batavia

It was a sunny, windless morning when Jason Smith took his morning run through DeWitt Recreation Area, and he captured this photo of a glassy lake in the park.

For the first time in a decade and the second time in program history, Batavia's softball players lifted a Section V trophy over their heads after beating Waterloo for the Class B1 crown, 7-2.

Giana Mruczek tossed a complete game three-hitter, fanning seven and going 1-3 at the plate and driving in a run.  She was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Libby Grazioplene went 4-4. Julia Clark had two stolen bases and scored two runs.  

This was the third year straight that Batavia and Waterloo have clashed in sectional finals and the first time in those three contests that Batavia came out on top.

"To beat Waterloo is a big accomplishment," said Coach James Fazio. "I had a feeling that if we made it this far, it was going to be Waterloo again. And it was, thankfully, we're able to get the job done today."

A key difference this year, Fazio said, is Batavia took an early lead.

"They're such a strong hitting team from top to bottom that no lead to safe against them," Fazio said. "For once, we were able to get the lead on them, and that's been our struggle the last couple of years -- we always play from behind. But this time, we put them on their heels, and we were just able to hold on.  They're a tough team, and we were fortunate enough to beat him."

Mruczek said the win felt really special because she and her teammates have worked hard and grown close.

"I think it's very heartfelt," Mruczek said. "This team has worked so hard for these past two years, and this team (Waterloo), they've always come for us. This was the third year playing them, and I think that we really wanted it so bad. This one is just what everyone deserved. I think it's great."

Clark said there was something special about beating Waterloo, given the history between the two teams.

"This means everything," Clark said. "We've fallen so many times to this team, and we don't see him in the regular season. So it's really this game or nothing. So we always have to put our all in."

The win was also special, Clark said, because of the decade between championship trophies for the softball team.

"We haven't won it all in a very long time," Clark said. "We're always division champs and stuff like that. But to finally win a sectional title for our school means a lot."

Other performance highlights:

• Sophia Minuto, 1-3, two RBIs
• Drew Stevens, 1-3, one RBI
• Arianna Almekinder, 1-3, one RBI
• Lyndsey Grazioplene, 1-3

Next up for Batavia: The Class B consolidation game against either Wellsville or Haverling on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Honeoye Falls-Lima HS.

Photos by Howard Owens. To view more photos, click here. 

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Police Department is currently investigating a serious motorcycle vs. passenger vehicle accident that occurred May 26, 2023 on West Main Street at the Tops Supermarket intersection. 

The motorcycle, operated by Gregory Vigiano (age 34), of Batavia, was eastbound on West Main Street at the Tops intersection when a passenger vehicle being operated by Rebecca Santiago (age 32), of Stafford, made an illegal left turn colliding with the motorcycle. 

The victim sustained serious injuries and was transported to Strong Hospital in Rochester via Mercy Flight and is currently listed in guarded/critical condition. The driver of the passenger vehicle was ticketed for making an illegal left turn and operating with a suspended drivers license. The accident remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Officer Sam Freeman at (585) 345-6350 or submit a tip at www.bataviapolice.org. 

Photos by Howard Owens.

As Memorial Day weekend was creeping closer on Friday, Rev. Tom Tharp was already getting his fill of fresh air and sunshine.

No, he wasn’t prepping the grill for a weekend barbecue or mowing the grass to host picnic guests. Rather, Tharp, leader of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Batavia, was up to his elbows in coconut chips, mixing them with water to combine with soil for garden plots behind the Oak Street church.

What prompted the church to build its own community garden?
“We were building it because they were housing all of the homeless population in the town of these two hotels over here. But then that didn't really work out. The hotels were condemned and shut down … but we still thought that there was a need, that the community is nearby the neighborhood, especially down Gateway, Noonan, etc., Oak Street, that people might want to partake of growing their own food,” Tharp said. “And we might meet some of the additional costs that are coming up, over and over, at the grocery stores. It's not like we can provide eggs, though. But the good thing, the price of those has gone down.”

Thanks to a grant and donations of goods and volunteer time, there are 20 garden plots, soil for planting, a 1,000-gallon water tank, donated by Norton Dairy, assorted vegetable seeds, and tools for people to use. The garden is protected by a locked fence, and anyone who buys a plot will receive a key for 24/7 access.

