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Buffalo man arrested as robbers hit Bank of America branch in Niagara Falls

August 6, 2013, 3:46 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – One man is in custody and two others are being sought in the attempted robbery shortly before noon Tuesday of the Bank of America branch on Military Road near Niagara Falls Boulevard.

Allen Strain, 37, of Central Street, Buffalo, was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree robbery, police said. Niagara Falls police said Strain gave a note to a teller claiming he had a gun and demanded money. However, no weapon was displayed, police added. The teller told Strain to wait while she gathered the money, then activated the silent alarm, police added.

Strain, who was not armed, was arrested without incident, said police, who were in the neighborhood and responded to the holdup within minutes.

The two accomplices, both wearing white shirts and white caps, fled just in a dark-colored Chevrolet Aveo hatchback – possibly heading toward Buffalo, authorities said.

Niagara Falls police are being assisted by Niagara County sheriff’s deputies, state police and Buffalo police.
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Lockport to seek proposals for Fallen Heroes Memorial

August 6, 2013, 5:31 pm
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LOCKPORT – The city will issue a request for proposals as soon as this week for a design for its Fallen Heroes Memorial, the committee in charge of the project decided Tuesday.

Mayor Michael W. Tucker also said an avenue for donations to the project has been set up in the City Treasurer’s Office.

Checks may be made out to the Fallen Heroes Memorial Fund and brought or mailed to the Treasurer’s Office in the Lockport Municipal Building, One Locks Plaza, Lockport, NY 14094.

“We’ve had a lot of people call asking to donate to this,” Tucker said.

Alderman Kenneth M. Genewick, who leads the committee with Alderwoman Kathryn J. “Kitty” Fogle, said he has received several offers.

He said Niagara County Sheriff James R. Voutour told him that the Niagara County Law Enforcement Foundation is willing to donate $1,000.

Genewick said American Concrete Co. is willing to donate all the stone and concrete needed, while Lafarge North America has offered boulders for the site and Liberty Tire offered digging equipment and rubber mulch.

However, the exact design still hasn’t been chosen. Tucker attended the memorial committee’s Tuesday meeting and told the members that Norman D. Allen, director of engineering and public works, will become the project manager.

The request for proposals will be simple. Designers and builders will be told that the Fallen Heroes Memorial will be built at what is now a closed fountain in Outwater Park and will have a “water feature.” Beyond that, the committee is open to suggestions.

Respondents will be asked to provide a rendering and a cost estimate for the committee to consider. Tucker said it will be due in three or four weeks.

The memorial issue cropped up in May, when Joseph DiPasquale of Buffalo proposed naming a park after Buffalo Officer Patricia Parete, who, like DiPasquale, was a 1983 Lockport High School graduate. Parete, 48, died Feb. 2, six years after being shot on duty and left paralyzed.

The Common Council rejected the park naming idea and suggested a memorial built around the fountain. It was soon decided that the memorial should honor all Lockportians who gave their lives in military, police and fire service, not just Parete.

Fogle said Parete’s family came to Outwater Park recently and cleaned up the crumbling concrete fountain, which hasn’t worked for several years.

Though it was first hoped the memorial would be done this fall, it now seems likely to be completed next year.

“The important thing is not when we get it done, it’s getting it done correctly,” Tucker said.

Committee member Anthony Sammarco said that although the city has been working with a design from Stedman Landscaping of Newfane, others need to be considered.

“I personally don’t think that just because one person or one company comes forward, that doesn’t mean they are the be-all and end-all,” Sammarco said.

Tucker decried the wrangling between DiPasquale and the city as detailed in an email exchange published in The Buffalo News on Saturday. “I think it’s a slap in the face to the Parete family,” Tucker said.

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Niagara County obtains cemetery marker for Civil War Medal of Honor winner

August 6, 2013, 6:01 pm
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LOCKPORT – Michael Huskey of Lockport won the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, in an obscure Civil War battle in a Mississippi bayou 150 years ago.

And the Congressional Medal of Honor Historical Society now is giving the Navy fireman some of the recognition he’s long been due.

Niagara County Historian Catherine Emerson told the County Legislature on Tuesday that the society has produced a cemetery marker for Huskey.

It is to be installed next to the graves of his parents in a ceremony at 6 p.m. Sept. 19 in St. Patrick’s Cemetery off Glenwood Avenue.

Huskey’s own final resting place is not known. He died of dysentery in October 1864 in a military hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and is believed to have been interred in a mass grave there.

“One of our goals was to get the Medal of Honor for his family or ourselves, since Niagara County is his family,” Emerson said.

