The owner of the Main Street Armory is seeking to reopen the historic building as a music venue, while at the same time facing new legal challenges from City Hall.
Last week, John Trickey filed for an entertainment license for the building on East Main Street. It's at least the third time Trickey has sought to get the venue licensed to host concerts since purchasing the Armory in 2023.
At the same time as he applied for the license, city housing attorney Michael Furlano filed a case in state Supreme Court over another property Trickey owns, a pallet warehouse on Buffalo Road that the city alleges is at risk of a "foreseeable and potentially catastrophic fire."
The city also alleged that the warehouse has no functioning sprinkler system, fire alarm, or “reliable fire department connections necessary for emergency suppression efforts.”
"The warehouse is immediately adjacent to residential properties," the city's court petition reads. "Should a fire occur, the absence of functioning suppression and alarm systems would permit rapid fire growth, substantially increase response times, threaten neighboring homes and businesses, and create a significant risk of serious bodily injury or death."
Trickey bought the Armory from former owner Scott Donaldson for $550,000. That transaction immediately followed an incident in which three women were trampled to death during a crowd surge event following a performance by rapper GloRilla. Those women were Rhondesia Belton, 33 of Buffalo; Brandy Miller, 35 of Rochester; and Aisha Stephens, 35, of Syracuse.
Trickey has partnered with Upstate Music Group, which previously oversaw music for Water Street Music Hall and the now-defunct Essex on University Avenue in Rochester. But his plan to reopen the Armory as a music venue was blocked by the city's former top lawyer Linda Kingsley. At the time, she said the city would never grant Trickey an entertainment license due to issues at other properties he owns in the city.
“We looked at John Trickey’s history of owning real property in the city and his history of compliance with laws, and there’s a long list of lack thereof,” Kingsley said in December 2023.
Trickey owns 33 properties in the city, both under his name and related limited liability companies, according to city records. He has amassed 76 code violations across those properties, 15 of which are at the Buffalo Road pallet warehouse.
In a phone call, Trickey said he thinks the issues with the city will be resolved quickly, pending a third-party inspection.
"I had to pay out of pocket over $100,000 to get the sprinkler system up and running, and it's at that point now for both the sprinkler system and the alarm system," Trickey said. "So, hopefully this Friday we have both third-party reports, which puts it legal again."
Trickey said he's invested over $300,000 into the Armory to replace the sprinkler system, fire escapes, and various other features to comply with city codes. That came after his application for an entertainment license last year was rejected.
The city has yet to make a determination on his present entertainment license application. Trickey said he thinks the city will be more amenable to granting it.
"The city and the Fire Department have seen how much time I have spent doing everything that they've asked me to do over there," Trickey said.
The Armory is currently being used largely for volleyball tournaments. Trickey said he'd like to see the venue host boxing and classic rock from his youth. Top of his list are Blondie and Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon fame.
