Temco Uniforms Company Facility

🔥 Update: May 4, 2026

The former Temco Uniforms facility at 29 Samsondale Avenue was destroyed by fire early on the morning of Monday, May 4, 2026. Firefighters battled the blaze for hours, and what was left of the structure was demolished the same day. The cause was not determined. What remained of this contaminated industrial site is now gone. Below is the historical record as it stood before the blaze.

📸 View additional interior photos from my 2019 exploration here.

In Rockland County, the site of the former Temco Uniforms facility tells a story of industrial ambition and environmental oversight. This 2.6-acre area, framed by Samsondale Avenue and shadowed by an active rail line, has transitioned from a bustling manufacturing hub to a focal point of environmental concern.

Originally developed in 1958, this single-story, 32,000-square-foot building was the birthplace of Modern Filters, Inc., a company dedicated to producing vacuum bags, tape, and labels. The industrial prowess of the era was palpable, as these products were essential to a booming post-war economy.

By 1985, the building took on a new life with Temco Uniform Company Inc., which transformed the space into a sophisticated facility for manufacturing, washing, and dry cleaning uniforms. For 17 years, the company was a cornerstone of the local economy, embedding itself in the fabric of the community until its operations ceased in May 2002.

However, the legacy of these operations has been marred by significant environmental issues. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has confirmed that the use of chemicals, particularly by Temco's dry cleaning operations, has led to substantial soil and groundwater contamination. The primary culprit is perchloroethylene (PCE), a solvent widely used in the dry cleaning industry, known for its potential to harm the environment and human health.

The contamination doesn't end with PCE. Its degradation products, along with petroleum compounds from a 6,000-gallon underground storage tank and a 275-gallon above-ground storage tank, have further compromised the site. These issues underscore a significant challenge: how to reconcile the industrial activities of the past with the environmental standards of today.

The environmental impact is profound. PCE and its byproducts have a notorious legacy, linked to liver and kidney damage in humans and classified as likely carcinogenic. The presence of these chemicals at the Temco site poses not just an immediate cleanup challenge but also a long-term public health concern.

Moreover, the petroleum residues highlight the risks associated with older fuel storage systems, which are prone to leaks and can create extensive soil and groundwater pollution. These challenges are a stark reminder of the importance of environmental diligence and the consequences of its absence.

Looking forward, the transformation of the Temco site is more than a cleanup operation; it is an opportunity to restore and rejuvenate. There is potential here to turn a story of neglect into a narrative of renewal. By addressing the contamination head-on, Rockland County can demonstrate how environmental rehabilitation can pave the way for sustainable development.

At the time of the fire, the property at 29 Samsondale Avenue was owned by Briar Court LLC, which was negotiating a sale. The building was uninsured, had no electricity, and had deteriorated badly. The state Department of Environmental Conservation had considered the site for Superfund status in 2018, and the village of West Haverstraw issued multiple violations in 2022 before fencing the property after the owner failed to comply.

You can view older photos of this former washing and dry cleaning facility in my T Uniform post. This article represents my comprehensive historical write-up of the site. Despite extensive searches, environmental assessments and local business directories have uncovered little beyond the records of the two main companies that occupied this facility.

📋 Reader Records

🧥 Did You Work at Temco Uniforms — or at Modern Filters Before It?

Two companies ran this building across nearly fifty years and almost nothing survives about either beyond an environmental file and a couple of directory listings. If you worked the wash floor or the dry cleaning side at Temco before the 2002 closure, drove routes out of Samsondale Avenue, or worked at Modern Filters making vacuum bags, tape and labels before 1985, you know more than the record does. Photographs from when it was running, a uniform with the Temco label, a company directory page, or a memory of what the site was like before the tanks went in would each be a real addition. With the building now lost to the May 2026 fire, firsthand accounts are all that is left.

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⬇️ Keep Reading

📸 More New York Industrial History

Factories, halls and contaminated sites across New York — documented before fire, foreclosure or the wrecking crew got there.

📸 T Uniform — The 2019 Photo Gallery My original exploration of this building, with the interior shots that no longer have a subject. › 🏛️ Yonkers Teutonia Hall A historic German-American social hall in Westchester — another New York landmark redeveloped. › 👗 Miller Corset Factory, Canandaigua From lingerie to Labelon office supplies — another New York factory with many lives. › ⚡ Glenwood Power Plant, Yonkers A brick cathedral on the Hudson, a county over, still standing against the odds. › 🧱 Hudson Valley Block Company, Poughkeepsie Another Hudson Valley plant whose paper trail had all but vanished before one newspaper ad turned up. › 🔩 Beaton & Corbin, Southington CT Solvents, abandonment and a long state cleanup — the same environmental story, one state over. ›

🧥 Built in 1958 on Samsondale Avenue for Modern Filters, Inc., the 32,000-square-foot building housed Temco Uniform Company from 1985 until it closed in May 2002. Perchloroethylene from its dry cleaning operations, along with petroleum from a 6,000-gallon underground tank, left soil and groundwater contamination on the 2.6-acre site. The building was destroyed by fire on May 4, 2026, and demolished the same day.

Sources:

1. Cleanup pending at former Temco site. (2012, April 13). TRSA.
2. U.S. Industrial Directory: Telephone/address directory. (1985). Cahners, p. 255. Google Books
3. MacRae's State Industrial Directory: New York State. (1994). MacRae's Blue Book, Incorporated, p. 14.
4. Caruso, D. (2026, May 4). Fire-damaged former factory in West Haverstraw now demolished. News 12 Hudson Valley.