But the Navy has declined to release Huskey’s unclaimed medal, because no proven descendant of his has come forward.

The County Historian’s Office believes it has located one, Elizabeth Russett of Ellenville, but Emerson said Russett has not responded to calls and letters urging her to sign the paperwork necessary to claim the award.

Russett is thought to be the granddaughter of the grandson of Huskey’s brother.

The cemetery marker is a gray rectangle of granite, inscribed, “In Memory of Michael Huskey, 1841-1864. Medal of Honor, Civil War, Fireman 1st Class US Navy, USS Carondelet.”

“The stone has a Medal of Honor insignia that you can’t just put on,” Emerson said.

The county paid $400 for the stone, and Lockport’s Navy-Marine Club paid to have a plaque attached, Emerson said. She added that Ronald Laubacker, manager of Glenwood Cemetery and the adjoining St. Patrick’s, waived an installation fee.

Though there are no details in the old reports of exactly what Huskey did in Steele’s Bayou, Miss., in March 1863, it is known that he volunteered for a rescue party that freed the USS Ivy, the flagship of a gunboat flotilla carrying the commanding officer of a detachment of ships that tried to force its way through the narrow waterway.

The boats became stuck, and Confederate infantry on the banks of the bayou riddled the boats with rifle fire until Union infantry arrived and drove them away. Huskey fought “gallantly,” the report said.

The medal was approved in April 1864 but never presented. In August 1864, Huskey fell ill and was hospitalized. He returned to his ship, but a few weeks later went back to the hospital, where he died.

Huskey’s name was included in an 1898 article in the New York Times that listed unclaimed Civil War military decorations. Emerson and her staff have been on the case since 2009.

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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7th Thunder on the Niagara on tap for Aug. 17 and 18

August 6, 2013, 7:17 pm
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NORTH TONAWANDA – Dubbed “the fastest show on water,” the seventh annual Thunder on the Niagara will bring hydroplane racing to the Niagara River from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 17 and 18 at Gratwick-Riverside Park.

Boats from across the United States and Canada will compete in the mile-long race, which draws thousands of spectators.

A variety of hydroplanes will compete in several events ranging from speeds of 85 mph to more than 150 mph.

Partners for the race include the American Canadian Hyroplane Association and American Power Boat Association.

Viewing sites for the free event are available at the park. A donation of $5 for on-site parking benefits Twin City Community Outreach. The park opens at 8 a.m., with races beginning at 9:30 a.m.
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‘Touch a Truck’ scheduled Saturday on Old Falls Street

August 6, 2013, 7:32 pm
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NORTH TONAWANDA – Dubbed “the fastest show on water,” the seventh annual Thunder on the Niagara will bring hydroplane racing to the Niagara River from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 17 and 18 at Gratwick-Riverside Park.

Boats from across the United States and Canada will compete in the mile-long race, which draws thousands of spectators.

A variety of hydroplanes will compete in several events ranging from speeds of 85 mph to more than 150 mph.

Partners for the race include the American Canadian Hyroplane Association and American Power Boat Association.

Viewing sites for the free event are available at the park. A donation of $5 for on-site parking benefits Twin City Community Outreach. The park opens at 8 a.m., with races beginning at 9:30 a.m.
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WNY home prices reach highest median ever

August 6, 2013, 10:50 pm
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Western New York’s housing market is continuing on its hot streak this summer, driven by continued low interest rates, rising consumer confidence and a shortage of available homes for sale that is creating a very competitive market for many desirable homes.

Home prices in June matched the highest median level ever for Western New York, while sales surged to the second-highest level for any month in the last three years, as the spectre of rising interest rates drives buyer activity.

“It is a hot, hot, hot market,” said Tammy Capozzi, a broker with M.J. Peterson Corp. “Buyers are out in full force. Even though interest rates have crept up a bit, it has not stopped the buyers from purchasing at record levels.” The median sale price rose 6.3 percent from May to $130,000, according to new data from the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors. That’s tied with June 2012 for the highest level. The median price means half sold for more and half sold for less. The average price hit $159,212.

“The prices aren’t flat in Elm-wood Village, not flat in Allentown or the Middlesex area. There are big numbers that just happened in the last 30 days,” said Susan Lenahan, head of the city office for M.J. Peterson Corp. “Our neighborhoods could not be more active.”

Business is up significantly at 2.5% Real Estate Direct, where two of the brokerage’s new agents this year are “routinely” listing and selling homes with prices around $200,000 – which is “very high for new agents,” said owner Jed Carrol. Homes listed through Carrol’s other real estate firm, America’s Choice, are also going for high prices, with a home on Graystone Lane in Orchard Park selling for $400,000.

