2017
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It took several years to purchase the historic Forsyth-Warren Tavern. The site was abandoned for more than a decade. Looters, vandals and squatters had long since ransacked the historic buildings. There were dead animals, garbage and debris throughout. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development finally cut the front lawn and, in haste, re-shingled the roof before putting the site up for auction. In HUD auctions municipalities and non-profits were given seven days to bid on the property. After those seven days, the site became an exclusive listing where owner-occupants were given thirty days to bid. At the thirty-seventh day of the auction, a competitive listing period begins at which time anyone can bid on the property.
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I, Tyler Booth, my partner Johnathan Newman, my parents, Dr. Lizbeth Booth and Jay Booth, my sister, Charlotte Patterson, and her husband, Eric Patterson, jointly decided that our mother and I would purchase the property together and as a family we would work to save the site. We initially did not have a plan after that point. We were going to save the property from further harm or demolition and then we would decide what to do with it.
Over the course of the next year we worked with the Town of Cambria and several restoration professionals. We worked together in the heat and in the cold to restore power and water to the historic tavern. In the summer of 2017, we invited the Historic Sites Restoration Coordinator/Technical Preservation Services Unit with New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for a visit and analysis of the site. At that time, the State Historic Preservation Office preliminarily determined that the site would be preliminarily eligible for the State and National Historic Registries.
Over the course of the next year we worked with the Town of Cambria and several restoration professionals. We worked together in the heat and in the cold to restore power and water to the historic tavern. In the summer of 2017, we invited the Historic Sites Restoration Coordinator/Technical Preservation Services Unit with New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for a visit and analysis of the site. At that time, the State Historic Preservation Office preliminarily determined that the site would be preliminarily eligible for the State and National Historic Registries.
2018
In 2018, backed by my family, I approached the Town of Cambria Building Department with a plan. I requested permission to invite the public to the site via special events, so that we could determine what the community would like to see done with this historic site. In order to continue restoring the site we also requested permission to use one of the site's barns for the storage and sale of antiques. Jay Booth had for some time been successfully operating his small business, Jay Bird Antiques with spaces rented in many of Western New York Antique Co-Ops, including the local Lewiston Antique Mall and the former Hilltop Antiques on Cambria-Lewiston Townline Road. I regularly took on the role of shopkeeper at that store on weekends and found it to be a wonderful way to engage with the community.
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It was at this point that the Town started to lash out at us.
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"James McCann has nothing to talk to Tyler about." |
2019
The Town of Cambria granted both of those requests via Conditional Permits and my mother, Dr. Lizbeth Booth and I jointly obtained a large bank loan for the restoration and development of the property. One of the first things that needed to be done before we could sell anything or host a public tour of the site was the construction of a parking area. As a covenant of our stewardship of this historic site, the property came with an easement that guaranteed access to the site's cemetery by the public and so our new driveway and parking lot also had to accommodate visitors to the cemetery. We had also hoped to add a field access so that our family could bring farming equipment to the site without driving over or impeding on any of the site's visitors.
"Tyler, Regarding your recent conversation with me on April 18, 2019 be advised: |
On April 19th, I called the Town of Cambria Supervisor, Wright Ellis and complained that the Town of Cambria Building Department was refusing to allow me and my family the right to apply for building permits and rights of access to the Town of Cambria Building Department. Supervisor Ellis said that I was attempting to open a bar in his town and that bars were not allowed in his town. I explained to the Supervisor that I had made no such request or claim and he set up a meeting between me and the Building Inspector, James McCann for the next morning.
I brought my mother, Dr. Lizbeth Booth, and my partner, Johnathan Newman to my meeting with James McCann. He understandably did not agree to have any such meeting and made his displeasure known. |
James McCann said that if my mother was not in his office, he would throw me and Mr. Newman out. He also said that we were at his mercy and that he could make me do anything that he wanted. "I could make you install an elevator if I wanted to," I remember him saying to us. He also declined our request to install a wheelchair accessible bathroom unless we provided him with a topographical survey of the entire farm at five-foot intervals. He refused to explain what information this would provide him or why it would be necessary. His explanation was that we could just not install the bathroom. He also refused to take an application for a log building reconstruction because he said that we already had too many buildings. This was the first and last meeting or in-person discussion that James McCann would ever have with any of us.
