Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

She got away with it again. That’s how one Summer Street resident summed up the situation with landlord Edna Hallock moving new tenants into a house that had been infested with cockroaches last year. Steph Viola and several of her neighbors attended Tuesday’s Bradford City Council meeting to inform council that Hallock was moving people into the house. “We went through, literally, hell this summer,” Viola said. “To know that that house sits there tenant after tenant after tenant and it’s nothing but trash – It’s getting really bad. That’s it in a nutshell.” “I’m sick of living by this,” Viola continued. “It just broke my heart when I found out she got away with it again.” Bradford City Fire Chief Boo Coder left the council meeting to see if the property had a certificate of compliance, which would allow it to be rented out. After the meeting, Coder said Merle Silvis and Chris Angell had inspected it, so he could not keep the new tenants from moving in. At a Board of Health meeting in A...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director (briefly back from vacation) Bradford City Fire Chief Boo Coder, code enforcement officers and captains George Corignani and Merle Silvis, along with Captain Larry Visbisky are retiring from the fire department. The announcement came during a city council meeting in which tempers flared between Mayor Tom Riel and Councilman Ross Neidich after they voted on an ordinance that raises the city’s millage rate and, therefore, property taxes. Neidich voted against the ordinance and, when it was Riel’s turn to vote he said to Neidich, “I don’t know why you would vote ‘no’ to it when we’ve done everything we possibly could and there were no suggestions of yours that were... acted upon or denied and I don’t see the purpose of voting ‘no’ to it.” “I’m not happy to vote ‘yes,’” Riel continued, “but I feel this council has worked, and done as much as they possibly could. I’m not happy about it. I want to reiterate that, but I’m going to vote ‘yes’ because t...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director One city official says if the code enforcement department is complaint driven, perhaps more people should make formal complaints. “If it has to be complaint driven then I guess a bunch of us have to walk up and down Main Street and write a complaint out,” said OECD Executive Director Sara Andrews. “I think it has to go beyond being complaint driven and at this point in time – if we see something we need to address it,” she said. Andrews made her comments during Tuesday’s Bradford City Council meeting in a discussion on who is responsible for enforcing codes in commercial buildings. Businessman John Kohler brought up the issue, and gave the IAS building on Marilyn Horne Way as an example, saying wires are hanging off of it, electric boxes are hanging loose, there’s broken glass and piles of pigeon droppings. “Who’s responsible to make sure that kind of stuff is cleaned up and taken care of?” Kohler asked. “Somebody could walk by there and get hur...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Bradford’s newest councilmen agree that code enforcement is the number one priority of city residents. Almost all public comment council has received in the last six months has been about code enforcement, blighted properties and the historic district, said Councilman Fred Proper during Tuesday's council meeting. “The quality of life in our community is being affected by the property in the community – deteriorating property,” he said. As a council, “You got it across to us that it’s probably the number one priority in this community right now. We need to work together to handle that.” “I’ve got the message that it is the number one priority, aside from maybe some financial problems that we’re going to have to face,” he said. “This is the number one issue – blighted properties, code enforcement,” Councilman Jim Evans said. “The only reason it surpasses financial is we’re not building a budget right now.” “That message has come through loud a...

The Bradford City Fire Department’s central station will be staying right where it is for now. The department received an “unofficial official” reply concerning the fire station grant application, according to Bradford City Councilman Ross Neidich. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to be receiving the funding through the federal government (to build a new fire station),” Neidich said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “I guess we’re just going to have to make due with what we have.” The fire department was hoping for the federal grant to help pay for the $6.4 million "green" fire station they want to build. Back in June, Fire Chief Boo Coder said renovating the current fire station is not an option. "That station is 106 years old. It was built for horses. It wasn't built for fire trucks," Coder said during a June 23, 2009, council meeting. "We've renovated to the point where we can't go any farther. Now when we buy a fire truck or a piece of fire equ...

Fire gutted the living room of a two-story housing unit at 11 South Center Street this morning. Bradford City Fire Department Captain Larry Visbisky tells WESB and The HERO they got a 911 call at 11:04 a.m. saying there was smoke coming from a building at Barbour and South Center streets. He says Fire Chief Boo Coder was the first person on the scene, and verified that there was smoke and fire coming from the building. Tower One was next on the scene. Firefighters were able to keep the fire contained to the living room area. "They stopped it right in the living room," Visbisky says. "It was going pretty good. It was a good stop." The rest of the building had smoke and heat damage. Resident Gail Button was not home at the time of the fire. A state police fire marshal has been called in to complete the investigation. 11 men were on the scene for an hour. Bradford Township stood by at their station.

