Residents hail new life for crumbling stable on Jersey Street
Developer takes over livery, plans to convert it to condominiums
They weren’t quite popping champagne.
But the residents who live around the crumbling horse barn on Jersey Street welcomed the news Tuesday that developer Sam Savarino had bought the 1880s-era structure and plans to turn it into condominiums.
“If they can actually renovate and have it occupied, it’d be wonderful,” said Harold Roberts, who along with his wife, Bunny, evacuated their cottage adjacent to the White Bros. Livery & Boarding Stable for 11 days.
“The proof is in the pudding,” said Tim Conroy, whose backyard is filled with fallen bricks. “I want to see results.”
On June 11, the city asked five families to vacate their homes after a partial collapse of the roof that sent bricks showering down onto the properties of several homes.
The Richard A. Waite-designed structure was slated for demolition, but neighbors who wanted to save the historic three-story barn won a reprieve in court.
State Supreme Court Judge Christopher J. Burns led a three-week effort to find a solution.
Saturday, the city announced that it was authorizing a $397,000 contract to stabilize the building, but Tuesday, Savarino, who has made a name for himself by rehabbing Buffalo’s dilapidated structures, entered into a deal in which he would pay $1 to the current owner of the building, Robert Freudenheim, to take over the land.
Tuesday evening, Savarino, along with Mark Young, president of Empire Building Diagnostics, discussed their plans for the livery with residents. They gathered in front of the crum-
bling but majestic facade of the building, bringing their own lawn chairs for seats as they listened with cautious optimism.
Savarino and Young said they would do everything they could to preserve as much of the original structure as possible. But they cautioned that they probably would have to tear parts of the building down.
“We don’t have the cure-all diet pill,” Young said. “We do believe we have a sound plan.”
They said safety would have to come first, both the safety of the residents and of workers who would try to rehab the building.
“We’re going to have to bring some of it down,” Young acknowledged.
Savarino said the city’s preliminary assessments called for removal of the third floor of the livery, marked by impressive arched windows, because it may be too unstable.
But Savarino told the crowd that he hoped to keep all three floors in place, using the top two for living spaces and the ground floor for parking.
Savarino also vowed to the residents that he would take action on the property quickly.
Engineers from Young’s company are to begin evaluating the building from the outside in, and work to shore up the structure could begin as early as next week.
“It’s not going to be sitting here for a long period of time in this condition,” Savarino said.
Savarino said he got a call from Mayor Byron W. Brown urging him to “giddyup” and get the project going.
To reinforce that message, Burns ordered a Sept. 2 court session to get a progress report on renovation efforts.
In the meantime, Corporation Counsel Alisa A. Lukasiewicz said the city will continue its efforts to recover from Freudenheim demolition costs already incurred by the city.
Savarino acknowledged that by taking on the title of the property, he could end up getting stuck with the bill but that nothing had been settled so far.
William McNamara, Theresa Quinn and Jeffery P. Santoro, attorneys for five neighboring families who began court proceedings over the city’s June 11 evacuation action, said they appreciated the city government’s and Burns’ efforts to work out a mutually acceptable solution.
Freudenheim’s attorney, Jennifer Persico, said her client “wished he had the resources” to pursue a restoration of the former horse stable, but he is grateful to the city and the judge for working out a solution “that is in the best interests of the community.”
But some Common Council members and a neighborhood activist think that city inspectors dropped the ball by not hauling the owner of the former livery into court years ago.
The Council’s Community Development Committee announced at a meeting Tuesday that it intends to question inspections officials about how they dealt with the Jersey Street structure in prior years.
Harvey A. Garrett Jr., a West Side community activist, told lawmakers that city inspectors fielded numerous complaints in the past about conditions at the 119-year-old building. Garrett said it’s unconscionable that the case was never written up for Housing Court.
Niagara Council Member David A. Rivera said he believes that the city was an “enabler” in allowing the building owner to ignore long-festering problems.
“I call this demolition by neglect,” Rivera said.
Community Development Committee Chairman Michael
J. LoCurto of the Delaware District said his panel will direct inspections officials to attend a future meeting where the department’s handling of the case will be scrutinized.
Brown said Tuesday he was very pleased with the judge-crafted outcome.
The mayor said he has been meeting daily with staff over the last few weeks to “make every reasonable attempt to preserve the building and ensure the health and safety of its neighbors.” The mayor said he has “long admired that building” and is pleased to see it preserved.
