Beyond the Wall : The Lost World of East Germany

The Haunted Realm : Echoes from Beyond the Tomb

In Ruins: the Once Great Houses of Ireland out of print but Amazon usually has a used copy for sale

The Journal of a Ghosthunter

Venice: City of Haunting Dreams

2005-06-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

Demolition by Neglect

The following is the full text of a resolution sponsored by Buffalo Common Council President David Franczyk on April 19, 2005. The full text of this resolution was sent to me by the City Clerk's office. I've changed the formatting to make it easier to read. The resolution is currently in the Committee on Legislation.

No. 129 Sponsor: Mr. Franczyk - "Demolition By Neglect"

Whereas: Buffalo is blessed with a wealth of magnificent architecture and our buildings have a unique character that is one of our greatest assets and something that most other communities could only dream of; and

Whereas: Many of these building are privately owned, and some are not being properly maintained and are deteriorating to a point where repair or rehabilitation is considered unfeasible; and

Whereas: Often these buildings are willfully left to deteriorate so that an unscrupulous property owner justifies having the structure demolished instead of renovating or repairing the structure; and

Whereas: This situation is commonly referred to as "demolition by neglect". Demolition by neglect should be avoided at all costs. Severe penalties should be imposed on any property owner who participates in this practice; and Penalties should be increased for any property that is located within a historic district or for a building that is declared a local, state, or national landmark; and

Whereas: Albany and New York City have adopted ordinances which prohibit owners of historic properties from creating or maintaining a condition which significantly impairs the structural integrity of a building within a historic district; Now,

Therefore, Be It Resolved: That the Common Council of the City of Buffalo directs the Corporation Counsel to draft an ordinance that would prevent demolition by neglect; and

Be it Further Resolved: That the ordinance would prohibit owners of historic properties or properties within a historic district from creating or maintaining a condition which significantly impairs the structural integrity of the building and impose appropriate penalties for such violations; and

Be It Finally Resolved: That the City Clerk of the City of Buffalo send certified copies of this resolution to the Department of Permits & Inspections, Buffalo Preservation Board, the Campaign for a Greater Buffalo, the Preservation Coalition of Erie County, the Landmark Society, and Department of Public Works for their comments and response

2005-05-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

How Buffalo Get a Warhol?

Reflections on a Postmodern City

by Craig Reynolds

from Basta! v1n1 (spring 1997)

THE ARGUMENT: Buffalo provides a challenge, not a legacy; it taunts the uninspired until they flee to a city where legacy’s flow will carry them along, like New York, San Francisco or Seattle. Buffalo requires a substantial commitment, like that of a drowning man to his condition. In Buffalo, we wrestle with God, Job’s God, and the fact of being is enough.

I begin to understand this after asking my 2 friends visiting from Seattle how they like the Albright Knox Art Gallery, the first stop in my weekend tour of Buffalo’s monuments to greatness. Pointing at Andy Warhol’s 100 Cans, they ask, “how Buffalo get a Warhol?” making me realize: 1) my friends aren’t exactly Peggy Guggenheims, but that’s perfectly a–okay; and 2) even after enjoying firsthand some of the greatest paintings anywhere, the misconception that Buffalo couldn’t possibly be significant remains even still.

It is a Saturday morning late in the football season and the museum is relatively empty, so one guest poses the inevitable question, “where is everybody?”––but rather than waste energy answering it, we who are not somewhere else do what we always do when queries like that arise: lean forward as far as we can without stubbing our noses on cold marble or bronze or drooling all over the paintings we risque absurdity to love, muttering under our breaths: “my God . . .”

“NOT MUCH HAPPENING HERE!”

A few hours later, after a quick architectural tour beginning on the gallery’s rear steps and ending downtown, we wind up at the waterfront, where we enjoy the cacophony of winds whistling through the car’s window casings. Naturally, being downtown, there’s no–one around . . .

Except a pack of wild dogs . . .

Wrestling savagely beside an over–turned garbage can on the corner of Erie and Lakefront Boulevards.

I go absolutely nuts to myself realizing I live in a city where wild dogs roam the streets, where the only activity is the impossible action of postmodern comic strips and outlandish science–fiction fantasies. I explode with delight realizing just how primal things have become, how ugly, how real.

Society has no claim on Buffalo anymore. We’re alone and that’s happy. We’re all gonna die and that’s happy. The empty storefronts that line Main Street dot sentences that ceased being written in earnest decades ago (anybody who writes them still invites the cancer that threatens to devour America). Buffalo is a grand Dadaist joke played on the American dream. What to do now is anybody’s guess––

My friends and I drive off wildly into the tangled maze of industrial nothing and bliss. “Not much happening here!” I shout and take a robust pride in its being true.

1.3 million people live in the greater–Buffalo area and all I see is not much happening here. I see empty factories overlooking empty lakes and rivers. I see empty streets leading nowhere but to other empty streets, empty parking lots in the shadows of empty churches.

Buffalo is the most spiritually evolved city in America. Like Christ, we have sacrificed everything for a better line on the suffering we always sensed was the only truth. In Buffalo, it’s man against God. Leaving your house mid–January is a Grecian odyssey all in itself––.

PURE SURREALIST MONUMENTS TO NOTHING

Soon enough, my friends begin to enjoy the sense of release our inevitable expiration arouses––

We drive on, past half–full warehouses and factories pumping loose, disjointed rhythms into the vast, inhuman night.

We drive on, through the staggering corpses of unused grain elevators, pure surrealist monuments to nothing.

We drive on, past windowless bars where solitary patrons try to trap oblivion in the bottoms of their beer glasses, but never succeed (oblivion).

We drive on, alongside vestigial railroad lines but tonsils were always my favorite body part so who am I to complain?

We drive on, past the leftover remains of Bethlehem Steel’s old headquarters, a creepy mansion on the hills only it’s all alone on the banks of Lake Erie and the dirt is deep like on the buildings in Paris.

We drive on, past the dilapidated cruise ship imported extra–special from Cleveland to collect spiders and rats on the polluted shores of eastern Lake Erie, also creepy.

We drive on––

We drive on––

Until we reach Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica and the trumpets begin to sound. And the angels on its rooftops sing: “everything you ever thought was true is wrong!”

Five minutes later we are standing dumbstruck in the center of the cathedral’s magnificent atrium, where the walls and ceiling exude the strange inner light the images painted on them ache to depict. Everybody in our group is amazed, silently gaping with eyes large like the black hole that is Buffalo.

“What is a beautiful, amazing place like this doing in Lackawanna?” my one friend asks.

Our Lady of Victory is a typical Buffalo achievement in so far as there’s absolutely no reason why it should exist . . . but it does . . . just like Buffalo does . . . and the reason why is that Father Baker had a vision and committed himself wholeheartedly to its fulfillment. Buffalo is ripe with enigmas and why here?s––and the answer always comes back “because” (Buffalo precedes all rational explanations). There is a fine line between something and nothing and Buffalo manages to walk it straight despite the large quantities of alcohol it consumed in hopes of blurring that line just a little wider. Unlike other cities, where it’s easy to sink into the flow of everything’s fine, in Buffalo, you must be a prophet or drown in utter mediocrity. Buffalo demands existential authenticity, and the rock we push up the hill (only to have it roll back down over us time and time again) is our only salvation. Like Rimbaud in the gutters and back–alleys of Paris, in Buffalo, you have no choice but to remake life; there’s no bullshit left to buy, no palace gates to hide behind (I endure Siddhartha Gautama’s 4 passing sights whenever I walk out my front door). Buffalo is the most advanced city in America; we progressed beyond progress. Our truth is grounded on an intense understanding of everything that is false (or an intense understanding that everything is false). We don’t need to realize the ultimate insignificance of the world; our world realizes it for us. Not only does Buffalo’s faded, tattered industrial landscape prefigure a dawning, postmodern art and architecture, it augers a new way of being. I mark in every face I pass marks of weakness, marks of woe––the sane, saintly sufferings of Christ. In Buffalo, we have exhausted all the tired cliches of American culture, but who needs them anyway? I’d rather run with wild dogs through silent streets than jump from old mall to new mall hopelessly fleeing my own inevitable collapse.

It doesn’t vex me that the world has abandoned Buffalo to the cold, hard night of passing time, impermanence and irrelevance; it just means I have an art gallery of incalculable merit all to myself, a downtown whose jewels were left for me to reap, a lake like a vision and the wind that blows across it proves that I’m alive, a discarded history so rich I feel privileged to watch it unfold. In Buffalo, we have turned something inside out, revealing the paradoxical everything of nothing. Our insignificance is of such great consequence it weighs on me like death; next stop: illumination.

AND NOW, FOR THE FORCED FINALE THAT’S TRUE NEVERTHELESS: in the growls of wild dogs I hear the song of the new American frontier, where being and not–being fade into the fact of we’re here anyway so what are you gonna do about it?––where significance and insignificance meet on weekends for an illicit drink (before returning to their established corners in time for tenure–track office–hours on Monday). We are the still point at which all contradictions meet and become one. I don’t care if you don’t care. The past, present and future is Buffalo’s essence. Someday you’ll join me in eternity.

