A medical call requiring Mercy Flight to the scene means that Byron Fire Police will shut down Ford Road between Transit and Norton so a landing zone can be established. Elba fire is setting up the landing zone.
A company that was planning to build much needed middle-income senior housing in Genesee County is apparently ready to kill the project after the Genesee County Economic Development Center Board voted Tuesday to block the project from receiving financial aid.
A representative of Calamar, the senior housing developer, sent an e-mail to a county official yesterday that said without the more than $1.4 million in tax breaks Calamar was seeking, the project is not financially viable.
A source provided The Batavian with a copy of the e-mail.
"We've been left with no options than to not proceed," wrote Jocelyn Bos, director of senior housing development for Calamar. "If we do not have an endorsement, I wouldn't be able to keep the rents affordable to the middle income senior group of Batavia."
Asked by The Batavian for further comment and to confirm the contents of the e-mail, Bos backed off the not-proceeding statement.
Her entire statement:
First, I want to tell you how I have admired how your paper supports the seniors of all incomes in your community and just want to let you know that we are exploring our options regarding our proposed middle-income senior complex.
According to John Gerace, a real estate agent who assisted Calamar with locating the property on West Main Street Road for the project, Calamar officials spent much of yesterday discussing their options.
Among them, he said, is filing an Article 78 claim (essentially a lawsuit) against GCEDC.
The way Gerace sees it, middle-income housing for seniors is needed in Batavia; it's part of the county's master plan; it's an identified need in GCEDC's planning documents; and this is a commercial project just like any other, so it's eligible for assistance.
"I told them (the GCEDC board), 'you guys should be ashamed of yourselves because you know it's warranted and needed, so what you've done is just shut the door on any more senior housing in Genesee County,' " Gerace said.
Calamar was seeking $400,000 in sales tax and mortgage tax exemption and a $1 million PILOT, which exempts a property from additional property taxes on an increase in assessed value, graduated over 10 years.
The value of the developed property would have been at least $5 million, Gerace said, which would have meant an additional $175,000 in new local property tax revenue once the PILOT expired.
Local residents selling their homes to move into the Calamar facility also would have generated new tax revenue, Gerace said.
Gerace worked as a secondary agent on the property sale, he said, and stood to get no more than a $4,000 commission on the $1 million sale of the property on West Main Street Road.
Ray Cianfrini, chairman of the County Legislature, and a GCEDC board member, said he voted against Calamar because he can't see authorizing spending $1.4 million in taxpayer money to create two jobs.
"We all agreed that it's a worthwhile project," Cianfrini said. "We all agree middle-income senior housing is needed. We agree with that, we just don't want to spend taxpayer money to do it. If the project doesn't go forward, I feel badly about that, but this was not a narrow vote."
Cianfrini said he also sees the Calamar project as competition for existing senior housing in the county -- housing that was built without taxpayer assistance.
Calamar would have been able to charge lower rents than some existing projects and that wouldn't be fair to the other developers, Cianfrini said.
The idea of competition is the key to the vote, Gerace said. More new housing in the county would mean more competition for Pete Zeliff and his Oakwood Estates project on the east side of town.
Zeliff, a newer member of the GCEDC board, is building single-family homes that would be marketed to upper-income professionals.
Gerace thinks that creates a conflict of interest for Zeliff and Cianfrini, who is the attorney for Zeliff on the project.
Cianfrini and Zeliff said both said don't see a conflict of interest. The two projects are completely different. They're aimed at different markets -- one is rental, the other is home ownership. Even if you factor in existing homes being vacated by seniors moving into the Calamar project, that's still a very different home buyer looking at those older homes than would consider something in Oakwood Estates.
Zeliff has not even approached the GCEDC about financial incentives for Oakwood Estates. He said his vote against the Calamar project had everything to do with the merits of the proposal.
"They're creating just two jobs at cost of $1.4 million," Zeliff said. "That's $700,000 a job. The residents complain when the EDC gives incentives to industry that is $100,000 a job, why would the residents want to commit $700,000 to a job to residential housing?"