There wasn’t going to be a charge for those that filled a garden plot themselves. However, no one showed up Friday to do that, Tharp said, so he was spending his Friday filling the boxes and testing his own green thumb abilities (he claimed not to have any) by putting in roma tomato plants for a couple of his wife’s plots.

People have so far reserved 11 plots, which means that nine remain available for purchase. They are $20 each. Everything is included, such as seeds for tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peas, different kinds of peppers and other veggies, water, soil and a periodic lesson on gardening how-tos.

“At least you'd be able to get enough for a family, if you have the means of, you know, freezing the stuff and then keeping it for a while. I am not a natural gardener. So I don't know exactly how much we'll get out of this," he said. "We have some people from the church coming out who are going to be planting, and some people in the church who are just donating plants from their gardens to put in. And if we have stuff that doesn't get used, it will go to a local food pantry."

There’s certainly plenty of space for the garden, with about six acres behind the church. Parishioners — church membership is about 45 people — at one point wanted to revamp the softball field so they could begin a softball league during COVID.

The church received a grant, and there was interest, but, because it was COVID — they couldn’t get any contractors to do the work, Tharp said. So they had to return the grant and moved on to another project. “It would have been nice,” he said. “We’ve got the space, and we want to use it.”

For now, though, there is the community garden, and anyone may participate.

“If you have even the slightest bit of green thumb, you can come out and pretty much grow your own vegetables for free here,” Tharp said. "We've got everything that you need to get started. And we'd love to have you."

 For more information, or to reserve your plot, call 585-343-4905.

A motor vehicle accident involving a car and a motorcycle, unknown injuries, is reported in the area of 390 West Main St., Batavia.

In front of Tops.

City Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATED 6:18 p.m. by Joanne Beck: The patient is being transported by Mercy Flight, and the landing zone is being set up at the VA Hospital. 

Mary Tucker was packed and ready to leave her house with some important items Friday.

She had some 2017 pay stubs and insurance documents in a box. Just as she was heading out, her husband asked if she could grab some of his paperwork and take that as well.

“I said that I was all ready to go. I told him no,” Tucker said at the annual Shred Day event downtown. “This is wonderful.”

Hosted by Brighton Securities, this was the 12th yearly event to take in people’s old documents and securely shred them to eliminate any opportunities for identity theft.

There were about a dozen Brighton Securities employees helping to unload boxes and bags of papers — taxes, junk mail, receipts, personal and professional documents deemed obsolete by folks, you name it — and feed them into the shredding truck.

There was even a video camera and screen so that people could view their items being shredded in the moment to know that stuff is actually gone.

What began as a courtesy to customers that first year has blossomed into a free yearly event for a busy line of vehicles, branch manager Steve Hicks said. The event was scheduled from noon to 2 p.m.

“It has grown every year,” he said, as staff members encouraged visitors to grab a bottle of water on their way out. “And now people are so concerned with security, and cybersecurity. It has been nonstop. They started coming at 11:40, and we may even extend it an hour or two.”

Batavia, the #2 seed in the Section V Class B Girls Softball tournament, beat Midlakes on Thursday to advance to the finals, where they will face #1 seed Waterloo on Saturday.

The final score was 5-4.

Libby Grazioplene was 2-4 with three RBIs, including driving in the winning run with a  two-run single.

Julia Clark was 2-3. 

Lila Fortes had an RBi while going 1-4.

Giana Mruzcek tossed a complete game for the win, striking out nine.

Saturday's game is at 11 a.m. at Webster Thomas High School.

Photos by Kristin Smith.  For more, click here.

Move over Islands Hawaiian Grill, a new name, concept and slightly revised menu will be truckin’ into town within the next month or so, owner Kourtney Kunichika says.

She and business partner Mike McCartan plan to unveil the Islands Hawaiian BBQ food truck by the end of June or early July in Genesee County, with other eventual stops to be in Erie and Monroe counties. The grill's last day will be June 10. 

“What I would like people to come away with is an authentic taste of Hawaiian comfort food. Japanese comfort food. And then the fusion of Hawaiian and Japanese comfort food into something that you can walk away with easy. Or take away easy. Street food, that's what I would like,” McCartan of West Seneca said during an interview Friday with The Batavian. “It has to be quality. It does. That's the most important thing. I would like people to walk up, look, maybe (they’re) a little bit uneasy. But hopefully, there's a big wide opening smile to draw people in. Just give us a try. Give it a try. You'll like it.”

Given the positive reception that the brick-and-mortar restaurant has received in Batavia, Kunichika is confident that people are open to trying new cuisines and will enjoy a taste of the islands once they do give it a try. 

She and McCartan are counting on that willingness to transfer to the food truck concept, which will be a quicker-paced lunch experience for items such as a hot chicken sandwich or a shrimp po’boy, a lunch of white rice and mac salad plate, kalua pork and cabbage, Hawaiian bbq short ribs, fish tacos or a big island burger.

Islands Grill opened in August 2019, and it found success at Batavia City Centre on Main Street with an outdoor patio and a regular customer base, Kunichika said. One “bittersweet” aspect of closing the doors will be “I feel like I let my customers down,” she said.

“Because there's a lot of customers, you know, we have a lot of regular customers,” she said. “And we want to be able to offer them the island-style food, and show that we really appreciate and acknowledge that they've been very positive and just definitely built relationships with them and friendships that we want to maintain, and see how they're doing and be able to serve them as well.”

She recently notified her staff of 10 to 15 employees that June 10 will be the site’s last day. Regular business hours for the restaurant will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 9 and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 10.

Kunichika and McCartan hope to have the food truck wrapped in its new logo and on display in front of the restaurant for a special Pride weekend and trial run event from 10 p.m. to midnight on June 9.

As they’re learning — McCartan especially, since his role is the administrator and taking care of county health department and state permits --  is that paperwork can be a time-consuming process. Fingers crossed, they’d like to be serving out of the truck that evening.

McCartan has been a patron of Islands Grill over the last several months, he said, and he and Kunichika struck up a friendship and have been kicking around ideas for some time now. Add to that the arrival of Ryann, Kourtney and her wife Cait’s daughter, and raising a family has added to the stress of restaurant hours and responsibilities, Kourtney said.

“It’s hard not owning the building. And I'm realizing parking is kind of tough in this location. But more so, it's me kind of just now having a family — we have a daughter. She was born almost a year ago now,” she said. “So I think for me, it's just, I'm looking for something with a little more flexibility while being able to still serve the food I really enjoy, and I want to bring to people still in Genesee County, but also Rochester and Buffalo, I'm hoping to be able to serve them as well.”

Anyone with Islands Grill gift certificates may use them at the food truck or redeem them for cash at the restaurant. Food truck hours and dates will be posted online, and the business partners would like to book entire days, versus a few hours at a time, in Genesee County. If any businesses have a parking lot or space for them to set up for a time period, they want to hear from you at islandshawaiianbbq@gmail.com.

This business can even go year-round, McCartan said, and bust through the winter doldrums.

“Say, it’s February, and everyone’s sick of the snow, and you want to have a little get-together, we’ll cater it,” he said. “And we’ll bring a luau to wherever.”

Property owner Ken Mistler said that he has no one going into the restaurant location, which had previously been Larry's Steakhouse. If anyone is interested in a turnkey restaurant, contact Mistler at nys1@me.com.

An alleged open burn with smoke blowing into a residence is reported at 86 South Main St., Batavia.

City Fire dispatched.

Law enforcement is in route.

Press Release:

The West Division Champion, Batavia Muckdogs, have announced their final 10 more members to their 2023 roster. The final Muckdgos include Giuseppe Arcuri from Saint Leo University, James Aselta from Lafayette College, Garrett Beaver from Salisbury University, Tucker Beving University of Wisconsin-Stout, Trace Florio from Lafayette College, Sean Ladd from Dallas College Mountain View, Eric Swiencicki from Le Moyne College, Michael Pedraza from Kentucky St. University, Ben Webber from Salve Regina University, and Lucas Lopez from St. Thomas University.

