By Daniel Pye<br><a href="mailto:pyed@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dan</a>
Cities and towns north of Buffalo will have a much larger auto bureau to serve them by next spring.
The new Department of Motor Vehicles branch will be located in the Northtowns Plaza, on the Amherst side of Niagara Falls Boulevard near the intersection with Sheridan Drive. Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul said the new facility will be modeled after the successful Eastern Hills Mall office, which features a number system and waiting area with chairs and TVs.
“We’re going to create a whole new environment to serve the people of the Northtowns,” Hochul said.
The office will replace both the City of Tonawanda and Town of Tonawanda branches. Hochul said she’s thankful to both the town and city for giving the DMV space in their buildings free of charge, but said the two-person offices just aren’t able to handle the volume generated by the new enhanced driver’s license program. For the time being, people will have to make due, but changes are on the horizon.
“We will wait to close the other two locations until we’re ready to transfer into the new location because we don’t want to disrupt services,” Hochul said.
The Erie County Legislature unanimously approved the leasing of space in the Northtowns Plaza at Thursday’s session. While the new office will have only eight to 10 employees — a far cry from the more than 20 who worked in the same plaza before the 2005 budget crisis — Hochul said the new space will better assist a Tonawanda-Amherst area that is now underserved while operating within the county’s budget constraints.
She also hopes a more comfortable and convenient experience will put money back in county coffers that’s being lost when residents renew registration online or by mailing their forms to Albany to avoid the hassle of waiting in long lines.
“We hope to have it open by Easter time, late spring, when our busy summer business starts,” she said.
Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.
