Jackson Street

Video by Steve Tufts

Press release:

Please be advised that construction on the Jackson Street Water project will resume on Monday, April 1st, with the installation of interconnections on Ellicott Street. Water loss should be expected from Main to Ellicott on Liberty Street and possibly the surrounding area, depending on valve closures needed. If discolored water occurs when water pressure is regained, please avoid doing laundry or cooking until the water runs clear.

 We apologize for any inconvenience, and the public’s patience is greatly appreciated.

Press Release:

Please be advised that construction on the Jackson Street Water project will resume on Monday, April 1, with the installation of interconnections on Ellicott Street. 

Loss of water should be expected from Main Street to Liberty Street and possible surrounding areas, depending on valve closures needed. 

If discolored water occurs when water pressure is regained, please avoid doing laundry or cooking until the water runs clear.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and the public’s patience is greatly appreciated.

Press Release:

Please be advised that Blue Heron Construction will continue to work on interconnections for the Jackson Street Water project tomorrow, Tuesday, March 19, on Jackson Street from Ellicott to Main Street. 

Loss of water should be expected in this area and possible surrounding area depending on valve closures needed. If discolored water occurs when water pressure is regained, please avoid doing laundry or cooking until the water runs clear.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank the public for its patience and cooperation as we work to improve our community.

Sixty years ago, The Beatles invaded America, beginning on Feb. 9, 1964, with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, followed by a concert in Washington, D.C., a second appearance on Ed Sullivan, and then several other concerts in the U.S.

For young Batavians who wanted to hear more or know more about the Fab Four, there were two choices: Roxy's Music Store, where they could buy records, and Marshall's News Store, where they could buy magazines.

Walking down Main Street, you would stop at Roxy’s, buy the latest 45 single, and then move on to Marshall’s News Store. 

As 14-year-olds, my best friend Cathy and I made the pilgrimage to our two favorite stores once a week. What we took for granted were the smiles that would greet us at the two stores.  

Years ago, I had the privilege of talking to Art Marshall, the last Marshall to own the store, following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. I asked Art about his fondest memories. He didn’t hesitate; he said the customers and people he worked with at the store.  

In 1999, when the store was sold, The Batavia Daily News did an article titled "Last Edition; Batavia Newsstand closes after a Century." Many people were interviewed, and you knew the news store was more than just a place for buying a newspaper. It was an institution where people came to connect with their friends. 

Art told me the news store was the first business in Batavia to sell lottery tickets. That reminded me of my first and last ticket I bought at his store many years ago.   Everyone wanted to buy a lottery ticket. As I was trying to remember the dates and ages of my family members, one by one, I realized I was holding up the line. When I left Marshalls and the unhappy line of ticket buyers was out the door, I knew that would be my last lottery ticket.

There are many memories from Marshall’s News Store, from young boys who pedaled newspapers early to the store becoming a favorite place to buy the Sunday paper after church.   I look back and smile, remembering Rosie and Art’s welcoming faces as we entered the store.

It all began in 1898; Arthur H. Marshall purchased the news store on 67 Main Street from Orville L. Howard. In 1901, he was joined by Hugh H. Telfair and moved the newsroom to the rear portion of the Farmer’s Bank. By 1921, Art Marshall dropped his partner and moved to 11 Jackson St., staying there for many years. He shared a building with Ebling Electric. In 1974, the store moved into the Daily News building and was operated by Marshall’s grandson, Arthur Marshall Jr., who owned the store until 1994, when it was sold.

A name synonymous with the news store is Rosie Tumminello. He began working at the news store as a paperboy in 1936 when he was eight. At 12, he was hired by Art Marshall to work inside the store. He remained with the store for 52 years and eventually became the store manager. He was the heart of Marshall’s News Store.

 In writing articles for many years, I have always been filled with beautiful memories and saddened by the loss of Main Street. Gone are the days when you could walk down Main and Jackson streets and buy anything from produce, clothing, a washing machine, a meal, and last but not least, a newspaper and lottery ticket. Thank you, Marshall News Store, for the memories and for reminding us of the Good Ole Days.

Information for this article was made available from the Genesee County History Department files. 

Press Release:

Please be advised that Blue Heron Construction will continue to work on interconnections to side streets for the Jackson Street water project on Thursday, beginning around 7:30 a.m. on Wood Street.

Loss of water should be expected in the surrounding area depending on valve closures. If discolored water occurs when water pressure is regained, please avoid doing laundry or cooking until the water runs clear.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank the public for their patience and cooperation as we work to improve our community.

Press Release:

Please be advised that Blue Heron Construction will begin interconnections to side streets in regard to the Jackson Street Water project on Monday, Jan. 8 starting around 8:30 a.m. 

On Monday, work is expected on Cone Street and Ganson Avenue, Cherry Street on Tuesday, and Morton Avenue on Wednesday. Timeframes are subject to change depending on the amount of time it takes to complete each hook up. Loss of water should be expected on these streets and surrounding streets depending on valve closures. 

If discolored water occurs when water pressure is regained, please avoid doing laundry or cooking until the water runs clear.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank the public for their patience and cooperation as we work to improve our community.