Meanwhile, closed sales in the eight-county area of Western New York rose 5.8 percent from a year ago to 981 in June and were up 12.5 percent from May. Since June 2010, only the tally for last August was higher.

For the year to date, closed deals rose 5 percent to 4,358.

“We’re still having a great market,” said Louis Vinci, president of BNAR and a broker at RealtyUSA. “Sales are up, and we’re still getting multiple offers. Certain areas are still very hot.”

And the likelihood of the Federal Reserve halting its efforts to spur the economy and instead raising rates in the near future to avoid inflation means homebuyers feel more compelled to act now if they’re on the fence.

“I think people overall feel more confidence in the state of the country and the slow rebound from the recession but, more importantly, locally people are finally feeling and seeing some forward motion with things like waterfront development, the medical campus and other major investments,” said Jean-Michel Reed, a broker at M.J. Peterson. “These things do trickle down and give people more confidence in both being in Western New York and investing themselves in it.”

Indeed, pending sales – where a contract has been signed – rose 5.5 percent to 1,040 in June and are up 7.1 percent so far this year, to 5,691. That indicates that the activity is going to continue into the summer.

“There are not enough hours in the day for us right now,” Lenahan said. “The phone continues to ring and ring and ring. I never get through the day on a (cellphone) charge.”

Nationally, research firm CoreLogic reported that home prices rose 11.9 percent in June from a year ago, representing the 16th straight month of a national increase from the year before. That’s also the fastest pace in seven years.

Compared with May, prices rose 1.9 percent. Its index of pending sales projects prices will rise 12.5 percent in July from a year earlier and 1.8 percent from June. So far this year, prices are up 10 percent across the country. Statewide, prices were up 8 percent in June.

“This trend in home price gains is moving at the fastest pace since 1977,” said CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming.

The lack of inventory is a big factor. The number of homes for sale in the region fell 15.8 percent to 5,153 in June from a year ago, marking the 12th straight year-over-year decline. But inventory has been rising steadily since March, when it hit its lowest point since March 2005. It rose 1.8 percent from May.

“The market is very, very robust. There’s a shortage of everything,” Lenahan said. “If I had more inventory, I could sell more houses. There are more buyers than there are properties available, and it’s hard to understand why these sellers won’t take advantage of this market.”

Homes in June spent an average of 64 days on the market, down from 68 a year ago. “The market is still hot, multiple offers are the norm and time on market is quick,” said John Leonardi, BNAR CEO.

email: jepstein@buffnews.com
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Niagara Legislature shelves Mount View sale in face of lawsuit threat

August 6, 2013, 10:04 pm
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LOCKPORT – After a threat by an attorney for a rival assisted-living facility to sue the county, the Niagara County Legislature withdrew from its agenda the sale of the former Mount View Health Facility to a Youngstown assisted-living operator.

David M. Tosetto, who plans a 150-bed assisted-living facility, had a tentative agreement last year to pay $550,000. But the county was planning to reduce the price to $196,000 because Tosetto faces major expenses to remove asbestos from the five-story, 74-year-old building.

Guy J. Agostinelli, attorney for Briarwood Manor, a Lockport assisted-living facility, warned during the public comment period that Briarwood is willing to sue to block the sale.

“We’re interested in that property for that price,” he said, suggesting that the county should make the asbestos report public and seek bids.

Agostinelli contended that the county was required to place the property up for auction. County Attorney Claude A. Joerg said the county had it listed with a real estate agent. He said the law requires “public advertisement,” not auction.

“It was out for sale for five years,” Joerg told Agostinelli. “Your client didn’t make any offers.”

Agostinelli said Briarwood is willing to pay more than $196,000.

“Maybe Mr. Tosetti will win the bid. Our client is willing to pay more than that,” said Agostinelli, who mentioned $300,000 as a possible offer.

Joerg said that since the county closed Mount View as a nursing home at the end of 2007, Tosetto’s was the only written offer the county ever received. The 2012 sale contract allowed Tosetto to back out of the deal if the asbestos removal price was too high.

As a result of Tuesday’s development, the county attorney advised Tosetto that he would have to pay the original price tag of $550,000 for the facility, or the process would begin anew.

In other matters, the Legislature called on the Niagara Falls City Council to pass the Hamister Group hotel deal.

The Council has tabled approval of the project, promoted by businessman Mark Hamister, which would see the construction of a hotel on what is now a city-owned parking lot at 310 Rainbow Boulevard.

The Council majority believes the land is worth far more than the $100,000 Hamister agreed to pay for it.

In a resolution sponsored by Legislator Cheree J. Copelin, R-Niagara Falls, the Legislature endorsed the project, saying it would “create jobs, expand the tax base, promote the expansion of Niagara Falls’ tourism-based economy and result in an immediate investment of $22 million in private-sector monies by the Hamister Group.”

Also Tuesday, Legislature Chairman William L. Ross, C-Wheatfield, announced the death Monday of David S. Broderick, 74, a Lewiston Republican who served as county treasurer from 1973 to 2010.

Ross led the Legislature in a moment of silence for Broderick, who was prominent in statewide organizations of chief fiscal officers.

In other matters, the Legislature:

• Extended the 8 percent sales tax for two more years, in the wake of the passage of a state law allowing it. The one additional percentage point must be spent on the county’s share of Medicaid.

• Endorsed the Town of Newfane’s request for $125,000 in Niagara River Greenway money for improvements at Krull Park Beach in Olcott.

• Granted low-cost electricity from the county’s Empower Niagara agency to two industries that are expanding. Diversified Manufacturing of Lockport was granted 200 kilowatts, and Defingen US of Wheatfield was approved for 150 kilowatts. The electricity came from the New York Power Authority under terms of the Niagara Power Project’s license.

• Ratified an agreement with the Wendelville Fire Company to construct a $33,200 handicapped-access ramp. The county will pay most of the cost, but the fire company will pay $3,500.

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Man charged in kidnapping after woman found bound with tape

August 7, 2013, 10:00 am
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LOCKPORT – City police responding to a call in the 100 block of South Transit Street found a woman face down in a car with her hands and feet bound by duct tape Tuesday night.

Police released the woman, who told them that a man was being assaulted in a nearby apartment on the second floor.

The suspect, William S. Johnson, 35, of 132 South Transit, had allegedly attacked the victim and was attempting to tie him up with duct tape as well.

Johnson was charged with kidnapping and attempted kidnapping and was arraigned this morning in City Court. Bail was set at $1,500 cash or $3,000 property with a return court date on Monday.
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No price cut for would-be Mount View buyer, Niagara County leaders say

August 7, 2013, 3:14 pm
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LOCKPORT – David M. Tosetto’s hopes of buying Niagara County’s old nursing home at a reduced price are gone, county leaders said after the County Legislature meeting ended late Tuesday.

After a $196,000 sale was removed from the agenda following party caucuses, which in turn followed the threat of a lawsuit by the operator of a Lockport assisted living facility to block the sale, legislators decided to stick with the $550,000 price that they had approved and that Tosetto had agreed to 13 months ago.

“He can pay the 550, or he can walk,” County Attorney Claude A. Joerg said late Tuesday.

“He’s either accepting it or not accepting it at $550,000,” County Manager Jeffrey M. Glatz confirmed Wednesday.

Tosetto, reached by phone, declined to comment on the situation.

But Glatz said he expects to eventually set a deadline for Tosetto to pay the money or give up his plans to place a 150-bed assisted living facility in the five-story Mount View Health Facility, closed since 2007.

“There’s got to be some kind of line in the sand,” Glatz said. “Otherwise we go back to square one.”

Tosetto, the longtime director of development for ElderWood Associates, had received state approvals for a 150-bed facility that he hoped could open in February.

The price had been negotiated down to $196,000 because Tosetto was absorbing the cost of removing asbestos from the 74-year-old building off Upper Mountain Road in Lockport.

No one objected when the deal went through the Legislature’s Administration Committee last week. All seemed fine until Guy J. Agostinelli showed up Tuesday night.

Agostinelli, a Buffalo attorney, was representing Briarwood Manor, a Lockport assisted living facility. He threatened to sue to block the $196,000 sale to a potential competitor, saying Briarwood would have paid more than that.

Joerg pointed out that the property has been listed for sale with a Realtor for five years and that no one but Tosetto had made an offer.

Agostinelli said there should have been an auction; Joerg said an auction was not required.

Wednesday, Glatz said he thinks making Tosetto pay the original agreed-upon price would undermine any hopes of a successful lawsuit.

Joerg said Tuesday he thought the county had done things correctly even with the lower price.

Agostinelli said Wednesday he is examining the legality of the whole process. “We’re actually looking at what happened last year,” he said.

If Tosetto walks away from buying Mount View, will Briarwood Manor make an offer?

“Provided they did it the right way: a public advertisement and solicitation of bids,” Agostinelli answered.

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Two arrested, four apartments condemned following police raids

August 7, 2013, 5:16 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – Four apartments in the 19th Street area off Pine Avenue were raided Wednesday and though no drugs were found, all four apartments were condemned and two people were arrested on non-drug charges.

