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BATAVIA, NY -- The gulls roosting atop Latina's may be noisy, stinky and prone to poop on anything and everything, but they are not a public health hazard, according to the County Board of Health.

Board President Mary J. McJury notified BID Director Don Burkel of the board's finding in a July 7 letter.

"Although the Board of Health empathizes with the current situation, it was the board's determination, following careful review of the investigation, that this situation does not constitute a public health nuisance."

The Latina's building was condemned last week by the city for allegedly unsanitary conditions.

LKLWL Properties, the building's owner, has been summoned to City Court on July 23 to answer a complaint by the city that the company has failed to deal with unsanitary conditions on the property.

In her letter, McJury notes that the Herring Gulls are attracted to the Latina's roof because it is flat, warm and protected from harassment and predation.

"It is a short flight for them to feeding opportunities in the agricultural land surrounding the city," she wrote. "They are omnivores and eat anything from garbage to berries."

She said the actual issue with the property appears "to be property maintenance and aesthetic in nature."

She notes that the New York Department of Health issued a report finding no negative human health issues associated with Herring Gull populations.

Also, to date, there have been no reports of illnesses related to Batavia's gull infestation.

When I stopped into South Beach, 59 E. Main St., Batavia, this afternoon to see what was up with the re-opening plans, the first thing Ken Mistler did was give me a cup of ice water.

Man, was it good. And not just because it was 96 degrees outside.

Mistler has a whole new filtration system that all the water -- for cooking, ice and table service -- goes through. It's as pure and clear as a pristine mountain stream.

And it's also evidence of the first-rate job Mistler has done in putting together the new South Beach. He's not calling it "Ken Mistler's South Beach," but that's how we might start thinking about it. It's both that different and yet still South Beach.

Inside are the same bamboo and beachy themes, but Mistler has also made a lot of changes, from adding a side-door entrance and doing away with the Main Street entrance, to enclosing the kitchen. The latter change helps keep heat in the kitchen instead of the dining room. He's also added new, larger, more private booths.

There's also more seating overall and a bigger bar.

And Mistler isn't done. He's got expansion plans for downstairs once the main restaurant is running smoothly.

The new South Beach officially opens Tuesday.

As for the food, Mistler said it will be "South Beach with a flair." There will be steaks and seafood and pineapple dishes, but one unique feature is that diners will have the option of ordering -- and paying less -- for smaller portions.

"We thought, when we go out to eat the plates are just too big, too much food on the plate, and you feel obligated to eat it," Mistler said. "We’ll do away with that by offering the same dish, but a smaller portion at a lower price."

If you noticed the bright red trucks of Scalia's Landscaping around Latina's today, don't get your hopes up that purported property owner Tom Lewin of Buffalo has suddenly taken responsibility for the rotting hulk of a former supermarket.

Scalia's was hired by the city after LKLWL Properties allegedly failed to comply with a code violation posted on the building on June 24.

LKLWL Properties will be billed for the clean up -- which included weed abatement and hosing down the sidewalks, which were covered with gull poop, along with a $250 fine.

The city took the same enforcement action against LKLWL Properties last year. The city is also working on a court case alledging that the hundreds of gulls nesting on the roof of the former Latina's Food Store are creating an "unsanitary condition."

Neither court nor city officials were able to say today when that case might be heard in Batavia City Court.

For previous coverage, click here.

Last year, city workers had to remove the weeds from around the seemingly rotting Latina's building, billing the property owner for the abatement.

LKLWL Properties out of Amherst may be in for another bill from the city if owner Tom Lewin doesn't deal with the growing weed problem soon.

BID Director Don Burkel said he spoke with Lewin the other day and he said Lewin was adamant that he's not going to do anything with the building, neither in regards to upkeep nor selling the property.

I called Lewin this morning and left a voice mail asking him to confirm whether that's his position. No call back yet.

Of course, most of us call the building the Latina's building because that's still the company name on the side of the structure. 

I called Latina's Food Services out of Tonawanda and asked if a company spokesman would comment on any potential public-relations problem in having a decrepit building in the middle of Batavia with its name on it. No official spokesman would come to the phone. The only response was through a receptionist who said he was told to say, "We don't own the building."

Previously:

• Property owner refuses to discuss sea gulls plaguing former Latina's location
• Gulls at Latina's market a nuisance again this year

Hundreds of motorcycle riders were in the procession this morning escorting the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall from Le Roy to the Veterans' Home in Batavia.

As local law enforcement cleared the way, the procession moved swiftly through town.

The Moving Wall will be on display through the weekend, night and day, with opening ceremonies at 5 p.m., today.

Reached on his mobile phone, Tom Lewin, reportedly manager of LKLWL Properties out of Amherst, the listed owner of the former Latina's Market building at 45-47 Ellicott Street just hung up on The Batavian.

Asked what he plans to do about the sea gulls roosting on top of the apparently deteriorating former grocery store, Lewin said, "I have no comment" and terminated the call.

Lewin reportedly took the same tact when reach by Geoff Redick of WBTA earlier today.

Lewin reportedly said there are no plans to sell or develop the building. Redick reports that Lewin refused to comment on the issue.  Redick said he asked if he had a reason to disregard the public health in Batavia, Lewin reportedly called it a "loaded question" and discontinued the interview.

WBTA reports that the Business Improvement District has requested LKLWL clean up the problem, and USDA Wildlife Services have been contacted, and that the County Health Department regards the growing number of gulls as a possible public health concern.

WBTA reported that LKLWL has refused to let anybody on the roof to investigate the situation.

Ken Mislter, who owns 10 properties downtown and has in previous years helped organize the classic car show in the Court and Ellicott parking lot said the reason there is no classic car show this year is the car owners don't want to subject their rides to gull droppings.

The property is listed on the BID's website as for sale or lease. The current assessed value is $700,000.

Polka is one of those musical styles that just unavoidably brings a smile to your face. It was an appropriate choice to kick off a fun concert season in Jackson Square on Friday evening. And the Bedrock Boys didn't disppoint.

For more on upcoming shows, check the Jackson Square ad on the right side of the page. The series includes blues, rock, country and jazz and continues through August.

More pictures after the jump:

The Downtown Public Market opened today.

Above, Salters Alston, proprietor of Alston's Bone Sucking BBQ Sauce, serves up a mound of his pulled pork.

Between Alston's and the Jackson Street Grill stand, the market is going to be a great place to stop for lunch on Thursdays.

And then you can pick yourself up a few big, plump tomatoes to take home.

City employee Brian Metz hangs a flower basket from one of the light standards in Downtown Batavia. 

Uncooperative witnesses and a victim who doesn't want to press charges means there will likely be no arrests stemming from a fight at the downtown carnival Saturday night, according to Sgt. John Peck of the Batavia Police Department.

The 19-year-old victim is a GCC student from Utica.

When police arrived on scene at 9:59 p.m., there was a group of 10 or 12 people piled onto the victim, who was having a seizure, Peck said. Some of the people involved in the melee were trying to help the victim, other people where trying to pull them off. The first concern, he said, was to deal with his seizure.

"It was pretty chaotic," Peck said.

The victim, a black male, was taken by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital as a precautionary measure, but it turns out he was not seriously injured, Peck said.

"It probably looked worse than it was," he said, describing the injuries as just a couple of bumps and bruises.

All of the suspects are black males, Peck said.

On Saturday night, several witnesses promised to show up at the police station on Sunday to give statements, but none of them showed up.

That night there were also white youths seen running from the carnival down Ellicott Street. Police pursued them, but were unable to apprehend them. One of the youths dropped a knife.

But, Peck said, it appears none of those youths were involved in the carnival fight and police don't know why they fled the scene.