Standing at 5'9 and weighing 175 pounds, Giuseppe Arcuri is an infielder from Saint Leo University. This past year saw Giuseppe crush the ball when he hit 4 home runs, 17 RBIs, and a .934 on-base slugging. Also, in 2017, Giuseppe won a state championship with the Allentown Redbirds.

Standing at 6’1 weighing 195 pounds, James Aselta is a utility guy from Lafayette College. With an 86-mile-per-hour fastball in his arsenal as well as being able to play behind the plate and in the infield, James will be a great platoon option for this Muckdogs roster. His freshman year saw him pitch 10.2 innings, took 8 at-bats, and had a perfect fielding percentage.

Standing at 6’1 and weighing 175 pounds, Garrett Beaver is a pitcher from Salisbury University. Garrett will be a great addition to the Batavia bullpen due to his 9.2 innings of relief work this past season, he put up a 2.79 era, 11 strikeouts and a 1.03 whip. 

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 150 pounds, Tucker Beving is a pitcher from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Tucker in his freshman season in 8 appearances, recorded 38 strikeouts, a 3-1 record, and opponents had a .239 batting average when Tucker was on the mound.

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 180 pounds, Trace Florio is a left-handed pitcher from Lafayette College. Trace, in high school, was named Most Valuable Pitcher and was a member of the All-FAA First Team during his junior season.

Standing at 6'3 weighing 250 pounds, Sean Ladd is a first and third baseman from Dallas College Mountain View. This past season saw Sean have a .282 batting average, 2 home runs, and a .791 on-base slugging. Also, on stolen bases, he went an efficient 6 for 7.

Standing at 5'11 and weighing 190 pounds, Eric Swiencicki is a pitcher from Le Moyne College. Swiencicki, in his 29 innings pitched this last season, saw him go 2-1 in his 14 total appearances, get 34 strikeouts, and only walk 8 batters.

Standing at 5’10 and weighing 190 pounds, Michael Pedraza is a pitcher from Kentucky St. University. Pedrazza is another addition to the bullpen where he’ll show why this past season, in his 30.2 innings pitched, he recorded 32 strikeouts.

Standing at 6’6 and weighing 210 pounds, Ben Webber is a pitcher from Salve Regina University. The second tallest pitcher on the team, Ben, in the previous season, had 3 starts in which he did not have a loss to his name and also recorded 12 strikeouts to only 3 walks.

Standing at 5’9 and weighing 175 pounds, Lucas Lopez is a second baseman from St. Thomas University. This past season, Lucas had a .216 batting average, along with 12 runs batted in and a .346 on-base percentage.

You can catch the brand new 2023 Batavia Muckdogs complete roster in their home opener at Dwyer Stadium against the Elmira Pioneers on Saturday, June 3rd. Following the opener will be a fireworks display for all to enjoy. For both individual and season tickets, as well as keeping up with future games and promotional nights, please check out our website https://www.canusamuckdogs.com/ or call 585-524-2260!

Press release:

Cub Scouts from Pack 6069 and Boy Scout Troop 6069 placed flags in front of the headstones of veterans at the Batavia Historical Cemetery on Thursday, May 25.

The Troop has been working with the cemetery's historical society for several years on this project. 

It is a pleasure for the Scouts to provide this service to their community. 

Pack 6069 Committee Chairman Bill Brown made sure to take the Cub Scouts to the grave site of Samuel Wood, who is buried there. Sam Wood is the namesake of the Western New York Scout Council Cub Scout Resident Camp located in Pike. Sam Wood was the first Eagle Scout recorded in Genesee County. 

Boy Scout Troop 6069 is chartered through the First Presbyterian Church in Batavia, and Cub Scout Pack 6069 meets at Jackson Primary School.

Jamie Lee Broadbent, 40, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny 4th.  Broadbent is accused of stealing a wallet while at Walmart at 9:02 p.m. on March 20. The wallet reportedly contained cash and multiple credit cards. Broadbent was arrested following an arrest and investigation by Erik Andre. Broadbent was arraigned in Batavia Town Court and ordered to return at a later date.

