So it turns out that that most ironic funeral home name, Amigone (Am I Gone?), wasn’t always just a funeral home name. As this ad from November, 1955 points out, Phil Amigone Pontiac, Inc. was one of America’s largest Pontiac dealers, and it was right there on Southside Parkway in South Buffalo. Yeah, I know the ad says McKinley Parkway at Abbott Road, but if you were to stand at that corner, Amigone’s was right there too, a stone’s throw from the intersection. I can remember passing by this place many Sundays on the way to Grandma’s house.

1956 Pontiac Star Chief four-door Catalina

These days it’s a day care center; but back when the ad ran, Friendly Phil, besides pushing the new 1956 Pontiacs, was trying to unload these beauties: ‘54 Ford Tudor, Shiny Black, Radio, Heater, Low Mileage – $1,199; or if you were on more of a budget, how about a ‘50 Plymouth Sedan, Blue Finish, Loaded – $199. A real bargoon!

...brochure cover

285 Southside Pkwy. today

by ANTHONY CHASE

ARTVOICE Theater Editor

Word is that the banks that loaned funds to Studio Arena Theatre with the theater building as collateral have agreed to give the structure to Shea’s Performing Arts Center for use as a presenting house — provided the bankruptcy court will approve it.  This move would allow Studio Arena to continue to serve the community as a venue for live theater. 

Over the past few weeks, Studio Arena Theatre, which had filed for Chapter 11, or a reorganization bankruptcy, requested a switch to Chapter 7, or liquidation bankruptcy.  Liquidation means that the theater would go out of business permanently, and its assets would be sold off to reimburse creditors.  The major asset of the theater is the building itself, which is already heavily mortgaged, reportedly to five separate banking institutions.  (The theater also raided its own endowment, and therefore owes money to the Studio Arena Foundation, as well as to numerous other businesses).  What fixtures and equipment remain in the building is a subject of much conjecture – there is a pervasive rumor that tools and equipment were illegally pilfered from the scene shop after the theater shuttered. 

If the plan to transfer ownership of the building to Shea’s goes forward, a model would be devised whereby Studio Arena Theatre, formerly a producing theater, would become a presenting house, possibly booking two touring shows, two locally produced professional shows, and two college shows each year.  Those involved hope to return Studio Arena Theatre to its mission of offering high quality legitimate theater – a goal that was, arguably, abandoned twenty years ago when commercial concerns began to eclipse artistic concerns almost entirely at the theater.

Many questions remain.  Among them:

Would the Studio Arena name be retained? 

Would the Studio Arena function as a union house? – Union contracts negotiated by LORT (the League of Resident Theaters) are widely viewed as having hobbled Studio Arena in its efforts to balance its books and alter its producing model. 

What would become of the venerable Studio Arena Theatre School?  Co-founded by Jane Keeler and Lars Potter in the 1920s, its alumni include Nancy Marchand, Michael Bennett and Amanda Blake; young James Whitmore and Charles Durning worked there, and in her youth, character actress Reta Shaw served on its faculty. 

Given the right circumstances, numerous parties are likely to be interested to make use of the facility or to become involved in Studio Arena Theatre’s suspended educational programs.  Much jockeying for position can be expected.  Who would evaluate proposals and using what criteria?

At the same time, while the leadership at Shea’s Buffalo can be lauded for expanding the subscription audience and for sustaining a fairly high standard of Broadway musical touring shows, they have no experience whatsoever with legitimate theater, and no friends within the highest echelon of regional theaters.  In informal conversations, those involved cheerfully toss out the possibility of partnerships with Geva Theatre in Rochester – not exactly a thrilling prospect, as that institution is not on anyone’s list of America’s most exciting theaters.  If Shea’s is to provide leadership, we can only hope that they will seek input from someone with more of a national perspective, rather than pull ideas from the tops of their heads or fall prey to every opportunist waiting to pounce.    Otherwise, the most we can expect is a financially responsible but ultimately mediocre theater – hardly worth the effort. Any number of individuals are likely to present themselves as experts.  Such people came out of the woodwork as Studio Arena slid into the abyss.

One of the few people in Western New York whose background truly impresses me as making him qualified to chart a path for Studio Arena  is Ethan McSweeny, co-artistic director (with his wife, Vivienne Benesch) of the Chautauqua Theater Company, who was dubbed a “wunderkind” and a director with “the Midas touch” by  American Theatre magazine.  A protégé of theater icon Michael Kahn, McSweeny has worked on Broadway and at a litany of the nation’s most prestigious resident regional theaters. He received the first-ever undergraduate degree in theater and dramatic arts from Columbia University and has served as associate artistic director of the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey (2000-2004), resident director at New Dramatists in New York (2001-2002) and (with Michael Kahn) associate director of the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, D.C. (1993-1997). He currently sits on the executive board of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.  Now in his fifth summer at Chautauqua, McSweeny has directed Death of a Salesman (’08) The Just (’07), The Cherry Orchard (’06), All My Sons (’05), Cobb (’03), and the New Play Workshops of Kate Fodor’s 100 Saints You Should Know, Quincy Long’s Aux Cops, and Rinne Groff’s What Then for the company.  He also directed the New York premieres of 100 Saints You Should Know and Jason Grote’s 1001, which were both chosen to be among the top ten productions of 2007 by Time Out and Entertainment Weekly magazines. He received a Tony nomination and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for his direction of the Broadway revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man starring Elizabeth Ashley, Charles Durning, Christine Ebersole, Spalding Gray, Michael Learned, Chris Noth, and Jonathan Hadary.  He also earned national attention for his productions of Aeschylus’ The Persians, Euripides’ Ion, Willy Holtzman’s Sabina and John Logan’s Never the Sinner (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards).  His national credits also include Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge at the Guthrie in Minneapolis; Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at Centerstage in Maryland; George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C.; the world premieres of In This Corner at the Old Globe in San Diego, 1001 at the Denver Center Theatre (Ovation Award) and Lee Blessing’s A Body of Water at both the Guthrie and the Globe (San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award); the new musical Chasing Nicolette at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia (Barrymore Award nomination); the world premiere of Noah Haidle’s Mr. Marmalade at South Coast Rep in California (OCIE Award); and productions of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation at the Guthrie (Star-Tribune Award).

No one else in the region can match this resume of accomplishments or even come close.  Most importantly, at Chautauqua, he’s proven he can provide sound leadership and theatrical excitement at a regional institution.  I’d say somebody should ask Mr. McSweeny if he has any ideas for Studio Arena Theatre.

Artvoice Theater Editor Anthony Chase reports that a deal is in the making whereby the five banks who are holding Studio debt would forgo repayment and give the Studio Arena building to Shea’s Buffalo in order for it remain a performance space.

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For the collectors and scandal enthusiasts out there, here’s a copy of Syaed Ali’s lawsuit against the City of Buffalo, New York State AG investigator Michael McCarthy, and BPD detective Anna Mydlarz:

STATE OF NEW YORK
SUPREME COURT  :  COUNTY OF ERIE

SYAED A. ALI,

Plaintiff,
v.                             COMPLAINT

MICHAEL G. McCARTNEY,
ANNA MYDLARZ
Index No.  ______________
and

CITY OF BUFFALO,

Defendants.
______________________________________

Plaintiff, by his attorney, DAVID GERALD JAY, as and for his Complaint against the Defendants herein, alleges:

PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND VENUE

1.    Plaintiff was at all times pertinent to the Complaint a resident of the County of Erie and State of New York.

2.    Upon information and belief, the individual defendants were at all times hereinafter mentioned residents of the County of Erie and State of New York.

3.    Defendant CITY OF BUFFALO is a municipal corporation, duly organized and existing under and pursuant to the laws of the State of New York, with offices for the conduct of its business located in the City of Buffalo, County of Erie and State of New York.

SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION

4.    Plaintiff asserts the claims based upon theories of false arrest and unlawful imprisonment pursuant to the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, in order to vindicate his constitutional rights as provided in the United States Constitution, amends. iv, v and xiv.

5.     Plaintiff asserts the claim based upon the theory of the wrongful withholding of personal property under state law concepts of conversion, replevin and/or wrongful detention.

6.    This Court has jurisdiction over this case pursuant to the provisions of New York Const., art 6, § 7 and the teachings of Maine v. Thiboutot, 404 U.S. 1 (1980).

CONDITION PRECEDENT

7.      Prior to the commencement of this action, and on or about the 12th day of December, 2008, a Notice of plaintiff’s claim based upon state law and the times and places where the damages alleged herein were incurred and sustained was filed by plaintiff with the City of Buffalo, pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-e, within ninety days after accrual of that cause of action.

8.    Plaintiff submitted to an examination conducted by representatives of the City of Buffalo in accordance with General Municipal Law § 50-h on April 2, 2009, at which examination he was interrogated as to the nature of his claims.

9.    This action has been commenced within one year and ninety days after the cause of action based upon state law herein accrued and thirty days after the filing of the Notice of Claim, without any offers of settlement of the claims by the defendant CITY OF BUFFALO.

THE FACTS

10.    On or about Friday, November 7, 2008 at approximately 7:00 A.M., plaintiff was at his home, 578 Breckenridge Avenue, located in the City of Buffalo, County of Erie and State of New York.

11.    At that time and place, the individual defendants and others unknown to plaintiff, entered said home, allegedly pursuant to the directions contained in a Search Warrant, searched the premises and seized various items of personal property owned by the plaintiff and members of his family who also reside at that location.

12.    The individual defendants placed plaintiff under arrest, transported him to the office of the New York State Attorney General in Buffalo, New York, caused him to be questioned for approximately seven hours, then turned him over to a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for further interrogation which lasted approximately another fifteen minutes, whereupon plaintiff was released.

13.       At all times and places pertinent to the claims herein alleged, the defendant McCartney was an investigator employed by the office of the Attorney General of the State of New York, and was acting under color of law, pursuant to his duties as a police or peace officer of the State of New York.

14.    At all times and places pertinent to the claims herein alleged, the defendant Mydlarz was an employee of the Department of Police of the City of Buffalo, and was acting under color of law, pursuant to her duties as a police officer of the State of New York.

15.    At all times and places pertinent to the claims herein alleged, the individual defendants were acting within the course of their employment as police or peace officers

16.    At all times and places pertinent to the claims herein alleged, the individual defendants were acting within the scope of their authority as police or peace officers.
FIRST CLAIM AGAINST DEFENDANTS
MYDLARZ AND CITY OF BUFFALO

17.    Plaintiff has demanded of defendants numerous times since the seizure of his property that it be returned to him.

18.    Defendants have neglected and refused to restore said property to plaintiff.

19.    The retention of said property by defendants has impeded plaintiff’s ability to use said property, all to his damage.

SECOND CLAIM AGAINST DEFENDANTS
MYDLARZ AND McCARTNEY

20.    The arrest and detention of plaintiff were without reasonable suspicion that he had committed any offense, without probable cause that he has committed any offense, without any basis whatsoever and was in violation of his constitutional rights as aforesaid.

21.    That the actions of the individual defendants in arresting and detaining plaintiff were willful, wanton, oppressive and illegal.

RELIEF REQUESTED

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment as follows:

1.    Plaintiff demands judgment for general compensatory damages against the defendants in such sum as a jury may allow as damages, which sum exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts which would otherwise have jurisdiction over this action;

2.     Plaintiff also demands judgment for exemplary or punitive damages against the individual defendants only in such sum as a jury may allow as damages, which sum exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts which would otherwise have jurisdiction over this action

3.    Plaintiff demands that the property taken from his residence be returned to him and that he be compensated for its loss for the period he has been deprived of its use, or, in the alternative, should defendants not return said property, plaintiff demands that he be compensated for the permanent loss of said property in such sum as a jury may award as damages, which sum exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts which would otherwise have jurisdiction over this action.

