new police station

The last two days have seen a whirlwind of activity — social media posts, email chains, a petition and attempts to reach out to City Council -- from the group of Downtown Batavia business owners upset and overwhelmed with parking issues due to the new police facility construction staging area and a lack of handicap parking directly in front of their offices in the parking lot at Alva Place and Bank Street.

The business group is seeking at least a thousand signatures on the petition, filed with change.org. The petition urges the “City Council of Batavia to take immediate action by restoring promised parking spaces during construction of our much-needed Police Station.”

“By doing so, they can improve accessibility for those who need it most while supporting local businesses that contribute significantly to our city's economy,” the petition states.

The idea behind the document is so that “the city can understand how many people this affects,” property owner Sharon Kubiniec said Saturday. The business group will then present it to city council and pertinent staff involved in the project, she said.

"April 10, they promised one row of parking along the north side of the buildings as well as the west end to be provided by Dr. Canzoneri and Village Physical Therapy. So we’re looking for one row of handicap parking, we’re concerned about our handicap patients," Kubiniec said. “I have been in that building for over 40 years, and very rarely has Washington Avenue sidewalks ever been plowed. And the snow builds up there. December when patients are parking on Washington Avenue, climbing over snowbanks to icy sidewalks, those are accidents waiting to happen, and that’s what we want to avoid.”

When the business owners first learned about a new police station being built in that lot location, “we thought it was great; we would be safer,” she said. But they were never brought to the construction site to actually see the setup. 

Once fencing went up, their patients were shut out from parking close to the offices and relegated to street parking, which many have objected to as insufficient for elderly patients, those with disabilities, and those with walking devices. Business owners have since said they have lost customers due to the inconvenience and hassle and are concerned about their patient's safety.

“The business model shows businesses thriving, we’re not thriving. For us not to be considered is horrible,” Kubiniec said. “They’re trying to make the police department happy, that’s wonderful, but it can’t just serve one sector of the population. 

“I’m not trying to put the blame anywhere,” she said. “Let’s move the fence back 40 feet so we can use that one row of parking. We are trying to amicably solve the problem. We want to be reasonable, we want a win-win for everybody. When Eugene Jankowski says you need to give a little, well they need to give a little as well.” 

City Manager Rachael Tabelski emailed Kubiniec an update Saturday that using a shuttle bus for patients was not going to work because no city employee was available to drive the vehicle, but she was checking on pricing from RTS as another option.

Other updates would be forthcoming as to “the city’s accommodation plans,” Tabelski said, and “we are working on different options to help the business owners on Washington and State and pushing our architects to relook at site/staging layout.”

Although there wasn’t ample detail, it was a response, which Kubiniec appreciated, she said.

“The unknowing is what’s so scary for businesses,” she said. “We need more communication.”

On Thursday, she attempted to talk to City Councilman-at-Large Bob Bialkowski, who informed her that council members were not to discuss the police station issues with business owners. Council President Eugene Jankowski said that all such matters were to be referred to Tabelski as the project lead. 

Kubiniec questions that line of authorization since a letter dated March 8, 2023, related to the state environmental review, states that “City Council of Batavia announced its intent to serve as lead agency on Feb. 13, 2023 …” If the council was the lead agency for the SEQR at that time, she believes council members should have the authority to speak to business owners now.   

Dr. Joseph Canzoneri, who owns his own podiatry practice on State Street, posted his thoughts on social media Saturday morning. He opened with “People of Batavia, you are getting forced a new police station guaranteed to have cost over runs with a budget set at almost $15.5 million today and it hasn’t even started yet?”

“They need one, and I certainly would agree to that. But at what expense to the community and to the taxpayers as well as businesses directly involved in the proximity in Alva Place?” he continued. 

The planning board approved final plans without inviting any of the affected businesses, he said, and no impact studies were done as to the “sheer volume and parking spots needed to continue to do business.”

