BUFFALO, NY - A judge has sided with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and granted a preliminary injunction which will-- for now-- prevent Amigone Funeral Homes from re-opening a controversial crematorium on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda.
The crematorium, which began operation in 1991, was shut down in 2012, amid complaints from nearby neighbors of smells, noise, and soot.
Amigone and the State DEC eventually agreed that it could re-open, if Amigone installed equipment to satisfactorily address the concerns. However, it later moved that it should also get a special permit from the DEC to operate, even though no other crematories in the state are subject to such stringency.
When Amigone resisted that, the state sought the preliminary injunction to keep it from opening--unless it got the permit.
“The very modifications that the state understood were going to be made years ago, we have to seek a permit for, and then the state is going to deny that permit,” said Dennis C. Vacco, the attorney for Amigone. “That's what this is all about. You saw what happened here today. The state is hell bent on keeping this facility closed,” Vacco said.
“We are really encouraged by the judge’s decision today,” said Rebecca Newberry of the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York. “We think the state took a very strong action in supporting residents in Tonawanda and their ability to use their homes, their properties and to open their windows in the summer."
Because he doesn't think the state DEC, which opposed him in court --is about to grant his clients a permit under an circumstance, Vacco figures about the only recourse would be to get the decision rendered by State Supreme Court Justice Jeanette Ogden before an appeals court, in hopes of getting it reversed.