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Batavia Motel condemned, residents say they were given little notice to move

By Howard B. Owens

Seven residents of the Batavia Motel, 3768 W. Main St. Road, were told Thursday evening they had less than 24 hours to vacant the premises.

The Town of Batavia condemned the building because of numerous code violations.

Resident Eric Duda, who was made manager of the complex about seven months ago -- but still had to pay rent -- said he and his fiancé were able to find lodging for themselves and their 10-month-old infant.

But he said everything he owns is stored in rooms and there's no money to move it to other storage on such short notice.

"I figure I'm going to lose all of my possessions," said Duda, whose last extension for unemployment compensation ran out last week.

DSS helped him and his family move, temporarily, into the Mark Trail Motel, but he couldn't take his dog, and as of about 6 p.m. last night, he didn't know what he was going to do with his pet.

The motel has two detached wings. One of the wings has been vacant for some period of time because of a fire in the main office.

All of the residents lived in units on the east side of the property.

The property is owned by Panchal Bhupendrabhai (Duda called him "Sonny"), who lives in Irving, Texas. The assessed value is $55,000. He acquired the 2.9-acre parcel in 2007 from Sarojbahen Patel for $1, who acquired it in 2006 for $55,000. 

Earlier this month, the Town of Batavia authorized a purchase offer of $85,000 to acquire the parcel, which adjoins Kiwanis Park.

Supervisor Greg Post said the condemnation and interest in buying the property are unrelated matters.

The town has been interested since about 2007 or 2008.

"It's a matter of public record," Post said.

He added that "If there were a proper offer to sell the property, we would be willing to negotiate to buy the property."

Post said the living arrangements are a matter between the landlord and tenants.

"We certainly gave the owner time to comply (with code requirements)," Post said.

Still, the condemnation caught residents by surprised, and they all made quick trips to the Department of Social Services on Friday looking for help.

Maken Ithnnascheri, just moved into room #22 on Monday and spent every dime he had on the move and making the space habitable, including repairs and paint. He said he has nowhere to go and no place to take all of his possessions.

"I put a nice penny into it," he said. "They came here late last night and said we had to be out by five o’clock, and there’s no way. I have no place else to go. Where are we going to go in the cold?”

"Everything I have in the world," he added, "is in that room."

Ithnnascheri said he isn't currently eligible for DSS assistance to help him find new lodging.

The motel is in quite a state of disrepair, Duda acknowledged. He said the roof over three rooms leaks, there are broken doors and windows and several other problems with the property.

“It’s really just lots of little things," Duda said. "I just don’t know how it lasted as long as it did.”

Over the summer, he and the other tenants put a riser and cement cover over the septic tank, but it still leaks into the woods behind the motel.

The landlord has made various deals with tenants to make repairs at a discount but nothing ever seems to get done, Duda said.

He doesn't take issue with the condemnation, only the timing of it.

"It's something that I don’t understand," Duda said. "In order for a landlord to evict you, you've got 30 days. So how can the town come in and say you’ve got 24 hours and that’s it?

"I don’t know why he (the code enforcement officer) didn’t do this in the summer time when it would be easier for people to move," he added.

Kyle Couchman

Personally, if I was one of these people I would be staying, especially since because of the time of year and shortness of notice it does have the appearance of being very unfair.

I noticed they took the time to give a 24 hour notice but since they

1) either didnt have any contact from the landlord therefore knew he wasnt relating the situation to tenants so should have included them in "notices" sent to landlord.

2) Or they were in constant contact with the landlord and were obviously being given excuses and got fed up and so proceeded to this step. Which they should have given notice to the occupants way before this.

I mean seriously, even if the power or gas is in the Landlords name and he doesnt pay it the utility companies put a notice on the door to the unit or units served, warning of an impending shut off 7 days before.

I would have stayed, forced them to go to court then aired the situation there, I believe there are some laws protecting tenants from shut off of services, and evictions during this season and holiday time. I mean they cant just call the police and lock people out summarily not without due process.

Dec 18, 2010, 3:20pm Permalink
Ricky G. Hale

Another perfect example of government taking away the rights and freedoms of its own people. Anybody else would have to give 30 days AND go to court to make it legall. I'd like to know who the "official" is that engineered this tactic. Perhaps he/she would like to be thrown out of their home in 24 hours.

