Lockport NY

The Buffalo News reported some drama at the old mill that was suddenly purchased and fast tracked for demolition.

The state Labor Department has blocked a businessman from doing further demolition work on a decades-old Lowertown eyesore until results of an asbestos test come back.

The businessman, Dunkirk native Scott Krzyzanowski, who now lives in Texas, accused a Labor Department inspector of insulting him, perhaps believing he was an illegal alien.

Labor Department spokesman Joe Morrissey identified the inspector as Ed Krasinski. Morrissey said he “strongly denies” making any rude comments.

It's never a dull day when people are involved....

It appears that the deal is sealed for the Santa House at Day Rd Park in the Town. The contract has been signed by both parties.

What one (me) could have imagined as a nice little touch in a small urban neighborhood park will now be lost in the expanse of a large semi-rural park. At least the all important "parking problem" is solved. Hopefully the 75,000 sqft of available parking will make the visit to the 250 sqft Santa House memorable and a huge success. ;)

What wonderful thing can we create with the foundation in Altro Park?

Old stories here:
Unhappy Santa
Lockport Santa House

Just curious and a point of note~

The Davison Road Campus ( where social services WAS at one point) is up for sale... I'll provide a pic for proof tomorrow while i'm out and about doing papers in the area.

I have been trying to find out what USED to be there ... with little sucess.. if any one knows  .. any info would be greatly appreciated....

Auction listing  : http://tinyurl.com/2b2d9kl

Look under the "Comming soon" area. It's listed under Niagara County Davison Complex. ( In blue area near bottom of the site). It appears to be an "Online Auction".

Any info would be appreciated.

~Jeff


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added map -MJ

LUSJ reported about the purchase of the industrial ruins at 89 Mill St. by Scott Krzyzanowski.

An out-of-town investor is moving to demolish an abandoned factory that’s been a blight on the Mill-Clinton streets neighborhood for decades.

Scott Krzyzanowski of Dayton, Texas, quietly acquired 89 Mill St. last month, with the thought it looked like a good “long-term investment” in a community he sees as being on the upswing.

Krzyzanowski and his wife, Diana, natives of Dunkirk, N.Y., and Newfane respectively, have made a few investments in Western New York in recent years....

This is one of the last properties I would have bet on to be turned around at this time. The short term demolition is a big score on its own. The desire to build on the property holds further potential. The limits on the potential depend on what is eventually built.

...Of 89 Mill, a 1.6 acre parcel accessible from four streets — Mill, Clinton, Olcott and Chapel — Krzyzanowski says it could be an ideal location for a strip plaza. He’s been out introducing himself in the neighborhood and asking residents what they’d like to see on the corner. They’re telling him a convenience store/gas station, a car wash and/or a laundry center would be great ...

The term "strip plaza" scares me a bit because of the type of development the term is synonymous with. The neighborhood would be much better off with some structures built up near the street mimicking the existing street frontages. Hopefully something of a little higher quality is possible to promote further investment in the area.

Give the neighborhood this (up to the sidewalk, transparent storefronts, built for the neighborhood):

The process is beginning but is expected to be late this year. The Buffalo News reported:

It happens almost every year in Albany, but a late budget is rare in Lockport.

However, that’s the case this year. Mayor Michael W. Tucker says the city won’t even attempt to comply with the City Charter, which says the annual budget must be adopted at the first Common Council meeting in October. This year, that would be Oct. 6...

The reasons being:

• How many employees are going to take the early retirement incentive that the Council approved Monday? The period for eligible workers to decide to retire lasts until Oct. 30. The city will have to pay the state for extra pension credits for each retiree, but most of the retirees won’t be replaced.

• What will be the cost of a privatized system of garbage collection, including a full curbside recycling plan? Requests for proposals are expected to be issued in mid-September; the results of the bidding won’t be known until mid-October, if not later. The final garbage plan may include a user fee.

“We have a lot of variables. We want to have a real budget,” Tucker said. “This is an unprecedented time. The incentive is unprecedented, privatizing garbage is unprecedented, recycling is unprecedented.”

It is nice to see the system set up so voters can quickly let there feelings be heard after (every other) budget.

He was referring to the purpose behind the Charter’s requirement of the budget’s adoption in the first week of October: to make sure the voters know what the coming year’s budget and tax rate are before they go to the polls in November.

There have been times when unhappy voters have taken immediate revenge on the City Hall incumbents. However, city officeholders are elected in odd-numbered years, so this year no city officials are on the ballot.

The LUSJ reported that the common council softened the zoning laws as applied to existing non-conforming front yard parking.

LOCKPORT — The Common Council amended local zoning law this week to allow replacement of “nonconforming” front yard driveways — without a variance. Currently, when a property owner has an old stone, blacktop or concrete driveway area in a front yard, it’s considered a legal nonconforming driveway. That’s because front yard parking is banned in the zoning code.


When the owner wants to fix up that non-conforming driveway, he’s directed to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance, which the zoning board frequently won’t grant. Over the past few years the board has been deluged with parking variance requests and has taken the stance it must uphold the ban on front yard parking, even where it’s been going on for years...


...A one-paragraph, two-sentence addition to “parking restrictions” in the zoning law now allows property owners to replace existing, nonconforming driveways with the same or better surfaces, as long as they’re not increasing the size of the driveway. Instead of paying $135 to apply for a variance hearing, the property owner can simply get a resurfacing permit for $25."

They also state a recent Zoning Board of Appeals case:

...Property owner Doug Roberts of Waterman Street got a variance to resurface a nonconforming side-yard driveway on a split vote of ZBA members in July. He’d actually already had the work done and was directed to the ZBA after-the-fact for the variance; at the hearing, members debated the propriety of sanctioning “illegal” work, with at least one member saying Roberts should be required to remove the newly resurfaced area....

It was a tough case as 1) the broken concrete/asphalt driveway was replaced with a nice new stamped concrete one and 2) that it was on the side of the house, which the city codes still consider "front facade" when applied to a corner property. The topic of creating a situation where people will just let these parking pads deteriorate in order to keep them was discused at length.

The law change makes sense. Two items to be careful for are what people try to pass off as "existing" parking pads and the quality of the replacement work.

In related news, the counsil agenda for this week was not posted at eLockport after I made reference to them before the last meeting. Go figure.