The future of Cobblestone buildings is complicated

BUFFALO, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side spoke with an attorney Tuesday about the next steps for the Cobblestone Fire case as it continues to move through the legal system based on what we know now.

In her ruling, the judge said the proper way to get a demolition order was through the preservation board, not the housing court.

“It’s up to city officials to make that request and say they want to request the demolition of the building. In that case, you also have the preservation society that’s allowed to play a role in making that decision,” attorney Barry told Secret.

We asked Covert what would have happened next if the fire hadn’t happened.

“We can then expect that the building owners will have appealed Judge DiTullio’s decision to the 4th Department, which is the Appellate Division,” Covert said.

He then estimates that a judgment could take months, even years, and that appeals could multiply. The fire, he said, speeds things up.

“City engineers now need to determine if the building can be preserved, if it can be brought back to specification, the preservation society will have a role to play there again. They may want to go back now, given these new facts, for Judge DiTullio to see if they can make him reconsider his decision, because now the building can’t, if in fact the engineers say the building can’t be brought back to its original specifications , or that an excessive amount of money would be spent to do so, it may well be that Judge DiTullio will be asked to reconsider this issue,” Covert said.

Regardless, he says an appeal is likely.

“Now it’s become incredibly complex. As complex as it was before the fire, now it’s really become even more complicated because there are so many different factors involved. The city engineers, the judge, the housing court, Judge DiTullio, the 4th County Court of Appeals It’s quite a quagmire for lawyers trying to chart the right course to see if the building will collapse now because the fire has rendered its property. rebuilding not impossible, but very difficult, or expensive to specifications, or if the preservationist society is going to say we want it brought back,” Covert said.

Covert went on to say that it is very difficult to understand how a fire like this started, which makes things even more complicated as this case moves forward.