In a scathing news release, the city said — along with addressing 1061 Allen St. and its years of neglect — it plans to fight a growing blight problem by “developing legislation” and seeking changes to current legislation to better deal with nuisance properties.

Currently at the heart of the matter is the Allen Street complex, part of the former Crawford Furniture factory. Officials with the city Department of Development, police department, fire department, DPW and BPU along with investigators from the Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Conservation recently inspected the main building of the long-vacant complex. Officials also took inventory and sought to test suspected hazardous materials found on site.

Crystal Surdyk, city director of development, said the property has been condemned due to “imminent structural collapse caused by long deteriorating conditions as a direct result of property owner neglect.”

The complex is owned by Allen Street Development LLC, which has reportedly been cited several times by Larry Scalise, the city’s building and zoning code enforcement officer, for a bevy of violations including for junk and debris and for failure to renovate or demolish.

“1061 Allen Street has been a problem property for several years and has deteriorated at an increasingly rapid rate over the past year or so,” Surdyk said. “It has constantly been cited for junk and debris, the back portion of the building is on the verge of catastrophic collapse, and there are hazardous materials and chemicals being stored in the building and scattered throughout the site. We appreciate the United States Environmental Protection Agency and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s responsiveness to this situation and will continue to assist and coordinate with the EPA and DEC as they work to complete their independent investigations.”

Unfortunately, these assurances have not resulted in any corrective action.

Surdyk said the city found the owners “contempt for our legal process and officials, blatant neglect of their obligations as property owners and their utter disregard for the Jamestown community to be abhorrent and is determined to hold these individuals accountable.”

Surdyk said Allen Street Development has been issued a summons six times over the last two years for appearances in court to address the code violations. She said the son of the owners appeared for two of those scheduled court appearances. The son, acting as a representative, reportedly told the court he would relay the judge’s orders.

The Department of Development and the city’s legal team are exploring all legal options available to hold Allen Street Development accountable for its intentional and malicious neglect, Surdyk said.

After events like the Jamestown Royal Upholstery Factory fire last year, Surdyk said city officials must take more proactive action and learn from the consequences of inaction.

“Let me make this as clear as I possibly can: the city of Jamestown deserves better. The city of Jamestown expects better. And the city of Jamestown and Department of Development will not continue to accept the willful neglect of our properties, of our buildings, or of our community, particularly by irresponsible out of town, out of state and out of country speculators who have no reason to own property here, other than to prey on the people of this city,” she said. “We are currently developing multiple pieces of legislation that we intend to add to our growing arsenal of blight fighting weapons. In the coming months, the Department of Development will present rental inspection, vacant property registration, and nuisance ordinances to the city council Housing Committee, Planning and Zoning boards and ultimately to the City Council for adoption. We believe that with aggressive changes to current legislation, our already enhanced code enforcement efforts, the nearly 40 combined 19-A and Zombie Lawsuits that are underway, and the vital partnerships we have and will continue to forge, we can right this ship.”

In June 2015, a partial roof collapse at the former Crawford Furniture Atlas Division building, located at 40 Winsor St., led to city officials declaring an emergency demolition. The Crawford Furniture Atlas Division location on Winsor Street was once a furniture outlet store. In addition to the regular line of quality products made by Crawford, according to The Post-Journal’s archives, the store also had manufacturer’s overruns as well as discontinued items.

According to The Post-Journal’s archives, the building also housed manufacturing operations including a production unit known as the automated finishing system. Components to the system included a sander, an air knife to remove dust, a photo light system, two sets of eight spray guns, an excess spray collector, a wiping machine and temperature-controlled heat ovens.

Crawford Furniture filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2011 for its manufacturing corporation and retail outlets. In December 2011, the company closed its manufacturing plant.

A liquidation sale followed in April 2012 at Crawford Furniture’s Allen Street location.

The family-owned manufacturer of solid-wood furniture was founded in 1883.

Surdyk said the “bold actions” city officials are taking to mitigate the severe hazards to public health and safety posed by the conditions of the 1061 Allen St. property will set a precedent.

“The Department of Development is always willing to work with property owners to achieve code compliance, but for those of you who fail to honor your commitments and responsibilities, we will pursue any and all legal means necessary,” she said.