Judge Orders Battaglia Demolition Owner to Serve 6 Months in Prison

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The owner of a shuttered Buffalo demolition company has been sentenced to prison after years of demands to clean up his property in the city’s Seneca-Babcock neighborhood.

A state Supreme Court judge has ordered Peter Battaglia to serve six months in prison for failing to clean up after the demolition of his former business site at 1037 Seneca Street in South Buffalo.

• In 2018, the court found Peter Battaglia liable to sanctions
• In 2018, a state Supreme Court judge ordered the closure of Battaglia Demolition on Seneca Street
• In 2022, the City of Buffalo demolished the building
• 2023 Battaglia ordered to remove all concrete, debris and solid waste from the site

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7 News senior reporter Eileen Buckley met a woman who has been fighting the business owner for 20 years.

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I want you to meet Diane Lemanski. She lives on Peabody Street in South Buffalo, right behind the old Battaglia demolition site on Seneca Street. It’s owned by Peter Battaglia and Lemanski has been fighting for years to get the site cleaned up.

On Wednesday, I told him about a judge’s order that would send him to prison for six months for failing to comply with his obligations.

“I’m happy to see some accountability, but we really need to have everything clarified. That’s my main fight to have everything clarified, because we experience his wrath every day,” Lemanski said.

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The New York State Attorney General’s office helped shut down the company, finding it was operating illegally.

In 2018, a state Supreme Court judge ordered the site closed. The city demolished it in 2022. Battaglia was ordered to clean up the site, but testified that he didn’t have the “financial power” to remove the concrete and debris.

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“What about all the millions he made while he was in business and we were suffering with 200 trucks coming down our street breathing diesel and dealing with silica dust,” Lemanski described.

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A court document says Battaglia testified that he “took no steps to remove” the material and was found in contempt of court. He now faces up to six months in prison.

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Battaglia was ordered to return to court on August 1. If he fails to appear, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.

“He must be held accountable,” Lemanski noted.

“Is this a win for you at this point?” Buckley asked. “It’s kind of a win. I’m sad to say it took that to maybe settle the issue,” Lemanski replied.

But Battaglia owns other properties in the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood, including a vacant, boarded-up house on Peabody Street that neighbors tell me they want to demolish.

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I checked with the City of Buffalo and a spokesperson told me that the Department of Permits and Inspection Services said the house, 148 Peabody, was “on their preliminary demolition list.”

Battaglia also owns some vacant lots along Peabody Street.

Lemanski tells me the Clean Air Coalition is helping fight the owner who operated his facility without a proper air permit.

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“They’re the ones who got the attorney general involved,” Lemanski replied. “I pray this is the cleanup. I just wish he would wake up.”

The Clean Air Coalition released the following statement in response to the judge’s order:

7 News has also reached out to the attorney representing Battaglia and we are awaiting a response to our questions.