Well, I had finished the story about 66 Franklin Street and was at the City Council meeting when I got an interesting e-mail from Joe Boff, owner of 66 Franklin Street, the historic Winan-Crippens House.

It seems he is getting a restraining order against him from the attorney representing the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation. Maybe I should let that sink in....

Here's the e-mail he received and forwarded to me:

Gentlemen: Please be advised that we will be seeking a temporary restraining order in Supreme Court tomorrow morning. We have not yet been assigned a judge, but we anticipate being assigned a judge at around 9:30 am. We will telephone you at that time as to who the case is assigned too, and will provide you with a set of our papers at that time.

George F. Carpinello

Now, I'm sure that this isn't the kind of "You will not go within 500 feet of..." kind of restraining order, but it definitely seems bizzare. 

This came after Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation Executive Director Samantha Bosshart said they were "taken a bit by surprise" by the fact that the Design Review Commission will be reviewing their proposal Monday at a special meeting.

She said the SSPF has "concerns" about the Final Environmental Impact Statement the DRC accepted and will be ruling on Monday. With that, the DRC will also decide whether Boff can tear down the building, something he said he will do immediately if approved.

While Bosshart told me "we want to see the process preserved" and has accused Boff of doing an "end-run" in the past along with other SSPF members, Boff says its Bosshart and the SSPF that "manipulate the system" to keep him from tearing down a building he says can't be saved.

This isn't the first time and may not be the last time the two sides will end up in court over this. We'll see what happens tomorrow.