7 Comments

1. LC Scotty says:

   August 20, 2008 at 11:24 pm

   “You don’t renovate an aging behemoth of a building on hope and enthusiasm alone.”

   You could probably say the same thing about presidential campaigns, but what do I know?
2. rastamick61 says:

   August 21, 2008 at 12:28 am

   This guy wined and dined B-lo kind of like Old man Rigas did just in better looking clothes but it seems the results are pretty similar. Promises, promises but not looking to buy any cows if there’s free milk to be had…
3. PJ says:

   August 21, 2008 at 1:42 am

   Bashar started out great with this project. He had the refurbished the frequently malfunctioning elevators> If you spent any time at the Statler this was a big improvement. Then however the signs that he had taken on more than he could handle became evident. Common sense told everybody that the demolition on the unused floors had to involve distrubance of asbestos. There was no sign of asbestos abatemnet for months. Debris was poured down a chute on Mohawk street often resulting in clouds of dust.

   The East lobby was turned in to a storage area, the route to the east enterance (the handicap enterence no less) was walled off. It now stands partially demolished and cordoned off. This obstruction made it difficult to exit the building during the frequent false firealarms.

   The topper, before work was shut down, was the retiling of the lobby. Obviously inexperienced workers cut the floor to the wrong depth. They attempted to remedy the situation by laying down a layer of concrete filler. Impatient for it to dry, they set up high powered fans which served to move the concrete to the opposite end with ripples through out. (Picture what happens to Lake Erie on a highly windy day). The tile has been in the lobby for less than a year and it is already cracking. They also laid down a carpet which is already showing sign of wear eventhough it has not been through a winter yet.

   Bashar tried to do a $100 million project by hiring cheap inexperinced laborers. He seemed to have little concern for the health or safety of his workers or the people who frequented the building. his current predictament is no suprise. The shame of it all is that the Statler had so much potential before Bashar began his assault on the building. It is his prpoerty but it should be criminal for someone to destroy his property then ask the public to bail him out. Isn’t he asking now for a record amount of tax breaks? When he first came here he said he was using his own money. In essence he took his expensive car, drove it off a cliff and expects us to fininace the repairs. By the way what happened to that 40 story tower he was planning? It is still a parking lot but he sold it at a profit and is likely to stay a parking lot. At this point the Statler might be more valuable as a parking lot.
4. rastamick61 says:

   August 21, 2008 at 1:45 am

   Maybe he overspent on his wife’s house that he was putting up for her in Jordan, I wonder if they are having foreclosure problems and a struggling dinar as we are …?
5. mike still waiting for OZ says:

   August 21, 2008 at 11:01 am

   Its a double edge sword stealing the niagara name, buffalo/niagara. You now have to deal with what we in niagara falls dealt with our whole lives. Good luck
6. hank says:

   August 21, 2008 at 11:07 am

   Bashar tried to do a $100 million project by hiring cheap inexperinced laborers. He seemed to have little concern for the health or safety of his workers.

   Would those be the same 9.00/hr laborers organized by the Laborers Union to be 21.00/hr laborers? I guess that Union card would have made them all experts overnight.

   The cost of his labor went sky-high. Could be one of the reasons he soured on the project.

   Boundless hope and sudden disappointment—
   Sounds like the Kerry Camp in 04, and what the Obamaniacs will feel in november 2008.
7. mike says:

   August 21, 2008 at 11:11 am

   Hank is right, whats going to win this for mcain is what he is not..Black, only in hollywood will this country have a black president.