Our family hired Long Associates Architects, PLLC to help us navigate the conversion of the historic tavern into a historic tavern museum. Long Associates focuses primarily on non-profit residential and commercial work and has been in businesses since 1977.
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2019 saw the 17th annual Cambria Town Wide Yard Sale. Jay Bird Antiques set up a big tent in front of the Tavern and I gave tours of the house to a handful inquiring neighbors.
It was at this point that we all realized what we had to do with this historic site. We decided to establish the Forsyth-Warren Tavern Living History Farm and Museum. We realized that the community was as interested in saving this site as we were and so we gathered families with connections to the site and others with connections to the area's museums and reenacting communities. |
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The Plan was to restore the entire homestead to how it appeared circa 1808 and opening every aspect of this historic site to the public. That meant that the public could come to learn the skills necessary to take care of farm animals, to farm, to garden, to try heritage skills like pottery, canning, woodworking, crafting... It was also a place for people to gather and enjoy a glass of wine in a genuine frontier tavern. We even hoped that families could spend a night in the tavern and have the entire historic site to themselves to explore. The site would be furnished with real pieces of history including genuine rope beds with straw and wool mattresses.
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A place cannot simply call itself a museum in New York State. The State laws dictate when, where and how the term Museum can be used and in order to call this historic site a museum, we would have to create a Board of Trustees, independent and impartial, to petition the Board of Regents for a Charter and then to establish this Museum as a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational institution.
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In the phone call above, James McCann claims that paying for a permit to install a driveway and parking lot would be a "waste" and that the permit would be rolled into the permits granting our right to open the site as a Museum. At this point we were heavily invested and moving quickly. However, when the Department of Transportation reached out to James McCann for proof that this driveway was permitted, James McCann said no. This blocked us from installing the field access that we had planned for and paid for. For six more months we held the equipment on the site and attempted to reach James McCann to get the necessary approval for this work that he had told us to start doing, and for six months James McCann refused to answer or return phone calls and emails.
The Town of Cambria, with the blessing of the Niagara County Planning Board and numerous letters of support from the community, granted a conditional zoning permit to operate a museum.
On June 11th, 2019, I asked James McCann to perform a safety inspection of the historic Tavern and asked that, should the building pass an inspection, he issue a Certificate of Compliance to certify that the building is safe for the public. In accordance with Section 1202.2(b) of the Zoning Ordinances of the Town of Cambria the Building Inspector was required to conduct this inspection within five days after asked. James McCann was under no obligation to pass the building, of course; (and we had very little belief that he would) but, he was required to at least look at the property. James McCann refused.
In September, I formally requested that the Town of Cambria appoint or contract with any other Building Inspector to perform the duties of James McCann that he was refusing to perform. James McCann responded and declined.
2020
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The Forsyth-Warren Tavern was accepted to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. The Forsyth-Warren Tavern Living History Farm and Museum's petition for a Provisional Charter and IRS 501(c)(3) status were also accepted.
On March 18th, James McCann sent a letter to the Board Attorney for the Museum in which he attempted to force the Museum to agree to new, non-legal, conditions to the Museum's Conditional Use Permit which included a prohibition on constructing any buildings that could not be proven to be existing in the year 1808 (which, being prior to any maps or building permits would be nearly impossible), and that the Museum would only be allowed, thenceforth, to sell any drinks other than a syllabub (a British 16th century dessert that is essentially whipped cream topped alcohol).
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Mark D. Frering, Esq, Associate Attorney with the New York State Liquor Authority responded to this demand by the Town of Cambria Building Department to inform the Town of Cambria that it could not lawfully limit liquor sales to any one item; and could only limit the types of liquor licenses that a business would be allowed to obtain.
I and the Museum jointly filed an appeal of James McCann's demands to the Town of Cambria Zoning Board of Appeals to review his order and discuss the rationale behind it.
The Town of Cambria Zoning Board of Appeals visited the site in November to make sure that all of the Conditions of the site's permits had been satisfied. The Board made the determination that we had met all of the Conditions stated in our permits.
In September, the Town of Cambria refused to renew the conditional permit for Jay Bird Antiques without reason or cause. Inquiries by everyone involved went ignored by the Building Department, Town Attorneys, and the Town Board.
When asked for the Minutes from the Zoning Board's inspection, the Town of Cambria Building Department claimed that no such meeting at the site ever occurred.