Everybody else in this country has to follow "due process" except the government. Big-Brother just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Big-Brother just keeps doing whatever it wants, whenever it wants. Our government keeps distancing itself more and more from its own people

I think our elected officials have forgotton that this great country of ours was formed under a revolution. A revolution because the people couldn't take the tyranny any more.

How much more can the people of this country take before they revolt again?

Dec 18, 2010, 4:22pm Permalink
Vicki Newton

Is there any way this could possibly even be legal? Maybe. But it is definitely cruel, inhumane, immoral, unjust and flat out wrong. Where is any semblance of human decency? Compassion? Sympathy? Kindness? How cold hearted can you possibly be? One week before Christmas you tell the low income (no coincidence there, if these people had the resources to hire a lawyer this would not have happened) tenants of a dead beat landlord that their building is condemned and they have less than 24 hours to vacate? How long has this "process" been in motion? It can't wait a week or two? You couldn't give them notice on Thursday evening that they would have to be out as of the 1st of the year? Really? Oh my God, what are we coming to when 7 households are turned out into the street by our Town government with nothing? No time, no assistance- nothing? I don't know ANYONE who could prepare on such short notice.

WTH?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Dec 18, 2010, 4:46pm Permalink
Bob Rathenburgh

I have to disagree with the comment above me

"One week before Christmas you tell the low income (no coincidence there, if these people had the resources to hire a lawyer this would not have happened)"

Dont jump to conslusions. Not everyone living in a hotel/motel of this nature is low income. I traveled pretty far to go to college and ended up living in a place sort of like this(not as gross as this sounds) and i was in no way low income. Public defenders are there for most people, so why would anyone of any income use thier money to hire a lawyer if they can get a public defender. I know ive had money and the courts still let me use one of thier lawyers and not make me get one out of my own pocket when i could very well afford it. I think in a case like this a judge would let them do the same. I would love to know how to help these people, or that poor pet.

Dec 18, 2010, 5:10pm Permalink
Kyle Couchman

I still say...They should defy the order to vacate and stay and make it go to court. This is the type of case that the court's time should be spent on. I spent the afternoon looking into legal sites and most states have protections for this type of situation, these tenants have rights and this landlord should be arrested and extradited to here to answer for this.

Dec 18, 2010, 5:21pm Permalink
Michele Case

What an awful situation. I agree this is unfair and unjust. I too would like to know how these folks made out and do they have any recourse. Did anyone do as Kyle suggested and stay put?

Dec 18, 2010, 5:51pm Permalink
Bea McManis

The saga of the downfall of Genesee Co. continues.
No room at the inn takes on a special meaning for those families displaced on a weekend that is bitterly cold.

Did those elected officials in the Town of Batavia really feel that they were doing the 'will of the people' by displacing people just before the holidays?
Will actions like this give them a gold star by the Republicans and Conservatives who voted them in? If this is, indeed, the 'will of the people' then I am glad that I don't live in the town of Batavia.

Dec 18, 2010, 6:51pm Permalink
John Roach

Leave it to a party committee member hack, Bea, to make a stupid and poorly timed decision by the Town of Batavia, political. Sort of sad really.

"Will of the people"? Where in the world did she get that, or did she again just make something up?

I'll bet dimes to dollars the vast majority of Town residents had no idea about this and would have never approved of it just before Christmas. I hope that the Town can find a way now to delay this for at least another week.

Dec 18, 2010, 8:08pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

Anybody who would like to help Eric Duda, he can be reached through the Mark Trail Motel.

He may or may not know how to get in contact with other displaced tenants.

I'm not sure how it would work going through DSS, since they have legal obligations to protect privacy, so they can't necessarily -- I'm guessing -- acknowledge who their clients are.

Dec 18, 2010, 7:55pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

John, I believe Bea purposely framed 'will of the people' in quotation marks to elicit irony. If you take that phrase in the context of her complete comment, you should come to the conclusion (forgive me Bea if I am mistaken) that she is presuming this thoughtless act, NOT the will of the people- rather an independent action of callous politicians and bureaucrat-minions. She was more specific as to political affiliation. Her closing conditional sentence was rhetorical.

You often have difficulty with non-literal use of language. Maybe you should take a literature class.

