Ward 3 councilor decries Lynn’s wealth gap, sees need to spur civic pride

Editor?s note: This is the first of an occasional series about the challenges and opportunities in the city?s wards and neighborhoods.LYNN – Darren Cyr?s house sits on top of a steep hill within shouting distance of a stone wall that separates Lynn from Swampscott.He sees deer and coyote in the woods behind his house, yet he represents the ward with the highest number of foreclosed properties – even though it?s the smallest ward – and frequently gets calls from constituents complaining about both gangs and rats.But the Ward 3 City Councilor also represents about half of the Diamond District, the most affluent section of the city, including parts of Lynn Shore Drive.?I have houses in my ward that are worth as little as $125,000 and others in the Diamond District worth $1.5 million,” Cyr said while taking a reporter and photographer on a tour of his ward. “And they?re all within blocks of each other.”The ward also includes Goldfish Pond, which neighbors in Victorian-style houses volunteer to keep spotless. A short distance away is a Hells Angels clubhouse, with video security cameras out front.Standing in front of 394 Eastern Ave., Cyr said foreclosed properties – along with crime and a rat infestation – are the biggest problems in his ward.The multi-family abandoned property is surrounded by a chain-link fence, where a “No Trespassing,” sign hangs and a black rat trap sits in the side yard.The home is located near a neat-appearing single family home that has also been foreclosed on, according to Cyr.?The family tried working with the bank to get their payments lowered, but the bank wasn?t interested,” Cyr said. “So they just gave up and walked away.”Most of the other homes on the street and in adjacent neighborhood are well-kept and tidy, and down the street is the Aborn Elementary School, which Cyr calls the best in the city.He is clearly proud of his ward and his city, but Cyr bristles at the abandoned multi-family that sits on Eastern Avenue.?They maintain their property and they have to look at this,” he said about the building?s neighbors.Pointing to other homes in the neighborhood, he rattles off the names of families that have lived in their homes for generations and he worries that their children will leave the city.He said the city is losing the third generations of Lynn families because they want to escape the crime, foreclosures and struggling economy.He said it?s “extremely important” to keep them here.?I don?t think my kids are planning on staying here,” he said and shook his head.Rebuilding communityCyr said all Lynn residents have to work harder to help rebuild the fabric of the city, whether it?s volunteering at the Little League, a local school or “shopping at your local store.”?It?s what we?ve let the city of Lynn become,” he said Thursday. “I go down Union Street and I think why would I go into a business where I can?t even understand the sign. You can sell Spanish or Asian foods if you want, but put the sign in English.”He drove down Fearless Avenue and talked about how police, neighbors and City Hall employees all worked together to get a Crips gang hangout out of the neighborhood.?There was a barbershop on the corner where they?d all hang out and block the street and when people would ask them to move their cars, they?d threaten them,” Cyr said. “People who lived on this road would go home, lock their doors and pull down their shades and stay inside until morning when they had to go to work.”Cyr believes reinstating the bike patrols throughout the city that operated in the 1990s thanks to a federal grant would be the best way to control crime, and return prosperity to the city.?The federal government could help us by giving us the money to put out the bike patrols again,” Cyr said. “That was the best thing for the city. It was something you could see working every day.”Out of touch?Asked how frustrating it is to hear Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy say Lynn?s crime problem is no better or worse than similarl