U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is pictured during a stop earlier this year at the former Crawford Furniture manufacturing facility in Jamestown. Submitted photo

What remains of the former Crawford Furniture manufacturing facility in Jamestown will be demolished and removed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The announcement Monday by the city, EPA and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer comes a year after a massive fire tore through the Allen Street property and has been a topic that remains tied up in Housing Court.

“For over a year, the EPA has been working closely with the city of Jamestown to address the serious environmental and public health risks at 1061 Allen Street,” said Lisa Garcia, EPA regional administrator. “The EPA will continue to take action to safely demolish and remove the asbestos-laden debris that remains on site. Once the site is cleaned up and safe, EPA will support efforts by Jamestown to redevelop the site for benefit of the community.”

Cleanup efforts, the city and EPA announced in a news release, will include the removal of “asbestos-laden debris” at 1061 Allen St. The site has been fenced off since the Nov. 16, 2022, blaze.

“I would like to personally thank Sen. Schumer, who pushed the EPA to secure this critical funding to clean up 1061 Allen St.,” Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said. “While we work to hold those who let this site deteriorate accountable, the EPA has stepped up and will save Jamestown taxpayers millions of dollars. We thank them for their continued partnership and hope to work with them quickly to clean up the site.”

Crystal Surdyk, city director of development, said it may take some time for the demolitions and then for debris removal. An elevator shaft, a small outbuilding, old kilns and several metal silos need to be demolished.

“If the weather cooperates it may take a couple of months, but given that they are starting at the beginning of winter weather, I anticipate it will be well into spring before the cleanup is completed,” Surdyk said.

In January of this year, Schumer, D-NY and Senate majority leader, visited the Allen Street site to outline a cleanup plan. That included calling on the EPA to assist city officials with remediation efforts.

“The old Crawford Furniture Factory was once a beating heart for Jamestown’s economy, but for too long, this crumbling building sat as an eyesore and, as last year’s fire showed, its continued presence would only put our public health and environment at risk,” Schumer said Monday.

He added, “This federal cleanup is a win-win-win: knocking down the crumbling walls, which were devastated by the fire; removing toxic contaminants like asbestos from our community, all while taking the burden off our local taxpayers in Jamestown.

“The EPA has been a tremendous partner and I thank them for their dedicated work to knock down this deteriorating building so that it can be transformed into a place of new opportunity.”

Last year’s fire and the site’s condition leading up to it have been battled in city Housing Court for months. The city is attempting to hold the property’s owner, Allen Street Development LLC, financially responsible.

In October, Housing Court Judge George Panebianco encouraged both sides to find a way to settle the many code violations that accumulated leading up to the fire. In his chambers, Panebianco conferenced with Surdyk; Elliot Raimondo, city corporation counsel; and Daryl Brautigam, the attorney representing Allen Street Development. On several occasions, raised voices could be heard coming from the chambers.

In open court afterward, Panebianco thanked both sides for coming together, while acknowledging, “We had a very animated and motivated conversation between the parties.”

Both sides were scheduled to return to court this month, but the case was again adjourned.

After the October court appearance, Brautigam said he filed motions for the cases to be dismissed and scoffed at how long the matter in city Housing Court has dragged on. He believes the city has it out for his client, Richard Rusiniak, who is connected to Allen Street Development.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s absurd,” he said at the time. “They’re using all their city resources because of a personal vendetta against this particular guy. … He buys a building, he’s got big hopes for it, they fall through, OK? His company spends a bunch of money on the building and nothing ever happens except he loses his shirt. … They’re trying to prosecute an individual who has an LLC. That’s why people set up LLCs.”

Nonetheless, Surdyk said last year’s fire was both predictable and preventable. She said what would have been a $200,000 job to take care of the property, for abatement and partial demolition costs, has now turned into a $5 million cleanup effort.