Dec 18, 2010, 8:21pm Permalink
Bea McManis

This has nothing to do with my affiliation - something you like to throw around as if it were garbage. It has something to do with the outrage I feel for those who could have made the right decisions and didn't. These people, they displaced, were not at fault. If anything they were victims of an out of state slumlord. One would think the Town of Batavia's officials would have some compassion. I guess it is in short supply these days.

The "will of the people" is the mantra that the GOP ran on. That is why they are were voted into office, to do the 'will of the people'. Something they claimed the Democrats wouldn't do.

Not making it up. Put some big boy pants on and make this a real discussion!

I'm hoping you are right about the people in the Town of Batavia. This is, by far, the worst illustration of lack of compassion we've seen so far.

Why not call your buddies in the Town of Batavia and ask THEM if they feel it was a stupid and poorly timed decision? It would seem that they were in agreement that displacing families,now, was the right thing to do.

We also know if the shoe was on the other foot, and one of the NYC loving liberal Cuomo donkeys (per Bud Prevost) did this, you would be the first one jumping up and down and crying, 'foul'.

Dec 18, 2010, 8:33pm Permalink
John Roach

CM,
Or maybe she should not use this misfortune of others to make it political. I find it pathetic.

I am disappointed you don't seem to disapprove.

Dec 18, 2010, 8:36pm Permalink
Bea McManis

I wonder if it would make John happy, if I just said 'elected officials' and didn't mention their affiliation. We'd leave it up to the readers to figure out which party funded them.
What is pathetic is what the 'elected officials' did.
I am disappointed you don't seem to understand that.

Dec 18, 2010, 8:43pm Permalink
John Roach

Bea,
I don't have anything to do with the Town politics and none of the current elected Town officials are friends. In fact, I have never spoken to any of them. I guess your habit of making things up is going strong. I am not as fanatically dogmatic as you and have supported many Democrats for local office, even your own sister.

We, and certainly not you, have no idea if the Town Board even knew about this before hand. If they did, then shame on them.

Again, I find it pathetic that a member of the City Democratic Party committee would use this unfortunate incident to score political points. But then there are local elections coming next year, and this is probably a forerunner to what we will see.

Dec 18, 2010, 8:59pm Permalink
Chris Charvella

John, back off. We get it, you don't like Bea. She doesn't seem to think much of you either.

Meanwhile, a bunch of people were forced into homelessness and I don't understand how that can be legal with only 24 hours notice. Obviously, the landlord needs to answer for this since he allowed the property to fall into such a state of disrepair, but the Town of Batavia should have noticed that it's the middle of winter and given these folks a few days to figure out where they were going to live.

I'll entertain the possibility that the Town gave the landlord fair notice about this and that the landlord didn't bother to mention it to the residents. I'm not sure the Town is required to tell renters much of anything, but when they realized the situation they should have restructured their approach.

Dec 18, 2010, 9:23pm Permalink
John Roach

Chris,
I agree with you and that's my point. This is not about party politics, or us. It’s about some people who just lost their housing days before Christmas. I see no reason this decision could not have been delayed.

Dec 18, 2010, 9:31pm Permalink
Daniel Jones

Bea and John - Why don't you two stop dogging each other and get to know one another? I find that a diplomatic cup of coffee can go a very long way.

Dec 18, 2010, 9:32pm Permalink
Bob Price

Frickin unbelievable.....talk about Scrooge(or should we say screwed)....to the powers that be (Town of Batavia officials)REALLY????REALLY????? A week before Christmas??? There absolutely,positively was no way to delay this a couple weeks until after the New Year began??? If I were the residents-eff the town-stay in there-make them come in and get you-at least if you were arrested-you would have a place to stay........I say someone should get ahold of WGRZ and get them to do a story ASAP-could someone please forward this article to some news outlets in Buffalo and Rochester???

Dec 18, 2010, 9:49pm Permalink
dennis wight

Earlier this month, the Town of Batavia authorized a purchase offer of $85,000 to acquire the parcel, which adjoins Kiwanis Park.

Supervisor Greg Post said the condemnation and interest in buying the property are unrelated matters.

YEAH, RIGHT!!!

