YOUNGSTOWN: Languishing development upsets residents, officials

By Dan Miner<br><a href="mailto:minerd@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dan</a>
Niagara Gazette

May 05, 2008 06:04 pm

— The sign says West Oak Terrace.
Except the street is a fraction of its intended length and the only evidence of a home is a foundation.
A tight-knit group of Village of Youngstown residents has had enough with the proposed 10-15 home development, owned by Edward and Diane Finkbeiner, which has yet to materialize near their homes.
Since the Finkbeiners, who also own the recently built Barton Hill Hotel and Spa in the Village of Lewiston, purchased the property in 2005, building permits for two houses have been issued and expired. The village has issued orders for the Finkbeiners to secure the foundation and place a fence around it for safety concerns.
“He literally dug a foundation hole and had nothing around it,” said Village Attorney Thomas Caserta Jr. “We were afraid a kid was going to go in there and die.”
The village has also been forced to issue a stop-work order at the site — and village officials say the street must be constructed and water, sewer and electricity service must be installed before they’ll be issued new permits.
Viewed from the road Friday, scattered boards of wood surrounded the foundation. A flatbed trailer with bags of insulation sat at the site, in front of which is the stop-work order sign issued by the village.
The same day, Caserta, who lives on East Oak Terrace, sent the Finkbeiners’ lawyers a letter ordering them to clean up the site according to the village’s property maintenance law or face fines.
At Thursday’s village Board of Trustees meeting, most of the residents of East Oak Terrace showed up to express their frustration with the development, which includes what they called unsafe conditions and an eyesore.
“We’ve been more than patient,” East Oak Terrace resident Michelle Robertson said. “We are tired of this whole situation.”
A series of residents detailed their concerns with the site, saying there have been reports of children playing near the foundation and that the trailer with insulation — which has been at the site for over two years — presents a rodent issue. They said they usually know when work is done because they hear it at early morning hours on weekends.
“I don’t think anybody’s against him putting houses up,” East Oak Terrace resident John Eodice said. “Just do it safe.”
Village officials unanimously agreed.
“We were schnookered in bad faith by a developer,” Mayor Neil Riordan said. Later, he added, “We are as concerned as you are for the safety and appearance of that neighborhood and we are frustrated to pieces.”
The developers do have plans to finish the site. Diane Finkbeiner said energy and attention have been focused on finishing the Lewiston hotel but they haven’t forgotten about Youngstown.
“We respect Youngstown’s concerns and we’ve been very busy with another project,” she said. “As soon as we can turn our full attention to it, we will do so.”
Nor did Finkbeiner agree that the site has been abandoned.
“Why would we do that?” She asked. “We’re just tied up with a very big project and sometimes things take longer than you would expect. We’re just two people trying to do our best for the community.”
She said the site was never a safety hazard and that they take pains to make sure they’re always safe.
“Our plan was to do the complete development and that remains the plan,” she said. “Nothing has changed.”
Village residents will likely get the chance to hear in person from the developer. Village officials said at Thursday’s meeting they were inviting Ed Finkbeiner to their May 22 meeting to discuss issues at the site.

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