City takes next steps to take over Buffalo Grand Hotel

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The City of Buffalo has taken the next steps in order to take over the Buffalo Grand Hotel.

Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon said Thursday that the city is moving forward in its process to take over the hotel from owner Harry Stinson following “years and years of broken promises.” The former Adam’s Mark Hotel has been vacant since 2021 after a large fire caused millions of dollars in damages. In June the city issued a notice using Article 19 of the state’s Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, which was enacted in 2022.

Acting Corporation Counsel Robert E. Quinn said that the city will file a “notice of intent to commence an abandonment proceeding” within the next two weeks. After a 45-day period following that notice, the city can then go to the state’s Supreme Court, Quinn said.

“Since our June announcement, we’ve continued to have conversations with the owner and his representatives, but to date no credible plan or permit application has ever been submitted to the City of Buffalo and the building is still not co-compliant and not safe for occupants,” Scanlon said. “At the end of the day, we cannot, and I will not allow landmark properties like this to sit idle and deteriorate.”

Scanlon said that the property had 18 documented housing court violations and owes the city more than $350,000 in back taxes. He also said that there have been sixty-six 911 calls to the building, with 34 of those calls related to trespassing.

“The Buffalo Grand Hotel is quite possibly the most important hotel in downtown and the region,” Scanlon said. “You can’t file abandonment proceedings against a property that’s not abandoned. But it’s very clear prior to the June announcement and since the June announcement that there’s no plan whatsoever to rectify the issues at that property.”

WIVB News 4 has reached out to Stinson for comment and is waiting to hear back.