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Street fight on State Street

By Billie Owens

Six juveniles are reportedly fighting in front of 126 State St. in the City of Batavia. Police are responding.

Laura Westfall

Well Gary, technically, 126 is on State St RIGHT BETWEEN HUTCHINS AND LEWIS ! ! ! So no, your not losing your mind. That area has become to be known for police activity!!! Sad! That use to be a decent place to live!

Nov 13, 2011, 4:27pm Permalink
Bob Price

You know how there are streets in Buffalo & Rochester that you go out of the way to avoid? Well,State St. between Washington and Richmond is "the street" in Batavia to avoid nowadays..... I even hate stopping at the State St. & Washington Ave stop sign nowadays.....

Nov 13, 2011, 10:20pm Permalink
Thomas Mooney

Those people are saints when the car-a-van rolls up with free food . We might want to be less welcoming for this area . It is a safe haven for criminals and we continue to show support and help them out . I personaly do not agree with what car- a - van does over there . Many come into the area from Rochester just to get hand-out. It is a great idea but not for that area untill they can control themselves . The neighborhood is at an all-time low and yet we continue doing the same .

Nov 14, 2011, 7:56am Permalink
Billie Owens

I do not believe that people would spend the money on gas to drive all the way from Rochester to Batavia to get some hot chocolate and a hot dog on State Street from Care-A-Van, or any other, ministries. Furthermore, I don't begrudge anyone the opportunity for a free meal once in awhile from a philanthropic group and an opportunity to hear Gospel music. Both America and Jesus are bigger than that. You never know what little seed may be planted that brings forth good things. If you gave $100 to a needy person and you found out he blew it at a strip club, your good deed still gets credited to you. I'm not talking about public assistance, however, which I believe we are already too lax with.

Nov 14, 2011, 12:46pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

The garden style, low-rise apartments on Lewis Place were built in the early 1900s. They have always been rentals. In the 1970s they were owned by Lewis Del Plato, who rented some of the units to college students (College Arms Apartments). I am not sure when the property ceased to be student housing; it would likely be characterized (now) as low-income, family housing. The garden is obviously missing. Go anywhere in the world; poverty has no garden- ghetto, slum, shanty town, fevela, bario, Siedlung, kitongoji duni, kenar mahalle, township, трущоба, quartier pouilleux, gandi basti...

Nov 14, 2011, 2:28pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

Actually, I was just reading about these today in a book on Genesee County architecture.

The apartments were built as rentals, and then sold as condos in the 1950s (after some rehabilitation), and then DelPlato required "most" (according to the book) and turned them back into rentals.

While the architectural style is common in more urban areas, from the period, Batavia never grew big enough that other such developments were built.

I still think it would be cool if some developer acquired them, revitalized the properties and rented them as premium apartments or condos. There's a ton of potential in those buildings. In the right hands, they could be made into something that would appeal to young professional urban adult types.

Nov 14, 2011, 9:00pm Permalink
Gary Spencer

Howard,
I agree 100% it would be very cool to re-vitalize that area! They have potential but are infested with roaches and have been ruined by the folks that have lived there for the past 20 years or so.

I do remember when they were college "dorms" I think I may have gotten drunk and fallen down there once or twice!

Nov 14, 2011, 9:37pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

Billie, I may be off-base, but I assume Tom is addressing the loop theory postulated by some local agencies. The theory suggests that Rochester-Albion-Batavia share intermittent residency for a group of people who cyclically relocate from one jurisdiction to the next. Multiple goals are achieved by this movement. Notably: avoiding those to be avoided and maximizing opportunity. I share your doubt that the Care-A-Van figures decisively in the motivational scheme.

Nov 14, 2011, 10:25pm Permalink
Billie Owens

Interesting, C.M. Maybe if these purported opportunists would put their energies into getting some marketable skills, we would have fewer grifters.

Nov 15, 2011, 3:42pm Permalink
Frank Bartholomew

Gary,I lived at 131 State until 1969, did you live on the right or the left side of Hutchins? I got creamed by a car while crossing from Hutchins/State and attempting to ride to Willow. A police officer told my father the fire hydrant on Willow and State saved my life by stopping the car. I was caught up in the wheel well and went under the tire three times before the car hit the hydrant and stopped.

Nov 16, 2011, 12:54pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

I used to have a girlfriend who would automatically lock all the car doors at the sight of Bull's head. I thought that was remarkably odd. ...Until I took over the wheel for a friend, who had a resurgent spate of consciousness on Jay Street and began accosting me for driving his car in the bad part of town. Then there was the guy who wanted to eat at Nick Tahou's UNTIL I went to the downtown location instead of Lyell Avenue... I'm so insensitive!

Nov 16, 2011, 1:57pm Permalink
George Richardson

Once on Chippewa in Buffalo I saw a black man carrying a bag that caught my attention and when he saw me looking at him and following him down the street with my eyes, he stopped dead in his tracks and said in a loud an venomous voice: "What the fuck you looking at?" I said: "Is that a Dulcimer?" He said: "What?" I said: "Is that a Dulcimer in that bag?" I had never seen a black man who played a Dulcimer and I was intrigued. He said: "Dulcimer? Hell no, it's a vacuum cleaner." And we bonded and we laughed and I'm still laughing. I'll bet he had no idea in the world what a Dulcimer was, but I did. No lie, !Verdad!
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugyUXC6L_c0]

Nov 16, 2011, 3:43pm Permalink

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