Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has heard the Buffalo Common Council's request for a "deep breath" pause in demolition of the historic Great Northern grain elevator on Ganson Street in Buffalo. The Mayor says he has the Buffalo law department reviewing the request, although acknowledging that the City Charter is very clear on what happens when a building is badly damaged like the Great Northern.
"According to the City Charter, health and safety is the No. 1 priority. It is the only priority, but we certainly are mindful of the council's request, and we are reviewing that," Brown said on Wednesday while appearing at the Dillon Building in Downtown Buffalo.
Lawmakers voted unanimously on a resolution Tuesday to allow time for the building owner, local developers and preservationists to come to agreement on a plan moving forward.
Heavy equipment can be seen outside the elevator after legal hurdles have been cleared, allowing for demolition of the property by longtime owner, Archer-Daniels-Midland Milling Co.
Preservationists are awaiting an appeal of a court decision upholding the city's emergency demolition permit after New York State Supreme Court Justice Emilio Colaiacovo ruled the city acted appropriately in issuing the emergency demolition order after the building was heavily damaged during a wind storm on Dec. 11, 2021.
"This resolution calls on sort of a deep breath for everyone to see if there's a way that we might be able to salvage this building," said Councilman Joseph Golombek during Tuesday's session as he introduced the legislation to the full body.
"My understanding is that the inside of the building is like a 12-pack pop dispenser, you know, the cans are inside and are in great shape but that the container around it can be fixed. It's history, whether we like it or not."
Golombek says he is particularly confident an agreement between the parties to save the structure can be reached due to the interest and involvement of developer Douglas Jemal in the potential project. Jemal has publicly stepped forward and stated he would be interested in saving the structure.
Throughout the court hearings on the property, preservationists criticized ADM for allowing the building to fall into disrepair in recent decades and putting the property in jeopardy.
Just before opening arguments were heard in court on the Great Northern grain elevator, Mayor Brown wrote a letter to the company's Chief Executive Officer, Juan Luciano. In the letter, Mayor Brown asked the company to make every effort to try and preserve the Great Northern grain elevator.
Since then, Mayor Brown says he has been in communication with ADM Milling Co., trying to stress to the company the importance of the Great Northern to the community.
"A lot of people are interested in saving the building, and there are people in the community that have other interests. We try to listen to all members of the community, and I personally think this is a significant building," Mayor Brown said. "I would like to see it saved, and have been working behind the scenes talking to ADM, meeting with ADM to impress upon them the importance of that. We will continue to try and do that."
In addition to the resolution to pause that passed the full council Tuesday, Councilman Joel Feroleto is crafting legislation that would require the city permits and inspections team to inspect any of the nearly 150 landmark buildings in Buffalo annually as a way of preventing a similar situation from occurring in the future.