2005-05-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Cities Aren't Doing as Well as You Think

Urban Legends
by Joel Kotkin

Only at TNR Online
Post date: 05.23.05

Usually journalists get accused of overemphasizing bad news. Yet in the case of America's cities, the media has often made things appear rosier than they really are. The idea that American cities, indeed cities worldwide, are experiencing a renaissance has been widely, and often uncritically, accepted since the late 1990s. This new optimism rests largely on the impact of globalization and the worldwide shift from a manufacturing to an information economy. "Neither western civilization, nor western cities," historian Peter Hall has argued, "show any sign of decay." Books like Cities Back from the Edge, by Roberta Brandes Gratz, have asserted that many Americans are ready to give up their suburban dreams for dense, compact cities modeled on places like Prague. Then there are the popular works of Richard Florida, who seems to offer a simple formula for urban revitalization: Get hip and gay. Hip cities like San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Boston are the new role models, Florida has argued; and non-hip locales are duly forewarned, as a headline in The Washington Monthly put it, that cities "without gays and rock bands are losing the economic race."

In some respects, of course, the last ten or so years have been a good time for American cities. Most urban areas, particularly New York, became safer and cleaner than they were in the '80s. And, certainly, we are no longer living in the dark days of the '70s--an era symbolized by the 1981 cult classic Escape from New York. These trends have made urban life more attractive to some and thereby stimulated residential construction as well as slowed--and in some cases reversed--the flight from cities of jobs.

But these developments notwithstanding, the renaissance of American cities has been greatly overstated--and this unwarranted optimism is doing a disservice to cities themselves. Urban politics has become self-satisfied and triumphalist, content to see cities promote the appearance of thriving while failing to serve the very people--families, immigrants, often minorities--who most need cities to be decent, livable places. The myths that have grown up surrounding the urban renaissance are now often treated as fact. As an urban historian who lives in a major city, I believe that recognizing these myths for what they are is a critical first step towards the redemption of urban America.

Last week voters chose a mayor in Los Angeles. In six months, voters in New York will do the same. We are therefore in a period when the question of how to fix American cities is--or at least should be--receiving more attention than usual. But to fix something, you first have to concede that it is broken. And economically, demographically, and politically, many American cities are broken in key respects. Below, a guide to the most popular urban myths, how they are taking urban policy in a wrongheaded direction, and what cities should be focusing on instead:

Myth No. 1: Cities are again gaining people. The late '90s saw population growth in some cities--particularly supposedly hip havens like Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland. Many less favored cities, including perennial losers like Philadelphia and Cleveland, experienced much hyped upticks in downtown populations. "'Downtown is back' seemed to be a common observation throughout the 1990s," observed a 2001 report from the Fannie Mae Foundation and the Brookings Institution. Since then, a flood of new condos and loft projects in urban centers has convinced many that this observation is in fact a reality. Jonathan Fanton, president of the MacArthur Foundation, has heralded these developments as "signs of hope" for a new "urban renaissance."

But these assessments fly in the face of demographic realities. New York, Seattle, and Portland continue to gain population, but at a markedly slower rate than in the '90s. Most other cities--including Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, and Minneapolis--are once again losing residents. During the '90s, for example, Chicago's population grew by 4 percent, leading to a chorus of hosannas. Since 2000, however, the city has lost roughly one percent of its people. San Francisco--which Richard Florida has celebrated as a success story--grew by an impressive 7 percent during the '90s, but since 2000, it has lost over 3 percent of its residents. Boston, whose population increased by some 2.6 percent in the '90s, had given up half those gains already by 2003. And highly urbanized Massachusetts, one of the locales lionized by the new urbanists, was the only state last year to lose people.

What's more, these population setbacks for cities are taking place at a time when the growth of suburbs, exurbs, and more rural communities has continued. Even during the late '90s, a relative boom time for cities, five people moved out of central cities for every three who came in. The imbalance crossed every single age group, from the elderly to those between the ages of 15 and 24. It even applied to the demographic that is supposedly helping to spark urban renewal--the 25 to 34 year old set.

Cities, meanwhile, are becoming ever smaller parts of their metro areas. Minneapolis is a prime example. In the '90s the Midwestern city's population grew roughly four percent. Since 2000 it has shrunk by 2.5 percent, losing some 10,000 people; in contrast the surrounding suburban region grew by over 100,000.

In this context, even cities' much ballyhooed downtown revival does not really account for much more than a symbolic victory, population-wise. Overall, the back to downtown movement has constituted, as the Brookings-Fannie Mae report described it, "more of a trickle than a rush." If you combine the projected population growth for the downtowns of 15 of the nation's largest cities between 1998 and 2010, the total growth reaches roughly 125,000 people. By contrast the increase in one suburban region alone, San Bernardino-Riverside, during the same period is expected to be well over 1.2 million.

Even the great hopes of cities--immigrants--seem to be heading out of town, particularly once they start to climb the ladder towards the American dream. By 2000 more immigrants in metropolitan areas lived in suburbs, according to Brookings demographer Audrey Singer, than in cities. And this suburban immigrant population is growing faster than the urban immigrant population.

Then there are the empty nesters who, we are frequently told, are moving in droves back to inner cities. And yet the most recent census shows this trend to be more myth than reality. Retirees in the first bloc of boomers, according to Sandi Rosenbloom, a professor of urban planning and gerontology at the University of Arizona, appear to be sticking pretty close to the suburbs, where roughly three of four now reside. Those that do migrate, her studies suggests, tend to head further into the suburban periphery, not back downtown. "Everybody in this business wants to talk about the odd person who moves downtown, but it's basically a 'man bites dog story,'" Rosenbloom observes. "Most people retire in place. When they move, they don't move downtown, they move to the fringes."

Myth No. 2: Cities are where the successful people are. Apologists for the urban status quo frequently insist that it's quality, not quantity, of people that counts. Academics have made a bit of a cult of this notion of the Darwinian superiority of cities. Places like New York, London, and Tokyo, argued theorist Saskia Sassen, occupy "new geographies of centrality" that provide "the strategic sites for management of the global economy." Behind these giants she identified a secondary list of global centers, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Frankfurt, Toronto, Sydney, Paris, Miami, and Hong Kong. As for the lesser cities, much less the periphery, they are simply too far removed from what Lenin called "the commanding heights" of the capitalist economy.

Historically, such arrogance--and its appeal to the most talented parts of the population--was somewhat justified, particularly in the great cities. After all, if you wanted to run a global business, you had to be in New York, Chicago, or one of the nation's other commercial centers.

Yet today, many educated people come to the cities for a relatively brief period of their lives, notably their twenties, only to return to their hometowns, smaller cities, or suburbs as they reach their thirties. And with improvements in telecommunications technology, increasingly they find they can compete just as well from outside cities as from inside them.

Some of this, suggests demographer Bill Frey, has to do with the growth of the economies and amenities in suburbs and smaller towns. You can now, for example, get a passable Indian, Vietnamese, or Italian meal, buy a good cup of coffee, and hear reasonable music in places like Fargo, North Dakota. "These places now have more to offer," Frey says. "After all, the Starbucks culture is now coast-to-coast." (Disclosure: I've done federally funded consulting over the last few years in Fargo and North Dakota; but I've also done consulting in plenty of major cities.)

Of course, educated people have other reasons to migrate besides the growing availability of lattes. First, there is the issue of affordability: Housing costs in the most desirable cities--New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Boston, Seattle--have now reached stratospheric levels. The second reason lies with schools and children. Babies might look cute in strollers in Soho, but when they get bigger, middle class parents start to seek out places where a kindergarten education doesn't run as high as $20,000 a year. Paying for college is bad enough; but getting someone to teach the ABCs should not cost a parent, who is already paying for public schools, as much as six months of mortgage payments.

As a result, cities are not the places getting smartest fastest. Sixteen of the country's top twenty counties in terms of percentage of college educated people are now suburban; only three, Manhattan (New York County), San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., are cities. During the '90s, the biggest net gainers of college educated people were such unfashionable, and largely suburban, metropolitan regions as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Charlotte. The number-one destination, in terms of net migration gains of young, single, educated people as a percentage of the total population? Naples, Florida.

Myth No. 3: Cool cities attract the best jobs; uncool cities don't. Another highly appealing urban legend holds that high-end jobs gravitate toward those places that are considered cool or hip. At the top of this alleged hierarchy are San Francisco, Boston, Austin, Seattle, and Portland, cities also identified as those with large bohemian and gay populations. The chief apostle of this point of view, Richard Florida, has said, "Take the guy with the tattoos seriously."

This assertion may be true in some cases, but overall, it's not supported by the facts. Employment growth in new economy fields such as business and financial services since 2000 has proved more robust in the suburbs and smaller cities than in the big towns. Some of this has to do with technology. As Harvard's Edward Glaeser notes, technology has long tended to concentrate not in dense urban settings but in more suburbanized ones, with large campus-like office parks, less crime, lower taxes, and, most critically, access to educated workers. Perhaps nerds, in contrast to the late '90s legend, don't tend to be pierced bohemian mega-consumers of culture but instead prefer areas with suburban track homes, good public schools, and even thriving churches.

