batavia

If the City of Batavia is going to address the concerns of some residents about an apparent deer overpopulation, an expert told the City Council on Monday night, the solution will require study and consideration and will need to be an ongoing effort for many years to come.

"It's not something you can just do once," said Susan D. Booth-Binczik (top photo), a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. "The deer are not going to stop doing what they do. They're not going to go away. Whatever you do, you have to do it year after year. Otherwise, you're going to end up right back where you started."

City Council President Eugene Jankowski said the city will soon appoint members to a committee to study the issue and come up with a plan for the city to pursue.

Deer become a problem, Booth-Binczik said, when the populations in certain areas become too large. Besides destroying property and presenting a road hazard, they upset the balance of the natural habitat.

And population centers are a natural place for deer herds to grow and become comfortable.

"Deer do really well living with us -- they're in our neighborhoods because we've created sort of deer habitat," Booth-Binczik said. "There's plenty of food, a lot of it in our yards and gardens. There's plenty of the edge they like because we like patches of forest mixed in with our lawns and golf courses and there isn't a lot of mortality."

If there isn't a mortality rate of at least 30 percent per year, deer populations will grow, and left unchecked, a deer population in a particular area will double in size very two to three years.

Killing deer, preferably does, may be the most effective way to reduce the deer population.

Solutions range from efforts to encourage or enable hunting to culling.

Culling involves allowing hunters to kill deers outside the regular hunting regulations, such as out-of-season, at night, and with bait.

Or the city could become the lead agency -- or allow another organization to be it -- and work out rules and guidelines for hunters so hunters could more easily go after deer in and around the city. This would mean getting permission from property owners for hunters to go on their land to either hunt or retrieve dead deer.

"What the municipality can increase residents' comfort level with -- the idea of hunting in the community -- is to run what's called a controlled hunt," Booth-Binczik said. "This is just a way to formalize the ability of the local landowners have to set restrictions on hunters that they allow on their property."

Typically these programs only allow hunters to kill does but since most hunters want bucks for the trophy of antlers, the city could provide a hunter with a permit to kill a buck after first killing two or three does as an incentive to first hunt does.

Thinning deer herds is important not just for community residents, Booth-Binczik said, but for the entire ecosystem.

"They essentially eat all of the plants on the forest floor," she said. "So they reduce plant diversity by destroying habitat. They reduce wildlife diversity. And they also threaten the future existence of the forest because when a big tree dies and falls, there's nothing to replace it because the deer have eaten all the baby trees."

Le Roy Police Department is putting on a special charity event on Saturday, Nov. 30, to help Genesee County families in need this holiday season.

Le Roy PD will be joined by New York State Police - Troop A in Batavia, New York State Environmental Conservation Police, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Batavia Police Department, Corfu Police Department, Genesee County Probation and Rotary International.

"Stuff the Cruiser" will take place 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. in the Target parking lot at Towne Center at Batavia on Veterans Memorial Drive.

Bring unwrapped toys, new clothing and nonperishable foods to stuff in a police vehicle. This is a kid friendly event, fun for the whole family.

More than 2 1/2 hours after the scheduled start time for a hearing a motion on allegations that Durin Rogers, City Court judge and assistant county attorney, has a conflict of interest in a Family Court matter, a reporter from The Batavian was denied access to hear arguments in the case.

Erin P. DeLabio, a judge from Erie County handling the motion after Judge Eric Adams recused himself, wouldn't even allow the reporter into the courtroom to make an argument for public transparency on the motion or grant a motion to delay the case until the reporter could obtain legal counsel. 

A deputy said DeLabio said that the motion was part of a sensitive matter.

According to a legal expert we consulted, Family Court is open to the public though individuals can be excluded from sensitive cases based on a finding supported by evidence. A motion about the attorneys in the case is not sensitive to the attorneys and the legal guardian of any children involved can consent to the presence of third-party observers.

There's no indication that DeLabio based her decision to exclude the press, and thwart public transparency of a case involving a fellow member of the judiciary, on any evidence nor that the legal guardian of the minors was consulted as to their position on a reporter being present for only the motion portion of the case.

Last month, attorney Thomas Burns filed a motion seeking to have Rogers removed from a Family Court case because of what Burns perceives as a conflict of interest.

The motion alleges that Rogers -- as a sitting, part-time Batavia City Court judge, with Burns' client also facing criminal charges in City Court -- has an apparent conflict of interest because Rogers has access to City Court documents and his position means he tries cases with other members of the county's criminal justice system who might also be involved in both cases. 

"As this court is certainly aware, and as DCA Rogers should be aware," Burns wrote in his motion, "a judge is obligated to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the judge's activities and a judge is obligated to respect and comply with the law and is obligated to act at all times in a manner that promotes the confidence of the public in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary," Burns wrote in his motion. "As this court is also aware, the judicial duties of a judge take precedence over all of the judge's other activities."