In September, the Town of Cambria refused to renew the conditional permit for Jay Bird Antiques without reason or cause. Inquiries by everyone involved went ignored by the Building Department, Town Attorneys, and the Town Board.
When asked for the Minutes from the Zoning Board's inspection, the Town of Cambria Building Department claimed that no such meeting at the site ever occurred.
In response to repeated refusals of any explanation, the Museum asked me to request that the Town Board rezone the parcel from Agricultural-Residential to a Business zone to shift the responsible party from James McCann, to the Town of Cambria Town Board.
2021
I and representatives of the Museum met with the Town of Cambria Planning Board twice and answered all questions asked of us. The Town of Cambria Town Board then held a public hearing on January 14th, 2021. The Town of Cambria Supervisor, Wright Ellis, was the only person that spoke in opposition against a crowd of supporters that both spoke and sent letters of support. The Town's decision was that they did not agree with who owned the property and was no inclined to rezone the parcel while it was under my and my mother's ownership. They went on to state that they are fully supportive of the Plan for the site and want us to continue operating with our three Conditional Permits.
Following the Supervisor's comment, I sent him a letter requesting that, if the Town would like the Plan to proceed under the three Conditional Permits as he had told the public, that he ask the Town to renew those permits.
Town Attorney, Robert Roberson responded. He sent a letter that called me liar and stated that the Museum's permit would not be renewed because he claimed that I had denied the Zoning Board of Appeals access to the interior of the historic Tavern during their inspection. (the same inspection that previously had never occurred) He further claimed that the Town had no idea what the Plan for the site was; despite the Town Supervisor saying that Town was in agreement with the Plan, and despite the Town approving three permits for that Plan.
He invited me to reach out with any questions at the end of his letter and of course, I requested further explanation.
To which, Robert Roberson responded with another letter requesting proof that the Museum was a "not-for-profit."
To this I took offense for three reasons: firstly, being a non-profit was not a condition of the Museum's permit; secondly, this is public information that any person could look up on their own; and thirdly, the Town's own 'Museum' located in the Old Town Hall (itself a former tavern) was not a non-profit institution as it has never filed for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS as it was required to do by law.
He invited me to reach out with any questions at the end of his letter and of course, I requested further explanation.
To which, Robert Roberson responded with another letter requesting proof that the Museum was a "not-for-profit."
To this I took offense for three reasons: firstly, being a non-profit was not a condition of the Museum's permit; secondly, this is public information that any person could look up on their own; and thirdly, the Town's own 'Museum' located in the Old Town Hall (itself a former tavern) was not a non-profit institution as it has never filed for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS as it was required to do by law.
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I called the attorney for the Town of Cambria Zoning Board and demanded that they hear my appeals and a month later I received a snide letter from the Chairman of that Board, and owner of Niagara Landing Winery, Peter Smith.
Peter said that the Zoning Board would hear my appeal (something they are required to do by law) only if I provided his copies of our building plans showing renovation (what renovations I don't know), a letter from the NYS Division for Historic Preservation (which isn't a thing) telling him what elements inside and outside of the historic site were historic, a copy of driveway permits (assumedly for the field access that McCann had denied and which had no relevancy for the public's use of the property), and a survey with elevations (eerily similar to the topographical survey that McCann had requested for apparent or logical reason). I managed to get all of these things put together for that Board within the two week deadline provided. |
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On April 26th, I, Johnathan Newman and Board of Trusteed Attorney for the Museum, David Flynn met with the Town of Cambria Zoning Board of Appeals and their attorney, Gary Billingsley, Town Building Inspector James McCann and Town Counselman Randy Roberts.
Attorney Gary Billingsley repeatedly tried to end the meeting by with redundant request. First he claimed that the Town needed a written plan for the permits that it had already provided until I reminded him that the plan was already written in the permits as asked what questions the Board had for us. The Board had no questions. Next they attempted to claim that we had never provided the Building Department with building plans for the historic tavern; but, when we handed James McCann his fourth copy of the Tavern's blueprints, that argument too dissolved. They then attempted to table the meeting by saying that the County Planning Board had sent them a letter stating that the Museum required a third entrance installed where I had originally requested a private field access; but, when I asked for a copy of that letter, the claim dissolved. |
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Finally Gary Billingsley decided that the Town was not looking good and requested that the hearing adjourn and meet again in private to discuss how to proceed and to determine what documents the Town had received and what it had not; since the Town was taking the stance that it had approved not just one, but three permits without ever hearing a plan for the property, that it had in its possession somewhere a letter from the County demanding a third road be installed, and all blueprints, surveys, and site plans had somehow gotten lost in Jim McCann's office before he ever got the opportunity to look at them.
