Pair of Lynn homes targeted for wrecking ball

LYNN – City Council Vice President Richard Ford wants the boarded-up building at 418-420 Boston St. demolished and Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr has asked his council colleagues to authorize the demolition of the home at 66 Jackson St.The two addresses are among a growing number of derelict properties in the city, many of which are foreclosures owned by Bank of America.”The building on Boston Street should be torn down,” Ford said. “It has been boarded up, the windows are broken and it’s leaking.”Cyr said the Jackson Street property is a public nuisance. “We have tried for over a year to get in contact with the owner,” he said. “We don’t know where the owner is, but we do know people are squatting in there. And gangs are using it on weekends.”The city councilor said a high fence around the house, sprayed with graffiti, helps to shroud the many illegal activities that occur on the site, including drug dealing.”A lot of work has been done in that neighborhood, some of it by Lynn Housing, and that particular property is causing problems,” he said. “We were told that a man and woman and a baby have been seen going in there. If somehow they’ve connected the electricity and are using space heaters to stay warm, it could be a fire hazard.”The water was already shut off and it couldn’t be turned back on because somebody stole the copper plumbing, ripped it right out of the house.”Public hearings have been scheduled for both properties with intent to issue demolition orders.According to Ford, Bank of America has been unresponsive to questions about the abandoned properties it owns in Lynn. “They just don’t respond,” he said. “When you try to contact them, you get an office in California.”Ford said Inspectional Services Department Director Michael Donovan has been compiling a list of abandoned properties. “At least half a page is all properties owned by Bank of America,” he said.