Final two residents move out of boarded-up Elmwood Heights apartments

By Hannah Ferrera

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    BUFFALO, New York (WKBW) — The final two residents of the Elmwood Heights apartment complex moved out today.

Last month, a housing court judge ordered that the building be vacated due to multiple safety violations, forcing tenants to find alternate housing.

A final inspection of the property was done today and the property is being secured.

Cathy Amdur, Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services, connected the building’s owner with its downfall.

“To be honest, the owner here is a bad actor,” said Amdur. “They’re not doing the right thing by the community. They’re not doing the right thing by the city. They haven’t shown any interest in doing the right thing.”

According to Amdur, the owner hired an engineer to do an inspection of a stairway that had been cited as unsafe. When the engineer concluded that the building was structurally unsound and needed to be vacated, the owner fired the engineer and did nothing to fix the structure.

“We need to keep people safe and no one should be living there,” said Amdur.

The future of the building is still unclear. It most likely will remain standing and will potentially welcome new apartment residents.

“That’s the goal here — for it to be turned into a residential building in the neighborhood,” said Amdur. “It was a thriving residential building at one point and that’s what we want to see again.”

The building’s water has been cut and the building will be fully secured within the next couple of days.

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