BUFFALO, N.Y. — In a new petition filed in Erie County Supreme Court this week, the owner of two Cobblestone District buildings is asking a judge to prevent any stabilization work from happening at 110 and 118 South Park Ave.
Darryl Carr has been battling the city of Buffalo for nearly 15 years to tear down the two civil war era buildings.
After the buildings were damaged to the tune of $1M during a fire on June 18, the city ordered that Carr stabilize the two buildings.
The city is working on a contingency plan to stabilize the building themselves if they win an eminent domain case against Carr.
Carr and his attorney's filed an Article 78 petition on Monday. A judge signed an order placing a temporary restraining order against the city, preventing that work from getting done.
"We refused to submit anything about stabilization, and we submitted a Demolition Plan," Carr said.
The Article 78 filing calls the request for Carr to stabilize the building "illegal and unjustifiable stabilization and partial demolition work at 110 and 118 South Park Ave."
This marks the third legal battle for these buildings that is currently ongoing between Carr and the city. Carr and his legal team are appealing a previous demolition order case, and the eminent domain proceeding that was initiated by the city of Buffalo is still playing out in court.
In the new petition, Carr is asking Erie County Supreme Court to allow him to tear down the fire-damaged buildings, as outlined in city code.
The city code states that "every wooden or frame building with a brick or other front which may hereafter be damaged by fire or otherwise to an amount not greater than 1/2 of its value may be repaired or rebuilt; but if such damage shall amount to more than 1/2 of such value thereof, exclusive of the foundation, then such building shall not be repaired or rebuilt but must be taken down."
According to Erie County property records, the combined assessed value of the two buildings is $483,000.
In the petition, Carr and his attorney's point out the city's pushing to demolish the Great Northern grain elevator after it was damaged in a wind storm in December 2021 as a reason the Cobblestone buildings can come down.
Fillmore District Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski calls the new court proceeding a last minute tactic.
"He keeps losing and will probably keep losing," Nowakowski said. "I think it's time that he stops disrespecting the residents of the City of Buffalo, stop wasting taxpayer dollars and adhere to the laws."
In their response to the filing, the city of Buffalo acknowledged the impact of numerous legal proceedings.
"The city has been forced to expend extensive time and resources, including prosecution in housing court, numerous court proceedings and appeals, and eventually an eminent domain proceeding, which was recently affirmed by the Fourth Department," the city's response stated.
A hearing regarding the Article 78 filing is scheduled for Friday in Erie County Supreme Court.