Pictured is the former Crawford Furniture Manufacturing plant on Allen Street in Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN –It was once a pillar of Jamestown’s rich furniture industry. But by 2021, the former Crawford Furniture Manufacturing plant on Allen Street had become a clear hazard in the eyes of city officials.

On just over 2 acres of land, the site had become a common spot for squatters seeking temporary shelter. It’s also believed trespassers often accessed the grounds to scrap metal for off-site resale.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Allen Street complex housed numerous 55-gallon drums and 30-gallon containers, some void of labels or identifying markings. Containers discovered in one concrete room on the first floor of the main building did have labels, identifying contents as “flammable liquid” and “hazardous waste.”

Samples collected by the EPA in January 2022 from some of those drums indicated the presence of acetone and toluene — both irritants and extremely flammable in small amounts. Also detected was chromium, a heavy metal used in industrial applications such as plating.

Due to deteriorating conditions of the structures, the city in June 2021 asked the EPA to perform an evaluation. A tour turned up collapsed walls and densely packed floors with airplane parts as well as raw materials and partially processed furniture components from Crawford’s days of operating at the facility.

Efforts to address many of the hazards identified at 1061 Allen St. before a fire tore through the property on Nov. 16, 2022, are outlined in numerous reports by the EPA.

Though the plant’s final plight was well documented in breath-taking photographs and video showing massive flames shooting from the main building, the EPA reports offer further detail into what had been stored on the property, and the steps taken by its owner to remove containers and to address asbestos that had been identified.

Allen Street Development LLC acquired the property and its contents in July 2017 after Crawford Furniture Manufacturing filed for bankruptcy several years earlier. The new owner, according to numerous EPA pollution and situation reports, used the site to store items purchased at auction. Items included various airplane parts such as seats, restrooms, beverage carts and body panels.

However, the property was used for more than just storage.

“The facility started to be accessed by squatters, vagrants and scrappers who caused damage to the exterior doors, walls, windows and loading area,” the EPA said in a report released in late November of last year.

“Based on vandalism and deterioration of the structure, ease of access to interior spaces and use by trespassers and squatters, the city expressed concerns to the property owner,” the EPA continued.

In April 2021, the city Department of Development issued a notice to vacate. Two months later, the city asked the EPA to perform a removal site evaluation.

Dating back to 1883, the property was used for industrial and commercial purposes. The overall footprint included a main, four-story building surrounded by additional structures of various sizes.

In one tour, the EPA noted, “Damage and neglect is evident in nearly all the structures as windows and doors have been removed, roofs have collapsed and walls have fallen.”

By Jan. 10, 2022, Allen Street Development indicated it was willing to address the on-site containers. A tour of the complex held 10 days later, on Jan. 20, 2022, included Allen Street Development, the EPA, city officials and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Between January 2022 and July 2022, the EPA provided oversight of the “voluntary removal action” performed by Allen Street Development in which most of the containers were removed.

However, by August 2022, additional drums of corrosive materials as well as paints, adhesives and compressed gas cylinders were identified. In addition, samples of roofing material indicated the presence of asbestos.

By the end of October, weeks before the fire broke out, the EPA said the owner failed to meet self-imposed deadlines to remove the remaining containers and address the asbestos. Communication between the EPA and Allen Street Development then became limited.

The EPA’s involvement is part of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The status provides a federal “Superfund” to clean up hazardous waste sites and power to the EPA to seek out responsible parties for release and cooperation in the clean up.

The city has two open cases tied to the former Crawford property — one against Allen Street Development and the other against Richard Rusiniak, who the city contends is the principal owner.

Last month, attorney Daryl Brautigam indicated to Judge George Panebianco in city Housing Court that Allen Street Development is willing to plead guilty to the various code violations that had accumulated prior to the November fire last year that tore through the complex.

Panebianco adjourned matters to June when a plea and sentencing hearing is scheduled. The court also will review briefs to be submitted by Brautigam and Elliot Raimondo, city corporation counsel, regarding Rusiniak and what, if any, liability he may have after the fire.

“My client is looking forward to having this matter put behind it and is hopeful that an amicable resolution can be reached,” Brautigam said.

City officials are hopeful the site can be redeveloped in the future.