Baseball Residence

[wgt]

Elmer Grap (father of Bona catcher) is continuing to pursue the purchase of 145 S 26th St. He claims to have 11 players interested in residing there. Plan could expand to house 20 players (2 per room). He & his Olean attorney are requesting a hearing this month with the Zoning Board of Appeals. Of course there will be no RA. Mr. Grap indicates that several player families live 30 minutes away & would keep an "eye" on activities & a strict discipline code would be in place. If he is successful this is an accident waiting to happen.

[OL2]

Thie father involved here must be a piece of work...buying a house for his boy and his pals. Am surprised the team coach and Ron Z have not tried to end this thing. Stirring up an Olean neighborhood is not a good thing and allowing students to live off campus is likewise problematic....students are many times living in poorly maintained properties that decrease neighborhood housing values and probably have all sorts of safety issues...furthermore, it helps diminish sense of campus community.

[JS]

As far as this dad being a "real piece of work", I think that this whole thing is being comepletly overblown. It's as if people believe this dad is buying the house for the baseball players to reside in just to stir up that neighborhood.....let's try to stay realistic. Baseball players, or other atheletes for that matter, have always lived off campus. That is nothing new. The only thing different about this scenario is that it will be a larger number of students in the house, and traditionally the larger groups of off-campus residents have lived in houses in Allegany. As long as the zoning board approves the number of students living in the house, this shouldn't even be a discussion. Those players have just as much of a right to live in that house as anyone else. If the neighbors don't like it, that's unfortunate but certainly not dispositive of the issue. If townies had their way, NO students would live off campus; this is just the latest thing for townies to get all worked up about. If it wasn't this, it would be something else. As far as this situation being "an accident waiting to happen" and the like, I think that is completely exaggerated. Again, this isn't the first time athletes have lived together off-campus and it won't be the last time. Believe me, if things get out of hand at the house, all that needs to happen is for the cops to show up once or twice and that will be the end of the debauchery. You know it's not basketball season when things like this are a hot topic.........

[bonniesin2k6]

Give it a rest already. Unless you're part of the baseball team's family or the members of the community in the immediate surrounding I think you shouldn't be sticking your nose into it.

[bonagoose]

I don't understand what the big deal is! Tons and tons of college student live off-campus all over the country, including Bona students. Why is this such a big deal?

[West End Stench]

The key idea in raising a fuss about the baseball players residing on 26th street is the idea that this will turn into an 'Animal House' involving wild keggers every weekend and crazy sex orgy's. This is all very doubtful, simply for the fact that the student body on campus aren't willing to walk all the way down to 26th street, especially in the dead of winter (Also remember that the bona drunk-bus does not run into Olean).

This is an unnecessary controversy. The baseball players have all the right in the world to live in Olean, and just as well, the residence have just as much right to keep them in check. But straight up rejection almost goes against American values (unless there is an actual zoning conflict).

Besides, residents on 26th street act as if they've never seen unheralded binge drinking on their street before.

[wgt]

Mr. Grap has every right to pursue purchasing a residence for up to 20 baseball players & their friends (if zoning will allow). And certainly the players have every right to reside there. And of course there is nothing new about Baseball players living together off campus but never at the numbers proposed in this nursing home conversion. It would be absurd to think that Mr. Grapp’s mission is to “just stir up the neighborhood.” I’m sure that he feels his is doing a good thing & that his enterprise will enhance team bonding. However the downside, that he may be totally unaware of, has the real potential of legal problems for the residents when the police is called the first time in response to a neighbor’s complaint of excessive noise. Here’s an actual case in point. 4 young ladies renting “The Parlor” in Allegany had a party which was noisy, which is to be expected. A neighbor calls APD at 11pm & makes a noise complaint. APD arrive at the premises, enter the back & front doors (permitted in by “guests” when they requested entry). No surprise they find underage drinkers. They arrest the girls who were present & live in the house for serving alcohol to underage people. Officers cite their complete cooperation & contriteness as reason not to cuff them as they haul them all in to the Allegany police station, book, photograph & finger print them for a misdemeanor. No debauchery or animal house event was taking place. It was a neighbor’s noise complaint that resulted in these legal ramifications for each of the residents. The 26th St neighbors’ objection (right or absolutely wrong) makes me believe that these students will be in the cross hairs. FOX has indicated that there are several residents of 26th St with juice. Even if Olean Police are not as vigilant as APD in such matters they will be, due to these neighbors. I hope that Mr. Grapp makes a wise and informed decision with an awareness of the potential downside to his present plan. If I were a player I would get together with 3 to 6 others & share a house away from 26th street. There are many to select. from.

[OL2]

thanx wgt for your usual long winded rant/apologia