The John O'Flanagan House at 171 Niagara Street, deemed by the NYS Department of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation as National Register Eligible for planning purposes, is being steered to demolition through the efforts of Acquest Development and the City of Buffalo.

Acquest has long wanted to build a parking ramp over the site of the O'Flanagan House, and conducted a tour last November to demonstrate how bad the building was. I was on that tour, along with David Granville, chief inspector Lou Petrucci, and others. The house was in great shape (see Granville's pictures at http://camapignforbuffalo.bfn.org/171niag/index.html) then. Acquest decided to bide its time until things cooled down and let people believe it would reconfigure its ramp to accommodate the O'Flanagan House. Now construction is well along on its building for the IRS and other tenants, and Acquest wants to force the issue.

Here a couple of things you can do to help save the Atwater House and the character of Elmwood Avenue.

1) Boycott Pano's Restaurant until the house is saved. We don't have to feed Mr. Georgiadis's greed and disrespect for his neighbors.

2) Sign the paper petition or the on-line petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/1089elm/petition.html). Paper petitions are available in the mailbaox of The Campiagn at 224 1/2 Elmwood Ave.

3) The Campaign would like to print lawn signs urging that the Atwater House be saved. A minimal order would cost $400. Can you make a donation to help? We have already spent hundreds of dollars on paper, printing, and postage. We'll do whatever we can to save this house, and donations certainly help us accomplish things we could not otherwise hope for.

4) We need stories and pictures of the house.

5) We need someone to do research in City Hall and the Central Library. We need to know the facts of Pano's acquisition of his present property and the demolition of the house that formerly held Avenue Skates. Was it, in fact, an illegal demo? We need copies of regulations governing construction and design of parking lots. Can anyone volunteer some time to help on this urgent research?

Here are the meetings scheduled for this week on the proposed Atwater demolition:

On Tuesday, September 21, at 2pm, the Buffalo Common Council will meet in the council chambers in City Hall for its regular session, where its will consider Council President David Franczuk's resolution to oppose demolition.

Also on Tuesday, at 7pm at J.P. Bullfeathers, Elmwwod near Potomac, Forever Elmwood is sponsoring a community meeting on the issue. The Campaign will have boycott fliers and paper petitions available there.

On Thursday, September 22, at 3pm in room 901 of City Hall, Pano's will present its plans to the Buffalo Preservation Board for comment. While the house is not yet a designated landmark, the Preservation Board makes recommendations to other city agencies and the Common Council regarding changes to buildings of public concern.

On Saturaday, September 18, the Campaign for Greater Buffalo held a rally and march to save the historic Edward Atwater House at 1089 Elmwood Avenue, threatened with demolition by owner Pano Georgiadis, who wants to tear it down for a parking lot expansion.

Pano's Restaurant at 1081 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo has filed for a demolition permit on the c. 1893 Edward Atwater House next door, in order to expand its parking lot. This has riled Elmwood area residents and preservationists, and the Campaign for Greater Buffalo is calling for a boycott of the business until it agrees to withdraw its demolition request. Further, The Campaign is scheduling a demonstration and march to save the Atwater House on Saturday, September 18 at noon. Marchers will assemble at the triangle at Elmwood at Potomac and proceed a block north to the Pano's site, where they will demonstrate for one hour. Citizens are encouraged to bring signs.