Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - While the historic Great Northern grain elevator in Buffalo's "Old First Ward" continues to stand with a gaping hole in its North wall, preparations for demolition are ongoing at the hand of the building's owner, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM).
"There is preparation for demolition going on, because the judge in State Supreme Court lifted the TRO and his refused to close the case, which kind of stymies us from doing an appeal, which, of course, we would do, at the same time, allowing ADM to do demolition preparations," said Tim Tielman, Director of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo on Thursday. "They have been been bringing some equipment in, they've taken down various sheds and canopies around the building. So, of course, we're very concerned about possible imminent demo."
Tielman and the Campaign for Greater Buffalo continue to fight the demolition of the Great Northern, but until their case is closed and can then be taken to an Appeals Court in Rochester, their status remains in limbo.
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In the meantime, ADM Milling Co. is legally allowed to get their equipment on site and begin tearing the grain elevator down at any point. However, Tielman believes the plan for demolition is not going to be as simple as starting with the exterior.
"According to papers they filed with the city, they're not going to take down the brick walls first, they're gonna go for the structurally sound interior of the building. They want to rip out the metal tanks in the steel frame first, and that obviously would be dangerous for the walls themselves," he said.
Although the case for the Campaign for Greater Buffalo appears bleak at the time being, Tielman believes they're not dead in the water just yet. The frustrations lie, though, with the fact that the State Supreme Court judge will not close the case to allow their side to continue the fight.
"Our attorneys between them have almost a century in Article 78 law, and that's the area of New York State law that allows citizens or whoever to take an action against a municipality, for instance, for a long decision or determination. They're probably the most experienced attorneys in this field, vocally. In almost a century of practice between them, they have never had a case where a judge made a decision against them and refused to dismiss the case and end it, thereby allowing an appeal," Tielman explained. "There's a bizarre thing in New York State law, just applying to Article 78 proceedings, that until the case is over, you can't appeal. So it's been dragging on, as you know, since July 5."
Despite the demolition efforts continuing to progress, Tielman is optimistic that the building will continue to stand for the time being, as they hope to get the case moving along.
More of our conversation with Tielman is available in the player below: