Frustrated with a lack of progress, the president of the Kleinhans Community Association is going public with grievances against property owner Gregory Gerwitz. Krista Palgutt emailed the following to the Buffalo Preservation Board and local media on January 20 regarding 357 Hudson Street. Neighborhood residents spoke to Gerwitz last week and sought to give him until today to board up the windows to prevent further damage to the residence. No work was done and here’s the email:
I am writing because I am deeply concerned regarding the house owned by Gregory Gerwitz at 357 Hudson Street. The owner has been in to see the Preservation Board regarding this house following a fire in April of 2013. The owner has been in housing court and was told to remove the vinyl windows he had installed on the second floor and told to see the Preservation Board about proper repairs for a historical house in the preservation district.
Upon removing the vinyl windows he never replaced the windows or put anything in its place to protect the house from the elements. There are still portions of the house exposed to the elements in an attic window and this front window. This is classic purposeful neglect that will eventually result in the demolition of this house. I do not want this to happen. The houses on this street are very valuable and sought after by developers and new homeowners.
There must be something the Preservation Board can do to keep this house from being demolished. I have been very patient regarding this house since the fire but enough is enough. The owner is due in Housing court March 18th. This date is two months away which means the house will continue to be exposed to the elements for another two months. Is there any way to move the court date up sooner? Can we have an inspector look at the house again and have him fined to the maximum sentence.
Thank you for looking into this and I encourage everyone to follow up regarding this problem.
The same owner also owns the following houses that are all in disrepair and some are in the Allentown Historical District.
• 47 Brownell
• 486 Franklin
• 257 Hudson
• 258 Hudson
• 211 Mackinaw
Thank you,
Krista Palgutt
President of the Kleinhans Community Association
Gerwitz is president of North Boston Garage in Hamburg. Neighborhood residents say there were 48 calls to 911 for his properties in 2013. The number of calls to 311 could not be determined.