BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The City of Buffalo now holds the deed to 2 Saint Louis Place, a long-vacant apartment building in Allentown that has been a source of neighborhood frustration for years.
This fall, a judge ruled in favor of the city, declaring the property abandoned by its landlord, Charles "Chuck" Dobucki.
"I'm so excited and so thankful," said Bernice Radle, a local preservationist.
"It's been a long time coming," said Councilman Mitch Nowakowski.
"It means a lot to me that we're able to get to this point with this property," said Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon.
The building had drawn squatters and drug users over the years, becoming what neighbors described as a magnet for crime. The situation gained renewed urgency after the murders of Mickey Harmon and Jordan Celotto, an Allentown couple who were killed by a burglar right across the street from the vacant property.
WATCH: Buffalo takes control of long-vacant Allentown apartment building after years-long legal battle
Lynn Wilson, who lives behind 2 St. Louis, said she once saw a dead body on the back porch of the property, someone that she had believed to have died of an overdose.
"I mean, looking out my window and seeing the coroner's come to remove a dead body, nobody needs that," Wilson said back in March.
Acting Mayor Scanlon said the tragic murders prompted immediate action.
"Once this horrible incident took place, that obviously shone some extra light on it, and I said: 'Enough's enough,'" Scanlon said. "All right, what can we do here? We've got to do something. This cannot continue."
The city began an array of legal proceedings against Dobucki, and police eventually brought him to court. The judge's ruling this fall officially transferred ownership to the city.
"It means a lot to me that we're able to get to this point with this property," Scanlon said.
Radle and Nowakowski expressed optimism about the building's future.
"Someone's gonna love this building, whether it's a nonprofit or an owner, it doesn't matter," Radle said. "We're going to get it to somebody who loves it and that's the most important thing."
"I'd like to think that I blazed a trail for Sean Ryan to come in and say, 'Hey, this tool works,'" Nowakowski said. "The City of Buffalo did it, and I'm teaming up with preservationists, the community, neighbors, and council members to tackle blight in their neighborhoods."
Wilson, who couldn't be interviewed on Wednesday, said she plans to get a copy of the deed, fold it into a star, and put it on top of her Christmas tree.
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