Dec 18, 2010, 10:18pm Permalink
Chelsea Harmon

First Off I would like you all to know I am the one who tipped Howard off to this story. My boyfriend was residing at this motel, his name is Eric too but not the Eric Duda that was mentioned in this story. Ok I wanted to update all of you. Orginally the building was up for a bid of 75,000 for the Kiwanis Park expansion, this was not supposed to happen for several months its been ongoing for years. Before any of these tenants moved into the build they did not know it was not up to code so why now would they inforce the codes? Because the town wants this building for the park. Then all of a sudden they had about 17 hours to vacate the property by friday at 5. They were not told till late thursday night. No one can stay in this property because monday everything is getting shut off electric gas everything. Eric Duda was the only one that got help from DSS everyone else was forced to stay with friends, none of these people had family here. And these tenants feel like they are a burden on their friends because of the holidays but what are they to do? They are low income with barely any money to pay for the 125 week here. My boyfriend was the one that was supposed to fix the roof and everything else on this building but the landlord never responded back. The landlord needed to do a whole roof tearoff and my eric told the landlord 600 would do the whole roof he never called my Eric back. So I am giving everyone a heads up my eric is going to go try and see a lawyer about this and see how legal this really is to do to everyone. But they can not stay there because the landlord is having everything shut off. The only thing with the lawyer is that he doesnt have the money to hire a lawyer so please anyone knows where he can go or do to get some type of help. He knows how to get ahold of all the other tenants, they were all like a big family there, they all stuck together. I was thinking of starting a petition to overrule this but I need enough people to help out. So please any advice on how to help these people out would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone for the concerns!

Dec 18, 2010, 10:22pm Permalink
Vicki Newton

Chelsea,

Your Eric should start with Legal Aid. It is a group of lawyers that exists for just this type of situation. They exist to help people who may not be able to afford legal representation on their own. They are in the phone book, but I will try to get some more info and post again.

Dec 18, 2010, 10:28pm Permalink
Chelsea Harmon

Thank You Vicki he called them friday on it as did everyone in that building and they are not responding back at all maybe monday they will. I really hope so, Thank you for the information and please if you have more I would love to hear it :-)

Dec 18, 2010, 10:30pm Permalink
Vicki Newton

Neighborhood Legal Services
5073 Clinton Street Road
Batavia, NY 14020
Phone: 585-343-5450
Fax: 585-343-5503

About Neighborhood Legal Services

About this Organization:
Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. (NLS) is a not-for-profit agency located in Buffalo, New York. NLS provides free legal services to persons with low-income and persons with disabilities. It also provides a wide range of technical assistance and support services. While the majority of its services are provided within Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming Counties, New York, NLS also provides disability-related services for all of Western New York and operates both a Statewide and National Assistive Technology Advocacy Project to assist persons with disabilities and the advocates and agencies that serve them. NLS will not provide legal advice over the internet. The information on this web site is not legal advice. Legal advice is dependent upon the specific circumstances of each situation. Also, the law may vary from State to State, so that some information in this web site may not be correct for your jurisdiction. Finally, the information contained in this web site is not guaranteed to be up to date. Therefore, the information contained in this web site cannot replace the advice of competent legal counsel licensed in your state.
Restrictions:
LSC restrictions

Dec 18, 2010, 10:33pm Permalink
julia chenault

I emailed WGRZ and asked them to log onto the Batavian and read the story for themselves...who knows maybe they can turn this around for these people at least until they are able to sort things out.

Dec 18, 2010, 10:41pm Permalink
Chelsea Harmon

Thank you Julia I also got in touch with them to check on the story, I really hope all these people get help. Its hard enough this time of year let alone have no were to go. And Janice DSS helped Eric Duda and his son find a place, they are save and yes it is sick that they would do that to children like that!

Dec 18, 2010, 10:50pm Permalink
Lorie Longhany

This is absolutely unbelievable. It almost seems like this is a situation for Red Cross intervention. There certainly isn't enough time for a local fund raising effort. Maybe the Salvation Army can help in the short term.

Anyone think of Dickens A Christmas Carol while reading this?

Wow.

Dec 18, 2010, 11:44pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

John, if you were NOT disappointed in me, I'd be forced to re-examine my position.

In this particular case I side with the aggrieved: those getting booted from dwelling to frigid street. It would seem the residents are collateral to a motel standing in the way of town park development.

I do not get your rationale: interpreting Bea's comment (which I bungled) exploits the issue for political benefit? I gain nothing. Is politics a factor in this moral outrage? To quote Douglas Adams, "If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands."

Dec 19, 2010, 12:47am Permalink
Kyle Couchman

Chelsea a suggestion also is that if the landlord is shutting off utilities, that is against the law and probably actionable by the tenants. Maybe they can stay there if they contact the utility companies and have service restored in their name.