Work is progressing Monday on the Jackson Street waterline replacement project between Ellicott and Chestnut streets in the City of Batavia. Crews from Blue Heron Construction of Jordan are replacing approximately 2,250 linear feet of 4- and 6-inch water mains with 8-inch mains during the pre-winter project.

Blue Heron was the successful candidate for the job out of several bids. City Council awarded the company its bid of $1,353,000 during the city's Aug. 14 business meeting.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Press Release:

Please be advised that Blue Heron Construction will be mobilizing equipment in preparation for construction on the Jackson Street Water project within the City of Batavia. 

Construction on this project is scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 30 and will include the installation of approximately 2,250 linear feet of new 8-inch water mains and appurtenances to replace existing 4-inch and 6-inch water mains on Jackson Street from Chestnut Street to Ellicott Street.

Traffic delays are to be expected; however, no street closures are anticipated at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank the public for their patience and cooperation as we work to improve our community.

A two-year-old child was uninjured after apparently crawling through a second-floor window onto a first-floor roof and then falling to the ground at 104 Jackson St., Batavia.

According to a witness, the child stood up quickly after the fall and started walking.

The window and roof section were on the north side of the dwelling.

Batavia PD, City Fire, and Mercy EMS all responded to the call at around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Sgt. Dan Coffey, Batavia PD, said officers are still investigating the incident and didn't have further information available.  If warranted, there will be a press release later about the incident.

UPDATE 2:05 p.m.: The investigation reveals the incident is an "unfortunate accident," Coffey said.

The middle of an economic lockdown may not seem like the ideal time to open a new restaurant but when it's something you were planning and dreaming about before a global pandemic was announced, that's what you do as soon as you can.

Gilliana's Diner, on Jackson Street, in the former location of Sylvania's, opened yesterday.

"We're super excited," said Jill Antinore, who owns the new eatery with her husband Mark.

Jill said they purchased the restaurant Feb. 1 then the global health emergency hit and the County Health Department wasn't issuing health permits. They had to wait until the Health Department was able to give them the OK to open.

Opened for breakfast and lunch -- except on Friday when they offer a dinner menu -- Jill described the diner as "a breakfast place with Italian specialties."

Available for takeout now are typical breakfast items, such as bacon and eggs, and items such as "The Godfather," which is egg, provolone, Italian sausage, sweet or hot peppers; and "Italian eggs in Purgatory," which is two eggs poached in homemade tomato sauce, with cannellini beans, peppers and onions.

The lunch menu includes tripe, homemade meatballs, agrodolce, and parmesan chicken wings.

Hours are Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. The diner is closed on Wednesdays.

The phone number is (585) 201-7772.

Crews have been working on removing a large tree from the front of 113 Jackson St. for a couple of days. Today, they had a crane out to help as the tree was cut into sections and lowered to the ground.

It's not clear how a utility pole on Jackson Street broke -- there is no indication it was struck -- but sparks flew according to a witness when it did break.

There isn't even much of a breeze tonight.

The call originally came in as a blown transformer but there is no transformer on the pole.

With wires down and a broken pole, Jackson is being closed between Ellicott Street and Central Avenue.

The Kwik Fill is closed after losing power.

National Grid is responding.

City police are patrolling Jackson Street and vicinity after callers reported a loud sound -- a gunshot or possibly fireworks -- a few minutes ago. 

There have been two loud explosive sounds in the area of Jackson Street, with reports putting it near Central Avenue or more to the south.

Dispatchers have received several calls with a dispatcher noting, "several callers said it didn't sound like gunshots, but they weren't sure what it was."

The calls are coming in from multiple streets in that area.

UPDATE 8:07 p.m.: It was fireworks. One of our neighbors actually saw the fireworks over some houses in the Central Avenue area.

I took Rocky out for a nightime walk and came across Alex Asselin and Brian Wowk having a catch on Jackson Street.

"Can you even see the ball?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," Brian said.

Alex asked if I had ever seen them out before. Only during the day, I replied.

"We're out here nearly every night," he said.

The two young men are freshmen at GCC and part of the baseball program. Asselin is a third baseman and catcher from Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, and Wowk is a shortstop and second baseman from Toronto.

The night catches have "definitely helped my eye-hand coordination," Asselin said.

Alex Asselin

Brian Wowk

Ferguson. Los Angeles. Chicago. Cleveland. Brooklyn. Baltimore. The national media has reported several examples of aggressive police conduct in these cities in the past few months that ended in violence.

In those same months. Batavia PD has dealt with at least three incidents, including one today, that easily could have gotten bloody but ended quietly.

Chief Shawn Heubusch said it's by design.

"Our number-one goal is to resolve every situation we run into as peacefully as possible," Heubusch said. "We want to use as little force as possible."

Today's incident began with a report of a man at 102 Jackson threatening to shoot children in the head for causing a ruckus near his residence.

Police weren't certain he had a gun, but it was a distinct possibility, so they proceeded with caution -- calling in extra back-up, eventually deploying the Emergency Response Team and even positioning two State Police sharpshooters on the roof of the Salvation Army with a clear line of sight into the man's second-floor window.