At one house officers found a loaded gun, outside of a house, police said.

Terrance D. Daniels, 38, of 18th Street, was charged on an outstanding warrant. At another 18th Street address, a chained-up pitbull needing medical treatment was turned over to the SPCA of Niagara and Timotheus Robinson, 28, was charged with injuring animals.

Niagara Falls Narcotics Division. Capt. David LeGault said police served a warrant at a nearby 19th Street address six or seven weeks ago and arrested 13 people in a crack house.

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Four Lockport officers honored for rescuing man from burning house

August 7, 2013, 6:24 pm
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LOCKPORT – Four City of Lockport police officers received awards for heroism during Wednesday’s Common Council meeting.

Lt. Todd Chenez and Officers Michael Stover, Anthony Pittman and Heather Rohde were honored for rescuing an unconscious man from a burning house March 18.

State Sen. George D. Maziarz presented them with the Governor’s Award, approved by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, while Mayor Michael W. Tucker presented city citations.

“I think they deserve it. They saved my life,” said Harold Storms, 70, who was unconscious at the foot of the stairs in his basement after sparks from a power saw triggered a fire in the dust collector of the saw unit at about 3:30 p.m.

“I pushed this piece of wood into the saw, and I saw some sparks get sucked into the vacuum cleaner,” Storms said.

Moments later, the basement was filled with thick black smoke, and soon the fire spread through the house.

“I yelled to my wife to get upstairs,” Storms recalled.

Storms himself, who had previously had open-heart surgery, collapsed during the 15-foot walk from the saw to the steps.

“I fell down, and I don’t remember anything until I woke up in ECMC,” Storms said.

Meanwhile, Stover and Chenez, who had gotten off duty at 3 p.m., were running nearby in training for a marathon. They saw the fire and ran to the scene, where Storms’ wife, Roselyn, told them her husband was still inside the burning home.

Police Chief Lawrence M. Eggert said Stover and Chenez ran inside and looked for the man, but they found nothing, and because of the thick, black smoke, they couldn’t see well.

Exiting the house, the officers asked Roselyn Storms where her husband was most likely to be, and she told them he was probably in the basement.

Stover and Chenez ran back inside and found Storms.

Maziarz praised their willingness “to go in that house despite the dangers, despite the fact that their own lungs were filling with smoke.”

Unable to move Storms, Stover and Chenez ran outside again to get some air and found that Pittman and Rohde, who were on duty, had arrived. All four ran inside and carried Storms out of the house, turning him over to city paramedics.

All four officers had to be treated for smoke inhalation. Eggert said Stover spent about 24 hours in the intensive care unit of Eastern Niagara Hospital.

Storms also was hospitalized for three or four days for smoke inhalation.

He shook hands with all of his rescuers at the end of the ceremony.

“I’m very proud of these guys, all of them,” Tucker said.

Eggert said the officers’ action “lives up to our motto in police work, to protect and serve.”

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Town of Lockport estimates $30,000 tab to repair sewer cave-in, sinkhole

August 7, 2013, 7:38 pm
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LOCKPORT – Repairing a caved-in sewer main and resulting sinkhole at one of Niagara County’s busiest intersections may cost $30,000, Town Supervisor Marc R. Smith said Wednesday.

The work at South Transit and Robinson roads, the intersection of Routes 78 and 93, has blocked a right-turn lane for northbound traffic.

Repairs are proceeding slowly because of the large varieties of underground infrastructure the sinkhole exposed, Smith said.

A town water main affected by the shifting ground broke Tuesday, Smith said.

Other pipes exposed included two 6-inch natural gas lines, a 30-inch Niagara County Water District main and electrical lines detecting traffic to change the traffic signals.

For the first few days, sewage flowing into the trench stymied work, according to a report from Town Engineer Robert D. Klavoon.

The problem started on the afternoon of July 25, when sewage backed up into the nearby town water and sewer building on Robinson Road. It became apparent that a sanitary sewer line in the vicinity was clogged.

Town workers tried to use water jets to clear 18- and 24-inch sewer mains, while on July 26, a Newfane sewer vacuum truck worked four hours trying to suck debris out of a manhole. Another company, Pipe Eye Sewer, hauled away three truckloads of debris from a manhole.

However, by July 29, the level of sewage in the manholes remained high. At about 1 p.m. that day, the sinkhole opened in the grass at the southeast corner of the intersection, exposing one of the gas mains and undermining the sidewalk.

By 8 a.m. July 30, the sidewalk had collapsed, and it was apparent the sewer main also had caved in.

Smith said the pipe was made of concrete; Town Clerk Nancy A. Brooks said it was about 40 years old.

