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State seeks to prevent reopening of Amigone crematory

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An attorney for Amigone Funeral Home told State Supreme Court Judge Henry Nowak Wednesday that Amigone has no plans to reopen its crematory on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda. The State Attorney General's Office is suing to ensure that is the case permanently, but Amigone's attorney, Robert Knoer, argued the suit should be dismissed because it is premature. 

Along with breathing foul odors for decades, residents who live in the shadow of the crematory complain of noise from the exhaust fan and soot on their property.

In Amigone's motion to dismiss, the company said residents' concerns are "frivolous."

Mary Ann Dickerson has lived with the crematory smokestack near her home for more than 20 years.

"We've had incidents where we smelled the awful, awful smell at night. I went out one time and I found ash on my car. It's a nuisance. You can't live like this every day and we've lived with it long enough," Dickerson said.

Some Town of Tonawanda residents say they are "shocked" Amigone thinks it's okay to run a crematory so close to their homes. Carol Fritsch says she and her neighbors are tired of dealing with it.

"I often wish if I could just have bottled the smell and let you smell it, we wouldn't even need to be talking about this right now," Fritsch told WBFO News.

The lawsuit also seeks monetary penalties for what the attorney general calls repeated violations of air pollution laws.

Amigone's attorney says the company is trying to relocate the crematory to another section of the Town of Tonawanda.

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