And yes, competition is an issue -- Calamar would compete with projects such as Clinton Crossings, which charges $1,100 a month in rent. Calamar's taxpayer-subsidized rents would all be $1,000 or less.
Clinton Crossings received no tax incentives for its project, Zeliff said.
"They have 35 people on the waiting list waiting to get in," Zeliff said. "The area will support senior housing at the money Calamar claims it won't."
Gerace wonders why the GCEDC board wouldn't even let the project go to a public hearing, allowing the public to weigh in on whether Calamar should get tax incentives to help build much needed senior housing.
Cianfrini said he didn't see any point in a public hearing.
"My position, if we don't believe in the project in the first instance, why let it go to a public hearing when we know we're going to vote it down after a public hearing," Cianfrini said. "We just thought we'd be wasting valuable time to even let it go to a public hearing. If they want to know what the public viewpoint on this is, let them poll the public themselves and get their own opinion on it."
Jerry Ader, pictured yesterday during a committee of the whole meeting of the Genesee County Legislature, has been named the new public defender.
Ader, a longtime assistant to the former PD, Gary Horton, was the name the selection committee kept coming back to as it waded through the candidates, said Legislature Chairman Ray Cianfrini. He was the most qualified and with a proven track record of dedication to the job.
The East Pembroke Mud Races are on a Sunday this year -- this Sunday.
Registration starts at 10 a.m. The first race is 12:30 p.m.
Registration fees: $15 per class, $5 for 11 and under, $5 for each additional class and racers still pay admission.
Admission is $10, with 11 and under free. Pit admission is $12.
You can enter a raffle to win the four-wheeler shown above.
Pictured with the 2014 Cao Polaris 570cc are James Gayton and Dale Lewter.
Stefanie and Kevin are hoping you can help them find Zoe. She's been missing for a week now. This is an older picture. She's put on a little weight since it was taken. Her home is in the Byron area. If you've seen Zoe or have Zoe, call (585) 548-9961.
UPDATE Aug. 15: Zoe is home safe and sound, according to her very happy owners, Stefanie and Kevin!
Summer in the City is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Here's the notice of streat closures for the day:
Streets closed (barricades) at 7:30 a.m.: Main, Bank, Center, School, Jackson, Court & Jefferson:
Bank at Washington (For Race Only)
Bank at Alva
Main at Upton Monument
Main at Liberty / Summit
Jackson at Ellicott
Center at School
Court at Ellicott / Parking Lot Entrances /Bank Drive-Thru
Jefferson at Intersection Tonawanda Valley & Wendy’s Parking Lots
Wendy’s -- Main Street Entrance
Main Stage: Will be located in front of Wendy’s / County Building #1 on Main Street facing east. Entertainment begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m.
Vendors: Crafters and nonprofits & KidsZone located on Main, Court & Jefferson. Food vendors will be on the north side of Main Street from in front of Larry’s Steakhouse, west to corner of Main & Jefferson. Commercial vendors on the south side of Main Street from corner of Court to Center Street. BID Businesses south side from Jackson to Center Street.
Super Cruise: Vehicles will be on the north side of Main Street from Jackson Street, east to Liberty / Summit, and the south side from Center to Liberty Street. They will also be on Jackson, School & Center streets and a segment of Bank Street.
Donny Carroll 5K Race: Start/ Finish line will be at the entrance of Bank of America Drive-Thru. The race starts at 9 a.m. and ends finishes by 10:30 a.m.
Access To Parking Lots: Court / Jackson access off of Ellicott Street;
Alva access off of Alva Place & Bank Street (after 5K Race
ends at 10:30 a.m.);
Center Street access off of School Street
Reopen streets at 11 p.m.
Standing by a window, toasting a French bread pizza, Jeff Heubusch looked out on sunny Ellicott Street and mused, "sure beats working working in a salt mine."
He then states the obvious with a wry smile. "There's no windows in a mine shaft."
Heubusch should know. He spent 12 years working in a salt mine. He only quit when a mining accident nearly took his life.