Councilman Paul W. Siejak said at its worst, the hole was as much as 17 feet deep and 12 feet wide.

Mark Cerrone, a Niagara Falls construction company, started excavating on the afternoon of July 30 and worked through Friday.

The cause of the break is unknown. Brooks speculated that the concrete pipe may have been done in by years of vibration from the heavy traffic at the corner.

It was unclear how long the repairs will take, although a sign was posted Wednesday at the intersection, advising drivers that road work will begin Monday.

The broken main serves not only Robinson Road and South Transit as far north as the City of Lockport border, but also all the residential streets east of South Transit, according to Klavoon’s report.

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Niagara Wheatfield School Board puts managerial raises in limbo

August 7, 2013, 7:44 pm
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SANBORN – Pay hikes for a half-dozen managerial positions were put on hold Wednesday by the School Board, with some board members saying they shouldn’t take place at all.

Raises of 2 percent to 3.7 percent were on the agenda for approval, but board member Richard Sirianni said he objected to spending the money in view of the district’s financial status. He said his opinion was not a reflection on any of the employees, but he believes the raises were inappropriate because the district still faces economic troubles. Groups such as the teachers and the school-related personnel staff gave concessions at budget time, he said.

He reminded the board that it was “two months removed” from eliminating art and music programs, sports, and full-day kindergarten to prevent a large tax hike, and the perception would be one of disrespect to the taxpayers.

Board member Christopher Peters said he also had “a hard time with this one.”

Richard Hitzges, the board’s financial director, said raises for the managerial positions are not tied to a contract, and policy gives the board discretion in granting them. He said the raises were not included in the 2013-14 budget as a line item and this was the first time the board was reviewing them.

Superintendent Lynn M. Fusco said the positions received no raises in 2012, but no one at the meeting was able to say when the last raise occurred.

The district’s website shows that the pay hikes of 3.7 percent would target the district accountant and two head bus drivers, while the 2 percent raises would go to the director of facilities and school lunch director. The district treasurer was also on the list, but Ashley Wood had recently resigned from that position. As a result, any raise would be pro-rated to July 19.

The item was tabled in a 5-2 vote, with Sirianni and Richard Halleen in dissent. Before the raises are presented again, the board will be given a five-year history on the salaries, along with concurrent tax hikes.

Resident Rosemary Warren suggested the board look at each position to determine if any were assigned additional duties to justify the raise in pay.
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Five Buffalo art galleries you’ve (probably) never heard of

August 7, 2013, 9:24 pm
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On Buffalo’s hyperactive art scene, a new art or performance space seems to open its doors every month.

We hardly have time to lament the closing of alternative venues like the Vault Arthouse, Sugar City or Sp@ce 224 before some group of creative citizens bubbles up from the underground and establishes some new digs to showcase their wares. Some of these venues may not be long for this world. Others may remain for decades. Such is the nature of Western New York’s constantly morphing art world.

Here are five new venues that ought to be on any art fan’s radar:

1. Daddy’s Garage

 Daddy’s Garage

The natural home of graffiti is on beige highway underpasses and the sides of abandoned warehouses, the hidden terminals of defunct train stations and the metal sides of passing freight cars. So it might seem a little odd, at least at first, to peer into Daddy’s Garage, a graffiti gallery and clothing boutique established last year, and see graffiti artists’ work up on the walls.

The retail portion of the space, owned by John and Carol Stiegler, features work by a constantly rotating roster of graffiti artists from around the country. On the other side of the wall, legal work by local graffiti artists can often be found on the walls. The space also occasionally features community get-togethers, such as a controversial screening of the graffiti documentary “Nickel City Vandals” late last year.

Details: The store and gallery, at 586 East Ferry St., are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 768-1587 for more information.

2.Glow

 Glow

In the spring, the enterprising local businessman and gallerist Jose Rodriguez ended the run of his funky art gallery, Sp@ce 224, in heart of Allentown. Fortunately for art lovers everywhere, that space was quickly snapped by the enterprising local businessman Michael Rizzo, who has transformed it into a space he calls “The Loop.” In addition to serving as headquarters for Rizzo’s retail business and his LGBT newspaper In the Loop, the small spot on Allen Street also contains the new Glow Gallery.

That gallery, operated by Marcus L. Wise of 464 Gallery, is currently featuring an installation and exhibition with sculptural work by Marissa Lehner and photography by Wise. It will feature a constantly rotating series of exhibitions, often with LGBT subject matter.

Details: Glow Gallery is at 224 Allen St. Its hours aren’t yet set in stone, so call 983-2112 before you head there to see when it’s open and what’s on the walls.