They also interrupted the relaxing Mother's Day that Officer James DeFreze was enjoying with his family.

Defreze is a trained negotiator. ERT members tossed a special, wired phone into the man's apartment. DeFreze and the man talked.

"The broad procedure we try to follow is to build rapport and be empathetic and try to understand what people are going through," DeFreze said. "We try to get them to open up and then see what we can do to help them. They're really just looking for help."

The negotiation took 30 to 45 minutes, Defreze said. The entire time, police officers, troopers and deputies remained in positions with long guns trained at the suspect's second-story window.

In the end, no shots were fired. The man walked out of his apartment and surrendered to a police officer.

Officer Marc Lawrence said the investigation is ongoing, but charges likely against the suspect, whose name has not yet been released.

There were high fives among a couple of the officers, pats on the back for DeFreze and a crowded gathered at Central and Jackson applauded the effort by police to resolve the potentially deadly situation peacefully.

"I did hear them applauding," DeFreze said. "It was nice. At first it seemed like they weren't paying attention, having a little bit of fun over there, but it was nice that they appreciated us and our work in the end."

About a month ago, DeFreze and a deputy who is also trained in negotiation helped talk a woman into surrendering and in March, a knife-wielding man on Central Avenue came at officers and threatened them, but the officers involved were able to defuse the situation and take the man into custody without incident.

"Our number-one goal is to make sure everybody goes home safe, the suspect included," Heubusch said.

Some passersby yelled out suggestions for police, of the type that veered toward a more violent, quick-resolution response.  

"Let me have a gun," one man said. "I'll end this."

Others wanted to see tear gas lobbed into the building and ERT members swarm the apartment.

Unless it's a hostage situation, the best response is a slow, methodical approach, Heubusch said.  The suspect isn't going anywhere, is a minimal threat and can probably be talked out of any drastic actions.

"We would rather take the time to ensure that everybody involved is safe and avoid anything that could cause harm to anybody, including the suspect himself," Heubusch said. "There's nothing wrong with slowing it down."

Heubusch said a good rapport with the community helps officers take their time to resolve conflicts.

He said he can't speak for what goes on in other communities. Of course, he and his officers pay attention to news accounts of violent confrontations involving other police officers, but since he isn't involved and doesn't have all the facts, he doesn't want to compare what happens in Batavia with what happens elsewhere.

"We're constantly evaluating and constantly changing tactics as needed," Heubusch said. "Back in the '80s or '90s, for example, if the SWAT Team showed up for a call out, guess what, they were going in the door. We have new techniques now. If there's no danger, we've learned it's better to sit and wait."

Today's incident lasted more than four hours, but in the end, the patience of trained and skilled police officers proved the perfect response.

Officer James DeFreze on the right.

It was 14 degrees and lake effect snow was falling, but Thomas Gilbert, who was riding home on Jackson Street, still said, "this is great weather for a bike ride."

There is a lake effect snow advisory in effect until 4 a.m. and a wind chill advisory in effect until 10 a.m.

Forecasters are calling for four to eight inches of snow with winds from the west at 15 to 25 mph.

Two cast members of the SyFy Channel's Ghost Hunters "Ghost Asylum," a new show from Destination America, ham it up after filming a take for a segment of the show that will include Batavia.

Crew members couldn't discuss the details of the episode. At least one scene will be from Sweet Pea's Cupcakery Cafe on Jackson Street. I'm under the impression there are other scenes being taped at other locations in the county.

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of death of Summer Ogden, the 38-year-old Batavia woman who was found unresponsive Sunday evening on the steps of 131 Jackson St.

Batavia detectives attended an autopsy today at the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office, but Det. Eric Hill said, with tests still pending, there is nothing to report from the autopsy yet.

Hill said investigators have not determined exactly how much time elapsed from the moment Odgen collapsed until police were called, but they do not believe it was a long interval.

"It was a relative short time between the time a couple of witnesses saw her awake and OK and when they got back and saw her passed out," Hill said.

The call for an unresponsive female came in at about 7:19 p.m., Sunday.

Foul play has not been ruled out, but it's not considered a likely scenario, Hill said.

"We're certainly not closing that door, because we don't know what happened," Hill said. "It's something we're still keeping open, but it's not really an active aspect that we're definitively pursuing."

Ogden was well known to veteran police officers who had numerous encounters with her while intoxicated, Hill confirmed, but it's unclear what role, if any, alcohol may have had in Ogden's death.

"That's why we're sending everything out for tox," Hill said.

Ogden's boyfriend, Eric Duda, is one of the residents at 131 Jackson St. Hill said it's unknown if Ogden had been visiting or intended on visiting Duda on Sunday evening.

The couple have had mutual orders of protection in place and both had been previously charged with violating the orders.

Hill said the investigation is continuing and Ogden's death is receiving a full and complete investigation in an attempt to determine exactly what happened.

"Anybody who is in this situation is a victim," Hill said. "It doesn't matter if we've had contact with you in the past or we've had no contact with you. Ultimately, it comes down to the same level of service we offer to everyone. You could be suspect yesterday and a victim today. You still get he same level of service."