His year-long recuperation gave him time to reflect and reassess what he wanted to do with his life.
The son of a miner, Heubusch purchased Southside Deli two years before the accident (today is the 25th anniversary of that purchase). He kept his mining job even as he tried to build the deli business. Digging out the salt of the Earth so motorists could drive on de-iced asphalt offered Heubusch a sense of security not available to entrepreneurs. He didn't want to give up that steady paycheck and good benefits while trying to build a business of his own.
While convalescing, Heubusch said to himself, "Am I going to lay on this couch the rest of my life and live on comp or Social Security disability?"
"Once I was able to get around and be productive, that's when I said, really, 'it's all or nothing.' "
That sense of commitment has stuck with Heubusch now for more than two decades. It's the reason Southside Deli not only survived. It thrived.
One hundred customers a day has become 500. Three employees have become 17. Children who once bought pop and candy at the store now bring their families in for subs and salads.
Born in Wyoming County, Heubusch graduated from Warsaw High School in 1977. He was 17 and couldn't get a job, so he went to work in his mother's upholstery business.
When he turned 18, he got his first job in a salt mine.
He was laid off, rehired, laid off and rehired again a couple of times over the next few years. During that time he also worked for U.S. Gypsum and Le Roy Machine.
He bought a house in Batavia, and when he started working in the mine again, his daily commute took him down Ellicott Street.
Every day, he would drive past Southside Deli (Heubusch kept the name from the previous owner; In the 19th Century, it was Ebling Meat Market and the location has always been some sort of market).
On the second floor of the building is a balcony. As he drove by each day, Heubusch would see a for sale sign hanging from the balcony rail.
That got his mind working.
"I'd see it and I'd think to myself, 'man, I'd love to work for myself.' I kept seeing that and it kept fueling my idea of what I would do if I owned that."
There's a reason working in a salt mine is a metaphor in our culture's lexicon for arduous work. It's hard labor.
In flush times, Heubusch worked 10 to 12-hour days, seven days a week.
"There were days I never saw daylight."
One day, finally, he called a realtor and got the ball rolling.
Escrow closed Aug. 10, 1989. Heubusch opened Southside Deli for the first time under his ownership four days later.
The business needed a lot of work, he said. The century-old building needed an array of repairs. There was kitchen equipment to replace and Heubusch wanted to expand the deli.
"I knew the deli had potential. It was a great concept, but he (the previous owner) wasn't a hands-on guy. I knew if I worked it, I could bring it to life."
There was nothing easy about those early years, said Heubusch, who had no prior food service experience.
Besides keeping his job in the salt mine, Heubusch and his family (his daughter Cassandra was 4 years old at the time) lived in the apartment above the store.
"That's the only way I could do it."
Cassandra rode her skates through the aisles and learned to ring out deli customers by the time she was 6.
Then came the mining accident.
He was at the bottom of a mine shaft and it closed up on him. Heubusch suffered a pair of broke legs, a broken back and nerve damage.
"To me, it was a life-threatening experience. It all could have ended that day."
He required multiple surgeries, a year of at-home convalescence, seven years of physical therapy and 20 years of chiropractors.
To see him work in his store today, you would never guess his body had been through such trauma.
"This place did help me, both mentally and physically."
So what's the secret to his success?
Heubusch said it's easy: hard work, good food and a singular focus on keeping customers happy.
A customer complaint feels like a failure, Heubusch said.
He takes a lot of pride in how well his deli team works together to take orders quickly, move fast and deliver the right sub or wrap made well and with alacrity. It's timing and attention to detail.
"I like being known as the place with the best subs. The best meats, the best salads. That's our niche. People can go anywhere else and buy pop, groceries or beer, but you can't buy a Southside Deli sub anywhere else. If you've been raised on Southside, nobody can match it."
The best measure of success, Heubusch said, is the customer who comes back.
"It's a good feeling. When you have a customer who's never been in before and they come back and they come back and they come back, it's a good feeling. Then I know I'm doing the right thing."
