Town of Niagara ready to act on neglected buildings

By Benjamin Joe

Senior Contributing Writer

Town of Niagara Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso is following through on her statements last year regarding neglected buildings in the Town of Niagara. On the docket at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting were four properties that will be evaluated at public hearings April 21, with suggested remedies including repair, vacate and/or demolish.

The sites are 6701 Elsa Place, 3002 Rhode Island Ave., 3488 Rhode Island Ave., and 6321 Edgewood Drive.

“They have to maintain these properties,” Virtuoso said before the meeting. “The neighbors are starting to get tired of the same thing. These are four condemned, deplorable homes in the neighborhood, and something has to be done. They have to either repair them or demolish them. … Assuming they’re not going to be fixed, by the end of the year we’re hoping to have them demolished.

“The cost of the demolition goes on their tax bills, so, unless they do it themselves or they start the repair, (they will be paying for the demolition). We’re hoping that they would do a repair. ... But attention needs to be brought to them. This is got to be done. Most of them, I believe, except for one, are out-of-town landlords.”

Building Inspector Charles Haseley said those properties have had “issues” for “the better part of a year,” and the town is giving the property owners legally proscribed time to respond to those issues.

“What (the Town Board is) trying to do, if all else fails and they’ve gone through with all the legal and administrative ends, is to move forward, with cause, for the razing of the buildings if need be,” Haseley said.

Virtuoso also said annual special-use permits for businesses will not be renewed without “compliance.” Any violations will have to mitigated before the town will move on reinstating special-use permits. She said businesses are investing in the community, and surrounding blight will not help keep them in the Town of Niagara.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Virtuoso said, “I do want to reiterate: All of the items we have on demolition and cleanup, it’s all about compliance. If you’re not going to be compliant, we are going to have to violate you.

“The neighbors have had enough. The businesses don’t need to have all the visible blight, especially Military Road, but it is all over town. We have, for two years, been doing this, and people have been in court. It has made a significant difference. Now we’re down to the nitty-gritty – the extra-stubborn sometimes – but we’re not letting up.

“This is going to continue to happen. I know the Building Department is working diligently at it; and we drive around, and we certainly are doing our best. And they have all had plenty of notice. Plenty of time. We’re not talking 10 days. Thirty days. We’re talking years.”