Adam Daniel Smart, 40, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with forgery 2nd, possession of a forged instrument 2nd, criminal possession of stolen property 5th and petit larceny.  Smart is accused of stealing $800 in cash and a black check from a location of Fargo Road on Feb. 14. He is accused of attempting to forge and cash the check on Feb. 16 at the Bank of America in Batavia. Smart was arrested on May 13 and held pending arraignment.

Shawnna Linn Lamont, 33, of Page Road, Perry, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Lamont was allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance when taken into custody on two warrants at 6 p.m. on May 23 by Deputy Trevor Sherwood.  She was issued an appearance ticket.

Robert Lee Drennen, 41, of Holley Street, Sweden, is charged with harassment 2nd. Drennen is accused of striking another person in the face at the Genesee County Jail on May 16 at 2:30 p.m.  He was arraigned in City Court and ordered to reappear at a later date.

Heather Nicole Holbrook, 38, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 5th and criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Holbrook was charged following a traffic stop by Deputy Nicholas Chamoun at 10 p.m. on Dec. 18. Following an investigation, she is accused of possessing 500mg of cocaine and Suboxone. She was arraigned and ordered to reappear.

Margaret Nicole George, 20, and Kristen Dawn George, 26, both of Council House Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, are charged with grand larceny 4th. Margaret and Kristen are accused of stealing more than $1,000 from a former employer on Bloomingdale Road on April 8.

Brittany Lynn Bolton, 23, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Bolton is accused of stealing $45.32 in merchandise from a store on Veterans Memorial Drive. The Sheriff's Office withheld the name of the store. Bolton was issued an appearance ticket.

Notice of Public Hearing

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held by the Town of Batavia Planning Board regarding an application for a Special Use Permit to construct a multifamily dwelling unit complex containing 80 dwelling units and garages at Med Tech Park on Stephen Hawley Drive in the Town of Batavia, NY.  This land is zoned Planned Unit Development (PUD) District – Tax Map #9.-1-213, 9.-1-214, 9.-1-215 and 9.-1-216.21.

Said hearing will be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at the Batavia Town Hall, 3833 West Main St. Rd. at which time all interested persons will be heard.   Written comments will be accepted prior to that date.  You may email the Chairman at kjasinski@townofbatavia.com.

When The Batavian covered the opening of Jagged Edges 12 years ago, owner Amanda Lowe was clearly a bit nervous about opening a business.

"It was a big jump, for sure," Lowe told The Batavian today at the grand opening of her business's new location, 4 State St., in Downtown Batavia. A dozen years ago, she was an experienced hairstylist but had never run her own business before.

This next big step, a more upscale location that moves the business out of a strip mall, is definitely exciting, she said.

"I've learned a lot over the 12 years," Lowe said.  "There's a lot of growth in different areas. But definitely, having a great team of girls to share everything with makes it so much more enjoyable."

In the beginning, it was Amanda and her sister Sarah, who is still with her, and two other stylists who changed locations with her from another hair salon in town where they all rented booths.

Now she has nine employees and an interior at her new location that is more fashionable and inviting.

Regular customers at Jagged Edges over the past decade could definitely see the business growing, and Lowe said she was driven to see it grow and get better.

"I'm definitely a goal-setter," Lowe said. "I like to see that growth, and it was super exciting and so meaningful. Even through ups and downs, and every business has ups and downs, we always continued to grow. That was just all the hard work that goes into it, so it was rewarding to see all that happen."

The new space is something she had her eye on for a while, she said. She was looking for something that flowed better and was better suited to the brand of her business, which specializes in hair coloring and providing just that perfect hairstyle for each customer.

It's a new location with more space, but Lowe said she has no plans to branch out into other lines of business. She knows what she and her team do best.

"We do hair," she said. "We do it well. That's what we like to do, and we work together well."

Previously (from 2011): From dream to reality, Batavia woman opens her own salon

Press Release:

The West Division Champion, Batavia Muckdogs, have announced 10 more members to their 2023 roster. These new Muckdogs include Rashad Robinson from Bishop State Community College, Kyle Hetherington from Lipscomb University, Galvin Sims Jr from Dyersburg State Community College, Thomas Blaydes from the University of Rochester, Victor Alongi from Genesee Community College, Zach Kasperowicz from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Preston Prince from Niagara University, Matt DeStefano from Stony Brook College, Steven Oates from Stillman College, and Jack Keeler from the University of Fort Lauderdale.