It sure beats working in a salt mine.
During lunch hour, customers are often lined up four and five deep at the deli counter.
On the wall above the racks of candy are 22 pictures of Little League teams sponsored by Southside Deli. Heubusch said young men come in now and point to pictures of their 8- and 9-year-old selves.
"It sure beats working in a salt mine."
A big part of Southside's lunch business comes from workers calling in their orders for pick up.
Press release:
Genesee County STOP DWI Coordinator Matt Landers today announced the launch of the new, free “Have A Plan” mobile app that encourages people to have a plan to get home safely if they are impaired by alcohol or drugs.
The app is a valuable tool in helping reduce accidents and injuries caused by impaired drivers.
It operates on iPhone, Android and Windows platforms, and targets the 18-34 age range with features such as an ability to preload a list of designated drivers, find a taxi cab via GPS, an alcohol impairment estimator, various motor skills tests to assess impairment level and a "Report DWI" button that connects users to their local 9-1-1 service.
The app also offers a list of DWI facts and myths, access to STOP-DWI social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, as well as a RSS feed to get the latest news on impaired driving.
“The ‘Have A Plan’ app will be important in the effort to prevent impaired driving," Landers said. "We want people to enjoy themselves, but we also want them to get home safely. This app helps its users do that by placing a tool in the hands of a potentially impaired driver to find a safe way home.”
Developed by STOP-DWI New York and Staples Marketing under a grant from the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, “Have A Plan” is one of the most comprehensive traffic safety mobile apps in the country. Users can download the “Have A Plan” app by visiting www.stopdwi.org/mobile app and selecting the link for the Apple Store, Google Play, or the Windows Phone Store.
“I urge drivers to make advance plans to get a sober ride home from a friend, family or by taxi. The new “Have A Plan’ app can help guide individuals to make the right choice to get home safely. Don’t put yourself or others in harm’s way by driving while impaired,” said Coordinator Landers.
STOP-DWI, which stands for ‘Special Traffic Operations Program for Driving While Intoxicated, was created by the State Legislature in 1981 to empower county governments to coordinate local efforts to reduce alcohol and other drug-related traffic crashes within the context of a comprehensive and financially self-sustaining alcohol and highway safety program.
You can follow the Genesee County STOP-DWI program on Facebook and receive more information on the mobile app along with other useful information.
Press release:
On Saturday, Aug. 16, the City of Batavia Fire Department will be hosting a free child safety seat check event. This event will be held in conjunction with Summer in the City. The check site will be at Fire Headquarters on Evans Street from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Nationally certified technicians will ensure child safety seats are installed correctly and also be available to answer any questions parents/caregivers have about child passenger safety restraints.
Did you know three out of four kids are not as secure in the car as they should be because their car seats are not being used correctly? Using the correct restraints reduces infants’ and toddlers’ chances for fatal injury by 71 percent and 54 percent in passenger cars respectively.
Stop down to the free Summer in the City child safety seat check event.
Sweet Pea’s Cupcakery Café, 23 Jackson St., Batavia, NY. We are a full-service Cupcake Bakery and Café. Now serving fresh-baked artisan pizza on Friday nights! We offer soft-serve ice cream, too! Treat yourself to a variety of baked goods, mainly varieties of specialty and traditional scratch-made cupcakes, as well as other bakery items like cookies and brownies. We also serve a variety of hot and cold beverages. Check out our location, or place an order for parties, gatherings or any other reasons you can think of to enjoy some cupcakes. We have a $10 gift card for $6.
The Mane Attraction Salon and Spa, 99 Main St., Batavia, NY: offers "Affordable Luxury" in downtown Batavia. We pride ourselves in the great customer service we give to the entirefamily. Men, women and children are all welcome either by appointment or walk-in. We offer all hair care services including cuts, color, highlights, lowlights, perms, styling/updos, facials, leg and back waxing, Shellac Polish System, manicures and pedicures. We are the only salon in Batavia that has an airplane chair for kids' cuts! Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. We have $20 gift certificates for $10.
Sweetland Pines Golf Course, 5795 Sweetland Road, Stafford, NY: Sweetland Pines is a par 3 golf course, great for beginners and experienced golfers working on the short game. Relaxed golf game, average play is about 1 hour and 20 minutes, leaving the golfer time to enjoy rest of the day. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.
Dave's Ice Cream, 3872 W. Main Street Road, Batavia, NY: Dave's offers only locally purchased products, including Perry's hard ice cream in a wide variety of yummy flavors, with a wonderful assortment of toppings and homemade waffle cones. Different soft-serve flavors are offered weekly. We have a $10 gift certificate for $6.
Smokin' Eagle BBQ & Brew, 9 Main St., Le Roy, NY. The kind of downhome, laid-back and comfortable place that just feels right. Open daily for lunch, dinner and drinks, this eatery and bar features a variety of eats and drinks that are outstanding. Specializing in smoked meats -- each meat is dry rubbed with a proprietary mix of seasonings, then smoked slowly in their on-site smoker for maximum flavor and tenderness. With a variety of appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, combo platters and entrées, there's always plenty of choice for even picky eaters. Great food, frosty brews and some of the best folk around call the Smokin' Eagle BBQ & Brew their favorite -- make it your favorite today! Don't forget to ask about our catering! We have a $20 gift card for $12.
Viking Valhalla Restaurant & Rose Garden Bowl, 21 Buffalo Road, Bergen, NY: Open for lunch Monday through Sunday, and dinner Friday and Saturday evenings. Dinner favorites are our succulent prime rib and Friday fish fries! We are always happy to help plan your special occasion -- wedding, shower, rehearsal dinner, stag party, graduation, company function, banquet, family or class reunion. We have a $20 gift certificate for $12.
SOLD OUT
Chris Moss, running for lieutenant governor, made three campaign stops in Genesee County on Tuesday, starting with Batavia Turf Farms, where he got a look at a natural roof covering that Batavia Turf/CY Farms grows for a company in France, Vegitel.
In the photo above, Moss, in the dark suit on the left, talks with local farmers while standing on flats filled with sedum plants.
Craig Yunker, CEO of CY Farms, explained that rooftops covered in Sedum absorb more water, preventing runoff, and help cool the building more efficiently.
"They (Vegital I.D.) supply green roofs to buildings looking to help control stormwater, help reduce energy costs and reduce the hotspots in cities," Yunkers said.
After the briefing on sedium-covered roofs, area farmers shared some of their issues with the state, particularly in the area of farm labor and a renewed effort by New York City activists to raise wages beyond what would be sustainable for Upstate farmers.
Moss said he and his running mate, gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino, fully support New York's agriculture industry.
"We understand the importance of farming and what it does for New York State, the importance to the economy," Moss said.
The discussion then turned, led primarily by Rep. Chris Collins, to how folks such as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are holding back the New York economy with taxes and regulations.
Collins hit on themes he would return to when he and Moss appeared later at the Genesee County Women's Republican Club event at Batavia Downs and the Genesee County SCOPE meeting at the Calvary Baptist Church on Galloway Road, Batavia.
Collins said "New York is losing." People are moving away. Businesses are moving away. There was a time when New York had 45 members of Congress and Florida had seven. Now, New York has 27 and Florida has 29.
"The governor says there are now two blocks around University at Buffalo that are now tax free and I say, 'governor, in Texas, the entire state is tax free; in Florida, the entire state is tax free,' " Collins said. "This is all smoke and mirrors. If it wasn't so sad, it would be a joke. He's creating this illusion that New York is prospering."
Moss also spoke out against the SAFE Act and Common Core.
He said first thing on the agenda for an Astorino/Moss administration would be defunding and repealing the SAFE Act.
He also announced that yesterday, the campaign had turned in 65,000 signatures had been gathered to create a party line on the election ballot for an Anti-Common Core Party. Such a line, he said, could tip the election to Astorino.
Yunker, Collins and Moss.
