BUFFALO, N.Y. — A long-talked-about housing project in Buffalo's Old First Ward will proceed after a state appellate court ruled neighbors opposed to the project missed the deadline to file a lawsuit to stop it.
The developer for the project, Joseph Carubba, told 2 On Your Side on Friday that he is excited to be moving forward with construction.
The two-phase project will consist of 85 new housing units spread across four buildings. The first of those will be located at the corner of South Street and Hamburg Street and will take around 18 months to construct Carubba said.
To make way for the project, a vacant home was recently demolished, to the shock of some neighbors who had only recently heard about the judge's decision, including Sharon Grandy.
"I was kind of shocked that it is starting, and things are moving along faster than I expected," said Grandy, who lives across from the site.
Grandy was 1 of 19 neighbors named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the City of Buffalo. William Metzger, the owner of Gene McCarthy's spearheaded the effort and was disappointed by the ruling.
"It's really kind of a tragedy for a small tightly knit community like ours," Metzger said.
"Unfortunately our options are exhausted at this point," added Patrick Gormley, the Old First Ward Community Association's executive director.
While the project was cleared through the City of Buffalo's Environmental Review process and approved by the Planning Board, neighbors claim in the lawsuit that the project contained errors and required a second look by the city. Flooding and the impact of runoff are two of the greatest worries.
"We're removing a tremendous amount of green space and we're replacing that with concrete, with buildings, with parking lots," Gormley said.
The appellate judge did not rule on the merits of the case but rather stated that their lawsuit was filed too late to consider, beyond a 30-day statute of limitations. The neighbors' attorney argued that a four-month review window should have applied. The judge disagreed.
Carubba told 2 On Your Side the purpose of his project remains the same: to share the beauty of the historic Old First Ward with others. When asked about the aforementioned concerns, he said he's mostly heard support for the project and referred to his attorney for questions about the lawsuit.
As the project begins, neighbors said they intend to keep a watchful eye on construction and may hire a watchdog or appeal the decision to a higher court. Another hope is that they can appeal to the Carubba and get some of their concerns addressed.
"You know, I'm excited to see more housing coming into our area. Unfortunately, this project just does not fit and is not working in its current capacity," Gormley said.
"I am hoping Mr. Carubba and his colleagues make some concessions whether it's downsizing the project or making sure there are some environmental concerns are addressed before they actually break ground."