This house at 245 Dearborn in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood may soon be torn down. The need for demolition will be presented to the Buffalo Preservation Board at today’s meeting along with the storefront on Connecticut Street that we featured earlier. Like the Connecticut Street house this one has apparently been neglected for several years and is not protected by any historic designations which could prevent or delay demolition. The Preservation Board will have little authority to save it.
Viewed on Google you can clearly see a blue tarp on the roof hinting at major maintenance issues. Based on the Preservation Board agenda the owners would like to tear down the house and the garage because of roof leaks. The agenda notes that there is mold throughout the house. This gorgeous house is on a pleasant street which still has all of its historic urban building fabric intact. It looks like this will be the first house lost to the short-sighted demolition mentality. It is enough to make the mayor of Lackawanna proud. The house appears solid and its details are remarkably intact. It adds tremendous grace to the street scape. It should not be torn down. Buffalo has to stop allowing this wonton destruction of its most valuable asset, its unique historic building heritage.
Online county tax records show that the house has been owned by a California couple since 2007. Did they buy it with a major roof leak? if so, why not fix it? How long does it take for a roof leak to destroy a house to the point it needs to be torn down? Is this a reasonable way to manage a property? Property management which renders a building useless and dangerous should not be acceptable any longer in Buffalo. It should be inexcusable to allow your property to rot to the point of it being uninhabitable. Why do the residents of this street have to suffer the consequences of a diminished environment and lower property values because of this kind of property neglect. Why is there no action by the city before reaching the point of no return?
Even if this building is not saved it is important for the people of the city to stand up and object to demolition by neglect and demand action from the City to stop neglectful owners from further ruining the city.
Buffalo Preservation Board Meeting N0. 595, Thursday December 5, 2013 at 3:00 pm room 901 City Hall
Image is from househunt.com