BUFFALO, N.Y. — Firefighters responded to two major fires in the city of Buffalo this week.
On Monday, a fire ripped through dive bar The Old Pink and patrons have been in mourning after an emergency demolition. On Tuesday, 110-118 South Park Ave. in Buffalo’s historic Cobblestone District caught fire.
"The city is not looking at emergency demolition," Mayor Byron Brown said Wednesday about the latter blaze. "We are looking at emergency stabilization."
Taking into account recent support in preservation, different boards and organizations are applauding the decision.
"This is the last existing pre-Civil War Erie Canal-era building standing in lower Main Street," said Preservation Buffalo Niagara's board member Fits Abell. "This represents why Buffalo became a prominent city.”
So they'll look to save what they can.
"It's important. The public loves structures, you know, old structures. So do we," said Cathy Amdur, Buffalo commissioner of permit and inspection services. "We want to preserve them. But we need the public's help in staying away from them [and] keeping themselves safe."
Streets are blocked off for the time being, with safety paramount — including for the property owner who is continuing a decades-long legal battle over the property.
"They never addressed 150 years before I owned these buildings," said owner Darryl Carr. "They were heavy industrial buildings. They had a use and they used them to a point where they were unusable and they moved out."
Still fighting eminent domain with plans still in place to tear down the old and bring a second tower to attract people to Buffalo, he says it comes down to dollars and cents.
"So what I hear is that the city is in financial stress right now and they're looking for money for next year for the budget, but they somehow want to come up with the money to stabilize the buildings when I already have the people lined up to disassemble the buildings. That's what we're doing," Carr said. "Clean up the property and get this ready for real development. We spoke about this trying to save some of the structure, anything we can save, but after the fire now it becomes very difficult."
"This fire occurring at these structures does not change that. The city will continue to pursue eminent domain," said Brown.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.