In a city where property owners are routinely taken to task over infractions of zoning ordinances, building codes and other minor violations, many wonder how a major hazardous waste site could be demolished and a 400-car parking lot built in its place without a single permit.
The former Acheson Graphite plant, long listed on the state Environmental Protection Agency's list of hazardous asbestos-laden sites, was dynamited to the ground in a series of late night blasts during September and October, 2000.
Ontario Specialty Contracting, the company responsible for the demolition, didn't even bother applying for permits until Oct. 6, 2000, weeks after neighborhood residents reported the work had begun, and didn't pay for and receive the permits until Oct. 13, when the work had been all but completed.
State environmental officials said they were never informed the work was taking place, and the entire demolition project was completed without the benefit of any oversight.
At the time, Mayor Irene Elia and City Administrator Al Joseph said it would be "idiotic" to stop the work simply because it was being illegally performed, since Harry Williams, the owner of the property, had told them the demolition needed to be completed quickly because a specialty steel company planned to locate there and time was of the essence.
The steel plant, of course, never materialized, and complaints from Mackenna Avenue residents whose neighborhood was blanketed by clouds of possibly hazardous dust following the blasts fell on deaf ears at City Hall.
Fast forward to the autumn of 2002, when a company called Acquest Empire touted the former Acheson site as the ideal location for an employee parking lot to the Seneca Niagara Gaming Corp.
The environmental concerns remained. In fact, signs posted on the chain-link fence surrounding the Buffalo Avenue site warned of the asbestos danger, and required those entering to don respirators and protective clothing because of the "cancer and lung disease" threat posed by airborne asbestos.
But the parking lot project went ahead anyway.
In December of 2002, City Court Judge Angelo Morinello issued an order allowing Acquest Empire to build the parking lot on the site without the needed permits. This was because the Seneca Niagara Casino would be opening soon and employees needed a place to park. The ruling also contained an order requiring that all needed permits be obtained, and construction completed, within six months.
"If it's not completed within six months, this will be in violation, and the city will bring additional charges, including whatever violations," Morinello said at the December hearing.
That was seven months ago. The project is still not complete and has yet to receive approval from the city Planning Board. In March, City Engineer Ashok Kapoor suggested city police cruisers blockade the lot.
Homeowners and businessmen who've been hassled by city inspectors for minor infractions are outraged.
"I got a stop work order one time for trying to replace a broken window," a Sixth Street resident complained. "I guess it's all just who you know."
Paul Moreale, co-owner of Third Street Liquors, said playing by the rules doesn't count for much with the Elia administration.
"Even before we opened, we tried to make sure every 'i' was dotted and every 't' was crossed as far as the city was concerned," he said. "I read stuff like this and I feel like an idiot."
Perhaps if Moreale's last name was Williams, the situation would be different.
The Williams family, principals in Ontario Specialty Contracting, Acquest Empire, the Empire Development Acquisition Co. and owners of the Acheson property, have been active in Republican Party politics, and donated money to the Elia campaign. They were permitted to tear down a hazardous waste site and put up a parking lot completely beyond the pale of any rule of law.
If, in the wake of the Laborers Local 91 indictments, the FBI is looking for something to investigate, they couldn't find a better case.
"We treat everybody the same, no matter who you are," City Administrator Al Joseph said regarding the controversy.
And pigs can fly.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | July 22 2003 |