4    Plaintiff demands the costs and disbursements of this action.

5.    Plaintiff requests oral argument of any motion which may be made during the course of this action.

6.    Plaintiff demands a trial by jury

7.    Plaintiff demands his attorneys fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, should he be successful on his claim brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
DATED:    Buffalo, New York
June 29, 2009
DAVID GERALD JAY

_____________________
David Gerald Jay
Attorney for Plaintiff
69 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1103
Buffalo, NY  14202
(716)  856-6300

1962 Lincoln Continental (Wyoming County, N.Y.)

...from the brochure

1959 Lincoln

If you get the urge to tilt at windmills, and find yourself in Wyoming County driving through the High Sheldon Wind Farm looking for able adversaries, you just might see this 1962 Lincoln Continental. It’s sitting on someone’s front lawn looking almost as spiffy as when it was new.

If you’re of a certain age, like I am, whenever you see one of these things, especially a black one, it brings back dark memories of grassy knolls, Dallas movie theaters, and slimy-looking Cuban sympathizers looking surprised that anyone would shoot them — on live TV yet! Oh, what a weekend.

The 1961-64 Lincolns were distinguished mostly by cosmetic changes to the grille, lights, and other trim bits, and to this day they’re highly thought of for their clean lines. They were a far cry from their predecessors though, which screamed of American excess in car design.

Check back every Wednesday evening as we find another set of wheels in the grass.

I know we come off as curmudgeonly when we fault the Brown administration for seemingly slight offenses like using the seal of the City of Buffalo at private fundraising events.

But it turns out we’re not the only ones who think that’s bogus. Brian Meyer of the Buffalo News reports that the city’s Board of Ethics agrees that Brown should refrain from using the seal at events (such as the State of the City address) that raise money for his private charity, Mayor Byron Brown’s Fund to Advance Buffalo.

The Board of Ethics announced that it reached a consensus on a flap that erupted in January. Buffalo attorney Peter A. Reese lodged complaints about the mayor’s use of the city seal to promote a $35-a-plate luncheon that preceded his the State of the City speech.

Proceeds went to Brown’s Fund to Advance Buffalo, a nonprofit group he founded to help fund youth programs, scholarships and other community causes.

The fund serves a laudable role, Board of Ethics members said today, acknowledging that it is not realistic to erect an “impenetrable wall” between a mayor’s public role and his civic activities.

But in the future, said board member James Magavern, it would be best not to use the city seal for activities that raise funds for an outside entity.

The mayor sent luncheon invitations that displayed the city seal.

“It makes it look like it’s a function of city government,” Magavern said.

Board of Ethics Chairman Douglas Coppola said the mayor deserves credit for partially defusing the controversy when he decided to provide limited free seating for the speech to people who opted not to eat lunch. But Coppola agreed that going forward, it is prudent to avoid using the city seal in conjunction with a nonprofit fund-raiser.

Ralph Hernandez is the new president of the Buffalo Board of Education.

Steve Pigeon consults yesterday with Republican State Senator George Maziarz.

An addendum to the post below on Steve Pigeon:

Tonight, Pigeon—counsel to New York State Senator Pedro Espada, director of Tom Golisano’s Responsible New York committee, former chairman of the Erie County Democratic Committee, architect of the Republican takeover of the New York State Senate takeover—hosts $1,000-a-head fundraiser for Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter, whose Senate seat will be challenged from all sides of the political spectrum next year. (Of course, $1,000 is the low-class ticket; you can pay $2,400 if you really want to be the big swinging…swinger.) The party starts at 5:30pm.