3. Project 308 Gallery

 Project 308 GalleryLast summer, a new gallery founded by local entrepreneur Natalie Brown popped up in North Tonawanda. Its inaugural show featured work that visitors were invited to actually touch – a practice usually verboten in art galleries. The work, by painter Sherri Marranca, included braille lettering and starkly different textures that prompted viewers (and touchers) to consider how art could be appreciated by those without vision.

Since then, the gallery has presented an eclectic series of exhibitions meant, as its mission statement says, “to engage those who appreciate the arts, no matter their background.” Brown will host an art festival in the space Aug. 17, featuring work by more than 50 vendors, musical performances and food.

Details: Project 308 Gallery is at 308 Oliver St. in North Tonawanda. It’s open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 523-0068 for more information.

4. Coming Home Bufflao Center for Holistics and Arts

 Coming Home Buffalo Center for Holistics and Arts

During the Buffalo Infringement Festival, which wrapped up its 11-day run Sunday, there was a near-constant flurry of activity around two small buildings on Elmwood Avenue just north of Allen Street. Coming Home Buffalo – a holistic healing shop that hosts workshops, classes, performances, exhibitions and other community activities – opened its doors last year. Its owner, Buffalo repat Toni Meldzuk, also launched a separate art space in the light-filled first floor of a house next door dedicated largely to visual arts exhibitions. Those shows rotate on a monthly basis.

Both spaces have a warm, comfortable vibe bordering on the transcendental and are meant, Meldzuk said, to be places where members of Allentown and Buffalo’s arts and healing communities can congregate and exchange ideas.

Details: Coming Home Buffalo is at 140 Elmwood Ave. and the adjoining space, called The Gallery Next Door, is at 138 Elmwood Ave. The spaces are open on Tuesday and Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. Call 884-2646 for more information.

5. Meridian West

 Meridian West

In terms of wall space, the 1,200-square-foot Meridian West, which opened last November in a former wine store on Hertel Avenue, is one of the largest new galleries to pop up in the past few years. It’s co-owned by George Grace and Nancy Clarke Mariani, local artists with a passion for promoting their fellow painters, sculptors and craft artists. The gallery often features work by members of the Buffalo Society of Artists.

On Saturday, Grace and Mariani will take down the gallery’s current show of abstract paintings and replace it with an exhibition featuring work by local collage artists. That show, curated by artist and collector Gerald Mead, will run into mid-September.

Details: Meridian West is at 1209 Hertel Ave., with summer hours from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 768-3805 for more information.

email: cdabkowski@buffnews.com
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Lewiston Art Festival takes over Center Street this weekend

August 8, 2013, 4:20 am
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One of the largest and oldest art festivals in the region kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday, when more than 175 artists will set up shop on the quainter-than-quaint streets of Lewiston for the village’s 47th annual art festival. The event features four blocks chock full of work by painters, sculptors, photographers, graphic artists and purveyors of jewelry and craft items.

The festival will take on an especially environmentally conscious tone this year, with several activities meant to draw attention to the importance of sustainability and recycling. In a space festival organizers have dubbed the Modern ArtZone, kids can create their own art out of discarded material donated by Skunning Inc. Festivalgoers can toss their forks, knives and napkins into recycling carts transformed into art by the young members of Artpark’s summer art camp.

In addition to its focus on the environment, the festival will feature its annual chalk drawing contest Saturday, as well as a collection of work by high school and college students, performances from street musicians and plenty of food options. Call 754-0166 or visit artcouncil.org.

– Colin Dabkowski
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Barkus Parade Sunday to inaugurate Wilson dog park

August 8, 2013, 6:38 am
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WILSON – The Wilson Lions Club is sponsoring the new Wilson Dog Park’s first event – a Barkus Parade set for 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. The dog park is located in the Calvin E. Krueger Park on Lake Road.

Registration will be held at 1 p.m., with the “Parade of Best-Dressed Owners and Dogs” following at 2. For information, contact Lion Debbie Hendricks at 751-6914.
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Gorzka is general chairman for annual Peach Festival

August 8, 2013, 6:43 am
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LEWISTON – Randy Gorzka has been named general chairman of Lewiston’s 56th nnnual Niagara County Peach Festival, Jeff Sanderson, president of the Kiwanis Club of Lewiston, announced.

