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Common Council Report

The city’s Planning Board asked that the Common Council vote to allow the Queen City Landing project—the redevelopment of the old Freezer Queen facility off of Route 5—to proceed without an extensive environmental review. The project’s scope is impressive. Could-this-really-happen-in Buffalo’s-Outer-Harbor-without-a-tom-of-public-money impressive: a nine-story condominium with 153 units and 297 covered parking spots; a two-story pool pavilion; 16,400 square feet of retail space; a 6,400-square-foot marina with a floating dock; a 14-story apartment building with 140 units and a 280-space parking facility; a nine-story deluxe hotel with 252 rooms and a four-level garage comprising 168 parking spaces; complete renovation of the site’s existing structures for commercial uses.

In recommending a “negative declaration” for the project, the Planning Board said that it found that all and any environmental impacts of this behemoth lakeside project were either insignificant or sufficiently addressed by construction plans.

La Nova Pizzeria hopes to acquire 366 West Ferry, across the street from the restaurant, for a parking lot, according to a letter filed with the Common Council this week.

• The city has received bids for the demolition of 106 Porter and 604 Fourth Street, both mammoth structures located on the fringes of LaSalle Park. Commissioner Richard Tobe of the Department of Economic Development, Permit and Inspection Services asked the Common Council to award the contract to the incredibly named Geiter Done (owned by Larry the Cable Guy?), which bid $528,000 to knock down and haul away both buildings. Meanwile Tobe asked the Council to approve a contract with Titan Wrecking to demolish 300 Manhattan Avenue, by McCarthy Park in North Buffalo, for $260,211.

• Masten District Councilmember Demone Smith has filed two interesting letters with the Common Council this week. The first relates to Cariol Horne, the Buffalo police officer who recently was dismissed (and as a result lost her pension) after a lengthy and much-publicized discipline case. Smith thinks justice may have been a little too blind in Horne’s case, and he has a few questions for Police Commissioner McCarthy Gipson:

First, why was Officer Horne required to retain legal counsel to represent her during departmental proceedings? Second, why was Officer Horne relieved from her duties during the hearing process? Third, if Officer Horne was eligible for retirement from the Buffalo Police Department why was she not allowed to do so thereby providing her access to pension benefits that she earned? Fourth, why were witnesses who observed the confrontation between the two officers not allowed to testify regarding the events in question? Finally, what are the options available to Ms. Horne now that a decision has been made to terminate her employment with the City?

You can read the full letter at AV Daily.

• In Smith’s other letter, he asks Council President Dave Franczyk why only the five members who comprise the council’s majority coalition are allowed to take part in the hiring of council staff. He asks why the other four are left out in the cold, and are not even afforded the opportunity to review the resumes of candidates:

The current candidate is proposed to be brought in at the Senior Legislative Assistant title. The experience in the resume (containing grammatical errors that I was handed in passing by a district Council Member) does not show the experience level for the title. Being a former Senior Legislative Assistant after working my way through the ranks from an intern up as well as other Sr. Legislative Assistants who have done the same, value the title and expectations of performance. Are we shortchanging the candidate by hiring at the top level?

An AV baseball cap to the first person who can identify all the grammatical errors in that single paragraph.

A cap and a mug to the first person who identifies all the grammatical errors in the entire letter, available at AV Daily.

geoff kelly

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