I did alot of research and could find much in NYS real property law but federal and other states have laws in place that make the landlord responsible for triple damages in situations like this. And from what I saw in NYS law all the actions of this landlord are VERY illegal could be quite a payday for these tenants.... tel them to make sure to document everything.

Dec 19, 2010, 12:50am Permalink
C. M. Barons

Kyle, if the building(s) has been condemned, it is legally unsuited for occupancy. The owner/landlord was likely ordered by Town Code Enforcement to shut off the utilities. Leaking roof is sufficient hazard to warrant utility disconnect. As Chris Charvella suggested, the landlord was probably derelict, didn't inform the tenants of condemnation or eviction order. Having a landlord in Texas and eviction order enforced on a below-freezing weekend, I believe this is what's known as a cluster something-or-other.

Obviously, if the utilities go off, no one will be eager to conduct a stand-off in an unheated, unlit, waterless motel room.

Dec 19, 2010, 1:15am Permalink
Bea McManis

Lorie,
This entire event reeks of A Christmas Carol. Scrooge learns that a family he puts out of their home on Christmas Eve are relieved to hear of his death (as foretold by the Ghost of Christmas Future).
Unlike the happy ending, where Scrooge mends his ways and saves the family from losing their home, the Town of Batavia's officials appeared to turn a blind eye to the plight of those evicted.
I don't understand why they didn't see that these people were the victims and caught in the middle of an impossible situation.
Why weren't they offered shelter for the weekend? Even the firehall would have worked. A weekend to digest the situation and make rational plans would have made a big difference.

Dec 19, 2010, 1:54am Permalink
Bea McManis

Chris,
You find the place that takes monopoly money and I'm in.
If only to remind John that my late sister ran as a Conservative.
John will go through hoops to discredit any opinion I have.
My opinion, in this situation, is that the Town of Batavia's officals dropped the ball big time.
Whatever negative publicity they garner from this will be well deserved.

Dec 19, 2010, 2:01am Permalink
John Roach

Bea,
Your sister was a registered Democrat who ran as a Conservative when her own party turned her down.

But, I totally agree with you that the Town officials deserve this negative publicity.

Dec 19, 2010, 7:50am Permalink
Chuck Lowder

According to public records (from Town of Batavia, NY "ASSESSED VALUES ARE 2010 FINAL ROLL FIGURES" website), Panchal, Bhupendrabhda & Panchal, Pushpa purchased the property on 4/12/1999 for $80,000, then the property was purchased by Sarojbahen R Patel for $55,000 in 9/8/2006 and in 4/30/2007 Patel sold it to the current owner, Panchal Bhupendrabhai for $1.00 (one dollar).

I may be wrong but from what I understood a few years ago that these deals were done within the family or some sort of relative. Again, I may be wrong but from what I understood, these people have done this all over the place with businesses here and in other states, they try to get a tax break then when that ends or not successful, they sell it to another party and the cycle starts all over again. I got this information from a very reliable source that done work for these people but he has since passed away so I can’t go back to confirm this. To me, it sounds like these people came to the US to run a scam to get rich.

It is VERY SAD that this has to happen like it did, but I think that the town officials that ordered this should of granted a grace period to the tenants before forcing them out in the cold on very unfair notice to them. The town should go after Bhupendrabhai and haul his ass back to NY. I know it can be done because I seen it happen in Delevan, NY with a slumlord that lived in Florida. They charged him and he had to come to NY to answer the charges and he lost...

I lived at the Batavia Motel in rooms 1 & 2 when Howard Hamilton owned it for about 5 or 6 years when I was driving trucks cross country. It was a very nice community there and you couldn’t hear your neighbor through the walls. It’s a real shame that the property fell into uncaring hands.

I wish the displaced victims of this all the luck in the world.

Dec 19, 2010, 8:23am Permalink
Dave Olsen

I too feel this could have been handled much differently. But C.M has a good point, if the building is condemned and the town lets people live there, would the town then become liable? Again, I agree could and should have been handled differently.

As for the McManis/Roach beer or coffee summit, I'll buy, 2 drinks each. Just pick a place and time.

Dec 19, 2010, 9:14am Permalink
Kyle Couchman

Ahhhh CM you may be right but. Let me pose this question...

If the landlord was to decide to make repairs, how is this accomplished without gas for heating the workspace to allow painting or wall reapirs and such, or electricity for running powertools. Being condemned isnt really a barrier for having utilities, and as greedy as utility companies are you think they are gonna turn down a chance to scre... I mean earn a buck?

And I'd like tickets to watch the McManis/Roach summit. I'd even up the ante with a third round :)

Dec 19, 2010, 9:28am Permalink
Bea McManis

Dave,
I'm a diet pepsi or coffee person, it won't take a big bite out of your wallet, and I don't like those expensive coffees.
I'd be happier to see that money go into a fund for those who were left homeless.

Dec 19, 2010, 9:29am Permalink
Dave Olsen

Actually, let me back up on that. In keeping with The Batavian's support of local businesses, I'd rather pick a diner, restaurant or coffee shop from the list of supporters. 8 AM Monday is OK

Dec 19, 2010, 10:18am Permalink
Julie A Pappalardo

I'll TRY to drag my butt to 14020 for coffee Monday. How about the Daily Grind?? I've been meaning to check that place out.

Also: For the gentleman looking for a place to store his stuff:

I can offer up a small place to temporarily put your stuff (like 30 days or so). It's not heated, and it's not pretty, but it's FREE (shrug). It's about 300 square feet.

If anyone knows this guy, please contact me via email: caffeinatedjulie@aol.com I'll see if I can help him out.

Unfortunatly I have no rooms/apt avail at this time. There HAS to be something we can do for these folks....

BOO HISS to the Town for doing this to people in the dead of winter!!! SHAME on them (pointing finger). What has this world come to??

And what about the dog? Has anyone stepped up to foster the dog until these folks get a place??? I totally would, however, I just lost my Beagle of 15 years a few months ago and still just can't deal :( someone???

Dec 19, 2010, 10:41am Permalink
Lorie Longhany

For those of us that can't come for the coffee showdown, is there a way of setting up a Paypal account for donations? Howard?

I would foster the dog, but we have three dogs and a cat that would object.

Dec 19, 2010, 11:05am Permalink
Sarah Christopher

Wow, I feel like this is a perfect example of a double standard. A landlord has to give 30 days (maybe more) to evict a tenant that has any minor children...even if the children are practically adults. The tenants could be trashing the joint or refusing to pay the rent. I have even heard of the tenant threatening the landlord and his family and he still had to give 30 days notice! But if the government wants you out, possibly because they want the property to build a park...they are kicked to the streets, including a 10 mo. old? I feel naive, I thought people were generally good...how can they live with themselves? Shame on whomever is responsible for this! Merry Christmas!

Dec 19, 2010, 11:11am Permalink
bud prevost

Bea said "We also know if the shoe was on the other foot, and one of the NYC loving liberal Cuomo donkeys (per Bud Prevost) did this, you would be the first one jumping up and down and crying, 'foul'."

Thank you for taking my statement directed at Downstate David Lazik, and applying it, out of context, to a totally different story. I feel awful for the position these folks are in, and don't see any reason to drag politics into this.
While I feel badly for them, the building(s)are an eyesore, dilapidated, and definitely unsafe. The town should have some sort of paper trail as to how this proceeded. Did the code enforcers give any notices to the owners? To the tenants? How difficult would it have been to post a notice of intent to condemn? Just questions in my head. I hope these people can find somewhere to live.

Dec 19, 2010, 11:20am Permalink
John Roach

The Daily Grind, if it is the place on Harvester, was closed the last time I was over that way.

Dave, I think Howard will forgive us this once if we go to McDonald's (We have to have the Diet Pepsi option). See ya at 8.

Dec 19, 2010, 11:31am Permalink
Julie A Pappalardo

This building has been an eyesore for YEARS.....

The Town couldn't kick these people out in August?? They have to wait til December???

I hope the Town officials who kicked these folks out are proud of themselves.

I'm sure THEY (the officials) will be having a wonderful meal with family in their nice warm homes. I wonder if they will even give a thought to the folks they threw onto the street......

WOW...this is really bothering me........

Dec 19, 2010, 11:33am Permalink
George Richardson

Howard, will you please cover this earth shattering, ground breaking, knee quaking news event? Seriously, I want to see if John Roach is the same guy I knew from grade school. He had a mug I will never forget and I want to see what my internet friend Dave Olsen looks like too. I'll bet he's a Swede, one of those non socialist ones. Bea, you're real important as well but I already know what you look like. If I was 75 I would say you are a hot babe. Hell, I'm only 57 and you already look pretty good. Diet Coke and Vodka is my favorite drink too, but Coffee and Vodka works for me as well. I wish I could be in the audience.

