DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Crews are tearing down old buildings, that have been eyesores for years. It’s part of an effort to get rid of hundreds of run-down properties.
A cleanup is underway in a DeKalb County neighborhood. One abandoned home is now gone after it was torn down this morning.
It’s part of a larger blight demolition project that has been going on for five years now.
Neighbors in Stone Mountain told Channel 2′s Kristen Holloway they’ve been complaining about one home for a long time.
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On Friday, neighbors watched as DeKalb County crews finally tore down the abandoned home on Muirforest Lane that they had complained about for six years.
Diane Parks has been living in this community in DeKalb County since the 1990s.
“I been dealing with this for six years, sending emails, calling. My name is very known within the county,” Parks said.
Those emails and calls paid off.
“It just isn’t right that we had to look at this every day,” Parks said.
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The house was the 572th that the county has demolished or abated over the last five years.
“This is an attraction for crime, disease and delinquent behavior, it reduces property value and undermines quality of life and that’s unacceptable for myself and DeKalb County government,” DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said.
Thurmond reminded residents that code enforcement by itself can’t demolish a home.
“In order for this to occur, obviously there has to be a court order and court action, and because of the pandemic, it’s been practically inaccessible to us,” he said.
In the meantime, Parks said Friday’s demo is a beacon of hope for positive things to come in the neighborhood.
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“It’s very indescribable, but I’m thankful and happy that we as residents of this community don’t have to look at this anymore. So I’m very excited,” she said.
Thurmond said the county still has hundreds of homes left to demolish or abate and it is determined to get it done.
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