In a response to The Batavian for publication of the original story (see link above), Rogers denied there was a conflict of interest.

Photo: Taken of Erie County Judge Erin P. DeLabio from outside Genesee County Family Court through the doorway window.

Press release from the Batavia-based Libertarian Party of New York:

Yesterday, the New York Campaign Finance Commission voted to raise the threshold for political parties to gain ballot access. In so doing, they voted to deny choices to the millions of New Yorkers who are fed up with the two major parties.

All New Yorkers should know this: THE FIX IS IN.

Despite the claims of Jay Jacobs, minor parties are not “sham parties.” The Libertarian Party earned ballot access in 2018 with 95,000 votes. Now, Andrew Cuomo wants to move the goalposts further back to 130,000.

Unless the state legislature acts, this change will become state law. We call upon the legislature to reverse this shameful decision and allow voters a choice.

The Libertarian Party of New York is determined to fight for fair and open elections for all New Yorkers and will use every resource available to us.

SHAME ON ANDREW CUOMO AND SHAME ON JAY JACOBS!

Libertarian Party of New York

P.O. Box 1627

Batavia, NY 14021-1627

Submitted image and press release:

Northgate Free Methodist Church invites the community to its annual Vintage Christmas event on Friday, Dec. 6. This family friendly event will be “come and go as you please,” from 6 to 8 p.m.

Enjoy a guided tour of a live nativity through the community prayer walk, complete with yuletide carols and hot chocolate. Come decorate cookies, visit with Santa, enjoy a few classic Christmas movies on our outdoor movie screen, all while staying cozy around a campfire.

There will be a small devotional presented at 7 p.m., to ready our hearts and minds for the Christmas season, accompanied by a magnificent tree lighting.

This is a free event, open to all ages. Northgate Free Methodist Church is located at 8160 Bank Street Road, Batavia.

For more information, contact the Northgate office at 585-343-4011 or visit northgatefmc.com.

Get ready for some family fun!

• Take a Photo with Santa
• Free Kids Games & Activities
• Free Wagon Rides
• Free Hot Chocolate and Snacks!
• & Much More

The Park Place Event Center​ is located inside Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel at 8315 Park Road, Batavia.

Click here for more information on this event!

After 35 years in the pizza business, 15 years as an owner, Paul Berardini, owner of Big Pauly's Pizza in Batavia, has decided it's time to stop tossing dough and do something else with his life.

He's sold his business to his manager, Angela Cinquino. She opens Cinquino Pizza at the same location on Ellicott Street next week.

In a way, the business has come full circle. Berardini's first job was in the pizza shop of Cinquino's father.

"My father had a pizzeria when I was a kid so (the pizza business) is kind of in our family our whole lives and I figured since my father passed away 15 years ago so I could just bring back the tradition," Cinquino said.

At 50 years old, Berardini said he's had enough of the grind of running his own restaurant.

"I haven't had a vacation in three years," Berardini said. "I've worked every night and weekend for 35 years. I have worked on holidays. I've worked Christmas Eve, Super Bowls. It's gonna be nice to just relax."

He said Cinquino is going to do a great job.

"She knows everybody that comes to the door," Bernardini said. "She has her customer base and they love her. They're excited. They're excited for her.  ... I think she'll do very well and she will be the second female pizza owner in town. I think that's also good for business, too. You know, as a woman in business, in a pizzeria, it's not a hot dog cart. This is big business."

Cinquino said she's developing her own logo and new signs will be out soon. She's changing the decor of the restaurant but all of the recipes will remain the same. She might expand the menu but nothing will be removed, she said. She's also keeping all of Pauly's staff and she will get more help from her family.

As for Berardini, he'll see what comes next.

"I made it 15 years as a business owner in Batavia I just decided to try something different," Berardini said. "I mean, I obviously have to work. You know, this isn't a Mark Zuckerberg deal where I'm going to make $50 billion. I still have to work. But, you know, this helps me clear up some debt and move on to another chapter of my life."

Despite holding police officers at bay for 20 hours a week ago, despite a prior felony conviction, despite alleged mental health and substance abuse issues, under the state's new bail reform rules, Daniel Wolfe could have gotten out of jail today at no cost.

Judge Charles Zambito was only able to set bail in the case because Wolfe allegedly violated a stay-away order of protection by twice trying to contact his girlfriend, whom he allegedly abused Nov. 18 before barricading himself in his apartment at 209 Liberty St., Batavia.

Without the allegation of those phone calls, Zambito would have been forced to release Wolfe under terms of the new bail standards.