Chris Moss
Moss, who is sheriff of Chemung County and president of the New York Sheriff's Association, with Susan Maha and Sheriff Gary Maha.
Local, award-winning artists Terry Webber and Bernice Yunkers have a joint exhibit at the Richmond Memorial Library now through the end of August.
Richmond Memorial Library patrons and supporters got a chance to meet new director Bob Conrad during a reception Tuesday.
Conrad is originally from Rochester, a 1992 graduate of Eastridge High School. He lived for 22 years in the Chicago area where he earned an undergraduate degree in Radio, TV and Film and a graduate degree in Library and Information Science.
He worked for 10 years in the Chicago library system before he decided he wanted to take his career to the next level. He started looking for jobs in New York and California and when he found the opening in Batavia he said it was "a perfect fit."
As a new director, he's not coming in looking to make a lot of changes. We have something good here in a library, he said, and he wants to keep it that way.
"I want the best library that this community can support and the best library that can support the community," Conrad said, adding, "Right now, I'm just learning the job. I'm delighted that the staff all seem to know what they're doing and that the community really treasures the institution, so my first job is not (to) break it."
Conrad is buying a home in Batavia, but in the meantime, he's staying with family in the Rochester area.
He's very familiar with WNY. His family took annual trips to Letchworth and Watkins Glen and he worked at Seabreeze in high school. But when Conrad started spreading the news that he was taking a job in Batavia, it prompted a little geography lesson for those around him in Illinois. They are far more familiar with another Batavia (their very own).
"I did have to disambiguate to all of my colleagues when telling them where I was going to be library director," Conrad said.
Bob Youll's business sucks -- in a good way.
A lifelong Batavia resident, Youll has been running "The Vac Shop," at 329 Ellicott St. in the city, since 1991. He attributes the longevity of his business to perseverance, word of mouth and steady business.
"Off the top of my head, I'd say I get between 30 and 50 regular customers," Youll said. "Though it does fluctuate from year to year due to people moving, changing jobs, etc."
Youll will take care of anything from major motor repairs to changing belts and cleaning out clogging.
From time to time, he will repair other household items -- such as blenders, lamps and heaters -- as well. He also sells used and rebuilt vacuums, as well as the occasional new vacuum.
Formerly employed by a Batavia catalog store (now closed), Youll got his vacuum repair training from The Vac Shop's former owner, Joe DeFazio.
"Joe taught me about basic vacuums," he said. "At that time, most of it was self-taught. You would get a machine, take it apart, and see where everything was. Now the Internet also helps in locating parts and the like."
Basically, Youll approaches his work not only with a view to the customer's immediate need, but also with the average consumer's perspective on vacuuming in mind.
"Vacuuming is usually an afterthought," he said. "People want to get it done, and quickly. (When working on repairs) I try to set the machine up for that use."
He also knows the extra details that are better to take care of right away -- such as putting a new belt on the machine -- so that the equipment will not need to be sent back at a later date.
Store hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information, call 343-7754.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino was scheduled to be in Batavia today, but he had a family emergency and is unable to make his scheduled campaign appearances.
His running mate Chris Moss will however be at the the GOP Women's meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Batavia Downs, and then he will also speak at the SCOPE meeting at 7 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, 3515 Galloway Road.
The sign placed in front of Batavia Marine on West Main anticipated Astorino being in town today, but then his plans changed.
Astorino, who hopes to unseat Andrew Cuomo, has been crisscrossing the state for several months, but has yet to make an appearance in Genesee County.
CORRECTION: Astornio visited Genesee County two days after announcing his candidacy. He made an appearance at Larry's Steakhouse.
Mary Repast, Kim Floskowski and Lisa Wittmeyer were in Austin Park yesterday handing out fliers to promote a Penny Carnival hosted by Community Action of Orleans and Genesee Counties.
The Carnival will be in the park next Friday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Children are encouraged to bring pennies.
The event is co-sponsored by the Salvation Army, Care-A-Van and Jr. Angels in Action.
There will be games and prizes.
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