There was a report of a second fight by the big slide, but when State Police arrived to check out the report, no fight was in progress.

The cause of the fight appears to be something someone said to another guy's girlfriend, Peck said.

In all, five Batavia patrol units, two Sheriff's units and two State Police units responded to the reported fights.

Police have responded to a report of a fight at the carnival in downtown Batavia.

When the first unit he arrived, the officer reported "quite a fight." He immediately called for an ambulance for a person having a seizure.

A subject was reportedly seen fleeing west on Ellicott Street and crossing the street toward Della Penna's. Police are looking for two white males, with one wearing a white T-shirt.

UPDATE 10:04 p.m.: One of the subjects who fled reportedly dropped a knife. A second fight has reportedly broken out. Two State Police units have been called in to back up Batavia Police.

UPDATE 10:11 p.m.: Mercy EMS was requested to check on a male down behind Alberty's. He reportedly has a head laceration. There is also a report of "all suspects are black males." It's unclear if that's related to all fights or just one of the fights.

UPDATE 10:29 p.m.: One patient transported to UMMC. Police units going back in service. 

UPDATE 8 a.m. Sunday: Reader Adam Lowder submitted the photo above. His description of events follows after the jump:

Adam Lowder's description of events:

I was at the carnival when the fight took place, and I have attached a photo of the aftermath.

First off I would like to say that this carnival was just plain disgusting. The majority of the ride attendants I witnessed were interacting with the patrons; using foul language, leaving their stations for minutes at a time, and one was even smoking a swisher sweet style cigar that he passed to a young patron to hold onto and smoke for a few minutes.

There were groups of unsupervised middle-school aged kids all over.

We were getting ready to leave around ten o'clock when I saw the ride attendant from the “vehicles that go in a circle” kids' ride (black male 20's red hat with goatee) wrap his arms around a black male, belly to belly, and slowly but forcefully push him across the grounds. The attendant was making statements along the lines of, "just leave" and the male being forced back was saying, "did you hear what he said" repeatedly.

After a minute of this and after a few other people involved yelled towards the two men, the ride attendant in red let go of the male who took off towards Jackson St. Seconds later a group of people (prominently if not all black males) took off running in the same direction.

Ten to fifteen seconds later a few more males ran passed me in the same direction. That is when I saw a crowd of observers gathering on Jackson St. and people screaming and yelling.

As I approached the area, I could see a large group of people involved in physical actions (some jumping around, some swinging their arms, some taking pictures with their phones) in the middle of the street.

An officer in a SUV pulled up with his lights flashing and the group quickly scattered. A few more police cruisers quickly arrived on the seen. I did not see the police apprehend any of those involved, or really even attempt to do so. They all came to the man that was left lying in the middle of the street.

A few minutes later, two of the cruisers rushed over towards Rt. 63, and one stopped next to the Salvation Army.

One thing that I am certain of is that some of the ride attendants were involved in this. The one that I mentioned earlier who was smoking the cigar was in the group that ran past me. He was a black male wearing a Kobe Bryant Lakers jersey, and he was running the “Rio Grande Train” kids’ ride.

I stopped to snap this photo as I walked back to my car parked across from O’Lacy’s Bar.

At this point, the injured male was still lying in the road, paramedics had arrived, there was a crowd of people watching, and a couple of officers were standing near the victim watching.

The Downtown Batavia Carnival continued on Saturday, so we have more pictures from this afternoon. Sunday is the final day and it runs from 1 to 5 p.m.

More pictures after the jump:

Friday was a beautiful evening to spend at a carnival, and plenty of people turned out for the second night of the Downtown Batavia Spring Carnival.

The carnival continues Saturday and Sunday.

More pictures after the jump:

It was a day for hanging out in the sun at Glass Roots on Center Street today. Jen Fountain of Batavia was having fun with a hula-hoop. She said, "I just learned today and now I can't stop."

