The last two days have seen a whirlwind of activity — social media posts, email chains, a petition and attempts to reach out to City Council -- from the group of Downtown Batavia business owners upset and overwhelmed with parking issues due to the new police facility construction staging area and a lack of handicap parking directly in front of their offices in the parking lot at Alva Place and Bank Street.

Please be advised that Bank Street from Alva Place to Washington Avenue will be closed on Monday, April 29, 2024 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We recommend selecting an alternate route to minimize traffic congestion.

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

Kate Willson, owner of Meraki Beauty, has good news for those people disappointed by the closing of the downtown Batavia Artemis Spa and perhaps even better news for customers holding unredeemable gift cards for the now-defunct business that abruptly closed two weeks ago.

After being established as a downtown staple for all things beauty for the last two decades, The Spa At Artemis has apparently closed up shop under its latest company owner Marian Pautler (Keating). 

Christmas in the City — an annual festive tradition that happens the first weekend in December — will be bringing the usual favorites of Santa Claus, hot cocoa, a parade down Main Street and cheery carolers, along with some new additions of a three-set train display and Serendipity Swing at the new Main St. 56 Theater, Pat Burk says.

It’s that time of year when most everyone knows the drill by now: it’s feast day on Thanksgiving, followed by Black Friday deals online and at bigger box and department stores, and then there’s the day that not only supports your local community but allows for shoppers to get

Ann Falco made a special trip to visit downtown Batavia Friday afternoon to share her many thoughts about sections of Bank Street being safe to cross -- or not.

Members of a county health committee had set up displays of potential future curbing, lights and artistic license to demonstrate ways to help slow down traffic and make crosswalks a more viable way to cross over from the east and west sides of Bank Street at three points between Main Street and Washington Avenue. 

“I came just for this,” Falco said as organizers were wrapping up their survey stations. “It’s a joy to drive down Park Road. I want to see that replicated here.”

Somewhere between February’s beer walk and October’s assortment of wines, the Business Improvement District skipped right over a summer beverage for Batavia’s downtown walking events.

That’s now been resolved, says Shannon Maute, BID executive director, with the first-ever Cider Walk.

There are still some tickets remaining for the 2023 Febrewary beer walk Saturday in downtown Batavia, so grab your coat and gloves and head out for a cold one. 

General admission tickets are $30 and include a collectible snifter glass, snacks along the way, raffles and giveaways, and tastings from 5 to 8 p.m. VIP tickets are $40 and include all of the regular features plus an extra hour, from 4 to 8 p.m., an exclusive tasting and a food station.

Designated drivers will be able to partake of the specials, raffles, snacks and non-alcoholic tastings for $10.

Tickets may be purchased at Event Brite, and there will be a limited number of paper tickets available at Adam Miller Toy & Bicycle shop on Center Street and Yngodess on Main Street, Batavia. They will also be available for purchase on Saturday. For more information, go to BID Febrewary. 

There was nary a peep of concern or complaint from the public about plans for upper-level apartments at 97 Main St. in downtown Batavia during a public hearing Tuesday evening at City Hall.

That didn’t really surprise applicants Victor Gautieri of VJ Gautieri Constructors and Stephen Fitzmaurice of Hunt Property Solutions. After all, the plan falls in line with what other business owners have done already to transform their properties lining Main and Jackson streets — operating shops, restaurants, breweries and the like downstairs while renovating upper floors for living space.

Members of the city’s Planning and Development Committee, however, had a few questions and areas of concern.

Member Ed Flynn asked for clarification about a window that looked on a site plan to be the size of a door. It wasn’t a door but, in fact, a window, Gautieri said.

Plans were to replace some of the windows with double-hung versions so that they could open for better ventilation; to add a terrace at roof level with a 42-inch-high railing leading to that terrace; an exterior dumbwaiter to haul up groceries or similar bulky items from the alley; and a tote enclosure for trash and recycling storage, he said.

All materials used would be in keeping with existing colors and aesthetics, he said. Chairman Duane Preston asked if anyone could access the dumbwaiter, and there will be a lock on it solely for tenants’ use, Gautieri said.

“It’s very small … for a few grocery bags. There’s a lockable door,” he said.

Members liked the look of the rooftop terrace, but had concerns about the area’s wind: would furniture be weighted down or otherwise secured? It would most likely be secured, Gautieri said, as he and Fitzmaurice then suggested that perhaps tenants could bring their own chairs up there with them and then bring them back downstairs.

They also discussed whether the terrace could be seen from street level, and Gautieri said not from Jackson or Main streets, though probably from a distance as people were farther away. Other questions confirmed that the units would be one-bedroom each, the remaining windows would be left intact, a replacement side door would be a dark bronze and augmented with an awning, and the integrity of the historic architecture would stand.

Member Rebecca Cohen was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough totes — two for trash and two for recycling — for four apartments.

“I feel like with tenants in four units, you're gonna end up with garbage bags sitting in front of it on garbage night,” she said.

Gautieri conducted his own informal study, he said, and feels confident in his conclusion.

“We have 10 apartments, three two-bedroom and seven one-bedroom apartments. And we have a very small, the smallest you can get, Dumpster. And that is filled to a quarter or a third. We're not counting people who throw stuff in there from outside the apartments, but we're lucky the only time that ever got any more than that was really around Christmas time. So that was my recommendation with Steve, and I tried to give him some information on what was happening with our property,” Gautieri said, as Fitzmaurice shared his perspective. “Among other properties that we manage, we just took over a condominium on the west side of Buffalo. And we went through the same thing. We got everybody a full-size trash bin and a recycling bin. And after about two months of that, people said, can you get rid of half of them? Because they were just empty and bulky and so on and so forth. So that's what we did. So my experience is the same as Victor’s. The apartments just don't seem to generate a whole lot of trash."

Fitzmaurice added that they can always add more totes later if necessary.

“I hate to see the city get a problem of pest control, now that we're building apartments downtown,” Cohen said.

Concerns aside, all members — Cohen, Preston, Flynn, David Beatty and Derek Geib — approved the request for a special use permit. That was needed to change the current status of Commercial zone C-3 to Residential R-2. A start date was listed on the application as Feb. 1; however, Gautieri said that a beginning and ending date will depend on when final pricing comes in and when National Grid and National Fuel can be arranged for setup.

“Let’s say we begin on March 1, then count five months from then,” he said.

The apartments will be set at market rate, which would be approximately $1,500 per month, but that’s not set in stone at this point, he and Fitzmaurice said.

In other committee action, a project by owner Brad Trzecieski to make exterior alterations to a mixed-use building at 327 Ellicott St., Batavia, was also approved. The property has a commercial use in the front and residential in the rear of the site.

Top Photo of Victor Gautieri, left, and Stephen Fitzmaurice representing an apartment project at 97 Main St., Batavia, during a city Planning and Development Committee meeting Tuesday at City Hall, by Joanne Beck. Photo above, 327 Ellicott St., Batavia, gets approval for exterior renovations during the committee meeting. Photo by Howard Owens.