We agreed on the condition that no enforcement action could be taken against me or the Museum in the meantime.
We agreed on the condition that no enforcement action could be taken against me or the Museum in the meantime.
Attorney for the Town Board, Robert Roberson called the Museum's Board of Trustees' attorney shortly after that meeting and told them that the Town Supervisor Wright Ellis had said no to the Zoning Board's request for a private hearing and that no such meeting would take place.
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At this point everyone involved felt exhausted and defeated. My mother, Dr. Lizbeth Booth was battling Stage 4 cancer, and in an effort to move forward and get the museum open before it was too late, I hired Trautman Associates Architects and Engineers to do Jim McCann's job for him and provide a report complete with every possible drawing, diagram and building code analysis as was humanly possible.
At the end, we provided a thirty-nine page independent code compliance report, costing nearly a quarter of my annual income which recommended that the Town of Cambria approve of our request for a Certificate of Compliance. The historic Tavern was finally proven to be safe for the public and safe to reopen as a Tavern Museum. |
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James McCann sent a Cease and Desist letter to me, the Town of Cambria Town Board and both Town Attorneys stating that he had never received building plans and had never issued any permits for the site. This, despite having received his fourth copy in a room full of witnesses just three months earlier, and having, also on the record, stated that permits were wastes of money and would all be included in the singular permit for the Museum.
Inside the Town of Cambria Building Department Office
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The Building Department kept three boxes on top of its filing cabinets: Planning Board, Zoning Board, and Tyler Booth-Forsyth-Warren Tavern as if to suggest that our files were distinctly kept separate from those of any other property. Which begs the question of how did those files go missing and where are they today?
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I made several phone calls, wrote emails, and spoke out during Town Board meetings and nobody cared to resolve any of this.
And so, the Museum went ahead, with all of the necessary permits, and planned a 2021 grand opening; just without the interior of the historic Tavern being able to be open to the public.
And so, the Museum went ahead, with all of the necessary permits, and planned a 2021 grand opening; just without the interior of the historic Tavern being able to be open to the public.
On September 1st, I was served with a formal Cease and Desist, a Notice of Violation and a Summons before the Town of Cambria Justice Court on accusations that I had opened the Tavern to the public without permits and without providing the Building Department with building plans for the preexisting building.
The Museum hired a defense attorney, and they met privately with James McCann and both Town Attorneys. First, the Town demanded that I plead guilty to the double misdemeanor charges that they levied against me and accept up to one year in jail; or, they would charge me with the illegal sale of alcohol. I responded by sending the Town copies of the Museum's special event liquor licenses obtained for the Museums' schedule of outdoor events, and politely declined the plea deal offer. Second, they demanded proof, again, that the Museum was a genuine 501(c)(3) institution; or, they would charge me with violation of State laws. I responded by providing copies of the Museum's Charter and IRS certifications. Then lastly, the Town claimed that I had refused to submit any plans to the Building Department over the course of the last five years; and so, I furnished the court with a copy of the Code Compliance Report and all of the plans therein.
The Museum hired a defense attorney, and they met privately with James McCann and both Town Attorneys. First, the Town demanded that I plead guilty to the double misdemeanor charges that they levied against me and accept up to one year in jail; or, they would charge me with the illegal sale of alcohol. I responded by sending the Town copies of the Museum's special event liquor licenses obtained for the Museums' schedule of outdoor events, and politely declined the plea deal offer. Second, they demanded proof, again, that the Museum was a genuine 501(c)(3) institution; or, they would charge me with violation of State laws. I responded by providing copies of the Museum's Charter and IRS certifications. Then lastly, the Town claimed that I had refused to submit any plans to the Building Department over the course of the last five years; and so, I furnished the court with a copy of the Code Compliance Report and all of the plans therein.
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I think that the Town realized that they were not just going to lose in their own Kangaroo Court, but that they may have just opened the door to discussing the Town's perjury in a Court of Law.
So on October 21, the Town of Cambria Zoning Board of Appeals held a secret hearing during which James McCann provided a scripted motion for the Zoning Board to read, revoking all three zoning permits for the site on the grounds that I had 'rubbed it in his face' and that James McCann saw, 'no other way of ending this.'
