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Legislators try to bring an end to Tonawanda crematory

Mike Desmond/wbfo news

An Erie County Legislature committee delayed action yesterday on barring a Town of Tonawanda funeral home incinerator from ever starting up again.

The matter was discussed Thursday at a meeting of the Government Affairs Committee.

Some legislators are looking to reverse 1991 vote which designated a tiny piece of land near Sheridan and Parker as a cemetery. That allowed Amigone funeral homes to build the crematory there and designate that wing as a non-profit built on that designated cemetery.

Community and Albany opposition shut it down two years ago.

Now, Legislator Kevin Hardwick has moved to reverse that 1991 decision, but he couldn't get enough votes from other legislators to send the plan to the session next Thursday.

Neighbor Bill Pilkington says things have been good since the crematory was closed.

"It was disgusting," said Bill Pilkington who lives near the site.

"There was one intensive time that it was smoking so badly on our street we thought there was a building on fire."

Several legislators say they don't know the problem or the issues and want more information. Hardwick says he will try to force the issue on Thursday.

Amigone was invited but no one showed. Company lawyer Robert Knoer was at the committee meeting but declined to say anything during the discussion.
 

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.