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Three Area Libraries Closed
Three area libraries were closed by the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library in 2005, and only one of those buildings has found a new life. Two buildings remain unoccupied; one is likely to be sold, but after bickering in Depew, we wonder when, or if, another suitor will step forward.
Arguments over re-use of the former Depew library reached an anticlimactic conclusion Monday when Southeast Works, a not-for-profit company interested in purchasing the building, dropped a rezoning request it needed before it could occupy the site. The agency's planned use for the building didn't sit well with many residents. However, noting that the building has been vacant for 18 months, other residents suggested that an occupied site- regardless of the tenant- would be better. They may be right.
Dozens of Depew residents recently used everything but the kitchen sink to explain why they didn't want Southeast taking over the building. One reason puzzled us: their "fear" of increased neighborhood traffic- and exhaust fumes- that would be created by vehicles traveling to and from the Southeast facility.
The Depew library in 2004 accommodated more than 73,000 visitors. Cut that number in half, and that's 100 visitors per day, with dozens of them probably arriving by car. Fear of increased traffic is not a valid argument.
Many of the residents opposed to the Southeast Works sale expressed their desire to see a taxpaying entity purchase the building. This is understandable in a so-called "land locked" community where undeveloped commercial property is virtually nonexistent. However, they may want to consider the ancillary benefits- as negligible as they may be- that a not-for-profit agency may bring to the site: employed persons spending their money at nearby establishments.
Some of the arguments in Depew appear to be partisan, from the residents taking sides to the planning board's split decision. We're not at all confident that decisions and opinions by the village board and its planning board weren't so much driven by obligation to the community as they were by emotion. The next person interested in purchasing the site may want take a hard look at the events of the last few months before inquiring further on the building's availability.
After examining their options, Cheektowaga officials decided to convert the former branch on Maryvale Drive into a new town records center. The conversion enabled the town to discontinue renting space in a Broadway warehouse. The money to convert the building will, in the long term, be money well spent.
Although there was support to immediately sell the William Street location, the town held off on selling the facility after one councilmember requested that the town collect further information on which to base a decision. It now appears that the town is ready to move forward.
How much Cheektowaga will profit from selling the building remains to be seen. Supervisor James J. Jankowiak hopes to return the building to the tax rolls, but added he isn't opposed to a not-for-profit firm purchasing the site. One answer of which we're sure: Cheektowaga appears to be well on its way to having both buildings filled.
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