The new bail reform guidelines -- designed primarily to address pretrial confinement issues in New York City -- don't take effect until Jan. 1. But First Assistant District Attorney Melissa Cianfrini made her request for bail under the new rules because otherwise Wolfe would be entitled to a bail review Jan. 1, when he's still likely to be in pretrial status awaiting further court proceedings in his case.

In setting the amount of bail, Zambito was allowed to consider other factors in the case that indicate Wolfe's potential to flee the court's jurisdiction. These include: the 20-hour standoff; the potential for a harsher sentence because of Wolfe's 2012 felony conviction; his potential for untreated mental health and substance abuse issues; and the fact he has a relative in Alaska, where he lived for a while in 2012.

Zambito also could take into account the fact that Wolfe doesn't have an apparent place to live now that his apartment is destroyed, though he also needed to consider Wolfe's inability to pay cash bail because he isn't employed.

Zambito set bail at $10,000 cash, $25,000 insurance bond, or $50,000 partially secured bond. Cianfrini requested $25,000 cash bail and Public Defender Jerry Ader requested $5,000 bail.

Previously:

• Liberty Street standoff ends; suspect being transported by ambulance
• Video: Part I of the Liberty Street standoff
• Video: End of the 20-hour standoff on Liberty Street
• Subject of 20-hour standoff on Liberty Street facing at least five criminal charges
• Defendant in 20-hour standoff appears in court, case continued to Dec. 1

As "Movember" comes to a close, members of the Batavia Police Department presented a donation of $2,215 to Genesee Cancer Assistance.

During November, officers were allowed to grow facial hair so long as they paid "fines" to Genesee Cancer Assistance.

Female members of the department also made donations and the Police Benevolent Association made a sizable donation, too.

Developer Sam Savarino heads into the holiday season optimistic that once the weather clears in the spring he will finally be able to begin construction on Ellicott Station -- the restaurant/brewery, apartment, and office complex on the former Della Penna and Santy properties on Ellicott Street in the City of Batavia.

Savarino said within days, once the application window is open, Savarino Companies will submit an application for funding assistance to the state's Home and Community Renewal agency and he expects a determination to be reached in January sometime.

It was good news last week, he said, when he learned that the Department of Environmental Conservation had opened public comment period for expedited remediation of environmental contamination at the sites.

Work will begin with cleanup of contamination followed by demolition of a portion of the main Della Penna building (the front part) and the rest of the buildings on the two sites. Then construction of the restaurant and brewery for Resurgence Brewing Company in Buffalo will begin.

If all goes according to schedule, the total project -- including office space and 55 apartments -- will be completed in October 2021.

There's a significant change in the funding plan. Savarino initially intended to finance the $19 million project (now $1.4 million more than the earlier estimates) using a federal program known as the New Market Tax Credit, where investors could get a tax break for backing the project.

Savarino said the timing of the project no longer favors using the New Market Tax Credit program.

He said, "a lot more of my money" is going into the construction of the multi-use complex to ensure the project is fully financed.

Richard Umlauf is taking up the cause of getting a new skateboard park built in Batavia.

Until a few years ago, there was one behind Falleti Ice Arena off of Evans, but the location meant it got little use and it became a magnet for low-level drug use, according to police.

Umlauf is aware of those issues so he connected with Tony Hawk Foundation, which provides grants, in conjunction with the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, to help build community skate parks.

Last Saturday, Umlauf organized the first meeting for skatepark supporters Trevor Staples, who is with the Tony Hawk Foundation, flew in from Michigan to attend the meeting and explain how the grant program works.

It will be up to a group of committed skateboard park supporters to raise as much as $250,000 for a skate park. The foundations will match up to $250,000, making a $500,000 park possible. 

The organizers will also need to secure the support of the city as well as space for the park from the city, perhaps in an existing city park.

The owner of Bourbon & Burger Co. and The Coffee Press, Derek Geib, has acquired Ken's Charcoal Pits from local businessman Ken Mistler.

"Essentially, Kenny was just at the point where he wanted to sell and I was at the point where it made sense," Geib said.

What attracted Geib to the property was its location and its unique amenities, such as a first-class downstairs banquet facility, a brick pizza oven, an outdoor, all-season patio, and the walk-in food counter at the front of the building.

"Kenny's put a ridiculous amount of money and time into this location," Geib said. "It's got access on Main Street and from the parking lot, beautiful downstairs banquet space, the outdoor patio, which is unlike any other in Batavia. I mean, he's got one-of-kind pizza, the charcoal pit that's in the front. There was just there's so much potential in this space and in Kenny's put it in a position to be very successful."

Mistler purchased the building a few months after the former South Beach Restaurant closed its doors suddenly in 2009. He operated the restaurant as South Beach for a short time and then changed the name to City Slickers. About a year ago, he changed the name to Ken's Charcoal Pits.

Geib isn't ready to announce the new name of the restaurant and said that while the main restaurant menu will change, the pizza and charcoal pits will remain the same.