Legally speaking, the Zoning Board of Appeals has no power to revoke approved permits after they have become vested rights. They, like any other people have only thirty days to file an appeal with the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn a decision made by an officer or an official body. And so, that is precisely what I did. Fortunately my partner and I review the monthly minutes of every Zoning, Planning, and Town Board meeting and within thirty days of their illegal decision, I filed an Article 78 petition to the Supreme Court requesting a judge review their actions and overturn their decision. |
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The Town of Cambria took offense to this, and countersued me in the Supreme Court, asking the Judge to forever prohibit me from calling the historic Forsyth-Warren Tavern a Museum and to further prohibit me from opening as a Museum now or any time in the future.
The actions of the Petitioners to offer to the public these spaces for public occupancy while actively engaged in evading the safety purposes of the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code is the height of the irresponsible conduct. It should not be rewarded. |
The Town used every shady tactic that it knew to delay both the Supreme Court and the Town Court including telling the Supreme Court Clerk to throw all of their technology into Lake Erie, not conforming to virtual measures and demanding that trial be delayed until after the Pandemic was over so that Robert Roberson could try and construct some way out of the mess that the Town had made for itself.
The Town managed to delay the courts for six months. |
Dr. Lizbeth Booth
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Unfortunately, Dr. Lizbeth Booth could not outlast the Town of Cambria. She passed away December 14th, 2021 at the age of sixty.
The Supreme Court ultimately dismissed our appeal with the invitation that we refile after the Town of Cambria had settled its accusations against me in its own courts since all of their actions hinged on their claims that I, as the now sole remaining land owners, violated the Zoning Ordinances of the Town.
If the Town's Zoning Board of Appeals revoked all three zoning permits on the grounds that I had violated the zoning ordinances. Any idea of justification, hinged on the Town proving these accusations made by James McCann. But, James McCann never conducted any inspections in all of the months that the Town of Cambria delayed our trials to gather evidence. |
2022
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The Town of Cambria withdrew its accusations against me May 5th, 2022; almost a yea after they agreed to a Stay Upon Appeal which barred any enforcement actions against me or the Museum.
I and the representatives of the Museum spent the next six months trying to avoid taking the Town of Cambria back to the Supreme Court.
First, we asked for our permits to be restored; since, the accusations that caused them to be revoked, were withdrawn. When the Town refused, we reached out to our County Legislator, David Godfrey, who in turn offered to speak with Town Supervisor Wright Ellis in an attempt to broker some sort of resolution. When Wright Ellis refused, we requested that the Zoning Board of Appeals resume our appeal and schedule another meeting with us. When the Zoning Board of Appeals refused, we attempted to reapply for new zoning permits with the Building Department. When the Building Department refused, we spoke out at a Concerns of the Citizens public hearing. |
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This isn't the first instance of this sort of abuse of power either. In 2013 James McCann was sued by Lockport Condominium Development, LLC for what they claimed a violation of their procedural due process rights from "repeated imposition of requirements arbitrarily [and maliciously] pushed upon [the developer] during the building permit application process resulting in the complete financial collapse of the project."
Property rights are protected by the United States and New York State Constitutions. Many people know of the 5th Amendment Taking Clause that says, "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation;" but, not everyone seems to know that property taken through regulation is treated the same as property taken through physical seizure. In our case, on our journey to restore the historic Forsyth-Warren Tavern, we could have invested in converting the site into a residential home or rental. However, we instead obtained the property permits, approvals, licenses, and invested in making the property a Living History Museum. These rights were repeatedly upheld and furthered which has made the Museum what they call a vested use. To convert the site to something else would take hundreds of thousands of dollars and undo years of work invested by many people. In doing what the Town has done, and continues to do, they have taken all rights to use, enjoy, dispose, develop, and improve this property. It has also taken away something more: legacy. The laws that establish reasonable restrictions on our property rights as well as those that insure the safety of the public while they are on our property also outline the expectations and reasonable behavior of the people that oversee those laws. The Town of Cambria and many of its Officers violated the law in order to act out a scheme intent on harming or destroying me, my family, and the Forsyth-Warren Tavern Living History Farm and Museum and in doing so, withheld inheritant freedoms. Our freedoms are not to be treated as privileges that government officials can choose to give or to withhold as they wish.