“Their remedy was to create parallel parking for disabled people and exhausting distances for people to walk just to support the businesses they support for years. They knew what they were doing and when questioned about the disability act they said because they own the parking lot they could basically do what they want,” he said. “Jankowski city council president is hell bent to fulfill his selfish legacy of a new police station. No matter what detrimental affects (sic) it has on the community. He is shameful to call people antipolice as he scapegoats the attention created by the injustice for those that oppose the planning and staging area which destroys valid parking for businesses to survive and safety considerations for patients.” 

He also urged people to remember this during the next election.

Jankowski said that even though Canzoneri “said hurtful things about me I’m confident we can still work something out for all the businesses and their patrons.”

“It’s the right thing to do, and I’m not giving up,” Jankowski said. “The city manager has been working tirelessly on solutions to resolve the business owners’ complaints.  All options are being explored but it does take a few days to make them work.” 

As for the petition, here it is in its entirety:

In the heart of Batavia, NY, a personal struggle is unfolding. Patients being treated by these local businesses are attempting to attend their appointments but find themselves having to park far away from their destinations. Most of these people are elderly and qualify for handicap parking, which has been removed.  This situation is causing undue hardship, with some finding it impossible to keep their appointments. Some are even resorting to double parking on Washington Ave and unsafely exiting their cars.  Other customers have found that they now must carry their heavy computer from the Mall parking lot to Millennium Computers for service.

This issue stems from the City Council's decision not to restore parking in the downtown lot at Alva and Bank Street where the new Police Station is being built. Businesses were promised one row of parking along the north end of this lot, adjacent to their establishments - a promise that remains unfulfilled.

The lack of adequate handicap parking for businesses on State Street and Washington Ave is causing suffering not only for patients but also for clients, employees, and businesses themselves. The current situation threatens both public safety and local commerce.

We urge the City Council of Batavia to take immediate action by restoring promised parking spaces during construction of our much needed Police Station. By doing so, they can improve accessibility for those who need it most while supporting local businesses that contribute significantly to our city's economy.

Please sign this petition if you believe in creating an accessible city that supports its residents' health needs as well as its local economy.

See HERE for prior coverage about this issue.

A private meeting that began at the city police station Monday for a dozen downtown business owners to discuss parking concerns with city management and the architect of a new police station spilled out before City Council later during an open conference session at City Hall.

The meeting lasted for more than an hour, and when walking out of police headquarters at 10 W. West Main St., Patrick Privatera, owner of Village Physical Therapy, seemed none too optimistic about the future of the business that he established in the corner of Alva Place and State Street, adjacent to a parking lot that is being completely devoured by construction staging for the new police facility. 

“So we deal with patients who have mobility issues that have cardio, cardiac, you know, less than lower cardiovascular stamina, they can't walk from across the street. I mean, it's easy to say go park by a JCPenney, but if you're someone with COPD or can't walk 50 feet, that's going to make the difference between coming to our office and not coming to our office. They're not going to come to our office.”

That’s not how he understood it would be when city management spoke to business owners in January 2022. Manager Rachael Tabelski had introduced the idea that “we’re going to be neighbors and build a police station” without any discussion, he said. 

“There wasn’t really any asking what does your business need? It was just saying this is happening,” he said. “And, in fact, I’m surprised it took this long, because, I mean, I put together a pretty lengthy document of some concerned questions and concerns, I asked for a meeting, we were supposed to have met. And she was funny. It was an email exchange; she basically called me instead in lieu of a meeting and accused me of being anti-police, and nothing’s further from the truth. I just invested a quarter of a million dollars in this building and relocated my practice there. I just want some place for my patients and my staff to park, that’s it.”

He said that parking for this week has been ok, but he’s been told the entire parking lot will be closed for construction. He’d like the city to give business owners more time to figure out how to deal with this, but “they’ve got weather, they’ve committed a lot of resources to this, whether it happens or not, they need to do something,” he said. 

“I hope they give us time. I have room potentially on my property there to construct our own parking,” he said. “If I had more time, I might be able to, but not in four days.”

As others headed to City Hall for the council meeting, Privatera opted not to go. He said emotions were heated, and he didn’t think the situation would get resolved in that meeting. 

Dr. Tom Mazurkiewicz came out of police headquarters more frustrated than satisfied.

