BUFFALO, N.Y. — The controversy continues over the building that once housed Gigi's, the iconic soul food restaurant on Buffalo's East Side.

Gigi's was a staple of the area on E. Ferry St. for more than 50 years, but it closed after a fire in 2015. There's a new owner of the building, and some are less than pleased about what he's doing there. Tsegai Mesfin bought the property earlier this year and has plans to open a liquor store there, but hundreds in the neighborhood have signed a petition against the idea.

There's also been concern over construction debris from inside the building left along the curb for several weeks. Community activist Betty Jean Grant placed danger tape around the large piles for fear they contained asbestos or other hazardous materials.

City sanitation crews would not pick up the trash because it was too large and there were questions about what was in it. Any testing of the materials would be done by the State Department of Labor. The owner has since cleaned up the mess and placed the debris in a dumpster next to the building.

Masten District Councilman Ulysees Wingo says there was never any confirmed threat to people in the area.

"The asbestos that was in the building is still in the building," Wingo said. "The trash that was on the corner was construction refuse from the fire. He put that then in a dumpster because there was no asbestos in the materials that he put out on the street curb."

As for the fight against plans to open a liquor store, Wingo say there will be an informational meeting next Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Delevan Grider Community Center. Officials from the New York State Liquor Authority are expected to discuss the issue with the public. Wingo, along with state legislators Sen. Tim Kennedy, D - Buffalo, and Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D - Buffalo, wrote letters opposing Mesfin's application to opener a liquor store at that location.

Grant also plans a meeting for people to raise concerns at the Merriweather Library on June 6.