Buffalo impound lot in need of makeover

By Heidi Friend and Kristine Starkey
Bengal News Reporters
 At 166 Dart St., the City Impound lot is unassuming. In fact, if you don’t live in the neighborhood and have never had your car towed, you would never know it was even there.

City of Buffalo Auto Impound lot located at 166 Dart St.

 Travelling west on Letchworth Street from Buffalo State College, the lot immediately comes into view. Its pale, cold exterior is generically unidentifiable beyond the small sign near its entrance.  Driving along the Scajaquada Expressway it becomes clearer what the lot itself is, and for many in the community, that is precisely the problem.
 In March, Buffalo Parking Commissioner Kevin Helfer announced plans to change the appearance of the lot because there have been complaints from drivers that from the expressway it looks like a junkyard.
    “We want to rearrange the space so that the most damaged cars are moved to the interior lots, where they are less visible to the surrounding areas,” he said.
    Helfer also says there are plans to use steel vertical panels in the interior of the parking centers to block the view.
He said that the cost of this project would be minimal.
    These changes may not even matter in the long run however, according to Councilman Joseph Golombek Jr., whose district includes the impound lot.
    “For quite some time they’ve been talking about getting rid of the impound lot and moving it to [another] site,” Golombek said.
    This move, he believes, will be good for the neighborhood. Right now, it looks “terrible” and is not very secure. Because of its size and lack of adequate security measures, it is often broken into and vandalized.

 North District Councilmember Joseph Golombek Jr. talks about Buffalo State College purchasing land where the Buffalo City Auto Impound lot is located:


    A major reason for moving the lot, Golombek said, is Buffalo State College.  He said Buffalo State is very interested in the current property, which they have suggested they could use to build a stadium.  However, with the state’s budget crisis, he believes it will be at least two or three years before the college can seriously consider this move.
    “It all boils down to money,” Golombek said. “The school can’t be spending that kind of money and raising tuition at the same time.”
    This is exactly the sentiment that the college itself is expressing.  Stan Medinac, associate vice president of facilities planning for the school, confirmed that at this point in time the school has no plans to acquire or renovate the Dart Street property.
    The city is open to cooperating with whatever plans the college has and will entertain offers at any time, said Helfer.
 In the early 1900s, the site was home to the Buffalo Structural Steel Company.  According to “A History of Buffalo: Delineating the Evolution of the City” by J. N. Larned, the plant had a capacity to produce 8,000 tons of structural steel per year and supplied for most of the large commercial properties in the city at that time.
    After the property was foreclosed on in more recent history, the city took it over and turned it into the impound lot that stands now. 
Plans are still up in the air, however Helfer says, “The city is remaining hopeful.”

Edited by Jessica Chetney and Allyson Trolley