"We'd like to have this all done early next year, which is very aggressive," Geib said.

Mistler owns several other downtown properties, including the former Genesee Bank building at Jackson and Main and the former Carr's building. We couldn't reach him late this afternoon for comment but Geib said Mistler will still be around. He's offered to continue to help with the business and he enjoys cooking pizza.

Previously:

• New tavern and burger joint opens on Jackson Street
• The Coffee Press on Jackson Street, now open, aims to be hometown hangout

Cynthia M. Mack, 52, of South Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with first-degree criminal contempt and third-degree assault. Mack was arrested at about 8 p.m. on Nov. 15 after an incident at a residence on South Swan Street. She allegedly punched a person in the face, causing a laceration. Mack has an order of protection against her. She was arraigned in Batavia City Court and jailed without bail. She was due to return to court on Nov. 18. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Jordan McGinnis, assisted by Officer Wesley Rissinger.

Christina Elaine Taylor, 38, of South Academy Street, Medina, is charged with driving while intoxicated and speeding -- exceeding 55 mph. She was arrested at 12:50 a.m. on Nov. 21 on Alleghany Road in Alabama following a traffic stop. Taylor was issued appearance tickets and is due in Alabama Town Court on Dec. 18. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jordan Alejandro, assisted by Deputy Austin Heberlein.

There's some progress to report on the development of Ellicott Station though the finish line for the project isn't yet clearly in sight.

This week, the Department of Environmental  Conservation opened a public comment period for an expedited cleanup of contamination at the Ellicott Station Site, 40-52 Ellicott St., which is part of the Brownfield Cleanup Program. 

The comment period is open through Dec. 20. 

City Manager Martin Moore explained this afternoon that the fact that the DEC has opened an expedited comment period means that the developer, Savarino Companies, has requested permits for the cleanup work, which the DEC states will take place this winter.  

Still pending for Savarino is the final piece of the puzzle of a complex financing plan that includes support from Homes and Community Renewal, a state agency. 

An application for assistance was turned down last year and the application process this year ends in December. It's unclear how long it will take for Savarino to get a response on the application.

"To his credit," Moore said, "he hired a consultant experienced in working with Homes and Community Renewal."

Sam Savarino did not respond to a text message sent to him earlier today asking for an update on the project.

The vast majority of financing for the $17.6 million project will come from private funds, either Savarino's own money or investment by private institutions individuals through the New Markets Tax Credit Program. To be financially viable on a brownfield site in an economically distressed neighborhood, the project needs state assistance and tax abatements through the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

Once completed, Ellicott Station is expected to add 68 full-time equivalent jobs in the community and will include the construction of 99,000 square feet of brewery, restaurant and beer garden, plus a five-story apartment building with 55 apartments and office space.

For previous coverage, click here. For details on the site cleanup and the public comment period, click here (pdf).

In 1994, Ken Barrett and partner Virgil Austin purchased a Chevrolet dealership with seven decades of service to the residents of Genesee County and yesterday, Barrett, along with representatives of General Motors, celebrated the 25th anniversary of Ken Barrett Chevrolet Cadillac.

On hand to present Barrett with the dealership's 25-year awards were Natalie Taylor, Chevrolet zone manager, Dan Oldham, district after-sales manager, and Weston Lee, district sales manager.

Today, Ken Barrett's employs 41 people.

The roots of the dealership go back to Mancuso Motors in the 1920s when the Mancuso family operated the dealership where T.F. Brown's and Mancuso Lanes are now. In the 1960s, the dealership was relocated to West Main Street, the current location of Ken Barrett's, and became Batavia Motors.  

Dave Heinrich Sr. purchased the dealership from the Mancuso family in 1990. Four years later he sold it to Barrett and Austin. Austin passed in 2013 at age 93. Barrett said Austin continued to work up until a few months before he died.

In 2003, Barrett's built a new showroom and over the years expanded its collision center from 4,400 square feet to more than 16,500 square feet, with the most recent upgraded completed in 2011.

Ken Barrett said it's great to hit the 25-year milestone.

"You know, don't use a rearview mirror, so everything is looking forward," Barrett said. "I have absolutely no regrets. There's a lot of unanticipated challenges between the regulations and the pace of change, which we all deal with. I've been very fortunate. I should say, we've been very fortunate that we've been able to have an exceptional staff.

"And by and large, they cared deeply for the customers. They worked well together. There's a real sense of teamwork. And if, heaven forbid, a ball gets dropped, usually somebody else is right there to pick it up."

This year is also the 25th anniversary of the Salvation Army/WBTA/Ken Barrett Toy Drive, which is Dec. 13. Barrett said the dealership has contributed more than $500,000 to local organizations and charities over the years.

"We are firm believers in supporting the community that supports us," Barrett said.