It was a cause for celebration when Sen. Charles Schumer announced in November 2023 that the U.S. EPA was going to take the lead cleaning up the rubble left behind when the former Crawford Furniture building burned to the ground. City officials and Schumer pushed for the EPA to demolish what was left of the building, clean up the rubble and dispose of toxic asbestos.

Now, the site is ready for a new future.

For house fires, unfortunately, there is no EPA cleanup. We’re seeing it now on Forest Avenue. A pile of bricks and rubble is all that’s left after fire destroyed a home in April 2024. Control of the property is being sorted out in court proceedings, effectively placing the property cleanup in limbo. It would be easier if someone with deeper pockets came in and paid for the cleanup, but house fires tend not to leave behind the toxic debris that warrants EPA attention.

In these cases the city is the one with deep pockets – and taxpayers who saw their taxes increase this year and are likely have another tax increase coming next year know the city’s pockets aren’t deep enough to foot the bill for these cleanups unless the city wants to tap into CDBG funding that is usually used for housing demolitions. Or the city could use contingency funding to pay for such cleanups in an emergency. Neither are good solutions because they’re diverting money from other needs. And the Forest Avenue fire site hardly qualifies as an emergency. It’s an eyesore and an annoyance, but certainly not an emergency.