1061 Allen Street (January 2023)

The corporation that owns the former Crawford Furniture Building that burned down in a fire in November 2022 is expected to plead guilty to code violations.

City of Jamestown Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo and Allen Street Development LLC Attorney Daryl Brautigam appeared in Housing Court Friday, April 28 before Judge George Panebianco.

Brautigam informed the Judge that he is advising his client at a pre-trial hearing scheduled for June 2, 2023 to enter a guilty plea on two tickets.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said these tickets are for on-going violations at 1061 Allen Street that go back several years in regards to junk and debris issues as well as other code issues that preceded the fire on November 16, 2022.

Raimondo said this plea will allow the City to seek damages against the corporation, “After the fire, the city had to pay H.H. Rauh Contracting $100,000 for an emergency demolition just due to the fact that the site was so unsafe during and immediately after the fire for any individuals to near there. That said, anyone who drives on Allen Street and past 1061 Allen will still see that there are massive, and what we would say is Superfund type site, that needs to be cleaned up at the site of the fire.”

Raimondo said the city has received quotes for over a million dollars for that clean-up. He added that the owners also owe over $90,000 in back taxes for the past five years.

The pre-trial motion on June 2 also will determine if Richard Rusiniak has any personal liability as one of the principal owners of Allen Street Development LLC. A sentencing date for the guilty pleas will be determined at the pre-trial and that future date also will include the hearing of contempt charges against Richard Rusiniak by the City for providing false statements in court.

Meanwhile, Surdyk said the Environmental Protection Agency is still assessing the site. She said their involvement with the site in the years before the fire has been a benefit to the city, “I think the fire could have been much more damaging and catastrophic had they (EPA) not been able to achieve some compliance with removing some of the chemicals and hazardous materials from the site. We do know there were still some hazardous materials that remained at the time of the fire, but like I said, it could have been much more catastrophic than it was.”

The DEC and EPA are each pursuing independent actions against the property owners.

Surdyk added that Jamestown Police have not charged anyone with setting the fire but said she believed they did have suspects in the case. WRFA contacted Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson about the matter but had not heard back by press time.

Local officials join U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer at the site of the former Crawford Furniture Factory that was destroyed in a fire on November 16, 2022. (January 11, 2023)

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer visited Jamestown Wednesday to announce a plan to help clean up the former Crawford Furniture Factory site following a devastating fire this past November.

Schumer, standing with officials in front of the former factory at 1061 Allen Street, said he is calling on the Federal Environmental Protection Agency to launch a full investigation, “But we now need them to quickly assess the public health risk and determine how bad the pollution is here and exactly what kind of clean-up efforts we’re going to need, especially after the fire. I’m asking them to complete this ASAP. Once they determine it’s a health risk, that frees the Federal dollars. And as I’ve said, I’ve got billions of dollars in the Infrastructure bill for projects just like this.”

Schumer said the EPA has already assisted the city by installing a fence to secure the property after the fire and had been working prior to the fire to remove several barrels of hazardous materials from the site.
He said city taxpayers should not have to bear the burden of the estimated clean-up costs for the site which are in excess of $1 million.

Schumer said the Superfund tax has been reinstated which will help the EPA, “So once the EPA pays for it, they can go after the people who own the property, the people who were negligent and let the fire occur, and recoup the money. And they can sue them. That law had expired and we got it back in place, so even the Federal taxpayers ultimately wouldn’t have to pay for this.”

Schumer said once the clean up is completed, the EPA’s Brownfields program can come in to help restore the site for future use.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said that Allen Street Development LLC, whose principal owners are Richard and Patricia Rusiniak of Cheektowaga, did not have insurance on the building.

She said the City will also be continuing their cases against the Rusiniaks, in an attempt to recoup the cost of the emergency demolition. They also are leveling charges of contempt against Mr. Rusiniak for providing false statements in court. These cases are expected to be heard in Housing and/or City Court later this month.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

City Council Housing Committee (December 5, 2022)

The clean-up cost following the fire at the former Crawford Furniture building on Allen Street could cost over $1 million.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk informed the City Council Housing Committee that Allen Street Development LLC, whose principal owners are Richard and Patricia Rusiniak of Cheektowaga, did not have insurance on the building. She said the city’s goal is to work to make sure taxpayers do not foot the clean-up bill and are pursuing accountability of the owners.

Surdyk said the city is continuing to coordinate with the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department of Environmental Conservation. She said the city has requested the EPA consider the site for their “removable” program, “They’ve been involved, they’ve been engaged the last year and a half. There were several barrels of hazardous materials that were removed from the property over the course of the last year and a half. It could have been a much more disastrous event than it was.”

Surdyk said the EPA has also assisted already by installing a fence to secure the property. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Fire at 1061 Allen Street on November 16, 2022 (Photo by Jamestown Professional Firefighters Local 137)

The cause of last week’s fire at 1061 Allen Street remains under investigation.

The Jamestown Fire Department declared the fire out on Friday, November 18, two days after the massive blaze resulted in response by 13 local fire companies. Officials say there were no injuries in the fire.

The property is owned by Allen Street Development LLC whose principal owners are Richard and Patricia Rusiniak of Cheektowaga. The building used to be part of the former Crawford Furniture’s complex.

Jamestown Department of Development Director Crystal Surdyk put out a release stating that various city departments, along with investigators from both the Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation had inspected the property the week before the fire to assess the condition of the main building of the massive complex and to inventory and test hazardous materials that have been found on site. She said the property was condemned due to imminent structural collapse caused by long deteriorating conditions as a direct result of property owner neglect.

Surdyk added the City has long standing citations for code violations against the owners of the property, which they had not complied with despite six court appearance summons over the last two years. The owner’s son appeared twice on behalf of Allen Street Development LLC and his parents, despite having no legal accountability for the property.

Surdyk said those “two appearances seemed to appease the court, as Richard G. Rusiniak assured the court that he would relay the judge’s orders to show substantial improvement in the cleaning up of the property to his parents. Unfortunately these assurances have not resulted in any corrective action.”

The Department of Development and the City’s Legal team are exploring all legal options available to hold Allen Street Development, LLC and Patricia and Richard J. Rusiniak, accountable for their “intentional and malicious neglect.”

1061 Allen Street

An Allen Street industrial property in danger of collapsing is also under investigation by the State Department of Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection Agency for contamination.

The property is located at 1061 Allen Street is owned by Allen Street Development LLC whose principal owners are Richard Rusiniak and his wife of Cheektowaga. The building used to be part of the former Crawford Furniture’s complex.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said the City has cited the property numerous times in Housing Court, with Friday, January 21 being the most recent appearance. Mr. Rusiniak, nor any associates, appeared at Friday’s hearing.

Surdyk said the City is trying to get Mr. Rusiniak to secure the property and make it safe, “We have been working with the EPA and now the DEC on really assessing the site and determining what and where the potential hazards are. There are known hazards. It’s really just a matter of getting that full assessment of where all that is located. The building itself, a large portion of it, is collapsing and so there is serious concern there.”

Surdyk said they have serious concerns that if the building collapsed, anyone inside could be injured, “We also have a very serious concern about fire. It is attractive because you can enter the premises and there’s a lot going on in there. There have been some known thefts. So it’s a potential fire hazard, so it’s just an attractive nuisance.”

Surdyk added the City would like to see a controlled demolition of the back portion of the structure. She said the brick structure closer to Allen Street is in good shape and could be redeveloped.

She said with the property being located in a Brownfield Opportunity Area and its history of being part of furniture manufacturing, she contacted the EPA for guidance, “That led them to decide that they needed to take a closer look at it. The ended up coming down and doing their own independent investigation. They actually are in town right now [Friday] doing some additional investigation. We met with them yesterday and the DEC on site. The DEC has a history with this property owner. There are a number of other properties they have been working with him on to get cleaned up.”

Surdyk added the EPA is also doing an assessment and testing with all agencies collaborating to ensure all hazards are mitigated. She said the DEC and EPA are each pursuing independent actions against the property owners.

In Housing Court, Judge George Panebianco adjourned the case until Friday, February 4 in hopes that the property owners would appear and also ordered that Mr. Rusiniak should continue clean-up of the junk and debris on the site.