Certainly the areas that have experienced growth in new-economy jobs--such as business and financial services--have not been the pillars of cool. In fact, since 2000 these jobs have been leaving the likes of Boston and San Francisco, while accumulating in church-going, conservative areas like Boise, Phoenix, Reno, Salt Lake City, and southwest Florida.

It may surprise creative class acolytes that these decidedly uncool places have done better in producing high-end jobs than elite cities. In fact, a recent UCLA study found that Sacramento and San Bernardino-Riverside led California in the production of jobs paying over $55,000 a year between 1995 and 2004. Sacramento saw these higher-end jobs increase by 2.8 percent while the Inland Empire--the suburban periphery east of Los Angeles--saw such jobs expand by 3.3 percent. San Francisco? It saw a .5 percent drop in such positions.

Even the large firms that have been identified with major urban centers since the nineteenth century are heading away from dense traditional cities. In 1969, only 11 percent of America's largest companies were headquartered in the suburbs; a quarter century later roughly half were in the periphery.

The prevailing shift in the locations of large firms' headquarters, according to a recent Chicago Fed report, has been to southern and smaller towns, not to large cities. As a result, cities can no longer assume they control the commanding heights of the economy. Just twenty years ago San Francisco was home to the world's largest bank and an established global center for high-end financial services. But in 1998, Bank of America, an institution deeply enmeshed in the city's history, moved its headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina after merging with NationsBank, which was based there. Since the dot-com bust, things have gotten worse. Between 2001 and 2004, San Francisco lost nearly 17 percent of its business service jobs--lawyers, accountants, management consultants--and 9 percent of its financial sector positions.

The same phenomenon can be seen in New York. Since 1981, the city's share of the nation's securities industry jobs has dropped from 37 to 23 percent. Wall Street may still be the world's leading financial center, but it employs fewer and fewer New Yorkers. Financial service employment has been declustering rapidly, out to the surrounding suburbs, to other regions of the country, and, in some cases, abroad.

Much the same can be said about retail, once a New York specialty. By 2002 not one of the nation's top twenty retailers was headquartered in Gotham. And the dominant player in global merchandising, Wal-Mart, operates out of the cool metropolis of Bentonville, Arkansas.

hese myths are particularly problematic when they become the basis for policy. And in many cities, that is exactly what is happening. Policies based on these myths aren't just a waste of time and resources. They are also distracting cities from the real work of securing their future. After all, if you are being told that you are coming back--riding the wave of demographics and intelligence to an inevitably positive outcome--why deal with the hard issues like public education, job training, promoting small companies, and transportation?

What is being done. Many mayors and governors seem to be relying on a "bread and circuses" strategy for revitalizing their cities. According to this logic, if cities can only put on a better show--in terms of arts, sports, conventions, and other amusements--they will become irresistible not only to tourists but also to educated workers and the companies that employ them. How else to explain the ridiculous idea that spending billions on a West Side stadium is crucial at a time when New York's subway system is becoming ever more obsolescent and a wall that lines the Henry Hudson Parkway is (literally) crumbling? What else could justify proposed public expenditures, in cities ranging from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Boston, on shiny expansions of convention center complexes at a time when the convention business is by most accounts shrinking?

Then there is the notion of building a cool town to lure the creative class--in Michigan, Governor Jennifer Granholm actually has an initiative called "Cool Cities." This justifies the public financing of arts and entertainment centers. There's nothing wrong inherently, of course, with arts and entertainment centers; but one has to wonder whether a $300 million performing arts center will really lure the creative class to Kansas City, as opposed to New York or Los Angeles. Even old industrial hubs like Cleveland and Philadelphia have tried to lure the creative class by developing hip downtowns. So far, both have improved their central cores, while the rest of the city continues to lose jobs and residents at an alarming rate.

The idea that Cleveland and Oklahoma City, much less Detroit and Kalamazoo, can out-compete New York, San Francisco, London, or Paris on a hipness scale is simply bizarre. These cities will never win the battle for the dollars or affections of the young, the nomadic rich, and tourists. As a Michigan talk show host once pointed out to me, "If you have to mount a campaign to prove you're hip and cool, you're not."

I recently debated Richard Florida in Denver, and even he admitted that his ideas about the creative economy were being misinterpreted to justify often absurd policy prescriptions. Arguably, bohemianism as urban policy makes some sense in places like San Francisco that retain natural appeal for the wealthy and perennially hip. As they lose their historic roles as centers of economic and political power, these cities may well morph into what might be considered "ephemeral cities," playing out the role that H.G. Wells envisioned for urban downtowns as a "bazaar, a great gallery of shops and places of concourse and rendezvous." That is, great places to visit, not to live.

There is also the popular idea that attracting gay residents will save cities. Spokane and Oakland, for instance, have considered projects to lure gays. It's true that gay populations have helped to gentrify areas of some cities, for instance in New York, in Washington, and even around downtown Phoenix. But the idea that gay residents will continue to save cities flies in the face of trends in American gay life. As domestic partnership laws and, eventually, marriage rights make it easier for gays to form nuclear families, there is every reason to believe that their social patterns and needs will become more similar to those of average Americans--and that the factors that have driven straight families out of cities will do the same for gay families. Among other things, gay parents will want good public schools for their children, something that most cities no longer offer. And even if they don't have children, gay people still have jobs--and good jobs are increasingly moving to the suburbs.

What needs to be done instead. Cities are not doomed, far from it; this is one point on which Richard Florida and I agree. But two major things need to happen in order for cities to be saved. First, they must undertake a CAT scan of sorts, which would reveal, underneath the glossy exterior of arts centers and arenas and hip downtowns, the reality of lost jobs, dysfunctional schools, and crumbling infrastructure. Second, they need to acquire the political will to attack these issues head-on despite the inevitable roadblocks.

What is needed is for cities to craft their own New Deal. Given their shrinking political power, they will not be able to extract resources from Washington or most state capitals. They will have to get smart about how they are run and focus their resources on basic issues, like schools, infrastructure, boosting small business, and creating jobs--rather than promoting bread, circuses, and tattoo parlors.

This will mean making choices. New York needs to decide that fixing its subways represents a more important use of its bonding authority than a stadium for the Jets. Los Angeles needs to decide its biggest priority lies in preventing the region's port complex, its largest generator of private sector jobs, from becoming hopelessly congested and obsolescent. Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, and the other hard luck cases need to focus on trying to fix their schools, transportation systems, and economies. Phoenix needs to concern itself with generating jobs and opportunities for its soaring immigrant population. Let the glitzy restaurants and rock clubs take care of themselves.

Steps like these will require a new political consensus. Much of the current progressive agenda--with its anti-growth economic bias--does little to boost the competitive status of urban centers. Cities must return to a progressive focus on fixing their real problems--that is, the problems of the majority of the people who live there--not serving the interests of artists, hipsters, and their wealthy patrons. Right now school reform is often hostage to the power of teachers' unions. City budgets, which could be applied to improving economic infrastructure, are frequently bloated by, among other things, excessive public sector employment and overgenerous pensions. In the contest for the remaining public funds, the knitted interests of downtown property holders, arts foundations, sports promoters, and nightclub owners often overwhelm those of more conventional small businesses and family-oriented neighborhoods that could serve as havens for the middle class.

Ultimately, a new urban progressivism must challenge this power axis. It would force local governments to focus on the most important historical work of cities: the transformation of newcomers to America into successful, middle-class citizens. This has undergirded the emergence of all great modern cities, from fifteenth-century Venice to seventeenth-century Amsterdam to twentieth-century New York. The American metropolis can be more than a way station for the wealthy young and part-time destination for the nomadic rich. It can be a place where average people live, thrive, and build communities across lines of race and class. Now that would be a cool city.

Joel Kotkin is an Irvine Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and author of The City: A Global History (Modern Library, April 2005).

2005-05-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

Hip Cities w/o Souls...

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Hip cities without a soul

Steven Greenhut

Sr. editorial writer and columnist
The Orange County Register
sgreenhut@ocregister.com

It's easy for anyone interested in cities, suburbs and what architects call "the built environment" to think only in terms of recent history and the world that we know. There are big cities with their towering downtowns, trendy neighborhoods and run-down ghettos and then the endless suburban sprawl in which most middle-class people reside.

Hence, planners, architects and developers debate philosophies such as Smart Growth and New Urbanism, which are designed to stem the supposed destruction of open space and replace dispersed development patterns with urbanized living. Many of my discussions of this matter have devolved into angry debates between those who think that suburbia is evil and those of us who find it to be a grand advancement of living standards for the majority.

Joel Kotkin, an author who specializes in urban affairs, has published a new book that promises a broader outlook. "The City" is an ambitious and dense effort despite its mere 218 pages. It looks at cities not just in terms of modern America and the European model, but in full historical perspective. The first chapter starts with the evolution of urban life 40,000 years ago (!) and proceeds to describe life in Mesopotamia, ancient Rome, Constantinople and then onward to modern Los Angeles.

