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Motel no longer to house sex offenders, paroles

by jmaloni
Thu, Sep 16th 2010 05:00 pm
by Susan Mikula Campbell

Neighbors of the B-Cozy Motel, 1200 Niagara Falls Blvd., will no longer have to worry about a possible criminal element being housed at the facility.

About 60 people attended a community safety meeting called by State Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, on Monday at the Rescue Firehall in North Tonawanda. They were told that the state Parole Board will no longer assign paroled sex offenders or other parolees housing at the motel and that the motel also will not be on the list of residences used by Niagara County Social Services for the homeless.

"It's just too close to homes," Maziarz said. "There's been a ton of problems and police calls."

Most notably was the news last spring that a Level 3 paroled sex offender was assigned to live at the motel.

The B-Cozy is on the border of Wheatfield and North Tonawanda, across from the Meadowbrook Square plaza. The plaza now houses a Christian school and a pediatric urgent care center, Maziarz said, so it is not just residents who are affected.

Wheatfield Supervisor Robert Cliffe and North Tonawanda Mayor Robert Ortt had both contacted Maziarz about the problem of putting parolees and sex offenders back in the general population. Maziarz arranged a meeting with the head of the state Parole Board in this area.

Cliffe said residents of both Wheatfield and North Tonawanda who attended the meeting are also trying to get Neighborhood Watch groups going.

The owner of the B-Cozy, contacted Tuesday, would only say that he has owned the business for eight years and that only one side of the story has been told. He did not want to comment further at this time, because he is pursuing legal advice.

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