City council rejects ordinance to raze Anthony’s on the River — 4 days after demolition

YOUNGSTOWN — City Council rejected an ordinance to fund the demolition of Anthony's by the River — four days after the city had the building razed at daybreak Saturday morning.

Council members voted against the $48,000 demolition of the building at 15 Oak Hill Ave. in a 3-4 vote. Councilwoman Basia Adamczak, 7th ward; Councilwoman Anita Davis, 6th ward; Councilman Julius Oliver, 1st ward; and Councilwoman Samantha Turner, 3rd ward, all voted against the ordinance.

Anthony's by the River was demolished Saturday morning under an order for emergency demolition by Youngstown Fire Department Chief Barry Finley.

In a finance committee meeting on Monday, Oliver, Finley and Mike Durkin, superintendent of Blight Remediation and Code Enforcement, debated the quick building demolition.

Oliver said he attempted to stop the demolition on Friday because he was aware of people who were interested in renovating the building. The next morning, the demolition began.

Oliver questioned why the demolition occurred so quickly when the building could have been saved.

"So bricks and chimneys that have fallen into my constituents' driveways, that's not an emergency, but this building that wasn't bothering nobody was an emergency?" Oliver asked at the Monday meeting.

Durkin said the plans for demolition of the building began in June after another project ended up costing less than expected. The city was able to use the additional funds for emergency demolitions, which included the Oak Hill Avenue building.

"As a city, we all know we don't have billions of dollars for demolitions," Durkin said on Monday. "We handle them on a first-come, first-served basis to what we think is the most important and what we have money to do."

Both Finley and Durkin said the structure had become worse on Friday with bricks falling on the sidewalk and the roof threatening to collapse.

Finley said at the Monday meeting that emergency demolitions are put in place if a structure is an immediate threat to the public or firefighters. An owner of a building does not need to be informed before the emergency demolition is completed.

The owner of Anthony's by the River is Ronald Eiselstein. The city attempted to contact him several times since April 2019 but was unsuccessful.

Law Director Jeff Limbian said the city is protected from a lawsuit against the owner since it was an emergency demolition.

This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 4:11 AM with the headline "City council rejects ordinance to raze Anthony’s on the River — 4 days after demolition."