"The City" offers fascinating insight into the ideologies that have created different city designs, and into the natural human desire to gather together to live and for commerce. He reminds us that the ancient Romans created a vast system of infrastructure, including the aqueducts, but that after Rome's fall, it collapsed into a tiny echo of its former glory. He provides a quick tour of city development in the Middle Kingdom, the Middle East and even Middle America.

Perhaps the most fascinating insight: Cities need a sense of moral purpose to survive and flourish. It's not enough, he argues, for them to serve merely as a center of commerce. It's that idea that helps me the most as I continue my critique of the modern planning movements.

In a recent interview, Kotkin complained to me that New Urbanists and others who want to recreate urban living as a rebuke to suburbanization tend to miss this almost-spiritual side to city planning. The hip, vital cities modern planners are most enamored of, such as Portland, Ore., are geared almost exclusively toward "young people and the nomadic rich and trustafarians," those childless trust-fund elites who are seeking high culture but eschew child-bearing and religion.

In Europe, he said, all the major cities are mostly devoid of children. Yet planners refuse to acknowledge that "the evolution of suburbia is part of the continuum of urban history." He calls the people who run cities the worst enemies of them, as their hamfisted regulations, the destruction of schools and the bloated bureaucracies are unfriendly toward average middle-income families.

He derides the emphasis on hipness rather than on traditional city planning that focuses on good infrastructure, good schools, safe neighborhoods. Unfortunately, people come out of the planning schools with the same ideas, he said. So those who don't fit this narrow demographic move to the suburbs, where they are criticized by the urban elites who accuse them of selfishly promoting sprawl. In the book, Kotkin makes the case by comparing the new planning ideas to the lessons of the past. "Broader demographic trends also pose severe long-term questions for these cities," he wrote. "The decline in the urban middle-class family - a pattern seen in both the late Roman Empire and eighteenth-century Venice - deprives urban areas of a critical source for economic and social vitality."

"The City" provides necessary historical context for modern debates, and to that end serves a valuable purpose.

2005-05-24T01:13:00.000-07:00

Letter from Jane Jacobs
This letter first appeared the The Brooklyn Rail in April 2005 and was later picked up by Planetizen in May 2005.
__________________________________

April 15, 2005
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and all members of the City Council
c/o City Council President Gifford Miller

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

My name is Jane Jacobs. I am a student of cities, interested in learning why some cities persist in prospering while others persistently decline; why some provide social environments that fulfill the dreams and hopes of ambitious and hardworking immigrants, but others cruelly disappoint the hopes of immigrant parents that they have found an improved life for their children. I am not a resident of New York although most of what I know about cities I learned in New York during the almost half-century of my life here after I arrived as an immigrant from an impoverished Pennsylvania coal mining town in 1934.

I am pleased and proud to say that dozens of cities, ranging in size from London to Riga in Latvia, have found the vibrant success and vitality of New York to demonstrate useful and helpful lessons for their cities—and have realized that failures in New York are worth study as needed cautions.

Let’s think first about revitalization successes; they are great and good teachers. They don’t result from gigantic plans and show-off projects, in New York or in other cities either. They build up gradually and authentically from diverse human communities; successful city revitalization builds itself on these community foundations, as the community-devised plan 197a does.

What the intelligently worked out plan devised by the community itself does not do is worth noticing. It does not destroy hundreds of manufacturing jobs, desperately needed by New York citizens and by the city’s stagnating and stunted manufacturing economy. The community’s plan does not cheat the future by neglecting to provide provisions for schools, daycare, recreational outdoor sports, and pleasant facilities for those things. The community’s plan does not promote new housing at the expense of both existing housing and imaginative and economical new shelter that residents can afford. The community’s plan does not violate the existing scale of the community, nor does it insult the visual and economic advantages of neighborhoods that are precisely of the kind that demonstrably attract artists and other live-work craftsmen, initiating spontaneous and self-organizing renewal. Indeed so much renewal so rapidly that the problem converts to how to make an undesirable neighborhood to an attractive one less rapidly.

Of course the community’s plan does not promote any of the vicious and destructive results mentioned. Why would it? Are the citizens of Greenpoint and Williamsburg vandals? Are they so inhumane they want to contrive the possibility of jobs for their neighbors and for the greater community?

Surely not. But the proposal put before you by city staff is an ambush containing all those destructive consequences, packaged very sneakily with visually tiresome, unimaginative and imitative luxury project towers. How weird, and how sad, that New York, which has demonstrated successes enlightening to so much of the world, seems unable to learn lessons it needs for itself. I will make two predictions with utter confidence. 1. If you follow the community’s plan you will harvest a success. 2. If you follow the proposal before you today, you will maybe enrich a few heedless and ignorant developers, but at the cost of an ugly and intractable mistake. Even the presumed beneficiaries of this misuse of governmental powers, the developers and financiers of luxury towers, may not benefit; misused environments are not good long-term economic bets.

Come on, do the right thing. The community really does know best.

Sincerely,
Jane Jacobs

2005-05-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

Solutions for a Better Quality of Life:

A Guide to Solving Neighborhood Issues

MAY 2004

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First, we would like to give special thanks to Assemblymember Sam Hoyt, for this document could not have been produced without his efforts and his dedication of resources. Through his work in both the City of Buffalo and in Albany, we were able to engage in community conversations and utilize input from a variety of sources to gather information for this manual.

This manual also could not have been created without the tireless efforts of many concerned City residents. Most importantly, we would like to thank Stephanie Carter, from Assemblymember Hoyt's office, Michelle Graves, COPS Crime Prevention Manager, and Harvey Garrett, who serves both the West Side Community Collaborative and Buffalo Housing Court. In addition, numerous interns from both Housing Court and Assemblymember Hoyt's office researched the issues presented in this manual and crafted the proposed solutions; they include Angelo Gambino, Kristyn Cronberger, Victoria Boone, Kate Meyer, Kirsten Swanson, Laura Lombardo and Stephanie Novak. Also offering assistance on this project were Erie County Legislators Mark Schroeder, Demone Smith and Lynn Marinelli, Timothy Callan from Legislator Albert DeBenedetti's office, City Councilmembers Richard Fontana, Marc Coppola, Brian Davis, Antoine Thompson and Nick Bonifacio, Peter Savage III from Councilmember Bonifacio's office, Michael Kuzma, Esq. from Councilmember David Franczyk's office, Timothy Wanamaker, Executive Director of the City Office of Strategic Planning, Linda Chiarenza, West Side NHS, Bruce Williams, Broadway/Fillmore NHS, Alyce Cuddy, University Heights CDA, Nettie Anderson, Louise Bonner and Ada Hopson-Clemons, Masten Block Club Coalition, Shyrl Duderwick, South Buffalo NHS, Jerry Nagy, Kensington-Bailey NHS, Kathleen Peterson and Ruth Lampe, Parkside Community Association, Lydia Fernandez and Damicela Rodriguez, Hispanics United of Buffalo, Rosa Gibson and Renetta Johnson, Community Action Information Center, Rose Yager, West Side Neighborhood Partnership, Ian McDonald and Kevin Hayes, Richardson Towers Community Association, David Granville, Allentown Association, Elizabeth Triggs and Odease Brown, We Care Neighborhood Community Block Club, Kim Harman, East Side PRIDE, Ida Thomas and Annette Tatum, Ellicott District Community Development, Inc., Malikah Muhammad, United Neighborhoods, Rose Yager, Gloria Jones, Mary Smith, Doris Corley, Bernice White, Ralph and Susan Guastaferro, and many other leaders of individual block clubs striving to protect the neighborhoods throughout the City of Buffalo.

THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, ALBANY
SAM HOYT

Assemblymember 144th District
Room 454
Legislative Office Building
Albany, New York 12248
(518) 455-4886
FAX (518) 455-4890
General Donovan State Office Building
125 Main Street
Buffalo, New York 14203
(716) 852-2795
FAX (716) 852-2799
hoyts@assembly.state.ny.us

CO-CHAIR
Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment

CO-CHAIR
Task Force on High Speed Rail

COMMITTEES
Ways and Means
Transportation
Energy
Governmental Operations
Tourism, Arts & Sports Development
Children and Families

MEMBER
Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force

May 13, 2004

Dear Friends:

Improving the quality of life in the City of Buffalo is and always will be one of my highest priorities. I was pleased to have been able to work with City Court Judge Henry J. Nowak of Buffalo's Housing Court in the formulation of this important guide for the community. In addition, this "tool kit" would not have been possible without the invaluable input of area block clubs and various community organizations.

It is my hope that you are able to integrate this manual into your organization's everyday practices and help eradicate many of the nuisance crimes that plague our city. As always, I am available to you and please feel free to call upon me with your questions, concerns and suggestions in making Buffalo an even better place to grow and prosper. My goal is to continue important collaborations such as this well into the future.

