South Main Street

Press Release:

A sewer force main will be installed starting next Tuesday, Oct. 10 with work lasting for approximately two weeks. 

The sewer will cross River Street just north of South Main and will run south on River Street along the eastern sidewalk and grass area where it will connect to an existing sewer on South Main Street at the River Street intersection. 

The road will be open-cut and plated until the work is complete, then the asphalt will be patched, and the sidewalks restored. Work will take place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. during weekdays.

All efforts will be made to maintain access to and from the properties. Properties and drivers will experience delays during the road crossing and the road restoration work. The sidewalk along the east side of River Street will be closed.

Motorists will experience changing traffic patterns to include temporary one-way movements, temporary stoppages, and flagging operations as the work progresses. 

All efforts will be made to get motorists to and from their destination with minimum delay. The work is weather dependent and poor weather could extend the timeframe.

A mail carrier whose route includes South Main Street in Batavia is "the hero of our office right now," said a local manager of the Post Office in Batavia.

The name of the carrier has not yet been released by the U.S. Postal Service, but the manager said this isn't the first time the carrier has stepped up in an emergency. This winter, she called 9-1-1 after a man on her route stuck his hand in a running snowblower.

At about 2:45 p.m., the carrier was outside 152 South  Main St., Batavia, when she heard a woman inside screaming, according to a witness. The carrier entered the house where a pitbull mix was attacking a home health care aide and its owner.  The carrier deployed her pepper spray and stopped the attack.

A female occupant of the house was not injured.

The dog was secured in a bedroom of the residence, and 9-1-1 was called.

Both the health care worker and the male occupant of the home were seriously injured, but Sgt. Mitch Cowen, Batavia PD, said the injuries are not considered life-threatening. One patient was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital for treatment, and the other to Erie County Medical Center.

The dog, Steve, was removed from the home by animal control officers while being restrained by poles and taken to the Genesee County Animal Shelter.

Cowen said the fate of the dog depends on the outcome of a police investigation. They will check records to determine if there have been prior reports of the dog acting in a vicious manner. Officers will also conduct interviews to determine if the dog has exhibited vicious behavior previously. 

An area resident who passes the house frequently said he's often heard a dog inside barking.

Nearby neighbors said they've seen the dog outside but have never seen it act in a vicious manner.  They said they've seen other visitors to the house, including health aide workers, and they weren't aware of any issue with the dog on prior visits.

Amanda Coggiola submitted these photos of a bald eagle at the Tonawanda Creek off South Main Street Road, Batavia.

She said, "My kids and I saw this eagle at our house this morning. They asked if I could send the pictures to you because we know sometimes you post the pics on your website. Merry Christmas: Amanda, Ben, Lilly, and Jake Coggiola"

John Spyropoulos spotted a pair of bald eagles feasting on a deer carcass this morning along the Tonawanda Creek along South Main Street in Batavia. He submitted this photo where you can see one of the eagles at the top of a tree.

Press release from the city's Bureau of Maintenance:

Please be aware that all motorists using South Main Street within the City of Batavia from Oak Street Extension west to the City Line will experience travel delays and road closures between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday, June 20 and Tuesday, June 21.

Roadwork involving the milling of the pavement will begin on the east end and progress west. Areas of work will be closed to all through traffic. Local traffic will be permitted to and from their residence/ property but should plan accordingly for delays.

All residents within the work area are asked not to park on the roadway during the day.

Once milling is complete, the roadway will be prepared for paving and then final paved. An additional media release will be issued with specific dates and times for this work.

Contact the Bureau of Maintenance with any questions at 345-6400, option 1.

Thank you for your cooperation in advance.

A house on South Main that was knocked off its foundation when it was hit by an allegedly speeding pickup truck in early March is just about gone.

Workers started demolishing the house this morning and say by tomorrow there will be a level, gravel-covered vacant lot where the duplex once stood.

Electric lines are reportedly down and on fire in the vicinity of 65 South Main St., Batavia.

Batavia Fire is responding.

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It's going to be a struggle to get through the next month, says Robin Lewin. She, her husband and two teenage daughters are living in an RV parked in the driveway of 28 South Main St., Batavia.

The house they rented there was knocked off its foundation Monday afternoon when it was struck by a truck reportedly driven 19-year-old Louis M. Reeb, of Corfu.

Reeb has not been charged with any crimes yet, but Lewin said investigators have been asking her and her husband questions.

Reeb remains in Strong Memorial Hospital in satisfactory condition.

The pickup slammed into the west side of the two-unit house and demolished the steps leading to the second-floor entryway. Two-by-fours now prop up the west wall.  The east wall is bowed and the cinder-block chimney is cracked at the seams between two blocks.

The second-floor tenant, Luz Castro, was nearly struck by the truck as she waited outside for her daughter's school bus. We have no word on where Castro is staying now, but the Lewin family is preparing to move.

They are getting their belongings out of the portion of the house they are allowed to access (at least one room is locked off because of safety concerns) and moving them to storage.

"I don’t know what we’re going to do," Lewin said. "My youngest daughter’s got three more months to graduate and after that we were going to leave state."

This month, she said, they don't really have enough money for necessities. Her mother, Barbara Waterstraw, a Newark resident, was visiting Monday and in the house at the time of the accident. She has sent some money to help, but Lewin said it's still not enough.

Her husband David works in landscaping, but that business hasn't started for the season yet.

David and Robin have two daughters, Amanda, who has graduated high school, and Danielle, who attends Batavia High.

"We’ll be fine by next month and then we’ll have money for heat and food and stuff like that," Lewin said. "We’ll be fine. It’s just that this month we’ll be struggling with everything."

It was a twist of fate that Robin was even home the day of the accident. She had originally been scheduled for heart surgery in Rochester, which was why her mother was in town, but after further examination that morning, her doctor determined the surgery was unnecessary.

"I was thinking, what would happen if he did the surgery and the girls were in the house all by themselves?" Lewin said. "They were going to stay by themselves for one night. I thank God that he let me come home. I just thank God nothing happened to them."