BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division's 4th Department ruled Friday on the emergency demolition order for the Great Northern Grain Elevator.
The court ruled in favor of preservationists and reinstated the petition and restraining order, saying the courts did not allow the petitioner to present its testimony and sent it back to the Supreme Court in Erie County for further proceedings. The decision reverses the lower court ruling that said the city didn't do anything wrong issuing an emergency demo permit.
The grain elevator was damaged during a windstorm last December. It has not suffered any further visible damage since and advocates for keeping it believe the internal structure remains sound.
The City of Buffalo had issued a permit to demolish the structure. But those who want to preserve the historic grain elevator believe it can be saved.
Tim Tielman, the executive director of The Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture, and Culture, said that may require the owner, ADM Milling, to make repairs and for the City of Buffalo to enforce its building codes.
"Obviously we're tremendously happy," Tielman said.
"We had kind of expected that the court would understand our argument that we simply didn't get the opportunity to present our evidence."
When asked if he thinks Friday's decision will lead to a different outcome when the case heads back to the same court it failed in back in January Tielman responded, "yes."
"If we didn't think it was possible we would not be pursuing it but we think the information will be better than compelling and you know...if you go down to the outer harbor today that building still stands," said Tielman.
The Campaign for Greater Buffalo will hold a public discussion Saturday, April 30 at Buffalo's Central Library at noon to talk about the next steps but Tielman said they've been preparing for this positive decision. For background, in March, the Campaign for Greater Buffalo offered to buy the endangered landmark. Around the same time developer, Douglas Jemal offered his support for the project.
ADM Milling responded with the following statement addressing Friday's appellate court ruling:
"We continue to believe that the safety of our employees and other Buffalonians should be the primary focus in this process and that the only way truly to ensure their safety is to dismantle the elevator. We look forward to presenting facts to the court to demonstrate what independent engineers and the City have concluded – that demolition is necessary to protect our employees, our neighbors, and the public."
A City of Buffalo spokesperson said they will respect the court's decision.
You can read the full decision here:
RELATED VIDEO: