Thanks to City, ADM begins destroying, Campaign has appeal in, calls for TRO
Lower court judge gave ADM 72-day head start by not dismissing case in timely fashion.
Shortly before 10:00am on Friday September 16, ADM Milling began cutting up the exposed steel tanks of the historic Great Northern grain elevator. It was 73 days after judge Emilio Colaiacovo issued a decision against The Campaign for Greater Buffalo but, in effect, instituted a blockade against an appeal by not dismissing the case. It was only with the arrival of demolition equipment and a steady drumbeat of articles, editorials, and guest editorials in the Buffalo News and online that Colaiacovo finally acted on Thursday 15 September to dismiss—on the day city officials declared the demo could start.
By evening The Campaign and its attorneys Richard Lippes and Richard Berger, had submitted a notice of intent to appeal, and followed up with the necessary documents early the next afternoon. The Campaign is now awaiting word from the Appellate Division of the Fourth Judicial Department of New York State Supreme Court of which judge has been assigned the case and if and when a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) blocking demolition will be issued.
The Great Northern was designed and built as an immense chassis of steel columns and unique round girders in which rest dozens of the now-familar steel cylinders that stored grain. Structurally, each of these sets of columns and their bin is independent—every other bin could be removed sequentially in a feat of reverse engineering without causing the others to collapse. Similarly, the workhouse is supported by those same columns with a repetitive series of "bents," 21 in all. Those could be methodically snipped off one by one without jeopardizing the structural integrity of the remaining roof (again, think an Amish barn-raising in reverse). The issue is this: halting demolition will be worth it, because so much of the building will be intact.
But delay can work to ADM's nefarious ends: It wants to carve out the bins and support columns, but not the workhouse. It intends to cut out the columns supporting the workhouse until it collapses in half like the Titanic, then repeat the process with the southern half of the structure. Thus, an immediate TRO is of the essence.
It should be noted that the demolition itself revealed the City and ADM's crocodile tears about public safety to be just that—fake. Traffic was allowed to go by normally on Ganson Street, trains went by on the tracks, yachts bobbed at anchor across the City Ship Canal. The Great Northern was never in danger of "imminent collapse," the city and ADM actions over the last 10 months belied their legal ejaculations in court about public safety being their driving concern. It is contempt for the public.
You can help the Campaign save the Great Northern by donating now:
The Historic Great Northern Grain Elevator “fed the world”.
So, if Buffalo City Hall (or any historic building) sustains damage (in any form) they would demolish it?
The Central Terminal and Statler Hotel were crumbling (and many other historic buildings) but weren’t demolished.
Perhaps another visionary, such as Mr. Jeffrey Gundlach (Albright Knox Art Gallery)could also help save the Grain Elevator: Re: Buffalo Grain Elevator
There are 245 properties and districts listed on the National Register in Erie County. The city of Buffalo is the location of 169 of these properties and districts.
If legally possible, please check:
1.ADM’s maintenance records and costs, if any to maintain.
2.Building inspection records.
3.Historic loans of the building
4.Insurance records on the building
5.Any previous plans of site prior to damage of building demolished
6.Any OSHA accident or safety hazard reports on building
7.Any police reports of arson or injuries on building
If owner feels the building is not “worth” anything, not worth saving, than they should donate it.