Lynn council orders derelict homes razed

LYNN – Minutes before the City Council ordered it demolished Tuesday, one man living near a trouble-plagued home on Jackson Street said the property “sticks out like a broken tooth in a bright smile.”Led by Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr, the council during a public hearing voted to knock down the house at 66 Jackson St. where the copper plumbing has been ripped out by thieves, gangs congregate and a pregnant mother lives with her 6-month-old child.Cyr said the address has been a nuisance for over two years, causing hassles for the neighbors and making work for police. Disregarded by its owners, it has become a blight, he said.Although the delinquent property taxes and water bill were paid in recent weeks, the landlord has not communicated with city officials or made any improvements, said the councilor, asking his colleagues to support the demolition request.Calvin Anderson, a Sagamore Hill resident who recently purchased a home on Concord Street but has not yet relocated, said the Jackson Street home in question is close enough to his new address for concern.”I rode by the place and in some ways, it’s a prime lot, but the fence around it has a sinister appearance,” he said. “At one time, the backyard fence probably provided a nice border of privacy for families, but now it just keeps illegal activities out of view.”Anderson agreed that voting to demolish the building should be enough to get the owner’s attention, particularly since the property taxes were freshly paid. “Now that they’ve paid the taxes, they’ve got a lot more to lose,” he said. “This place has to go. I live there now, so I’d like to see it go soon.”The council also voted to demolish the residential building at 418-420 Boston St., a foreclosure property owned by Bank of America. Ward 7 Councilor Richard Ford made the request, citing the bank’s lack of response to queries about the property and its dilapidated condition.Councilor-at-large Paul Crowley said fines should be imposed on the bank or its property management company for each day that elapses without improvement to the structure. “We need to do whatever we can to secure those properties,” he said.The council also acknowledged the transfer of a city-owned building at 160 Essex St. to Neighborhood Development Associates (NDA), a branch of Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development.The NDA has been buying or otherwise acquiring property in low-income neighborhoods, hoping to create development tracts or improve those areas.The petition of Cocktail League Associates, Inc. for permission “to provide a safe and comfortable place for retired gentlemen and working men to congregate peacefully at 602 Summer St. was approved by the council.Ford, in behalf of Ward 6 Councilor Peter Capano who was absent, spoke in favor of the petition, noting that the club generates no problems and gives to good causes.The tax-exempt club has been located for years at 593B Summer St. but plans to move across the street to new quarters.