If there is anyone in the City of Batavia that is more anti-city council then me I would like to meet them. I have for many years written to the Daily asking for reforms in the spending patterns of the City. Mr. Mallow has and will continue to hear from me when I feel that the council is spending to much time or money on an issue that will cost the taxpayers. Now reading some of your postings have me alittle miffed at the idea that you feel as though 1 dollar of taxpayers money should be used to improve the way you do business. If you want improvements in the mall then pay for them. You mention that some of the negotiations going on are sensitve and should not be made public. BULL...if it is about tax dollars being spent then everyone in the city needs to know. Jason malino is in a no win situation having as many bosses that he has. He is tasked by the council to do the negotaitions with the MMA and that is who you have to deal with. If you don't like it then will you go home to your mommy and cry that you are going to leave the mall. Dr. Chess just deal with Mr. Malino and if you don't like it then vote out the council members you don't like and start over. That is the way the system works..By the way do you live in the City ?
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Very well put Wayne..I too
Very well put Wayne..I too have had enough of these tax payer financed money pits..Were is the return on investment.How many jobs are created by having that mall.All i every see is city workers cleaning the front of city hall and weeding all those bushes we needed on main street..Another waste..
The mall sucks the life right
The mall sucks the life right out of Main Street -- Big blank brick wall, empty cavern into a parking lot ... not visually appealing ... not inviting to walk main ... a sense of emptiness rather than vibrancy. There should be store fronts there.
Hello Mr. Bell, My name is
Hello Mr. Bell,
My name is Conor Flynn
Nice to meet you.
I know this is an old post
I know this is an old post but I always wondered why there is not alot of business in the mall? Is it expensive or something? I'm not really up to date on the mall issues this is why I ask!
Tom
HEY TOM You just had to bring
HEY TOM
You just had to bring this topic up again.probably wouldn't of replied, but i drove through Warsaw today and it reminded of the way main street looked when we all were younger.The old buildings on BOTH sides of main street.
Here's an answer. Unlike
Here's an answer. Unlike other malls, our “mall” was not owned by any one person or group. The city owns the concourse, but not the stores. Each store is individually owned and that is what killed the mall.
With no one owner calling the shots, each owner decided when to open up, when to close and what days they would be open. You could go at 9 am, and a few stores would be open, but never the one you wanted. You go at 7 pm, and some are open, but again not the one you wanted. Some were open weekends, some just Saturday. People got tired of it. They wanted one place to go, where the hours and days were all the same, one stop shopping. That’s the way most malls are.
The owners just could not agree. Then a few businesses became medical offices. Well, patients go there, but they do not usually spend any extra time or money in the mall. More stores went under and more medical and other non retail businesses came in. Then City Hall came and took up more space. Everyone claimed that City Hall would attract more business, but it didn’t. This thing was badly planned from the start. On top of all that, it’s ugly.
My wife and I just finished
My wife and I just finished watching this DVD of films about modern design.
The last segment was probably produced in the early 1950s.
It was all about how by 1960, old buildings, outmoded business districts would be torn down to make room for more efficient cities.
We couldn't help but think of Bill Kauffman talking about old Batavia being torn down in the name of progress.
The mall gives progress a bad name, don't you think?
I just can't relate to people thinking that that -- that everything old is outmoded and must be replaced.
Some things need to be replaced, but we also need to recognize what was done well and right in the past should be retained.
Just look at Ellicott
Just look at Ellicott Ave...all old well built homes..
The people responsible for
The people responsible for the mall made their money over and over as they moved from one phase of the distruction of the business district to the next. Each time they were paid, well, for moving out of the next phase before their eventual move into the mall.
Look into the original plans for the mall. What percentage of the mall needed to be occupied before the business owners were required to pay their full share of the tax burden? What was the criteria for opening a new business in the mall? Was there an exclusive clause in the contract that stymied other businesses similar to those already there from moving to the mall?
The design of the mall (and of GCC) seem to be a reflection of the barns and silos seen in the area. It was poorly designed; poorly administered; and greed was the underlying factor. At the same time the greedy were skimming Urban Renewal money in Batavia, other cities like Corning. were making great strides in spending their funds on a Main Street that was appealing and inviting to business owners and consumers alike.
No one is more aware than I that you can't go back, but Batavia's use of the Urban Renewal funds was ill spent on a design that did nothing to define what Batavia and Genesee County offered. There were many voices that opposed this design and many who were appalled at the obvious pandering to a handful of business owners.