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 160 pounds, Rashad Robinson is a freshman second baseman/outfielder from Bishop State Community College. Robinson has been impressive at the plate with a .388 batting average and also possesses the ability to bring his teammates home with 31 RBIs to match.

Standing at 5’11 and weighing 195 pounds, Kyle Hetherington is an outfielder from Lipscomb University. In his first year of Division I baseball, Hetherington proved he belonged with a .500 average, including a 1.250 on-base slugging as well as 2 home runs in only 8 at-bats. 

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 205 pounds, Galvin Sims Jr. is an infielder from Dyersburg State Community College. This past year he was ranked in the top 500 of all JUCO players going into the Spring 2023 season. In his senior season of high school baseball, he had a .500 batting average, 1.434 on-base slugging, and 34 RBIs.

Standing at 5’10 and weighing 195 pounds, Thomas Blaydes is a pitcher from the University of Rochester. In his junior season, Blaydes had 8 appearances for the Yellow Jackets in which he had 3 strikeouts in two innings against St. Lawrence and impressively struck out the side against Cairn.

Standing at 5’9 and weighing 190 pounds, Victor Alongi is an infielder from Genesee Community College. This past season, Alongi had a .348 batting average, a 979 on-base slugging, and had an efficient 7 for 8 on stolen bases.

Standing at 5’10 and weighing 185 pounds, Zach Kasperowicz is a catcher from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Before arriving at the Division I level, Kasperowicz played at Bergen Community College, where he had a .353 batting average along with a .500 on-base percentage.

Standing at 6’4 and weighing 205 pounds, Preston Prince is a lefty pitcher from Niagara University via Hilton, New York. In his 10.2 innings pitched this past season for Niagara, Prince racked up 12 strikeouts.

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 190 pounds, Matt DeStefano is an outfielder from Stony Brook College. Being in the outfield is where DeStefano’s value on the baseball field shows, as this past season, he had a perfect fielding percentage. DeStefano also scored the game-winning run against the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Standing at 6’2 and weighing 205 pounds, Steven Oates is a pitcher from Stillman College. This past season on the mound saw him strike out 30 batters in only 28 innings. Oates finished with a record of 2-2 in his 6 starts and only allowed 2 home runs. 

Standing at 6’3 and weighing 210 pounds, Jack Keeler is a pitcher from the University of Fort Lauderdale. Keeler, in his sophomore season, made some giant improvements lowering his ERA from a 4.63 to a 2.41. In this past season, Jack also recorded 27 strikeouts and allowed no home runs.

You can see all of these new players from this list in their home opener at Dwyer Stadium against the Elmira Pioneers on Saturday, June 3. Following the opener will be a fireworks display for all to enjoy. For both individual and season tickets, as well as keeping up with future games and promotional nights, please check out our website https://www.canusamuckdogs.com/ or call (585)-524-2260!

When you hear the term block party, what comes to mind?

For City Councilman-at-large Bob Bialkowski, he thinks of idyllic picnics on Kingsbury Avenue for a barbecue, children's games and everyone going home by sundown, whereas Jerry Smith Jr. envisions food and craft vendors, a heavy musical lineup, T-shirts to commemorate the event and fun that goes well into the evening.

While block parties can stray in structure and size, they typically have one thing in common: they are meant to bring folks together to get to know one another and — ideally — strengthen the neighborhood.

While Smith believed that happened for his southside block party last year, others in his neighborhood had different feelings, as expressed to various council members. Before the summer party season begins this year, members of council wanted to revisit a few elements of that party that seemingly went off the rails, Bialkowski said.

“The whole thing was a disaster last year,” the councilman-at-large said, adding that nearby residents complained about various issues. “People sat on (one resident’s) front porch and on her lawn furniture, and wouldn’t move. She was afraid to tell him to get off her driveway, and she couldn’t leave. And other people had the same problem. The neighborhood hadn’t been notified about the block party, people couldn’t get into their driveways.”