The Batavia Business Improvement District held its annual meeting and awards luncheon today at the Homestead Events Center in Batavia City Centre.

Top photo, Rick Mancuso, co-owner (with his brother Ben) of T.F. Brown's accepts proclamations from Sen. Mike Ranzenofer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley. Also pictured, Don Burkel, executive director of the BID, and BID President Victor Gautieri.

Bottom photo, William Parker, winner of "Spirit of Downtown Community Volunteer Award," Mary Valle, "Spirit of Downtown BID Volunteer Award," and Rick Mancuso, "Spirit of Downtown Business Award."

Not able to attend, Ken Mistler, owner of Next Level Fitness & The Daily Grind, winner of "Spirit of Downtown Business Award" for a newly established business.

Yelps of joy and the whiff of popcorn and cotton candy will radiate from Jackson Street starting at 6 p.m. today as the annual Downtown Batavia Spring Carnival opens.

The carnival runs today and tomorrow from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 1 to 10 p.m.  and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.

Bring the whole family, have some fun and visit some of the great downtown shops and restaurants.

The Genesee Valley PennySaver's Batavia office has moved from Ellicott Street to a corner location and Liberty and East Main, Downtown Batavia. The staff was in the office this morning getting the new location set up.  Pictured are Brittany Walker, left, Drew Muehlig, Leanna DiRisio, Becky Michalak, Ethan Biscaro, Chris Harrison (back) and owner Steve Harrison.

It's a big question that figures into any conversation people have about business in Downtown Batavia -- what's the future of Latina's Market?

The empty hulk on Jackson and Ellicott sits like a concrete elephant that obscures any notion of increasing Downtown's business vibrancy.

And conventional wisdom around town is that a trio of lawyers in Buffalo owns it and has no intention of doing anything with it -- they're happy to just let it sit.

"That's (bunk)," said co-owner Vito Gautieri during an interview today. 

Local business man Gautieri is a co-owner and broker of the building that has served as a location for Montgomery Ward, Super Duper and Jubilee as well as Latina's over the past 20 years.

Gautieri said he's trying to lease or sell the 40,000 square foot building (which also has 11,000 square feet of office space above the retail floor).

"We've been spending tons of money trying to find a buyer," Gautieri said. "We've showed it 10 or 12 times in the past year. "

Gautieri's partners are indeed a group of lawyers in Buffalo, but he said they are just as anxious as anybody else to see the building sold or leased.

Don Burkle, director of the Batavia Improvement District, said it's good news if the owners are indeed trying to sell the building, but he's been unaware of any effort to sell or lease the building and that there's never been any response from the current ownership whenever the BID has referred potential buyers.

The BID is very interested in seeing a grocery store go into the location, or maybe it could serve as a retail business incubator, or perhaps a hotel and convention center could be built on the location -- anything that would help downtown would interest the BID, Burkle said.

"(The building) has a lot of potential and any grocery store in that location would certainly enhance downtown," Burkle said.

Gauiteri said the asking price on the location is $1.8 million.

In 2008, the property was assessed at $700,000.

One obvious potential buyer is Ken Mistler, who just opened a new gym and a coffee shop at the corner of Main and Jackson and has a history of buying downtown buildings -- he owns 10 now -- and renovating them.

Both Gauiteri and Mistler confirmed they've talked about the building, but it doesn't sound like there are any ongoing negotiations.

Mistler said he's both concerned about the vacant building and, now that his gym is open, wonders what will happen to parking if anything is opened in that location.

"That's a big vacancy and any possible business that might want to come Downtown looks at that big vacant building and starts asking why?" Mislter said in between signing up new gym memberships this afternoon. "We know it has a negative impact on Downtown when it's such a massive location and it's empty. But I also think, what if it is filled? What is the city going to do about parking? Did you see the parking lot last night -- people were parking down by South Beach and we (the gym) opened only four days ago."