Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The New York State Court of Appeals informed the City of Buffalo on Monday it has denied a motion for leave in the eminent domain case involving 110 and 118 South Park Avenue by the properties' owner Darryl Carr.
This means the State Court of Appeals will not review the case, thus resulting in the affirmation that the City of Buffalo can legally acquire the neglected properties, and move forward with future preservation and future redevelopment efforts in the Historic Cobblestone District.
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Buffalo's Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon says this decision from the courts is a very important one for the city, as the properties are an integral piece of the Cobblestone District, reflecting on Buffalo's rich architectural heritage.
"They have fallen into disrepair, and we cannot allow another one of the city's architectural gems to be taken from us due to neglect," said Mayor Scanlon on Tuesday during a press briefing at Buffalo City Hall. "There's been a prolonged legal battle over these properties here in Buffalo. For over a decade, the city has been engaged in legal proceedings with the owner concerning the neglect and deterioration of these historic buildings."
Over the summer, the structures on the property were nearly lost after a fire ravaged the vacant site at the corner of South Park Avenue and Illinois Street. However, after the Department of Permits and Inspection Services took swift action to implement emergency stabilization measures, the buildings were able to be secured during legal proceedings, and kept them in good shape through the winter.
"We've had a very difficult winter. This freeze/thaw is challenging for buildings, because they take on water, and then we all know ice takes up more volume than water. We've been monitoring it, and we've been happy with what's going on," said Cathy Amdur, Permits and Inspection Services Commissioner in the City of Buffalo. "We haven't seen a lot of masonry continue to fall. The stabilization has been successful, and we continue to monitor it. And so far so good. So knock on wood, every time I get a report back or drive by it myself, we're so far in good shape."
Over the course of the next several days and weeks, the city's Office of Strategic Planning, led by executive director Nadine Marrero, will be taking action to ensure the site's future is handled responsibly.
"A new appraisal will be ordered to determine the property's market value. Once that offer is submitted, the building owner has 90 days to respond," Scanlon explained. "Eventually, the city will be issuing solicitation to find a responsible future property owner, who will undertake its revitalization with the ultimate goal of transferring the property from the city to a new responsible owner as quickly as possible, allowing for further stabilization, preservation and an eventual reuse of the buildings."
Scanlon further adds the city's goal of the solicitation, and any solicitation of the properties will be to ensure that any potential developers preserve the site's historic character, promote neighborhood vibrancy through commercial, residential or mixed-use development, incorporate sustainable design and deliver a positive economic impact for the Cobblestone District.
"It is our shared priority that this property does not remain vacant and continues to deteriorate, but, instead, is returned to a productive use for the surrounding Cobblestone community," Scanlon said.
As for a timeline with eminent domain measures, Scanlon says his office will move as quickly as possible, and at any speed that the courts will allow.
For city officials to invoke eminent domain in such a case is rare and obscure, but Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski says the vote from the Buffalo Common Council to invoke the measure came for a multitude of reasons.
"The first is the blight that it had in the Cobblestone Historic District, and it really honored the prerogative of Councils past," said Nowakowski on Tuesday. "In 1995, the Common Council created the Cobblestone Historic District, and specifically in the resolution, they state, in which they had fortitude, that they did not want any of the properties to be demolished for single-level parking. They knew what was happening around the arena, and they took action. And they had the ability to look forward to protect this historic district."
At times, Nowakowski is curious to see whether or not a municipality like the Village of Williamsville or another nice suburb would allow historic buildings to fall into disrepair like these properties have in the Cobblestone District.
"I believe that [Carr] was able to allow and manipulate courts for 15 years for this building to then fall into disrepair on everybody else's back and their neighbors. And now we're moving full steam ahead that we have an ability to put these structures back into productive use," Nowakowski said.
"As we move forward to a brighter day in the Cobblestone Historic District, it's going to take a lot of work, but to get here was a challenge. It was something very rare and obscure, but everybody came together because they knew the historical significance of these structures."
Nowakowski adds there will soon be a meeting with neighborhood stakeholders in the Cobblestone Historic District to keep an eye on the property so nothing mysterious happens after this court ruling.
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Back in September, Carr had told WBEN he was hoping to get some more answers from the likes of Scanlon, who was still Council President at the time, and others in city government when the Common Council approved funding for emergency stabilization of the buildings.
Scanlon says he was not aware of Carr trying to set up any such meetings since. And at this point, any such meeting seems like a moot point.
"Mr. Carr has owned the property for a number of years, and has had every opportunity to invest in that property and make sure that it didn't fall apart. At the end of the day, the City of Buffalo had to step in, stabilize that property, bring someone on board to do so. And I feel comfortable moving forward with the eminent domain proceedings to make sure that we're putting it in the hands of someone who's responsible, and restore that property to its proper state, in which it would be a contributing factor in that historic district," Scanlon said.
Nowakowski adds further that if someone like Carr cannot adhere to a court, why would any elected official have a meeting with that individual?
"I knew Mr. Carr when I was a staffer in court, when the judge was going at him, saying, 'Fix your property.' All of a sudden he wants to just have all these meetings and back slaps, the mayor and I do not engage in that type of politics," he exclaimed. "You adhere to the rule of law. You adhere to what our inspectors do. You adhere to what the housing court judge does. And to then have some farce of a fake building skyscraper to be built in the Cobblestone Historic District is one word: Stupidity."
WBEN reached out to Carr for a response to the court's decision, but was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.