Sincerely,

SAM HOYT

MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for your interest in strengthening your community! Simply by reviewing this document, you have taken a positive first step toward enhancing the quality of life for you and your neighbors. If you are a property owner, you are also preserving your investment in the City of Buffalo.

There are several things you must understand in utilizing this document for concerns in your neighborhood. First, it is meant to be an ever-changing document, reflecting today's problems and remedies. Services change from time to time, and what worked to solve a problem last year may not work now. Also, problems are solved differently district by district - the appropriate resource to contact in University Heights may not work in Hamlin Park, and vice-versa. In order to ensure that this document remains effective, please contact the Court whenever you attempt any of the procedures, and let us know the results. We expect to update this document every six months, so we need to know what changes are necessary for the next version. Also, if a particular procedure is ineffective, the appropriate legislators can be notified to create a new remedy as soon as possible.

Second, be sure to exhaust every part of a particular procedure, and be prepared to follow up on your initial complaints on a regular basis. It is our experience that problems are moved to the top of priority lists after the same complaints are made a number of times to a number of different resources.

Finally, the procedures have been designed to protect the anonymity of those making the various complaints. There are a number of effective procedures to solve many of these problems that involve direct contact with property owners, but many active citizens have been reluctant to use such procedures for fear of retaliation. Please use your best judgment when attempting to solve neighborhood problems, and take advantage of the steps that protect the identities of those making the complaints.

Thank you again for your interest and dedication to your neighborhood.

Henry J. Nowak
Buffalo City Court
50 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 845-2648
Fax - (716) 847-6409
hnowak@courts.state.ny.us

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. CRIME
A. Illegal Drug Sales
B. Illegal Business Activity
C. Predatory Lending
D. Trespassing
E. Abuse and Other Quality of Life Concerns

II. NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS
A. Abandoned Houses
B. Rodents
C. Abandoned Cars
D. Property Violations
E. Vacant Lots
F. Loose Dogs
G. Graffiti
H. Snow Removal

III. COMMUNITY INFORMATION
A. Ownership of Property
B. Housing Court
C. City Auctions
D. New York State Building Code
E. How to Start a Block Club or Tenant Council

I. CRIME

A. Illegal Drug Sales

If you suspect that there is a drug house in your neighborhood, you should first call 911 and the Mayor's Complaint Line (851-4890). Be sure to tell them if you do not wish to be identified, and if you do not want an officer to come to your door to investigate the complaint. The next three calls you should make should be to:

(1) the City of Buffalo Save Our Streets Program Tiffany Perry (851-5094);

(2) the Buffalo Police Department Tip Line (847-2255); and

(3) your closest Community Oriented Police Satellite (COPS) Station:

- University Heights COPS, Gloria J. Parks Community Center, 3242 Main Street, 851-4112;

- Parkside COPS, 2318 Main Street, 851-4324;

- East Side COPS, CRUCIAL, 230 Moselle, 895-1810;

- International Marketplace COPS, 283 Grant Street, 884-7812; and

- Medical Campus COPS, 927 Main Street, 883-4104.

You also may contact Michelle Graves, COPS Crime Prevention Manager, at 851-4112.

Any of these resources may refer you directly to the Narcotics Department at 851-4575, but they likely will process your information themselves, and may even be able to advise you of progress if you contact them again later. In addition, you should let your local Councilmember know the details of the problem property and the efforts you have made on behalf of the block club, and you should ask that he or she follow up to ensure that the house is investigated. Finally, you may report the property to be cited for Housing Court (see Section II (D), below) and explain the suspected drug activity as part of your report. If appropriate, the City prosecutor may request an Order to Vacate the property.

B. Illegal Business Activity

In general, any illegal business activity should be reported to the Buffalo Police Department by calling 911; remember to tell them if you do not wish to be identified. You should also contact your local representatives so that they may monitor the activity and follow up on your complaints. A list of your local representatives is attached as Appendix A.

If you believe that the activity is being conducted without a proper license, you should contact Patrick Sole at the City Licensing Department, at 851-4954. If the illegal activity involves the sale of alcohol, you should also notify the New York State Liquor Authority Enforcement Bureau in Buffalo at 847-5020. If the problem concerns a utility company, such as failing to repair a lawn after working on service lines, you should call the utility company first and file a complaint before contacting your local representatives.

C. Predatory Lending

If you believe that there are individuals or corporations engaging in predatory lending or rent-to-own scams in your neighborhood, you should immediately contact the New York State Mortgage Banking Department at 1-800-334-3360 Ext. 5599. You also should notify the State Attorney General's Office, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Better Business Bureau:

New York State Attorney General, Buffalo Office
107 Delaware Avenue, Fourth Floor
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 853-8400

FDIC
20 Exchange Plaza
New York, NY 10005
(800) 334-9539 (Consumer Complaints and Inquiries)
(917) 320-2500 (Main Switchboard)

Better Business Bureau, Buffalo Office
741 Delaware Avenue, Suite 10
Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 881-5222
info@upstatenybbb.org

Be prepared to provide descriptions of the loans or other products being marketed and the companies involved, and copy any relevant documentation provided or advertised by the companies.

D. Trespassing

If you believe there are squatters in a vacant house or building in your neighborhood, immediately call your Councilmember and the Mayor's Complaint Line (851-4890), and request that the property be cited for Housing Court. You should provide the address, the owner's name (if known) and a description of the individuals seen on the premises. Also, you should contact the Erie County Health Department at 961-6800 to investigate the property. You may then track the status of both cases through your Housing Court Liaison. Finally, it would be a good idea to contact your local COPS Station (see Section I (A), above) and advise them of the activity.

If there are individuals trespassing on your property, there are two ways you can handle the situation. For both, you need to know who the individuals are or have good descriptions of them. First, you can attempt to pursue the matter criminally by filing a police report for trespassing after calling 911. Second, you can call your local COPS station (see Section IA) and request that they contact the trespassers (and their parents if they are minors).

E. Abuse and Other Quality of Life Concerns

If you encounter threats against neighborhood residents, loud noise, rowdy behavior, and/or loitering, call 911 immediately. Do not try to take the matter into your own hands.

After each incident is over, document the details of what occurred, including dates and times, individuals involved, and damages incurred. Your next calls should be to the Mayor's Complaint Line (851-4890) and your local COPS station to report the activity (see Section I (A), above, for a listing of the various locations). Between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., you should be able to reach a Site Coordinator, and after that, you can leave a message and your name and number. The Site Coordinator can be contacted again to track the progress of the case.

Suspected child abuse or maltreatment should be reported. The law requires that you have "reasonable cause to suspect" that the child is being abused or neglected in order to file a report. To make a report, call Child Welfare and Protection Services at (716) 858-6437, or toll free at 1-800-342-3720. You may also contact Crisis Services (834-3131) for further assistance.

An "abused child" means a child which is 18 years old or less whose parent/guardian:
· Inflicts or allows infliction of physical injury upon the child that is not accidental
· Creates of allows substantial risk of physical injury
· Commits or allows to be committed a sex offense against the minor

Adult abuse is defined as the abuse or mistreatment of an adult 18 years or older. Unexplained injuries, decrease of appetite, decrease of financial resources suddenly, and sudden changes in mood or behavior are just some signs that the adult is being mistreated. You can report adult abuse by calling Adult Protection Services at (716) 858-6901, or toll free at 1-800-342-3009. You may also contact Crisis Services (834-3131) for further assistance.

II. NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS

A. Abandoned Houses

If one of the houses in your neighborhood is vacant and boarded up, and is a blight on the neighborhood, you should report the property to both your Councilmember and the Mayor's Complaint Line (851-4890). The Erie County Health Department (961-6800) will also investigate problems relating to accumulated garbage, trash and debris on properties.

It is helpful if you are able to determine the owner of the property (see Section III (A), below, for instructions), and find out if there is a Housing Court case already pending against that property owner (see Section III (B), below). If so, you can ask your Housing Court Liaison to find out the status of the property. If not, be sure to request that the case is written up for Housing Court as soon as possible (see Section II (D), below). You should provide the address, the owner's name and a description of the problem. If you or another neighbor would be interested in acquiring the property, you can contact the owner directly or through the Housing Court Liaison.

B. Rodents

The Erie County Health Department provides free rodent baiting. The property owner needs to call 961-6800 and fill out a permission form. You also should call Citizen Services at the City of Buffalo at 851-5307. They will arrange for the setting of traps and other measures to eliminate the rodents.

C. Abandoned Cars

If the abandoned cars are on City property, call Parking Enforcement at 851-5832 to request that the vehicles be towed. If the abandoned cars are on private property, they can be removed free of charge by Riverside Towing. You will need to contact the property owner and ask him or her to call Riverside Towing at 825-5578. The property owner does not need to have the title to the vehicle, but must sign a permission slip, and the car will then be removed.

If you do not have cooperation from the property owner, have the property written up for Housing Court (see Section II (D), below).

D. Property Violations

If you believe there are violations of the New York State Building Code or the Buffalo City Code at a property in your neighborhood (such as a damaged roof or gutters, high grass or weeds, debris, foundation problems, etc.), immediately call both your Councilmember and the Mayor's Complaint Line (851-4890) and request that the property be cited for Housing Court. You should provide the address, the owner's name (if known) and a description of the violations or problems at the property. The Erie County Health Department (961-6800) will also investigate problems relating to accumulated garbage, trash and debris on properties.

E. Vacant Lots

If one of the vacant lots in your neighborhood has debris or overgrown grass and weeds, the first thing you need to do is to find out who owns the property (see III (A), below). If the property is owned by the City of Buffalo, contact Steve Stepniak at 851-5661 and request that the lot be cut. If you or another neighbor is interested in purchasing the lot from the City, you should contact John Hannon at the City of Buffalo Real Estate Department at 851-5275.

If the lot is privately owned, you should immediately call both your Councilmember and the Mayor's Complaint Line (851-4890) and request that the property be cited for Housing Court. You should provide the address, the owner's name and a description of the problem. The Erie County Health Department (961-6800) will also investigate problems relating to accumulated garbage, trash and debris on properties. You may then track the status of the case through your Housing Court Liaison (see III (B), below). If you are interested in turning a vacant lot into a community garden, you can contact Jim Pavel, President of Keep WNY Beautiful, at 851-4370. Mr. Pavel can direct you to various individuals and departments depending upon the extent of the work.

To convert a vacant lot into a parking lot, several Code provisions would need to be met, such as those concerning paving, lighting and drainage. Call John Hannon at the City of Buffalo Real Estate Department, at 851-5275. He can explain the process to you.

F. Loose Dogs

If you there is a loose dog in your neighborhood and you would like to have it taken away, you should call the City Pound at 851- 5694 during weekdays before 3:00 p.m. If it is after 3:00 p.m. on a weekday or during a weekend, call 911, and the Buffalo Police will address the problem. You may also contact the S.P.C.A. serving Erie County (875-7360) to report other animal problems, such as dog fighting or illegal breeding activities.

G. Graffiti

If one of the buildings in your neighborhood has graffiti, you should call both your Councilmember and the Mayor's Complaint Line (851-4890) and request that the property be cited for Housing Court. You also should contact Jim Pavel, President of Keep WNY Beautiful, at 851-4370.

H. Snow Removal

For snow removal of private and public sidewalks and streets, call the Mayor's Complaint Line (851-4890) and ask to speak to someone in snow removal department. You will be transferred to a representative, and you will be asked your exact location such as your street address, city, and zip code. After giving this information to the person, they will ask exactly what you need, so be prepared to give detailed instructions.

III. COMMUNITY INFORMATION

A. Ownership of Property

There are several ways to find out who owns a particular piece of property in the City of Buffalo. First, you can go to the Erie County Clerk's Office at 25 Delaware Avenue, and ask at the Information Desk on the second floor they will walk you through the procedure.

Also, you can call the City Assessments Department at 851-5733. If you have access to the Internet, you can check on line at the City of Buffalo's web site, www.city-buffalo.com. Under "City Services," you can click on "Property Information." From there, you will be able to input the property address and can learn:

· the owner's name and home address;
· the date they obtained the property; and
· the assessed value of the property.

In addition, you can check Erie County's Internet Mapping Project at erie-gis.co.erie.ny.us/website/erie_help/help.htm. Once there, you can click on "Internet Mapping System," which will take you to a separate page showing you a map of the County. From there, you can click on "Locate Property" (at the bottom) and search by property address.

Once you know the owner's name, you can input that at either the City or County web site to determine what other properties he or she owns in the City of Buffalo.

B. Housing Court

Housing Court cases are now scheduled by district, and each district has one or more Housing Court Liaisons, who are appointed by the City Councilmembers. The Councilmembers and the Housing Court Liaisons receive the Court docket before each of their scheduled days, and appear in Court to offer input and assistance when appropriate. You should have a good working relationship with your Liaison, and should communicate with him or her regularly to track the status of any cases in your neighborhood. Also, you should let your Liaison know when you report a case to the Mayor's Complaint Line so that they can look for it once it is called for Court. The current Liaisons are:

North District (Monday-9:30 a.m.)	Joseph Golembek, North District Councilmember (851-5116)
Niagara District (Monday-2:00 p.m.)	Harvey Garrett, West Side Community Collaborative (603-9762)
Masten District (Tuesday-9:30 a.m.)	Robin Young, CAO/FLARE (838-6740); Antoine Thompson, Masten District Councilmember (851-5145)
Ellicott District (Wednesday-9:30 a.m.)	Annette Tatum, Ellicott District CDC (856-3262, Ext. 13); Damicela Rodriguez, Hispanics United of Buffalo (856-7110); Joseph Delaney, Heart of the City (882-7661); Brian Davis, Eliicott District Councilmember (851-4980)
Lovejoy District (Wednesday-2:00 p.m.)	Richard Fontana, Lovejoy District Councilmember (851-5151)
Fillmore District (Thursday-9:30 a.m.)	Christina Van Ghle, East Side PRIDE (897-4522); Marlies Wesolowski, Lt. Col. Matt Urban Services Center (893-7222)
South District (Thursday-2:00 p.m.)	Pamela Tait, South Buffalo NHS (823-1010)
University & Delaware Districts (Friday-9:30 a.m.)	Amber Lusk, University Heights CDA (832-1010, Ext. 232); Kathleen Peterson, Parkside Community Center (838-1240)

You also should know about a web site where you check the Court docket on line. At this site, you can search by the defendant's name and by the date of the Court calendar. Unfortunately, you cannot search by the property address, but we are attempting to modify this site so that you can do so in the near future. The web address is:

portal.courts.state.ny.us/pls/portal30/HSES_DEV.MENU_HOUSING_COURT.show

The easiest way to provide information to the Court about a given property or defendant is through your Housing Court Liaison, especially if you fear retaliation by the property owner (the Liaison refers to all complaints as coming from "concerned residents in the neighborhood"). You also may appear in Court yourself on the date the case is called. You can learn the date and time through your Liaison or through the web site.

Another way is to write to the Court directly. However, for the Court to consider the information, you must copy the property owner and the City of Buffalo on all correspondence. You can obtain the identity and address of the property owner by following the instructions under Section III (A), above. In order to send a copy of your letter to the City of Buffalo, you may send it to Peter Savage III, Esq., City of Buffalo Law Department, 1101 City Hall, Buffalo, New York 14202.

C. City Auctions

The City prepares a foreclosure list in advance of each auction, and a block club may request a foreclosure list by calling Bruna Michaux at 851-5734.

Also, you may search online by taking the following steps:

- go to the City's web site, www.city-buffalo.com;

- Under "City Services," click on "Property Information."

- At the left side of the page, click on "In rem 37 Property Foreclosure Site"

Once there, you may search for individual properties by street name or zip code.

D. New York State Building Code

The New York State Building Code is an eight volume set available at the Erie County Public Library. It is not available to be viewed on line, but can be ordered on line for approximately $300.00 at electrical-contractor.net/The_Store/NY_Codes.htm.

An easier way to learn some of the more common housing violations is to speak with your Housing Court Liaison, your local housing inspector, or Housing Court Judge Nowak. Judge Nowak will be willing to meet with block clubs and invite the inspectors and/or the Liaisons who service your area. Also, you can review the Erie County Housing and Health Codes by calling 961-6800.

E. How to Start a Block Club or Tenant Council

Block Clubs are formed on streets that have single and double home, and small apartment buildings while Tenant Councils are formed with residents of municipal housing and affordable housing projects. Both serve the same objectives:

· to insure the safety of the residents
· to keep the neighborhood clean
· to beautify the neighborhood
· to keep the property values up
· to seek funding for beautification projects
· to have a stronger voice in the city government, by expressing concerns as a group

To organize such a group you must find interested neighbors, discuss most pressing and concerned problems, set date for a meeting, and invite everyone. If help is needed to organize your club you may contact the following groups:

United Neighborhoods
1092 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 882-7814 Telephone
(716) 882-7554 Fax

Masten Block Club Coalition, Inc.
118 East Utica Street
Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 882-2055 Telephone
(716) 882-3060 Fax
Louise Bonner, Program Director
Nettie Anderson, President

After you have successfully organized your first meeting the next step is to register your block club or tenant council with United Neighborhoods (above) and the Board of Block Clubs of Buffalo, 1319 City Hall, Buffalo, NY 14202, (716) 851-6500.

2005-05-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

KernWatch...May 15, 2005

Dick Kern e-mailed the following Hutchinson & Upcher story this morning...lots of good backgroud information about the case.

David:

Discovered H-U's scam at 287 Hoyt where they had a "4 you 2 Rent" sign with a phone # next to a HUD sign. Turned out they bought the house, with their stock mini-blinds hanging in all their houses by 2 nails on front windows to spiff-ify appearance, from HUD for a couple thousand, but in their greed & HUD's chaos it was still being maintained by HUD's later-fired "InTown Management".