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director A couple of Bradford residents told City Council Tuesday night that they think the code enforcement officers are working hard, but also think more could be done. Vista Circle resident Brad Mangel said in the last 11 years they "did quite a bit" and that any problems with the officers don't need to be confrontational. He did say, however, that the program "obviously does need to be fixed." He added that he wholeheartedly agrees with Mayor Tom Riel's position that something needs to be done about blight. Mangel said he's also concerned about fines and enforcement, especially concerning landlords, nothing that they're getting an income from the tenants that should be put back into the buildings. But, he said, they know how to play the system and are aware of what they can get away with. Cole Avenue resident Jeff Bartholomew is also concerned about blight, and wondered what's being done to go after landlords w...

Bradford City firefighters are still hoping for a federal grant to help pay for the $6.4 million "green" fire station they want to build. During a work session prior to Tuesday's Bradford City Council meeting coucnilman Ross Neidich, who oversees the fire department, fire chief Boo Coder and firefighter Matt Rettger, who writes grant applications for the department, said they intend to ask council for permission to submit more grant applications. They also updated council on their grant application and what possible avenues they can take to secure more grant money. Although the proposal wasn't approved by the Department of Homeland Security, Rettger said there's "still $130 million hanging out there." Rettger said they've been looking into the Kresge Foundation's "Challenge Program" as a possible source for the $750,000 to $1 million for a "green" roof. He added that green grants are available at the state level for the $750,0...

One of the Bradford City firefighters injured while battling a blaze on Euclid Avenue this afternoon is being treated in a Buffalo hospital. Firefighter Todd McClain breathed in hot smoke and gasses, and is being treated at ECMC. Firefighter Greg Lewis was hurt when he fell from the roof of the house. He was treated at Bradford Regional Medical Center and released. Lt. Chris Angell said firefighters were called to 122 Euclid Avenue at 2:15 p.m. Heavy smoke and flames were showing when they arrived. Angell said they called a second alarm, which means all off duty personnel are called in and Derrick City is called to stand by at the East Bradford Station. Tower One, Engine One and Engine Two, along with 15 firefighters, were on the scene for almost 2 1/2 hours. The house was a total loss. Angell said Fire Chief Boo Coder is trying to track down the owners.

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Residents of Pleasant and School streets and Jackson Avenue packed city council chambers Tuesday night to say putting a new fire station at the head of Mechanic Street is a bad idea, and it's not welcome there. But if all goes well – assuming the city gets the federal grant in the first place – the building wouldn't go there anyway. Councilman Ross Neidich, who oversees the fire department said, "We have a good lead, I think, on something that would make everybody happy including us. Let's just hope that comes to fruition." After the meeting, Neidich and Fire Chief Boo Coder said because they are still in negotiations with the property owners they didn't want to publicly talk about the site. During the meeting, Jackson Avenue resident Dave Lamborn said one of the reasons he's against having a fire station at the former Third Ward School site is that it would take away the possibility of the property ever getting bac...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director In a brief meeting Tuesday night, Bradford City Council approved a two-for-one appointment to the Historic Architectural Review Board. George Corignani and Mark Grassi will serve on an as needed basis to fill the seat previously held by Fire Chief Boo Coder. Corignani is the residential building inspector for the city. Grassi is the commercial building inspector. "These guys are the ones who know all the laws," Coder said. "When they (HARB) need some direction, it would be good to have these guys to be on the board." "HARB feels it only makes sense to have the people who are approving the building permit applications be on the board, and they want to have that communication with them," said Deputy City Clerk Teri Cannon. "Having the inspectors on the board is going to help HARB understand the building permit process a little bit more," she added. City Clerk John Peterson added that when HARB was created, t...

During Tuesday's Bradford City Council meeting Mayor Tom Riel said he wanted to clear up a couple of misconceptions about the pilot for the reality show that's being filmed in the city this week. "It's not costing the City of Bradford taxpayers one red cent," Riel said. "They're not soliciting investors; this is being done at the expense of a couple of production companies. It's not comparable to other ventures that were proposed in the area." Riel went on to say, "They're filming a pilot for a reality to show to promote Bradford. It's not a comedy, or anything like that, like some things that have happened in the past." He added that if people want to share their thoughts --- good or bad -- with producer Luca Palanca and director of photography Eric Pickett they're more than welcome to do that. Pictured, Eric Pickett films Mayor Tom Riel following Tuesday's Bradford City Council meeting. Also pictured are Councilman Bob...