Under that interpretation, there is no statutory way a building under threat of demolition can be protected. The Administration insists, all evidence to the contrary, that it must-by right- issue a permit within 30 days. Comerford or someone in his office must have told Sinatra that the permit was his for the asking after 30 days. Why that day, and not at the 60-day limit? Mr. Yet, here was Sinatra throwing his girth around City Hall the day of the Preservation Board hearing a month after registering for a demo permit. No, the Administration was quaking before Nick Sinatra-and, by extension, Carl Paladino, whose Ellicott Development is partnering in the controversial townhouse project on West Utica that is the nominal reason for the demolition.Įndangered Buffalo Buildings Not Protected by Brown Administration And what about the lawsuit that the Corporation Council's office knew The Campaign for Greater Buffalo was preparing in case the demo permit would not be revoked? The city charter grants the Commissioner up to 60 days to act on a permit application, and that he can approve or reject it. It was a fig leaf so transparent as to be pornographic.
He ended up getting Brown and permits chief James Comerford leading an end run around the legislative branch.įear of legal exposure was the line parroted by the mayor and his Commissioner for Permit and Inspection Services James Comerford in issuing a demolition permit for the house. He wanted the building down and marched to City Hall that day to announce that he fully expected to receive "his" demolition permit-as if by right. That was all apparently too much for Sinatra. TheCouncil makes final determinations on landmark designations. By Tuesday, February 25, the day of the Preservation Board hearing, Rivera said he had sufficient support from Common Council colleagues to ensure designation and protection of the building. Niagara District Councilmember David Rivera, whose district includes West Utica Street, had announced his support of landmarking the Franks House at a rally held by the Campaign for Greater Buffalo on February 22.
The Department of Permit and Inspection Services issued Paladino a demolition permit on a Friday afternoon, enabling a Saturday morning demo of the beloved First Ward landmark.Ĭampaign for Greater Buffalo Executive Director Tim Tielman, block club president Robert Pedersen, and Niagara District Councilmember David Rivera at a February 22 rally to save the house It is an image that will linger in the public memory, just as the similar destruction of the Harbor Inn by Carl Paladino in 2003 lives on to this day. The spectacle of Mayor Byron Brown and his executive branch submitting to the boorish dictates of developer Nick Sinatra to demolish the building was nakedly visible to anyone who did not shield their eyes.
Demolition ranch cameraman pdf#
A full description of the house is available on a previous post, and a pdf version is also available. The Ernest Franks House, a piece of Buffalo's cultural patrimony, was willfully destroyed on Thursday, February 27, 2020, less than 36 hours after the Buffalo Preservation Board voted unanimously to designate it as a local landmark-which would have made demolition much more difficult-and send it to the Buffalo Common Council for final approval. Despite being approved by Preservation Board for landmarking, Buffalo Mayor Brown approved the demolition On a bitterly cold day, the Ernest Franks House at 184 West Utica Street was demolished at the behest of developers Nick Sinatra and partner William Paladino.
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