In the H-U phone message they listed 39 Oxford (also owned 96 Oxford) & 157 Massachusetts (nextdoor to City Finance chief Jim Milroy) as places to come for apartments on designated days, but I never found them their at times & places stated.

287 Hoyt, 157 Mass & 340 Mass (next to a blighted WSNHS house at 344 Mass & blighted 338 Denmarc7-Goleman house) were all demolished recently. H-U's 500 Mass is being slowly rehabbed by an elderly Hispanic man depressed by loss of his wife to a heart attack.

Later Venere confronted me on Delaware downtown in a car with Virginia plates, throwing open the door in front of my bike, just to catch my attention. The only other time I saw him was in housing Court with Terry McKelvey, who later 'helped" McLeod try to silence me on a similar scam by H-U disciples Amherst Realtor Joe Wooley & scam partners girlfriend Bernardine Julius & Buff State cop Patrick Freeman.

Finally I talked to a man loading a U-Haul outside their apparent residence on LaSalle (address?), who immediately called H-U, apparently inside . . last time they were seen in Bflo.

They had earlier opened a "cultural center" in the old TV studio on Main above Utica, ad in Challenger, & posters all over, offering free tickets to council folks . . but banning me from entering. They also bought the restaurant 2 doors south, forget addresses.

The father Rev. Whitbourne, whose wife Ingrid played the 'race card" on me, lived at 96 Dorris, near the Church of Prophesy on corner Dorris & Bailey. The parents began the scam but were never charged, apparently moving to Brit VI as H-U fled town.

Note that the 'Jesus factor' enters many housing scams . . from Palano, to Graham & Glushefski at Cornerstone, to Drati . . a particular irritation to me as a former "pre-theo", now badly fallen from grace!

Luckily neither H-U, nor Wizig, had ties to Frank Clark so my "harassment" of them went unprosecuted!!!

Incidentally, there are 135 Wizig parcels back on the in-rem list (14 NY Liberty, 64 NonProfit Training Center, 40 JD Max, & 17 Remco) and two H-U parcels . . . .

so the merry-go-round spins on.

Dick

2005-05-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

Verne Hutchinson...Real Estate Career Ends!

Couple linked to real estate scam caught
By SANDRA TAN
News Staff Reporter
5/14/2005

The law finally caught up with Venere Hutchinson, with the help of some astute police officers in Tennessee and a 3-year-old copy of The Buffalo News.

Hutchinson and his then-girlfriend, Dana Upcher, were cited as among Buffalo's most negligent property owners in a 2001 Buffalo News investigation. The couple fled the state shortly before the state Attorney General's Office obtained indictments against them on multiple grand larceny and fraud charges in April 2002.

For years, no one could find the two fugitives. Some speculated that they had fled to the Virgin Islands. The true story is far more interesting.

Hutchinson and Upcher were linked to a $2 million real estate scam that defrauded at least five major lending institutions, according to the Attorney General's Office.

The couple - now Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson - were suspected of buying properties from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for a few thousand dollars each, then working with others to secure second mortgages for as much as $100,000 above each property's assessed value.

Most of these East Side and Lower West Side "investment" properties sat empty and unsecured, contributing to neighborhood blight and attracting drug abusers and illegal dumpers. Housing code violations piled up against the owners in City Court.

But the couple stayed off the radar until last week.

Cleveland, Tenn., Police Officer Andy Ratcliff was doing routine traffic monitoring on Interstate 75 on a Wednesday afternoon when he pulled over a GMC Yukon with improper tags.

The driver identified himself as Michael David Smith and presented Ratcliff with a valid Georgia driver's license. His passenger identified herself as Dequlan M. Jones. She gave the officer an obviously fake ID, Ratcliff said.

Both passengers appeared nervous but agreed to let Ratcliff search the car. Among the many items he found were: $14,000 in cash tucked away in a small tissue box, digital scales with marijuana residue, a laptop and disk apparently used for producing counterfeit money orders, some new electronics, and a copy of The Buffalo News from 2002.

"At this point, we had no idea who we were dealing with," Ratcliff said.

Officers took the couple into custody on minor drug charges. They ran their fingerprints but turned up nothing.

One officer, though, zeroed in on the male suspect and instantly knew Michael Smith wasn't the man's real name.

It turns out the officer used to sit next to the suspect in high school English class. He couldn't quite come up with the name, but he knew the Smith alias didn't fit the arrogant classmate he remembered.

By this time, it was well past midnight. Ratcliff sorted through some of the stacks of paper he'd pulled from the suspects' car. That's when he caught another glimpse of the copy of The News.

"I'm sitting here with my feet propped up with all this crap surrounding my desk when I saw this article in the paper that said something about "scam', " he recalled.

He knew the couple had kept this old newspaper for a reason. He flipped to the front of the city section.

There was the headline: "Couple sought in $2 million real estate scam." And beneath it was a photo of Venere Hutchinson.

Bingo.

"He had to keep a trophy," Ratcliff said of the paper. "That was really stupid of him."

Ratcliff walked over to Venere Hutchinson's holding cell and held up the warrants he'd pulled up from New York State.

"I hope you like Buffalo," Ratcliff told him, "because you're going back."

Hutchinson later told Cleveland police that he'd been involved in major automobile and real estate scams in Atlanta, working with other shady operators to obtain loans and mortgages that far exceeded the value of the initial property.

The New York State Attorney General's Office has accused him of doing virtually the same thing in Buffalo.

Local investigators had spent a year building a legal case showing that Hutchinson, Upcher and partner Rahmel Wattley bought 40 depressed Buffalo properties for a total cost of $119,000, then fraudulently obtained bank mortgages on them totaling more than $1.9 million.

"We were both surprised and delighted that after three years we were finally able to arraign them," said Assistant Attorney General James Morrissey.

Since Hutchinson and Upcher disappeared in 2002, most of their properties here have fallen into foreclosure. But according to city records, the couple still owns five properties on Normal, Mohr, High, Holland and Sumner streets.

Several of the couple's local associates accepted plea deals in 2002 for their roles in the scam. Their convictions ranged from falsifying business records to fraud and grand larceny.

The Hutchinsons were arraigned before State Supreme Court Justice Mario J. Rossetti on Friday morning. He denied bail after Morrissey told him about the couple's flight and capture.

The Hutchinsons are headed for City Housing Court on Monday and will appear before Judge Henry J. Nowak to answer 164 housing code violations and seven health code violations on 24 of their former properties.

e-mail: stan@buffnews.com

2005-05-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hutchinson & Upcher...May 16, 2002

May 16, 2002 Thursday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg.B1

LENGTH: 827 words

HEADLINE: COUPLE SOUGHT IN $2 MILLION REAL ESTATE SCAM

BYLINE: SANDRA TAN; News Staff Reporter

BODY:
Venere Hutchinson and his wife, Dana Upcher, previously identified by The Buffalo News as the second-worst Housing Court offenders in Buffalo, have been linked to a complicated, $2 million real estate scam that defrauded at least five major lending institutions.

The Buffalo couple, who owned dozens of vacant and neglected East Side properties, is now believed to be in hiding. They are being pursued as fugitives on multiple felony charges of grand larceny and one count of "scheme to defraud" following a yearlong investigation by the state attorney general's office.

Four other people also have been indicted or made court pleas over the last week for their alleged role in the mortgage scam, including real estate appraisers and a mortgage originator charged with scheming to defraud and falsifying business records.

A "scheme to defraud" charge refers to a pattern of fraud that results in multiple victims suffering losses.

"This is a significant case, both in terms of the number of properties involved and the number of individuals involved in the scheme," said attorney general spokesman Paul Larrabee. "It involved a substantial sum of money, in this case nearly $2 million, which the banks are unable to recover, and properties, which are essentially worthless."

Hutchinson, 26, and Upcher, 30, were highlighted in The Buffalo News in July for being hauled into Housing Court for their city properties nearly three dozen times between 1996 and early 2001.

Back then, the couple, along with partner Rahmel Wattley, were suspected of buying properties from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for a few thousand dollars each, then making money by leveraging them for second mortgages as much as $100,000 higher than each property's assessed value.

Most of these East Side and Lower West Side "investment" properties sat empty and unsecured, contributing to neighborhood blight and attracting drug abusers and illegal dumpers.

Attorney general's office investigators, working in conjunction with the State Police, are now pursuing a legal case asserting that Hutchinson, Upcher and Wattley bought 40 depressed Buffalo properties for a total cost of $119,000, then submitted fraudulent paperwork with the help of unscrupulous appraisers and mortgage originators to obtain bank mortgages totaling more than $1.9 million.

The lending institutions victimized by the scam include Associates Home Equity Services, Equity One Credit Corp., First Union Home Equity Bank, New Jersey Mortgage and Investment Corp., and Provident Bank.

"A case like this is like building a brick wall, brick by brick by brick," said Assistant District Attorney James Morrissey, who worked the case from the Buffalo office. "There's no sudden revelation. It's just a concrete building process where you keep building the wall until a pattern starts to emerge."

