Dispute over church could end by spring
By Matt Gryta NEWS STAFF REPORTER (12/13/2007)
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City Judge E. Jeannette Ogden on Wednesday said the resolution to the 14-year-old Housing Court dispute involving the former Transfiguration Catholic Church may come next spring, with the completion of exterior renovation work on the Sycamore Street landmark.
Ogden, who was assured that there are no immediate public safety concerns at the church, directed Buffalo attorney William F. Trezevant and Senior Deputy Corporation Counsel David Rodriguez to return to court Dec. 21 for a status report on Trezevant’s 7-year-old plan to begin stabilization work on the landmark’s majestic steeple — a project on hold until the spring, at the earliest.
City Building Inspector Tracy Krug noted that Trezevant and his nonprofit Francis Associates have completed restoration of the church roof and that nine of the church’s 45 boardedup windows still need their trim painted, which will have to await the arrival of warmer weather.
Trezevant, acknowledging that he is still frustrated at the seven years it took him to get the city to issue work permits so the repairs, estimated that about 95 percent of all the outside work on the church is completed.
