FALCONER – Although progress has been made, safety and compliance problems concerning the homeless population are surfacing again.

In October 2025, officials aired concerns for student safety due to the Quality Inn’s proximity to the Harvey C. Fenner Elementary School. The concerns, related to the homeless populations housed at the Quality Inn, 1980 E. Main St., grew worse in the fall as Falconer Central School safety officials kept seeing more negative incidents on school grounds.

Recently the town of Ellicott Police Department had been called to the hotel, and to school grounds to address complaints. Several people face charges relating to the complaints.

– John A. Waite, 34 and Elizabeth R. Schultz, 37 both of Falconer were both charged March 25 with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, seventh-degree criminal possession of controlled substance, and criminally using drug paraphernalia. According to police, at about 1 p.m., officers responded to an unresponsive person at the Quality Inn, where it is alleged Officers located people inside the room all responsive and alert. Officers observed the room conditions to be deplorable with zero egress or a designated exit path, and also observed a small child inside. Police said, officers also located narcotics and drug paraphernalia all within reach of the child. Waite and Schultz were placed into custody, and taken to Chautauqua County Jail for centralized arraignment. Both will be in Ellicott Town Court later.

– Carlos J. Torres, 46, of the Budget Inn, and Felix J. Rodriguez-Gomez, 40, of the Quality Inn were charged March 25 with third-degree criminal trespass. Police said, at about 1:45 p.m., officers responded to a trespass complaint, where it is alleged Both Torres and Rodriguez-Gomez were observed walking through Fenner Elementary School property during school hours, and walked passed no trespassing signs. Both were placed into custody, and later released with an appearance ticket. They will be in Ellicott Town Court later.

– Bianca R. Harbison, 34, and Omaira R. Bermudez 22 , of Falconer were charged April 1 with third-degree criminal trespass. Police said officers responded to a criminal trespass complaint where it alleged Harbison and Bermudez were observed entering the playground area of Fenner Elementary School while school was in session, and passed clearly marked no trespassing signs. Officers issued appearance tickets, and Harbison and Bermudez will be in Ellicott Town Court later.

Falconer Village Mayor James Jaroszynski was one of the first to comment on the ongoing progress being made through the increased communication. While neither the school or hotel are technically located in the village lines, Jaroszynski has remained involved in the efforts to ensure students from the village are safe. Jaroszynski referred to the progress as an ongoing dialog with the county.

In March state and local officials agreed to push for alternatives to the housing of homeless individuals in hotels. New York State Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor hosted the discussion at the SUNY Fredonia Center for Innovation & Economic Development.

“It’s become a huge burden on local law enforcement and public safety in general,” Borrello said in March of the homeless problem. “It’s been very costly.”

Borrello also said, “These folks need services, they need housing. But the model that’s being used right now…is essentially to get these folks into a hotel room, and then that’s pretty much it. Unless they decide they want to pursue the service they need — addiction counseling, mental health services, job training.”

Borrello noted that homelessness rose 103% in Chautauqua County between 2022 and 2024.

The senator said officials need an answer to the question “How do we get these people help, and also ensure that it’s done in a safe manner that is not an undue burden on local government, law enforcement, and the taxpayers?”

Borrello also expressed concerns that too many hotel beds were getting taken from tourists and other visitors by the demand for homeless shelter.