His take: The city isn’t willing to negotiate a reduction in the construction area's footprint and a move of the staging area to the other side of Alva Place.

Mazurkiewicz, who has a chiropractic practice on Washington Avenue, said the only response officials gave business owners to the reason for not putting the staging area next to JCPenney was, “It’s not in our budget.”

See also: Police station project manager explains need for space around construction site

He and fellow business owner Joseph Canzoneri said that their businesses will survive the 18 months of disrupted parking even though revenue will drop significantly, but that isn’t really their number one concern, said Mazurkiewicz.

“It’s a safety issue,” he said. “That’s all I care about.” 

Doctors Joseph Canzoneri, Adam Gregor and property owner Sharon Kubinec picked up the ball and ran with it during the conference meeting. Canzoneri, a longtime podiatrist also on the west side of the parking lot along State Street, spoke about the plight of his patients and the hurdles they have to overcome as it is without having to deal with parking issues.

“Many of these people suffer from COPD and carry oxygen, have cardiac issues, neuromuscular and severe back problems from trauma broke, degenerative changes, affecting balance and ability to walk any distance or on uneven surfaces, ” he said. “They have diabetic foot issues, such as ulcerations or amputations, have a leg prosthesis, individuals post-surgical both from podiatry and orthopedics (Le Roy physical therapy is affected). Patrons with poor vision are forced to walk long distances or on uneven terrain, not to mention young parents carrying children in car seats and using strollers. Many patients use assisted devices like wheelchairs, motorized scooters, crutches, canes, open cast boots and braces, making it even more difficult in the winter to traverse these distances and different terrains, curbs, grass, stone, and the list goes on.”

The issue for him and the other business owners is that their patients, although being offered parking on side streets, are parallel parking and not very close to the medical office. Parallel parking is not the same as handicapped parking, Canzoneri said, because there are still obstacles to getting out of one’s vehicle and navigating uneven terrain from the vehicle to the office. 

Why are people so up in arms now, after the city has had planning sessions and press releases about construction and timelines for this new facility?

“We understand the city had public meetings regarding the approval of the police department. We understand the proposed building will be on designated city property, and the site and rendering of the building were made public,” Canzoneri said. “What we did not know is the staging footprint until nine days ago. There should be an opportunity for public input in a public hearing, especially when the proposal adversely affects the business detrimentally. We are all within 500 feet distance to the project. At a minimum, notices should have been sent out for public input prior to this project going out for bid. When was the planning board meeting set regarding the staging area? If the city bypassed this due diligence required for all projects believing that the city doesn’t need input because it is the approving and permitting authority, then that is poor communication, poor community outreach and poor planning.”

Gregor, who took over the dental practice formerly occupied by Dr. Kubinec at 180 Washington Ave. about two years ago, said that he was “deeply troubled by the negative impact this closure will have on my patients in my practice.” As in Canzoneri’s case, Gregor’s patients also have mobility issues or young children in tow, he said, and the parking lot closure will “undoubtedly create an inconvenience” at best. 

“I have not once been approached regarding how this project could impact the care of my patients and on my business. My displeasure with this project arises from the fact that it is already different from the proposed plan, which Dr. Joe had just mentioned was only presented to us last week. We collectively as business owners had concerns about the construction zone footprint as it was originally presented to us. We were assured that measures would be taken to minimize disruption to the businesses operating within the complex,” he said. “However, the sudden and expanded closure of the parking lot has blindsided us and proposed this year poses a serious threat to my patients and to the well-being of my practice. The closure of the parking lot threatens to undermine all the hard work and investment I've put into building my practice in this location. The closure of the parking lot will undoubtedly create inconvenience and frustration for my patients, potentially leading them to seek dental services elsewhere. 

“Furthermore, the lack of parking will likely turn new patients from choosing my practice and may even cause some of my existing patients to leave. Dental Care is already a daunting task for many individuals and adding the stress of finding parking only serves to exasperate their anxiety,” he said. “I believe that there are ways to mitigate the disruption without jeopardizing the livelihoods of those who operate here. To not care about the situation is to not care about us as medical professionals, business owners and taxpayers just as important to not care about the situation as to not care about the citizens who seek care in our offices. I hope that moving forward, we can collaborate and cooperate with each other rather than contend with one another.”

Sharon Kubinec, who served as practice manager for her husband during his time as dentist at the site, spoke as a concerned property owner and someone who knows how busy those medical practices are each day, she said. She also cited Ricky Palermo as a patient who uses at least three of the services in that complex and who will have potential difficulties navigating the path to each office in his wheelchair. Palermo was invited to tour the parking lot and surrounding areas since there wasn’t wheelchair access to the second-floor meeting room at the police station, but could not make that meeting. 

“Ricky Palermo, who wanted to be here tonight, goes to Dr. Joe, Dr. Adam and Dr. Tom, and he can't go to his foot doctor, his chiropractor and his dentist for 18 months the way it is situated now over there,” she said. 

She suggested that the city could do something similar to what United Memorial Medical Center had done some years ago with a bus that shuttled employees between the North Street site and Jerome Center on Bank Street when parking was tight. Only this time, the bus would pick up patients at the former JC Penney building and take them to the medical offices, she said.

Canzoneri proposed a larger parking area for patients and clients, and city and contractor staff would park in the lot across Alva Place closer to the JC Penney site, which he said would also be used as more of a staging area. 

“This will still provide a convenient staging area, plenty of room to stage safely, also cost-effective, and most importantly, safety for our clients and pertness, not to mention relief to the detrimental financial risks to the businesses that are being imposed by these egregious parking restrictions and proposals,” he said.

There are more than medical practices at the complex, such as Amanda Lowe’s business. Lowe, the owner of Jagged Edges, said outside police headquarters after the earlier meeting that she hated to say anything publicly because she understands her business is sustaining far less impact than some other businesses. However, if she knew this parking restriction was coming, she might have selected a different location when it was time to relocate from her original site on Veterans Memorial Drive.

“I definitely bought the location based on knowing that I had the parking,” Lowe said. “ I wasn't aware of how big the project is. And you know, the impact it was going to have on our customers coming in. It probably would have made a difference on the location because there were two different locations I was looking at. Parking was one of the biggest reasons (she selected her current location). I knew that this was in the works before, but coming from being in the town to come into the city, I wasn't really fully aware of how long the construction would be and the impact and all the businesses.”

Marc Johnson, owner of Millennium Computers, may not experience the same impact as the medical offices, but it isn’t negligible either.

 “I’ve got people coming in with heavy computers in their hands. They're not going to walk from JC Penney's over to my place,” Johnson said.

He is considering converting some of the green space he owns next to his office into parking for his business.

“I haven’t done anything with it for 20 years except mow it,” he said. “If push comes to shove, I'll just put my own parking in. Ideally, it'd be nice to share the burden with the city or whoever else and make it bigger than just a handful of parking spots for Millennium. And then, you know, my neighbors that are in the medical world can have some handicapped parking there.”

City Manager Rachael Tabelski said that she believed the information she initially provided was correct regarding construction coexisting with parking near business offices. 

“Once we learned that the contractors controlled the entire site, we had to decide whether to delay the project, spend more money on it, or just take the entire parking lot and find more accommodations for the business owner.”

 She said those accommodations under immediate consideration are adding wheelchair ramps for easier access to curbside parking. There are a potential 68 parking spaces on the streets around the complex. The city is also considering hiring a shuttle to assist patients from parking to offices.

 “If people parked at City Centre, they could get a ride in, Tabelski said. “Hopefully, that would take care of issues with folks with mobility.”

 While there were public hearings about the project where anybody could have raised parking issues, it was never mentioned.

 “We went through the process, and in everyone's mind, you saw a rendering that still had the big L going through it where parking is,” Tabelski said. “We all should have jumped to the conclusion, ‘Oh, that's great at the end, but what happens during construction,’ right? I definitely lean on the architects we work with and the contractors to guide me through this because I'm neither. I'm a city manager. But I do want to make sure that our businesses have what they need to get their patients in, and I go to a lot of the businesses, so it's definitely not personal; we want to help. We don't want to hurt their business in any way.”