The fundraiser is at the Regency Hotel Ballroom on Park Avenue in Manhattan. Pigeon is laying down at least $40,000 for the event, while billions in funding for upstate schools, housing, services, and development are held hostage by the paralysis caused by the power grab he helped to orchestrate.

On the menu: beef Wellington, wild mushroom bruschetta, and shrimp cocktail. Steak tartare, lump crab cake, boursin cheese tartlets, asparagus and prosciutto, California rolls, shrimp shumai, and chicken sate. I’m told there’s an open bar.

As I write this post, the Great Lakes Health system is conducting a private retreat at the Hyatt Regency downtown. The event is closed to the public and press. The retreat follows a half-hour “open meeting” conducted by GLH board chair Robert Gioia, and board members Edward Walsh, Jr., Sharon L. Hanson, and Kevin E. Cichocki, D.C.. At the end of the brief presentation (click here for the outline), the two reporters present were told to leave. Below are screen shots of the various “breakout” meetings taking place in private.

	And let’s not forget lunch…

Wonder what’s on the menu?

When you visit the Great Lakes Health Web site and read that they are “unveiling a bold new healthcare delivery system for Western New York,” what they really mean, obviously, is that they are “unveiling” it to one another, behind closed doors.

The Western New York public will then have the opportunity to live, and die, with their decisions.

I just noticed this post (written on Friday by Jimmy Vielkind) over at the PolitckerNY.com:

During the Republican half of another lightning-quick extraordinary session this afternoon, I noticed Steve Pigeon sitting on the State Senate floor behind Senator Pedro Espada Jr.

Pigeon, who was one of the principle architects of the coup that has hobbled the chamber, remains the executive director of billionaire Tom Golisano’s Reponsible New York P.A.C. When I asked, Pigeon said he was now serving as Espada’s private counsel, and expected to be formally put on the Senate payroll when the leadership struggle in the chamber is resolved. Whenever. That. Might. Be.

Liz reported this possibility a while ago, but Pigeon indicated it was all but set at this point. He did not say that would mean he was relinquishing any role at R.N.Y., noting, “If we were in a situation where there was independent expenditures happening, I would have to take some sort of a leave, and that wouldn’t be until elections.”

Yeah, I’m sure he’ll do that. The last time Pigeon worked in the New york State Senate, he was an aide to Byron Brown. As he prepared to run for mayor of Buffalo, Brown fired Pigeon because he found Pigeon’s political activities a liability. At the time, Brown told the Buffalo News, “Unfortunately, he has been unable to move beyond his attitudes toward those whom he believes have wronged him politically in the past…It was painfully obvious he just wasn’t a positive influence on my staff.” Obviously, the mayor and his chief political officer, Steve Casey, have long since reconciled with Pigeon, though Brown has refused to comment on the role Pigeon played in the Albany coup, so maybe things are strained again, who knows).

Meantime, in yesterday’s New York Daily News, Liz Benjamin reports that Senate Democrats believe Pigeon’s presence on the Senate floor is a violation of the chamber’s rules:

Senate Democrats are crying foul over the appearance on the Senate floor last week of Steve Pigeon, an aide to billionaire Tom Golisano, who helped engineer the June 8 coup.

Pigeon said he is part of the “legal team” for Sen. Pedro Espada, one of the two turncoat Democrats whose defection to the Senate GOP led to the current 31-31 stalemate. Pigeon is an attorney, but he’s also a registered lobbyist.

Senate rules bar those “interested in pending or contemplated legislation” or “employed by, or receives compensation from any public or private source for influencing legislation.” In other words: no lobbyists.

Pigeon said he only registered to represent Golisano’s political action committee, Responsible New York, as a “volunteer” and wasn’t paid. He said he never lobbied the Legislature and has resigned his lobbying post in expectation of getting a job with Espada.

The state Public Integrity Commission Web site does not list Pigeon among lobbyists who have terminated their registration.

“I thought it was drawn up last week,” Pigeon said. “I might have beat it to the floor, but I resigned as lobbyist. It’s already done.”