BUFFALO, N.Y. — The owner of two Cobblestone district buildings that were built in the mid-1800s has once again requested a demolition permit to tear them down.
Darryl Carr submitted the plans to the Buffalo Preservation Board shortly after a massive fire at the site on June 18.
"We can just start lifting bricks off of walls, because there's no mortar holding these buildings together," Carr said.
Carr maintains that the buildings have been beyond repair since he purchased them in 2008, and the fire damaged them to a point where it’s now a public safety issue if they remain standing.
"We're trying to completely demolish the buildings to get the site ready for development," Carr said.
The City of Buffalo has been at odds with Carr and his perceived lack of effort to save the buildings for years.
In the fall of 2022, then-Mayor Byron Brown and the Buffalo Common Council initiated eminent domain proceedings against Carr to take over the properties.
The eminent domain proceeding is still playing out in court.
After the fire, the city authorized funds for emergency stabilization work at the site so the two buildings didn’t crumble. That stabilization work began on Oct. 3 and took several days to complete.
Carr, however, says the city has already demolished a significant portion of the building and now actually destabilized it in the process of trying to stabilize it.
"As you see, they partially demolished the buildings," Carr said.
Previous attempts by Carr to obtain demolition permits have failed, which is why there are multiple court proceedings happening.
The Preservation Board meets at 3 p.m. on Thursday at City Hall and a public hearing on the matter is expected.