Full Steam Ahead For Demolition Of Vacant Buildings In High-Crime Areas
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Demolition crews have been going full-bore in an effort to tear down vacant buildings in high-crime neighborhoods to get rid of sites that have become havens for gangs and drugs.
On Friday, an excavator tore down a two-story brick home at the corner of 68th Street and Wolcott Avenue in Englewood. The boarded-up house bore the telltale red X signs indicating it's a structural hazard.
Neighbors watched as the excavator's hydraulic boom brought the home down a piece at a time. Some said they think getting rid of such vacant buildings will keep criminals away.
Buildings Department Commissioner Judy Frydland said the home was one of 900 on the city's demolition fast-track list.
"We're putting them out to bid right away, and then coming out and getting them wrecked," she said.
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Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Eddie Johnson said the block where the vacant building sat has seen a lot of crime over the last year.
"Twenty arrests on the block; one for shooting, and one for murder. Numerous weapons and narcotics," he said.
Frydland estimated each demolition costs the city $20,000.
In addition to tearing down many vacant buildings, the city also will board up hundreds more. Last year, the city boarded up about 3,000 vacant structures. Also, some businesses where serious crimes have happened might also be closed on a case-by-case basis.