Officials added that this case is fairly typical of a large-scale mortgage scam in which a buyer, property assessor and mortgage originator work together to rip off lenders. Originators typically work for licensed mortgage brokerages and file the initial loan application paperwork to submit to lenders.

"Each piece of this scheme required the other to support it," Larrabee said. "Without the appraiser and without the originator, the purchaser does not realize the benefits of the scheme."

Rahmel Wattley, 20, of Law-renceville, N.J., pleaded not guilty last week to the grand larceny and scheme to defraud charges.

Williamsville real estate appraiser Harry Sanders, owner of Sanders Appraisal Services and Select Appraisal Services, pleaded guilty Monday in State Supreme Court to a single scheme to defraud charge. He is scheduled for sentencing July 19.

Sanders lost his appraiser's license last year and was charged $6,000 in penalties and costs for providing overinflated appraisals for Robert Palano, a city landlord cited by The News as Buffalo's top slumlord a decade ago.

Sanders' employee, Dennis Walker, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to multiple charges of grand larceny and a single scheme to defraud charge.

Larrabee said Walker, 48, is accused of performing most of the questionable appraisals for the company, even though he is unlicensed to do appraisal work in New York State.

Walker could not be reached to comment Tuesday.

Mortgage originator David Myers, a 40-year-old Amherst resi dent, pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of falsifying business records, a misdemeanor. Myers was the originator of 29 of the mortgage loans for Hutchinson, Upcher and Wattley, Larrabee said.

Investigators said Myers knowingly provided false income informat ion to lenders to secure inflated mortgages for his clients.

As part of a plea agreement, Myers admitted in court Tuesday that he submitted a single falsified residential loan application to First Union Home Equity Bank on behalf of Wattley.

e-mail: stan@buffnews.com

GRAPHIC: Venere Hutchinson is wanted on felony grand larceny.

LOAD-DATE: May 18, 2002

2005-05-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

Sweet Kleen(ed)!

EAST SIDE
EPA starts cleanup at Sweet Kleen site
By JOHN F. BONFATTI
News Staff Reporter
5/12/2005

A collapsed roof, mixed with the asbestos-contaminated materials that fell with it, lies splattered inside the walls, while rusting industrial drums are stacked on a loading dock outside.

The former Sweet Kleen Laundry on Kensington Avenue opened in 1925 and was abandoned by its owners about 1990, leaving behind a toxic eyesore that will cost taxpayers $600,000 to clean up.

The money comes from the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund, set up to clean hazardous waste sites across the country.

EPA spokesman Mike Basile said Wednesday there have been at least 10 such cleanups in Erie and Niagara counties over the last five years.

"We've spent $13 million on those cleanups," Basile said.

The cleanup began Tuesday with the dismantling of a 100-foot brick chimney, but EPA on-scene coordinator Keith Matheis said the most challenging work will involve removing asbestos and about 20 drums of oils, solvents, detergent and electrical transformers.

The asbestos removal is tricky, he said, because some of it was on pipes that crashed to the floor when the roof collapsed. Where possible, asbestos-coated pipe will be sprayed with a sealant before being removed, but "some of it is just going to be sent off-site as asbestos-contaminated debris," Matheis said.

Much of the building will be removed by mid-August, Matheis said. Removal of soil contaminated with the common dry-cleaning solvent tetrachloroethylene will start after that.

"We expect that by the end of the year, we should have the whole property cleaned up," Matheis said.

2005-05-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

2005-05-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

2005-05-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

From the Old First Ward and Buffalo River...

Here are some additional pics from Sunday's paddle along the Buffalo River. Just click on any of these images to enlarge the photo. I was wondering why there were two city trucks at this location next to the Ohio Street Lift Bridge on a Sunday afternoon. I suspect that the city is responsible for operating the bridge...but there are no boats...When I returned a few hours later there were four city of Buffalo pick-ups. Go figure...

The pics pretty much follow my steps...

Laurence T. Beahan, M.D. -- Letter to the Editor

2005-05-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

State should buy property with available program funds

May 3, 2005

Buffalo owns 650 acres of prime forest near Gowanda. In 1912, Mayor J.N. Adam donated this site for the Perrysburg TB Sanitarium. New York State took it over, but Buffalo retains reversionary rights. The State Dormitory Authority is attempting to sell the site to a logger, cheap.

The Village of Perrysburg uses this sanctuary as a park. There is a deer herd, hiking, skiing, bird watching and a snowmobile trail. The forest supplies its drinking water. The forest, as timber, is worth $1.5 million. As recreation, habitat and watershed, its value is inestimable. The state wants Buffalo to sacrifice the land for about $339,000.

In Orange County, hunters and hikers are suing the state for selling 1,200 acres of Hudson Valley. New York's right hand spends a fortune on Pataki's Open Space program, while its left discards magnificent lands at closed state facilities. Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo of Binghamton addresses this statewide problem in Assembly bill 7083.

Under Councilman David Franczyk's leadership, Buffalo has ordered a revaluation, a SEQR review and offered Perrysburg to the State Open Space Committee.

A perfect outcome would be for the state to buy the site from cash-starved Buffalo with Open Space money. Then, instead of falling to the ax, it would live on as a park.

Laurence T. Beahan, M.D.

Member, Adirondack Mountain Club, Sierra Club

Snyder

2005-05-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

Dick Kern...May 7, 2005

2005-05-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Longtime activist Kern fed up, leaves city, area
By JAMES HEANEY
News Staff Reporter
5/7/2005

Dick Kern, who has waged a relentless and often acidic battle for 15 years against what he considers the forces of waste and corruption, has stopped fighting City Hall.

Discouraged with the city's state of affairs and weary from the Erie County District Attorney's relentless prosecutions, Kern has moved to Minneapolis to join his longtime girlfriend.

"I decided it was pointless to battle the district attorney anymore. This last prosecution really did demoralize me," Kern said from his new hometown. "I'm licking my wounds at this point. I'm gun shy."

Kern, a 65-year-old Ivy League-educated social worker, said his activism was stoked by investigative reports in The Buffalo News during the late 1980s about discrimination, cronyism and waste at the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority.

He has railed against the authority since then, as well as against other city officials whom he contended have squandered hundreds of millions of dollars in housing and anti-poverty aid. Kern blames it on a "political culture of cronyism and unaccountability."

He spared almost no one, and his targets included those who were trying to solve the same problems he was but taking different tacks.

His methods were varied and often confrontational.

He once conducted a hunger strike on the steps of City Hall. Twice he staged symbolic break-ins of public housing apartments.

He would show up at the houses and offices of his targets, sometimes verbally confronting them, other times leafleting their neighborhood. And he wrote columns for alternative weeklies and, more recently, railed via e-mail, which frequently turned into ugly exchanges between Kern and his targets.

"His passion and involvement will be missed - but not his tactics," said Gillian Brown, the housing authority's acting executive director.

True to form, Kern spent his last weekend in Buffalo last month leafleting Brown's home.

"He leafleted my house and car all the time," Brown said.

Kern's only remaining business is the sale of his West Side home. While he has moved and said he's put Buffalo behind him, he is still issuing an occasional alert to an e-mail list, the most recently coming Thursday.

The most aggressive of Kern's tactics, which his critics characterized as harassment or stalking, made him the target of an estimated 15 to 20 prosecutions by District Attorney Frank J. Clark.

Complainants have included former City Treasurer Marilyn Smith, former Niagara Common Council Member Robert Quintana, and Charles Flynn, former chairman of the Independence Party and a member of the housing authority's governing board.

Prosecutors failed to win any convictions, however, although several of Kern's targets obtained orders of protection against him.

Kern had other legal problems, as well. He was cited for housing code violations twice in the late 1990s and was sentenced to jail time by a Housing Court judge.

Clark's persistence in pressing criminal charges prompted Kern to file suit in federal court several years ago, contending the prosecutions were a politically motivated attempt to stop his First Amendment-protected activities.

As part of the court proceedings April 11, both Clark and Kern agreed to drop all pending legal actions.

Michael Kuzma, one of Kern's lawyers, said Kern's departure is unfortunate, in part because Clark used his office to stifle free speech. "Why I was so interested and concerned about Dick's cases was the First Amendment implications," Kuzma said. "If Dick can be prosecuted for his First Amendment activities, anyone could."

Clark said his prosecutions were based on complaints filed by others and insisted he didn't handle Kern's cases any differently than others.

"My feelings about him are no different than the other 49,000 criminal filings in City Court every year," he said.

While many agreed with Kern on the larger issues and respected his sometimes exhaustive research, most said his strident tone and personalized attacks undercut his effectiveness and prompted many to eventually tune him out.

"His own worst enemy" was the phrase often used to describe him.

Kern makes no apologies for his tactics. "I became radicalized by the trouble I saw not changing. I kept whacking harder," he said. "It's hard for me to see how I could do it differently because no one else was stepping up."

Should officials in Minneapolis be preparing for his wrath?

"The culture here is vastly different, the government is accountable. I don't see the blatant corruption I see in Buffalo," he said.