The festival will be held Sept. 6 to 8 in Academy Park.
Gorzka has been co-chairman of the festival for the past two years and has served as chairman of the Peach Tent at the festival and the festival’s 5K Run. A former Kiwanis president, he was honored as Lewiston Kiwanis Man of the Year in 2006.
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Falls Planning Board to hold hearing on Covanta projects

August 8, 2013, 7:05 am
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NIAGARA FALLS –The city Planning Board will hold a public hearing Aug. 14 about $30 million in construction projects at a waste incinerator facility that wants to bring in garbage from the New York City area.

Covanta Niagara, which burns garbage and turns it into steam and electricity while emitting pollutants into the air, has plans to add a rail spur that would allow it to accept waste via train.

The plant, which is classified as a waste-to-energy facility, is also planning to add a natural-gas boiler to produce additional steam, a new office and maintenance building, as well as adding a pipeline to supply steam to the new Greenpac paper mill.

The purpose of the planned hearing is “to create a public forum for the airing of issues” and allowing for a fuller description of what the project is, said Thomas J. DeSantis, the city’s senior planner.

Covanta officials plan to attend the hearing and make a presentation.

“We welcome the opportunity to help people understand what we’re doing at the facility and what we’re doing with the project,” said Covanta spokesman James Regan.

The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 745 Main St.

Members of the public will be allowed to ask questions at the session, said Planning Board Chairman Richard D. Smith.

The Planning Board already has acted on proposals from the company.

Last November, the board determined that the project’s environmental impact did not require a full-blown environmental review. In December, the board approved the site plan for the project.

The facility burns about 800,000 tons of waste per year, and company officials want regulators to allow them to bring in between 300,000 and 500,000 tons annually via rail. The amount coming in via train would replace the waste coming in by truck.

The project means there will be no additional waste coming into the site than is already permitted, Regan said.

Currently, about 300 trucks hauling waste arrive at the facility every day.

Company officials expect truck traffic going to the site to decrease by 35 to 45 percent once the spur is up and running, Regan said.

The new steam pipeline is already under construction, and Covanta is awaiting approval from state environmental regulators before it can begin work on the rail spur.

In January, the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency granted tax breaks for the project that are estimated to save the company $8 million over 15 years.

Three local residents – Amy H. Witryol of Lewiston, known for her environmental work, Shirley Hamilton and Christopher Kudela, both of Niagara Falls – wrote a letter last week to the state asking it to halt construction of the new smokestack and gas boiler. They claim the construction should not have been allowed to begin.

Public comments on the facility’s air permit can be filed with the state Department of Environmental Conservation through Monday.

Covanta officials are still in negotiations about bringing the New York City garbage to the Niagara plant, Regan said.

email: abesecker@buffnews.com
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Man arraigned on attempted murder charge in Falls shooting

August 8, 2013, 9:15 am
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LOCKPORT – A man with a history of gun violence was arraigned Thursday on an indictment charging him with shooting a man in Niagara Falls on May 26.

Cordarise M. Houston, 23, of 70th Street in the Falls, faces a charge of shooting John Petty “seven times and leaving him to die,” Deputy District Attorney Doreen M. Hoffmann told Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy III.

Petty, 24, shot in the abdomen in his Cudaback Avenue home, did not die and called 911 to tell Falls police about the attack.

Police arrested Houston and his wife ,Marguerita, 24, in a Niagara Falls Boulevard motel two days after the shooting. Marguerita Houston pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree hindering prosecution for allegedly helping her husband avoid police.

Cordarise Houston faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree criminal use of a firearm.

Hoffmann declined to comment about a motive for the shooting.

Murphy said he intends to review the grand jury minutes and decide whether Angelo Musitano needs to be replaced as defense attorney for one of the defendants.

Musitano, the defense attorney for both Houstons, said he sees no conflict of interest in the joint representation. “There’s no divergence of interest. We also have the marital privilege,” he said.

The prosecutor said Houston was paroled from state prison in January after serving most of a seven-year sentence for second-degree burglary.

That charge stemmed from a 2006 home invasion on Linwood Avenue in the Falls in which a man was shot.

Musitano said Houston remains in custody without bail on a parole violation detainer.

As a 15-year-old, Houston was charged as an adult with shooting an 18-year-old in the chest outside a Highland Avenue nightclub.

Marguerita Houston is free on a $1,500 bail bond.

Murphy scheduled a pretrial conference for Oct. 3 and set a tentative trial date of Jan. 6.

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Thieves get a workout in theft of gym equipment

August 8, 2013, 1:04 pm
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WHEATFIELD – Thieves who cut a hole in the wall of a building being built for a Fitness Factory at 7330 Wheatfied-Pendleton Road overnight Monday made off with gym equipment worth $10,000, Niagara County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies said the thieves used a reciprocating saw to cut the 4-by-12-foot hole and had some knowledge of the construction site.
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