Lost power latest issue for Locust Street building
Aug. 8—With no electric service since Wednesday, an apartment house at 96 Locust St. that has been cited for dozens of city violations has been declared uninhabitable — temporarily.
According to property owner Mike Howe, NYSEG cut off the power Wednesday because of non-payment, which Howes said he wasn't informed of. But Howe said he paid the balance, $4,200, immediately on Wednesday but the power had already gone out and was to be turned back on the following day.
"The power was going to be off for 12 hours," Howe said. "No big deal."
What did happen, according to Howe, was that the situation escalated.
Instead of waiting for New York State Electric & Gas to put the power on Thursday, someone broke into the meter and rewired it for electric. A 24-hour hold commenced, as mandated by NYSEG's policy, but on Friday, when power was set to be restored, it was discovered a meter had been stolen from another property and installed to reinstate power. Power was turned off again, this time through the pole.
On Monday, Pete Scarborough, property manager, said NYSEG arrived while he was on lunch and that payment and inspection issues were resolved, but power couldn't be restored because, "something else was wrong."
Howe said over the phone that the utility company needed a truck to turn the power back on from the pole. Power should come on today, he said.
Fire Chief Luca Quagliano also said he showed up for a fire inspection on Friday, but Howe was not there. Since then a new date hasn't been scheduled, but the two are communicating.
There were 15 fire violations as well as 24 counts of building inspection violations on the property as of Howe's last housing court date on July 25.
Howe owns several properties, including one at 88 Olcott St. in the city, two in Amherst and another in Buffalo. He's also rehabing a property in Clarence as an Airbnb and describes himself as a developer who buys chunks of properties at a time and then brings them back to life.
"I've never had this kind of thing with any of them," he said.
Meanwhile, Common Council President Paul Beakman has described Howe as an "out-of-town slumlord." He said the city is looking into declaring one of Howe's building's as a nuisance property due to the amount of police activity at the address. Such an action also comes with vacating everyone in the building for a year.
"If he loses rent due to it being a nuisance property, he deserves it," Beakman said. "He's a slumlord."
Beakman also noted 88 Olcott St. was the worst property in his ward. Howe responded to questions about the property saying the house is vacant and he put half a new roof on what he described as a building that needs a lot of improvement.
As for the Locust Street property, "I don't know the solution," Howe said, adding, "Tell me what to do and I'll do it."
Howe's next court date is Sept. 5.
