Property clean up begun in Brockport neighborhood

Access into the former Kleen Brite property on Fair Street in Brockport was obtained following reports by police that doors at the property were open and a car was in the parking lot. Brockport’s Code Enforcement Officer Scott Zarnstorff said he was called in to assist police when they discovered someone was in the vacant property. "The police weren’t certain who was in the building and I was called because of code enforcement issues that had been on-going," he said.

Upon investigation, Zarnstorff said the individual in the building was in there on the property owner’s behalf. "The individual was removing equipment that belonged to the property owner," he said.

When he was exiting the building, Zarnstorff said he went through a room that contained numerous drums with various quantities and types of chemicals in them. "A quick survey indicated there were flammables and corrosives stored in this building that didn’t have any heat, electric or access to fire protection equipment."

Concerns were raised at an earlier board meeting regarding the possible freezing and bursting of pipes in the abandoned building but Zarnstorff said the pipes had been drained. "That concern had been downgraded but seeing a room with more than 1,000 gallons of toxic chemicals in an unheated building raised more, and bigger, concerns."

The discovery of the chemicals, some of which were leaking, led to an investigation by health department officials and the Department of Environmental Conservation. "Officials met at the site with the property owners and, according to the DEC, there were chemicals in the building that were in an unstable condition," he explained.

An environmental redemption company was called in and immediate remediation was begun on the leaking drums, he said. "The other materials will be removed from the site."

The village is still awaiting word from the DEC on the final results of the clean up efforts of the building, Zarnstorff said.