She said the city is “all over” a proposal by Marc Johnson, owner of Millennium Computer on Washington Avenue, to convert a green space he owns next to his building into a parking lot.

“It'll be a temporary construction, an accommodation,” Tabelski said. “We will be (working on it) as soon as we can get millings and build a foundation out there. He has offered -- as far as I know -- I'd hate to speak for Marc -- to allow some public parking there as long as he reserved spots for his business. So, we're interested. He came with this great solution and I think we can get eight to 10 spots there. There's also another grass parcel. I'm not sure who owns it, but I'm going to try to find out and see if they'd be interested in a similar thing.”

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said he understands that it's going to be an inconvenience for people. 

“But it's been an inconvenience for men and women in the police department to work in an antiquated building and not be able to serve the public. That building is not just a building; it's a tool because there's certain requirements for juveniles, for victims, for defendants. They have rights. They have laws that protect them and we are not able to comply with that as efficiently get in the building, not to mention that the gentleman we all know, wasn't even able to get into the building for a meeting,” Jankowski said, referring to Palermo. “It’s not easy to get a sense of where the new building will be. So when I hear we're supporting the police, and then I see that it doesn't appear that we're supporting the police. I know as a former police officer, how I would be feeling right now when I hear all this outreach and all this stuff going on. And I see the city making every attempt to try to make accommodations. But it's not making anybody happy. So we’ve got to reach a middle ground, we’ve gotta reach some kind of compromise, we have to get this building over the finish line. Because if we don't, it was explained just a few minutes ago, extreme cost overruns will put the project in jeopardy.”

After the meeting, he said that he was very disappointed in the city's response when “we’re trying to do something good for the community and our public safety, which is very valuable to this community.”

“I really take public safety very seriously. And yet, we're meeting all this resistance over a few parking spaces that we're trying to make accommodations for. But that doesn't seem to be good enough,” he said. “This is all temporary. This is only for a few months, and we're doing our best to try to work it out in the meantime. And there are many ideas, and I'm sure the city manager will find a solution that will do her best to accommodate as many ideas as we can any way we can.”

When asked what he thought about Jankowski’s public response to business owner comments and an appeal for consideration, Canzoneri said he felt “terrible.”

“They show no empathy for the patients,” he said. 

Howard Owens contributed to this story.

After some delay from waiting to hear about their major funding source for the city's new police station, city officials finally received word this week, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

The new police facility already approved for the corner of Alva Place and Bank Street parking lot will begin the process of going out for bid, with a final destination of completion for summer 2025, Tabelski said Tuesday.

"My good news for today is we are authorized to go to bid by USDA. And we'll be doing the bid process very soon; it’s about a six- or seven-week process, with the hopes of awarding the bids in January or February  … and then starting construction of the new police station as soon as winter breaks next year,” Tabelski said to The Batavian. 

In April, City Council voted to seek funding from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Program as a potential funding source for the new police facility. The city had already been awarded a $2.5 million congressional grant, which is to be applied toward the cost of the facility to “address capacity concerns, building limitations, improve handicapped access and ensure quality police protection services now and into the future.”

As for payment of the remaining $13 million, the USDA resolution allowed the city to pursue funding of loan and/or grant funding extended to the city by the federal agency. Council also approved financing the cost of project construction of the police station with bond anticipation notes for the project with a maximum estimated cost of $15.5 million.

There will be a related presentation to City Council during its Nov. 13 meeting from Wyoming County consultant Rick Hauser. He had previously performed a reuse analysis of the current police station, the Brisbane Mansion, with suggestions and recommendations for what it may be best suited for. 

Tabelski said the city is considering either apartments or a boutique hotel, and given the Main Street site’s age, it probably would qualify for historic tax credits.

“So that’s good. Savvy developers know how to use those types of tax credits, and we’re hoping we do get some interest in the Brisbane,” she said. “I’ll be laying out the city’s potential process to RFP that building for a developer to come in and turn it into either apartments or a boutique hotel. And with that, keeping the historical elements of the mansion is one of the main goals of the reuse analysis.”

