^^^I would never reside in a commercial area, those areas are for commerce not residences. 
I never understood the thought of jail time. It would be better to keep fining him in this situation.
He does something wrong that violates city code and pays for it. Why waste city resources on non violent crimes by putting someone in jail. Keep making them pay for their stupidity and generate more revenue for the city.
WNY is such a great area for a small business.
This is very true. Great point.
ROFL. HAHAHAHA. Nice.
If you don’t like the color of your neighbors house should you be able to change it?
Don’t like your neighbors sign? Move.
This sucks, period.
Im curious how they legally hold a single person liable for a corperation’s/business’s actions. Also with him saying this was personal use and freedom of speach.
Real simple, it’s HIS business, therefor he’s responsible.
:tup: to Carnut with the background info. Furthers my theory that the timing and subject matter were chosen specifically to flip the bird to the town ordinance while getting as much public support as possible.
Also, the article linked says the ordinance is every 10 seconds not every 10 minutes. I wouldn’t put it past our local media to mess up such an important detail.
However, that wasn’t the end of it. Councilman Mark C. Crocker said he wanted to talk to Mongielo about a YouTube video Mongielo had produced, entitled “David Mongielo is Going to Jail For Helping Residents.”
This referred back to the issue Mongielo has with the town’s sign law.
Mongielo is awaiting a verdict March 20 from Town Justice Raymond E. Schilling, who conducted a nonjury trial Dec. 28 on Mongielo’s second alleged violation of the town’s law barring electronic signs that change more than once every 10 seconds.
Since the alleged violation occurred during the time of Mongielo’s conditional discharge for his first sign-law violation, Schilling could sentence him to 15 days behind bars.
A 9-minute videotape shot Aug. 25 by Donald J. Jablonski, town GOP chairman and Zoning Board member, showed the sign in front of Mongielo’s Robinson Road auto repair shop changing every two seconds.
Although the sign is usually used to advertise Mongielo’s business, it has been used on occasion to promote community fundraisers.
On Aug. 25, the video sign was promoting a fundraiser for Allen Gerhardt, a Niagara County sheriff’s deputy who lost both legs in a July 18 crash.
Wednesday, Crocker asked Mongielo, “How did you help Kayla Allen?”
“We help people dying of cancer,” Mongielo said. “I don’t know who Kayla is. She’s a girl who probably died, right?”
Crocker said his research indicated that Kayla Allen was murdered in North Carolina in 2003. In his video, Mongielo used a picture of that girl and her gravesite that he found on the Internet.
Crocker said that incident had nothing to do with Lockport and occurred years before Mongielo moved his business from Pendleton to Lockport.
“Don’t be dishonest,” Crocker told Mongielo. “Don’t use murdered children to further your political gains.”
“It just shows the dysfunction of local government,” said Mongielo, who provided The Buffalo News with a copy of an anonymous political mailing sent out against him in January.
At least one official reacted to Mongielo’s charges with sarcasm.
Councilman Paul H. Pettit told the audience, “I learned tonight I was corrupt and a Communist. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
I still don’t support jail time, but at least now I understand it. If you poke the bear long enough eventually you get mauled.
Color of a house isn’t a big deal because it is a preference but towns have ordinances and policies that prevent people from destroying the value of a neighborhood such as keeping boats and RVs in the yard, doing certain additions to houses, and running a business from home. You would be surprised how much control a town has over “your” property depending on where you live if you really went after someone. Even more for businesses operating in a town. Look at Williamsville. Some businesses are grandfathered in with certain things they have but over all, there is a lot of laws to protect the face of the village and prevent a business from buying space and turning main street into the las vegas strip with billboards and lightup signs.
An even better example is Main st in Lewiston. A friend of a friend has a store on that strip and the regs on how he can make his store look are insane. The town and it’s residents have decided that they are going to have a quaint looking Main St though so either you play by their rules or you relocate.
With or without blinking signs, lockport is still quite the shithole.
I see what you did there…
the guy has been causing problems with the town for quite a while so honestly it doesnt suprise me that they did this. however i do think jailtime is a bit much. his sign is pretty annoying though. that and the gumball lights/plow lights/etc that he always leaves on in his front window. major PITA at night especially with the blue ones because you think you need to pull over to get out of the way of a fire fighter or something only to realize its his fucking store.
While I think the jailtime is pretty extreme the guy is cocky to no end. I called him out in a GN site once for trying to sell a 20th anniversary TA that was totaled and put on a second body as I almost bought the car when it was totaled. He kept posting I was lying and was mad because I couldn’t afford it. Things went bad from there and I think he actually got banned because of it.
While I don’t agree with this I read a few articles on this…
The guy already got busted for this in the past year and fined.
From the quotes that were posted sounds like he used the benefit/fundraiser to pull in support about something he was obviously upset about from his previous fine? and cover the real issue?
Ask Kolbert and Valone over in cheektowaga how far you get by playing god in the court room with the people who elect you.
This is stupid, Its a sign in a indrusty zone. I could care less what the guys like or did. To much big brother bs going on.
I totally forgot about this. That is obnoxious.
I am sure you would have a different opinion on government regulation of signs if you owned a business in a zone and someone put up a sign that blocked your business and sign.
jail time is stupid even concidering dave is a putz