Paterson officials have approved a plan to borrow $500,000 to secure an abandoned building located at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.

The move to secure the building comes after recommendations from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Officials say that the building is filled with asbestos and debris and is often home to squatters.

"This is known as the ATP site - the Allied Textile Printing - so clearly there's going to be chemicals if you're dealing with textiles,” says Paterson Councilman Andre Sayegh. “It makes it somewhat unsafe."

The plan to clean up the building is part of an overall plan to clean up the Great Falls park. The Paterson Great Falls is one of the country’s largest open-air waterfalls.

“If we really want to make the Great Falls a [tourist] destination, we have to start cleaning up,” Sayegh says.

While the city is borrowing $500,000 for the cleanup, city officials say that they do not expect the costs to come close to that amount.