Hearing from the USDA about grant funds and long-term financing was the signal the city was waiting for to go out to bid on the police station, she said, which it did on Tuesday.

City Council members agreed to lay the groundwork for a new $15.5 million police station and appoint a new Second Ward representative during Monday’s business meeting at City Hall.

After approving a resolution to bring David Twichell aboard to fill the seat recently vacated by Patti Pacino, council, including Twichell, later voted on resolutions to seek funding from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Program as a potential funding source for a new police facility.

The city of Batavia has already been awarded a $2.5 million congressional grant, which is to be applied toward the cost of the facility to “address capacity concerns, building limitations, improve handicapped access and ensure quality police protection services now and into the future.”

As for payment of the remaining $13 million, the resolution states that “the process of applying for a loan does not obligate the city of Batavia in any way unless, and until, a specific loan and grant offer has been extended to the city by USDA RD and the city of Batavia’s approval of the offer is attained.”

Council also approved financing the cost of project construction of the police station with bond anticipation notes. The construction expenses in connection with the capital improvements of the police department safety headquarters are authorized at a maximum estimated cost of $15.5 million, according to the resolution.

The station will be located in the parking lot across from the Jerome Medical Center on Bank Street next to Alva Place. 

Councilman Bob Bialkowski said it will be nice to see a new facility after the decades -- estimated to be at least half a century -- of making do with older stations. A new facility "certainly meets the upcoming needs" of the department, he said. Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. agreed.

"It's long overdue," he said. 

Photo: Newly sworn-in member David Twichell, right, sits alongside members Eugene Jankowski Jr., left, and Paul Viele. Photo by Joanne Beck.

City officials are getting off to a good start in the new year with news of receiving $2.5 million to go toward a new police station for downtown Batavia.

The much debated station — whether to renovate the current site at Brisbane Mansion on Main Street or build anew — was finalized with a City Council vote in 2021, and designs have been in progress ever since.

Toward the end of 2022, City Manager Rachael Tabelski had spoken with high hopes of receiving funding as part of a federal omnibus legislation, which came through and was announced Thursday.

“We are grateful for the support from Senator Chuck Schumer and former Congressman Christopher Jacobs for advocating on behalf of our efforts to secure this critically important funding for a new police headquarters,” Tabelski said in a press release issued Thursday. “They both understood how important this funding was to our efforts to build a modern and welcoming facility that will be an integral part of community.”

The money will go toward the estimated cost of up to $15 million for new police headquarters and community complex to be constructed on Bank Street and Alva Place.

City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. was also thankful for the financial assistance and local support.

“As a retired Batavia Police Lieutenant I’m keenly aware of the importance of replacing the outdated 1850’s era police building with a modern purpose built police facility,” Jankowsk said. “The new building will be a huge asset to our police force and help them to better serve the members of our community.  Thank you to Senator Chuck Schumer and former Congressman Chris Jacobs for supporting the City of Batavia and our Police Department.”

The City estimates that the cost to build a new police department will be approximately $13 to $15 million. The 19,000 square-foot facility will be constructed on city owned property on and would provide connectivity and enhance the area between City Centre and the emerging Medical Campus.

Once completed, there would be 115 public parking spots available in nearby lots, in addition to free public parking on surrounding streets to serve the needs of existing businesses on Washington, Alva and State Streets.

“The current police headquarters was constructed in 1855 as a private residence and is out of date and inefficiently suited for a modern-day police department to properly serve the community,” Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said. “We want a new facility that people from the community feel welcomed, and provide space for more engagement with the residents we serve.”

As for the current city police station, Batavia Development Corporation Director Tammy Hathaway will be working with architectural firm In.Site: Architecture of Perry to conduct a feasibility study "to determine a best use for the building," she said.

A $20,000 grant will go toward the cost of the study, Hathaway said, and Rick Hauser of In.Site will be able to merge information from prior studies for this project. A former police station task force had authorized building studies for renovating the current site compared to building a new facility elsewhere.

For most recent coverage of the station's progress, go HERE.

Rendering of the new police station at Bank Street and Alva Place in downtown Batavia provided by City of Batavia.