CITY OF LOCKPORT: Officials say 407 South St. probably will be demolished

Local News

May 8, 2009

By Joyce Miles<br><a href="mailto:joyce.miles@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Joyce</a> The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Fri May 08, 2009, 01:13 AM EDT

The run-down house at 407 South St. probably will be demolished, city officials said Thursday.

Until it actually is taken down or fixed up, however, the land trust that owned it previously remains on the hook for code violations.

Stephen Walsh, trustee of 407 South St. Residential Land Trust, remains in housing court even though the trust no longer owns the property. It’s owned by Oklahoma-based Midfirst Bank since a foreclosure auction last month.

The house was condemned by a building inspector in April 2008 after inspection showed serious defects including a hole-pocked roof, drywall falling off ceilings and water damage to structural supports. Walsh’s trust had acquired the title a few months earlier, with the damage already done, from a couple who couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage any more; the trust hoped to persuade the bank to discount the mortgage so Walsh could line up investors for rehabilitation, but it didn’t happen.

Since July 2008, Walsh has been under orders to continue appearing in court to answer for the house’s condition, even though the trust owned it only briefly and the bank is now clearly the owner.

Judge Thomas DiMillo suggested Thursday that continued prosecution of the trust “doesn’t make sense any more,” but prosecutor Matt Brooks resisted the notion of dropping it.

“The fact is, when this case was lodged, the trust owned the property,” he said. “If we see action (at the property) then I will recommend a discharge. If not, I have no intention of letting it fall by the wayside,” he said. “When this case is dismissed, I want to know the property is being repaired or demolished.”

Since he’s encouraged that Midfirst Bank appears prepared to deal with the property, though, Brooks consented to a lengthier adjournment in the trust case. Walsh now isn’t due back in court until June 18.

According to Brooks, Midfirst Bank recently hired Safeguard Properties, a company that works with banks on property maintenance issues, to recommend a course of action at 407 South St. The recommendation is for demolition, he said, but no requests have been made for a demolition permit from the city yet. The last he heard, Safeguard was waiting for final approval from the bank.

Contact reporter Joyce Miles at 439-9222, ext. 6245.

Text Only

Local News

Shovel-ready park has perks
At first glance, the big, orange road sign announcing vacant property on Lockport Road as a “shovel ready certified” building site seems a bit gratuitous.
To companies looking for new places to launch a business, it’s not. The sign in their eyes is a welcome mat, for in three words a community pronounced itself ready, willing and able to make a deal quickly.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
Roy-Hart to play the big stage
A group of local students will be performing this month at Kleinhans Music Hall just before a BPO concert.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will welcome the Royalton-Hartland High School Mixed Chorus as part of the BPO’s Community Spotlight program on Feb. 19 at Kleinhans in Buffalo. The chorus will perform under the direction of Carolyn Unitas Roos and accompanied by Janice McKinney.

February 3, 2012
Former NFTA cop sentenced
A former Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police officer will spend six years on probation for sending a sexually explicit photo to a teenage girl, a girl he later had a sexual encounter with.
In addition, John W. Ingham will spend 25 weekends in the service of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Work Program. Ingham was sentenced Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. Ingham will also register as a sex offender.

February 3, 2012
Speakers address SPCA contract
Animal rescue volunteers want the City of Lockport to hit the SPCA of Niagara where it hurts — in the pocketbook — and help force reform of the troubled animal welfare organization.
Volunteers from multiple small, private rescue groups, and the SPCA itself, descended on the Common Council Wednesday to talk about the city’s ongoing involvement with SPCA.

February 2, 2012 4 Photos
Liberty Tire cited for 'multiple' violations
The City of Lockport will require Liberty Tire Recycling to obtain an operating permit in order to avoid being declared a hazard.

February 2, 2012
Instant millionaire
Paul Schneider had just gotten off the phone with his girlfriend when he called her back with some breaking news.
“She was teasing me and said, ‘so you hung up the phone with me to scratch your scratch offs?’” Schneider said. “And I said, ‘It’s a good thing I did because I won a million dollars.’”

February 1, 2012 1 Photo
Fire code crackdown vowed
City code enforcement officers are planning an inspection blitz at the multi-building Liberty Tire Recycling complex, in the hope of helping the company avoid another huge fire, officials said Monday.
Liberty Tire, 470 Ohio St., likely will be cited for one or more fire code violations after fire struck the facility this past Friday. A large pile of tires, stored behind one of the buildings, caught fire when a live industrial power line fell on the pile. The power line had partly melted due to a short circuit inside a building.

January 31, 2012 2 Photos
NFTA cuts will make transportation difficult
NFTA cuts will make it difficult, if not impossible for Buffalo-area commuters to get to work in Lockport and Lockport residents to get to Buffalo.
Millie Spencer, who lives near the Walden Galleria, takes four buses and an NFTA train to get to Lockport for her job as a graphic artist four days a week.
“This will threaten my job,” said Spencer who is married and has four children. “We’re down to one car and my husband’s job takes him all over the place. What would I do? I don’t know.”

January 31, 2012 1 Link
Prepared patriots
At mobilization ceremonies across the state this weekend, hundreds of servicemen from the Army National Guard were cheered on their way to training for a possible overseas deployment.
More than 1,800 soldiers assigned to the 27th Brigade Combat Team mobilized before heading to Camp Shelby in Mississippi to train for an expected deployment to Kuwait this spring. In Lockport, nearly 75 men from Company A of the Brigade Special Troops Battalion were thanked for their previous — and coming — service to the nation at a ceremony Sunday. Likewise, 90 were sent off in Geneseo Saturday, and more in Buffalo and Rochester.

January 30, 2012 1 Photo
Town recycling numbers are up
The Town of Lockport seems to have taken a bigger interest in recycling.
At a Town Board meeting Wednesday, Councilman Paul W. Siejak said for all of 2011, the town recycled 27.55 more tons than it did a year ago. Electronics recycling, which the town started in July, totaled 4,914 pounds.
For the electronics recycling, the town receives 5 cents per pound, which means Lockport was paid $245.70.

January 30, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

CITY OF LOCKPORT: Officials say 407 South St. probably will be demolished

Site Map

Contact Us