Long a point of contention in the township, official last week announced that the abandoned Airco building on Porcupine Road will most likely be demolished sometime in 2008.

Once a production plant for hydrogen gas, the abandoned building has been owned by Airco since the mid 1980s and has been vacant for the past several years. Several tanks still exist on the property, which were at one point used to store the gas.

Oldmans Township, NJ citizens have considered the building a nuisance for years.

In December, a concerned township resident presented a multiple slide presentation to the township committee members offering information that a gang had taken up residence in the abandoned building. The building was littered with graffiti tags of "OBK," which the resident believed pointed to signs of a gang called the "OBK Crew," operating out of the abandoned building.

Oldmans Township Mayor Harry Moore assured the residents at the December meeting that their was no gang activity or presence in the township. A few months after the meeting, two township teenagers were arrested in connection with many of the graffiti tags, and the vandalism has since dried up.

The building remains, Moore said, and is still considered an eyesore.

"It's been heavily vandalized. There are signs of forced entry near the back of the property, and anything of value in the building has long ago been stripped by trespassers. You can even see holes in the back where people ripped out all the copper wiring," he said. "During our graffiti period, it also seemed to function as a hangout for artists who practiced their skills."

Further complicating the issue, Moore said many of the tanks used to store the hydrogen gas were made out of Transite, a fireproof composite material made of 12 to 50 percent asbestos and cement.

Because cutting, breaking, and machining Transite releases carcinogenic asbestos fibers into the air, Moore said the removal process was stalled while Airco tried to figure out a successful removal method for the harmful substance.

"Airco has assured us they have found a successful method to remove the substance," Moore told residents at last week's committee meeting. "This is very positive for the township. We'll be able to remove an eyesore and open up a piece of property that will be made available for another entity."

Moore said Airco has no intention of selling the property to the township, but their long range plan for the site has yet to be determined.