The appearance of scaffolding was a glimmer of hope at the corner of Carolina and Whitney – 69 Whitney Place. Pictures received today show no work has been completed on the compromised roof where support trusses have collapsed and crumbling chimney (bottom).
Back in February, we posted that the “X” of Death was spotted on the building, which raised a lot of concern due to the structure being located in one of Buffalo’s most architecturally interesting blocks. In this case, it was a buckling mansard roof that was most concerning for the West Village Historic District property. It was also apparent, at the time, that the Israeli owner, Mr. Efraim Ullman, was out of his mind, seeking $700,000 for the property, due to its prime location.
This pasty July, scaffolding went up on the 2 1/2 story brick house, signaling that there was hope that the future of the historic building was looking a bit brighter.
After being in and out of court, it looks as if something has finally struck a chord. Let’s hope that the securing of the roof will lead to a building sale (at a more reasonable price), continued housing court violations for the property owner, or a rehab by the owner (unlikely). If nothing else, the roof work that is underway buys the building some time, until the City can get its act together to figure out how to handle these in your face demolition by neglect scenarios.
