The Allen Street Development site
includes the location of a former furniture
manufacturing facility previously operated by the Crawford Furniture Company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2012. As part of
the bankruptcy proceedings, Crawford’s assets, including the property located
at 1061-71 Allen Street, Jamestown, New York, as well as the contents of the buildings, were liquidated via auction. Within the buildings were raw materials for the manufacture of furniture
including wood, coatings, and solvents. Allen Street Development, LLC acquired the property and raw material at the bankruptcy auction.
The city expressed concerns to the property owner about the vandalism, deterioration of buildings, ease
of access, and use by trespassers and squatters; however, the property owner was unresponsive. In April
2021, the Jamestown Department of Development issued a Notice to Vacate Order
for the Property. In June 2021, the city requested that EPA evaluate the site for a potential CERCLA removal action.
Beginning in June 2021 and continuing through August 2022, EPA conducted assessment activities and oversaw the voluntary removal of drums and containers of hazardous substance from the site by the property owner. A fire broke out at the facility on November 16, 2022 that consumed the majority of the onsite structures. The majority of drums and containers had been removed from the building before the fire; however, asbestos building materials were documented to be in use throughout the facility. The City of Jamestown made a supplemental request to EPA on December 5, 2022, to consider a CERCLA removal action to address asbestos-contaminated debris at the site. EPA approved an action memorandum to address asbestos-contaminated debris at the site on April 27, 2023.
