Big Bad Awning Be Gone
While checking out the recent Gus Macker basketball tournament last week, I snapped a shot with The Statler in the background. Of course the hideous The Barnes Firm awning was still intact, which was no surprise considering I had once heard that we could expect the awning to remain for a number of years. As the rest of The Statler's cheesy skirt was pealed away last summer, the maroon monstrosity on Niagara Square remained. Apparently the law firm had it written into a lease that the awning would remain up for advertising purposes.
That's why I was shocked to see the awning come down this week. That's right... as of today the ugliest and most visible awning in all of downtown has been removed. I guess that was just an added benefit to Cellino making hs way back into the fold. Regardless, just seeing the building unmasked after all of these years is great. Though most of the awning had been removed, the remaining segment made it hard to celebrate the visual enhancement. Let's hope that in the future we can continue to remove the remaining tragic awnings from our historic building stock. Let's also hope that they don't just replace The Barnes Firm awning with another one... or at least one like they had there to begin with.
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onestarmartin
is the building on the market yet? still looks as bad as it didi last year when people were paying to hear Basher speak...
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TimH
Not out of the woods yet. If you see the frame come down, then we'll be closer to being rid of them. I bet they'll have a new awning in place soon enough. A shameless display wouldn't be unexpected from these guys, would it? Tort reform anyone?
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Colin
Ugly, yes. Tragic? No.
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BuffaloBloviator
My dear neighbor Bashar,
I enjoy seeing your uniformed parking valets packing the parking lot between our places. The Statler is really cooking with events. It is wonderful to see all the well dressed people coming and going from the Statler. It really brings the class back to Delaware Avenue.
We all miss bumping into you in the neighborhood. We look forward to watching you complete your ambitious project and amaze the supporters and skeptics alike.
Howard 153 Delaware Ave.
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mybuffalo
who cares about an awning
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STEEL
you, obviously - since you took the time to read the story and the even more time to respond to it.
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Andrew
arent celino and barnes moving to main place tower? that might be why
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impressingagent
as if they needed to worry about advertising. 844 2020 is about as ingrained in my psyche as bad breast milk.
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AtwaterLouse
Excerpts from Issa update yesterday in the Buffalo News (which continues to search for relevance):
NLRB gives Issa deadline for payment By Sharon Linstedt Updated: 06/27/08 9:01 AM
The NLRB has set a July 7 deadline for Bashar Issa to begin making payments to 10 former Statler project laborers as required by a settlement agreement he signed in May. ... Failure to comply with the settlement agreement could potentially trigger a federal court suit by the NLRB against Issa and his business.
Local 210 attorney William Trezevant said Issa has also violated the settlement agreement by failing to participate in "good faith negotiations." The lawyer said Issa has canceled two scheduled contract sessions this month. "He sent me a text message on June 14 saying he couldn’t come to Buffalo because he is having difficulties obtaining a business visa to travel to the U. S. The next day he informed us he is having passport problems," Trezevant said. "This is a guy who has portrayed himself as an international businessman."
...
Issa’s money woes extend back to his home base in Manchester, where he has put his British construction company up for sale. Last month, he hired a British bankruptcy and liquidation firm to leverage his equity in Issa Quay, his only finished project, after losing bank financing for another Manchester project.
Earlier this year, there was a glimmer of hope for the Statler’s future when the Wyndham Hotel company expressed serious interest in locating a 346 room hotel in the building.
Wyndham said it remains interested, but the deal hinges on Issa coming up with an undisclosed franchise fee.
Issa has followed through on an updated application to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation aimed at securing some $20 million in historic tax credits. Promise of those dollars, which are paid out upon project completion, can potentially be used to leverage construction financing.
Full article: http://www.buffalonews.com/408/story/379655.html
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leadi
Maybe Cellino's "house-painting-tan" had something to do with the removal? Yep - he looked "relaxed" after being disbarred for after a few years... /TOTAL SARCASM
Um...not quite getting the connection made in this story of Cellino's return to the law firm after an investigation as to the illegal actions done by himself and the law firm regarding financial transactions with relation to the awning removal.....but, yeah,sure, OK........it's Sunday...slow news day, I suppose...filler better than nothing.
Maybe the replacement sign can be like their billboards and have their giant photos on it? (let loose the preservationists!)
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buffaloed
Erroneous. Cellino would never paint his own house. PUH-LEASE
#2- He was not disbarred, he was suspended; and it was not a few years, it was about 18 months.
None of this really matters however- that awning wasn't the worst thing the Statler had going for it.
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benfranklin
leadi, the old sign had 'barnes' only, now that Cellino is back, his name has returned to the advertising. Applied to this specific situation, it may be that a new awning will most likely be erected with both of their names.
One thing about the forced name change. Can you imagine in business anyone doing much more 'Injury' to a partner than doing something that causeds the name of the business to be changed? I don't think I caught the law suit where Barnes sued Cellino for making a mess of all that advertising, and the reputation of the firm. Guess it's a bit like the lottery, people that know how it works don't play it. In this case, maybe we'd all be better served to follow Barnes example, and when 'Injured', pass on the litigation.
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onestarmartin
...maybe they should represent Basher.
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doc
While the Statler is dirty and grimy and besmirched with that ghastly awning framework, let's not forget some of the other buildings that have similar problems. Take for example city Hall. I was walking around the construction site of the new Federal Courthouse building and happened to walk behind city Hall. I gasped when I saw all of the garbage stuffed in the windows of the lower levels but I could have easily missed the garbage given the amount of caked filth on those panes. It was really embarrassing and I immediately changed my plans to bring out of towners next month to the construction site lest they get a peek at the filth that exists behind city hall. I guess that is an example of the mentality that exists there.
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doc
While the Statler is dirty and grimy and besmirched with that ghastly awning framework, let's not forget some of the other buildings that have similar problems. Take for example city Hall. I was walking around the construction site of the new Federal Courthouse building and happened to walk behind city Hall. I gasped when I saw all of the garbage stuffed in the windows of the lower levels but I could have easily missed the garbage given the amount of caked filth on those panes. It was really embarrassing and I immediately changed my plans to bring out of towners next month to the construction site lest they get a peek at the filth that exists behind city hall. I guess that is an example of the mentality that exists there.
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leadi
Still agreed that those "bubble" awnings are about the worst form of signage no matter whose name or business is on it.
It really is a disgrace that the Statler looks so shabby on the outside - just in time for the Taste of Buffalo.
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Metropolis
http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/08/11/daily9.html
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