Southtowns Record

Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting, May 5, 2026 — Minutes

Government
Town of Hamburg
Board
Zoning Board of Appeals
Meeting
May 5, 2026
Kind
Minutes
Topics
Zoning and land use, Public safety

Original document

Same meeting

Text · page 3 of 7

Commissioner Falkiewicz asked what the contract price was. Moriarty stated that it is estimated
around $750,000. Commissioner Falkiewicz said that is a substantial difference from the listings
and is important for them to know.

James Joyce, 2744 Thornwoods Dr. Wheatfield NY, spoke in favor of this variance and did not
want a strip club in the neighborhood anymore.

Marie Edwards, 7789 Back Creek Rd. Hamburg NY, founded 10 Lives Club in 2001. She bought
this building in 2014 and for the first two years they had to deal with the strip club every day.
There was sex and drugs always going on in the parking lot. They were constantly calling the
police to document this. The police told them to keep it up and they should lose their license. In
2016, right before the strip club closed, someone threw a beer bottle and broke the window.
She has 34 employees and for everyone’s safety she does not want another bar or strip club
next door. Every day at least 100 people come in and out of their building to volunteer and
rescue the cats. They want to continue having a positive impact on the neighborhood.

Barbara Glover, 23 Windgate Orchard Park NY, has been employed at the 10 Lives Club for 2
years and loves serving the community. She has tracked how many cars drive by 10 Lives Club
and 24 Karat on different days and times to get a good estimate. Approximately 39-83 go by per
minute. When people enter the Southtowns the first thing they see is a strip club. This is the
first impression people get of our town. 10 Lives had permission to store items for a gala in 24
Karat and even though there were locks and cameras, there were still break ins and items were
stolen. The building has leaks and damage. Glover feels like they would be doing the town a
favor to take this off their hands and take care of the place. They want to make this a safe
place. She wants the first thing for people to see when they enter the Southtowns is a
community—not just an adoption center for cats but also a clinic so people can actually afford
to take care of their animals.

Chairman Dimpfl said that it is great that everyone came to show their support but wants
everyone to understand that the Board does not have anything against 10 Lives Club. The
reason they have not been able to approve this because New York State requires that financial
disclosure and that was not provided until tonight.

Commissioner Falkiewicz asked Attorney Moriarty and owner Marie Edwards the value of the
items for the gala that were stolen. Edwards stated it was about $10,000. Edwards stated that
there were six break-ins in six months.

Commissioner Yoder asked Attorney Kathleen Moriarty if the plan was to renovate or demolish
the building. Moriarty stated that the plan is to just renovate and add a cat café and additional
cat shelter space.

Code enforcement officer Jeff Skrzypek added that over the past couple days there have been
about two dozen calls in favor of granting the use variance.

The Board had no further questions.

Findings: