Demone Smith, that is.

I agree with Colin. Why call out those names when there are just as many worse politicians in the city.

Pano has never had any intention of expanding his restaurant. All those plans were just smoke an mirrors for him to be able to tear down the Atwater house, and now he thinks that if he waits long enough, nobody will notice him slowly turning it into a parking lot. That was all about deception. Chalk one up for the "let anybody build anything they want on their property crowd."

This is what I hate about buffalo and even wny zoning and building codes/regulations. I don't have a problem with the design of this bank....i think it will look nice. But why is the design and construction standards of this bank different then what the city held Bank of America to? Where is the required second floor?

The city and the neighborhood group fought hard and made Bank of America fight through many hoops to get that deal approved. Why not here??? Why didn't we hold Evans bank to the same criteria???

Can you see how aggrevating this can become to developers and business/tenants.

I wonder why more out of town developers don't try to do something in WNY.

Can anyone tell me why its taking PANO so long to build his new restaurant? It looks like a junk yard next door and from what I remember is was suppsed to be done by this Spring...... I cant stand looking at his resaurant at the moment, get that lazy ass off his ass Also has anyone heard anything on the potential hotel next to Shang hai Reds location? I am interested to find out which bid will win, and considering it seem like there was one interestging and innovative desgn that would actually create a buzz, I hope it would be that one. Any ideas?

I think the answer is that this is considered a renovation and the Bank of America was a demo and new-build.

gaustad --

1. I don't know that Wannamaker did spend city money to interview somewhere else. I haven't seen anything about that.

2. If he did, and was able to get away with it, the explanation is simple -- government is corrupt. Duh.

3. Interesting that you name Byron and Demone Brown, Wannamaker, and Davis but fail to mention other bigwigs. That's a very particular kind of line you draw there . . .

4. Can you define "crackhead" for us? I see poor people, and sometimes I even see omeless people, but I rarely see someone who's cracked out.

Evans does not have to adhere to B of A two story soning laws because the organizations that put them in place are semi-retarded.....and for no other reason.

If there was a reason to complain or become anti-development then some hippi liberal on Elmwood, with no life experience, will fight the fight.

That is why there are so many crack heads mugging people up and down Elmwood Ave. Remember people, with all this hoop la, Buffalo is still the 2nd poorest city in the country.....although it looks like the poorest city to me.

Byron, Demoin, Wannamaker, Davis - that is a real hookin crew.

How is it that Wannamaker can spend city tax dollars taking interviews in California, land a job, advance his career on my nickle and not get investigated??????????? Colin, please enlighten me?

Colin, for a city guy, you seem naive.

A crackhead is someone that smokes crack and then scurries around Elmwood asking for a light.

If you don't know that most of the panhandlers on Elmwood are high on Crack, you better start paying closer attention .

Thank you....but no it wasn't (my company was part of the deal). Or it wasn't originally planned as a new build. Only after the demands of the city and neighborhood.....did it become a new build.

I like the new BOA, i'm ok with the new Evans Branch....

My point is that the city needs to have clear cut zoning and bldg regs.....that apply to all development.

Lets not hold Family Video on Hertel to one set of rules. Dunkin Donuts on Main to another. BOA and Evans on Elmwood to something completely different. Panos......ect. ect. ect.

scsa - yeah, you're right...one parking lot is probably not a big deal. Pano wants a parking lot because he thinks his business doesn't have enough parking. Well guess what, every single business and property owner feels that they need more parking. So should we allow any owner on the street to buy the building next door and knock it down for parking... because if we allow Pano to do it, how can we stop anyone else. Eventually Elmwood avenue is no longer Elmwood Avenue, like Dan Sack said, we will begin to see Delaware Ave. around Hertel. A giant clusterF$%& of cars, ashpalt and cookie-cutter buildings. Its all about setting a precedent and the City allowed Pano to set and EXTREMELY DANGEROUS precedent for Elmwood Ave.

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Heh, they covered up the "steel cross" with plywood today. It seemed kind of odd sticking up for a while...

Odd that the entry is moved to Delevam

you'd figure if they could afford the crack, they could afford a $0.75 lighter ;)

I wish, too, that GBSB (now First Niagara) had opened a bank there.

The only ones with Saturday hours are on the Blvd. and Main & Jewett. The downtown & exchange st. locations have crap for hours. Maybe with Evans moving in, they'll think about putting a more convenient location in somewhere along elmwood or delaware (hopefully!)

Is the Eckerd on W. Utica still open (as Rite-Aid) or did they close it? They can be a run for Bank of America's money there.....

I don't agree with the black tint on the windows either. To be a "REAL" neighborhood bank, the exterior needs to be more inviting to the community and clear glass is the way to go. It actually works well in other banks.