Bialkowski asked to put the issue on Monday’s conference agenda for the group to discuss. There were other complaints, apparently, about loud and late-night music, street access being blocked off by barricades, a barbecue and smoker grill blowing volumes of smoke into adjacent homes and concerns that streets were full of vendors with little room for emergency vehicles to access if necessary.

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said he doesn’t think anyone purposely did anything wrong; it’s just a matter of following through on some ground rules. Yes, sometimes a neighborhood party may inconvenience folks a bit, but it shouldn't prevent them from getting into or out of their own homes or otherwise enjoying their environments, he said. 

“It's not a problem. I mean, as long as they follow the rules, there's no problem,” Jankowski said. “No one called the police, no one called the authorities, no one knew who was running the party, the people that complained really weren't sure what was going on. So they didn't know who to contact. So later on, they contacted council members and said that they were upset because the block party had caused them some inconvenience. Some of those inconveniences were being unable to get in their driveway, strangers walking on their front lawn and such. And they didn't know what was going on. And they were concerned.”

Smith told The Batavian that he was unaware of any complaints, as none had been addressed to him directly. He had not attended the council meeting when his application was reviewed last year either.  He is planning to have another block party this year, and he said that he will notify the street of the event. 

He was bothered that there might be something else going on related to the complaints, primarily that he and many party attendees are black.

Jankowski said that their racial makeup has no effect on him, and he lives on the southside and has no issues with anyone. He then took pause to reflect on that issue for a minute.

“Let's just talk about the elephant in the room here. It's not uncommon that any time somebody has an issue, it's a race-related issue, right? Everybody's got this on their mind. And they're in, so everybody's trying to say, Well, it's because we've had a block party and because we're black. Yeah. Nice try, but no, it’s because people couldn't get to their driveways,” Jankowski said. “And, you know, I live on this side of town. And it's a diverse side of town. Italian, Polish, black, Hispanic, everybody's fine. I don't see any problem. It's a peaceful place to live, it’s the best-kept secret of Batavia.

“So, you know, like I said, some disconnect took place within the parameters and, and if everything is done safely and through the health department, if you're going to be charging people for food … parties sometimes, it causes inconveniences, but maybe we should put a mechanism for someone to be aware of one of those, if you're gonna have a block party, you need to make sure everybody in the neighborhood knows what's going on,” he said. “And that they can get in and out of their driveway at all times. And that emergency traffic can go through at all times, you’re not blocking it off.”

City Manager Rachael Tabelski summarized the main points to be highlighted to applicants:

• Local traffic must be able to get through, you certainly can't block the driveway.
• You can't block emergency access.
• You're not to go on other's property who don't offer it as part of the celebration, things of that nature.
• You have to make outreach to the neighbors, whether it's knocking on doors, flyers -- something personal -- so that everyone understands what is going on and how it will affect their neighborhood.

“The last question I had was a topic that came up, do you have to be a neighborhood resident to throw the party? Council member Richmond brought it up, I just want clarity on how the rest of the council feels,” Tabelski said, getting her answer. “Okay, so in this case … the majority of times when these parties are thrown, it is a resident of that neighborhood who tries to open their yard or their home in the street.”

After council’s discussion on Monday, they agreed that city staff would be more communicative with applicants so that both sides would be better informed about events. Bialkowski was satisfied with the end result, he said.

“What I had hoped to accomplish, I think, is accomplished. The staff’s going to review these things from here on in. Police should need to send somebody down when they have one to make sure everything's copacetic,” Bialkowski said.

He also had a suggestion for Smith, who is planning to submit an event application for an ambitious-sounding block party this year: maybe he’d want to consider having it at a park instead.

Troop A of the New York State Police honored those troopers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty in a ceremony at the Batavia Barracks on Tuesday.

Photos courtesy of the New York State Police.

St. Paul Lutheran School is holding its annual fundraiser auction at the school on Washington Avenue on June 3.

The school has been hosting the event since 1999, and it benefit's the school's Tuition Assistance Program.  

"We don't want to turn away any families away due to a financial issue," said Principal Susan Wakefield. "Many of our school families have made use of this program over the years."

There will be a live auction, basket raffle and snack shop.  Donations have come in from local businesses, school families, church members, and St. Paul alum.