A fire at a historic Jamestown site in the fall has caught the attention of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer.

During a visit to the city on Wednesday, Schumer stood outside the crumbling and hazardous former site of Jamestown’s Crawford Furniture Factory and launched a three-pronged plan to clean up the community eyesore and turn the hazardous building into a site for new opportunity. “Given the City’s deep and storied history in our nation’s furniture-making business, the Crawford Furniture Factory was a beating heart for Jamestown, but for too long this hazardous crumbling building has sat as an eyesore, and as the recent fire showed its continued presence only puts our public health and environment at risk. Jamestown is doing everything it can, but the cost of cleanup should not fall on local taxpayers for this contaminated site,” Schumer said. “That is why we need a full investigation and to move quickly and efficiently towards a Superfund cleanup action, drawing on the historic funding I secured in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to make this hazardous relic of the past into a site of new development and growth for Jamestown’s future.”

Schumer said he is calling for the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to bolster its presence at the site and launch a full investigation and coordinate with Jamestown to bring all resources to bare to ensure the continued safety of the community. Additionally, the senator highlighted that he secured $5 billion for the EPA’s critical Brownfields and Superfund programs, and reinstated the Superfund tax to ensure long term funding was available for these cleanups. This funding is exactly what this site needs as Jamestown and EPA move forward towards a possible Superfund cleanup action.

“I would like to thank Senator Schumer for his support in trying to secure funding through the EPA for our cleanup of the 1061 Allen Street site”, said Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist. “Thanks to the brave work of our Jamestown Fire Department and our mutual aid partners, we were able to extinguish the fire with no serious injuries and minimal damage to surrounding businesses. This devastating fire was something that no municipality can truly prepare for. Funds for cleanup will help us recover and help ensure that our residents aren’t on the hook for the irresponsible actions of the owner of the building.”

The former Crawford Furniture Factory property was once part of the areas rich historical legacy as the “Furniture Capital of the World.” Historical records indicate the site has been developed and used for industrial uses since 1883, and based on the age and industrial processes uses at the building it is possible asbestos and other chemicals are present at the site. The current owner has abandoned the facility, and according Jamestown, the property has been tax delinquent since 2018. In late November, the building went up in flames risking the releases of possibly hazardous substances posing a potential threat to public health and safety.