Dec 19, 2010, 11:46am Permalink
John Roach

George,
Sorry, I am not the guy you went to school with. And I don't think Howard(or anyone else really) could care less if Dave and I have coffee, but I am looking forward to meeting him. Besides, he's buying.

Dec 19, 2010, 12:03pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

I will be there, John.
George: Danish, Swede, Austrian and Italian. How's that for a mixture? Big, dumb, obnoxious, but makes great sauce and meatballs. I think Joe is one of your brothers, you can ask him, we went to school together. Also, i knew a Dan Richardson from Batavia in the Navy, if he's a relative.

Dec 19, 2010, 12:23pm Permalink
Bea McManis

A lot will depend on the weather, since I'm walking. Also, I am scheduled to be else where at 9am.
I'll try to make it.
If I can't please understand it isn't that I didn't want to meet with you all.

Dec 19, 2010, 12:50pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

Kyle, typically condemnation is the final recourse after opportunities to bring a property into compliance have been exhausted. ...Kind of a bridge of no return. In other words, utilities or no-utilities, the place is destined to come down, and repair efforts at this juncture would be futile. It's possible (just from the deviations cited in posts) that Code Enforcement acted independently in this case- although town officials certainly wouldn't 'look a gift horse in the mouth.'

Dec 19, 2010, 12:59pm Permalink
Bob Price

Mickey D's has Coke products Bea..... Gee maybe the town will be able to get property for free or a $1.....this kinda reminds me of the movie "Trading Places" where 2 old men placed a $1 bet to see if they could ruin someone and make a success out of homeless person.

Dec 19, 2010, 3:42pm Permalink
Chelsea Harmon

To all of you again Thank you for your concerns! The dog is still at the motel because Eric Duda can not find anywhere to go with him. The Firehall and Red Cross can not help these people at all. If anyone needs to reach these people you may email me at NewLifeStarts120608@yahoo.com Just put Batavia Motel in your subject so I know. My boyfriend can reach everyone that used to live there, like I said they were like a big family and they all got kicked out. Thanks everyone for the legal advice I will be looking into a legal aid person tomorrow to help all these people.

Dec 19, 2010, 4:39pm Permalink
John Roach

Bob,
She wants to walk, and it's only about 3 blocks from the 400 Towers to the Daily Grind. It would be too far for her to walk to Mickey D's and back in just the 1 hour she has.

Dec 19, 2010, 4:40pm Permalink
Bob Price

I would join ya,but I'll be going to Buffalo to get my kidney stone blasted @ 9am.....hope you have a nice meeting. Has anyone contacted Care-A-Van about these people?They must have some connections around town.....

Dec 19, 2010, 6:21pm Permalink
Chris Charvella

Drove by and beeped at you guys on my way to work this morning. I would have been there but I lost 20 minutes or so this morning because my 2-year old had a juice incident. Never a dull moment when you have a toddler.

Dec 20, 2010, 9:44am Permalink
Bea McManis

It was a cordial and interesting morning. Thank you, Dave, for the coffee.
Thanks to John for an informative morning.
I believe we really aren't that far apart on many things when we can talk eye to eye. Expression makes a world of difference.
Thanks to Howard for coming.
Chris, sorry you couldn't make it.
We should do this more often because it really puts things in perspective.
Have a grand day.

Dec 20, 2010, 10:34am Permalink
Bob Price

How about "The Batavian" Coffee Club-meet every couple weeks same place,same time? Any more info on the dispalced people? I went by there around 12:30 and no vehicles were there.

Dec 20, 2010, 2:55pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

I would suggest to anyone having a cup of coffee or whatever with someone you don't already know. I know I'm better for it. I made 2 new friends today, I hope. I'm glad I got out of my routine. John and Bea aren't so bad.

Dec 20, 2010, 6:04pm Permalink
Chelsea Harmon

Just an FYI for everyone. Channel 14 was there at the motel tonight and will be airing something on the show tonight at 9 o clock. Hope you guys tune in the town building code inspector was there talking with YNN.

Dec 20, 2010, 6:13pm Permalink

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