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Vacant Englewood Home Demolished To Fight Crime But Residents Question Move

 An abandoned home at 6758 S. Wolcott Ave. was the 45th building to be torn down on the Chicago Department of Buildings fast track demolition list since the program was announced last month.
An abandoned home at 6758 S. Wolcott Ave. was the 45th building to be torn down on the Chicago Department of Buildings fast track demolition list since the program was announced last month.
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DNAinfo/Andrea V. Watson

WEST ENGLEWOOD — Many residents on the 6700 block of S. Wolcott Avenue were confused when the city demolished an abandoned corner house over the weekend.

The home at 6758 S. Wolcott Ave. was the 45th building to be torn down on the Chicago Department of Buildings fast track demolition list since the program was announced last month. The program was created to target abandoned homes in high-crime areas that are being used for illegal activity. The city set the goal to demolish at least 50 buildings by April 1.

Longtime residents said there are six homes on their block total that are in worse condition than the targeted home. Others like Englewood native Eric Brewer, who has lived directly across the street from the home the city removed for almost two years, said that it should have stayed there.

 The brown house on the far left, 6758 S. Wolcott Ave., was the 45th building to be torn down on the Chicago Department of Buildings fast track demolition list since the program was announced last month.
The brown house on the far left, 6758 S. Wolcott Ave., was the 45th building to be torn down on the Chicago Department of Buildings fast track demolition list since the program was announced last month.
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DNAinfo/Andrea V. Watson

“Why tear it down and have all these vacant lands when we can put families in them?” he said.

“They’re not giving people a chance to fix them up and put somebody in them. I wish I could have bought the house and been able to fix it up.”

Ald. Toni Foulkes (16th), Chicago Police Department Chief of Patrol Eddie Johnson and Commissioner for the Department of Buildings Judy Frydland were on site Friday as the abandoned home slowly came down.

The block of 6700 S. Wolcott was the site of two dozen crimes and 20 arrests in the last year, said Johnson, who has since been tapped by the mayor to be the next police superintendent.

“When buildings become vacant, they become grounds for criminal activity,” he said.

Mattie Walker has lived on the block for more than three decades said she has watched the neighborhood decline.

“There used to be lots of families, all of the homes were once occupied,” she said. “No locks were needed because people weren’t afraid. It used to be nice here.”

The safety concerns have escalated so much in the last few years that she had to get a metal fence put around her property.

Foulkes said there were a lot of complaints made about the home, which is why it was demolished.

Anyone who wants to save a home from being demolished, Frydland said, must notify the department, go before a judge and show proof of income, among other requirements.

Foulkes said residents have called the home an eyesore for 15 years and are pleased to see it go. She would like to see a community garden in its place.

“The Department of Buildings pledges its full commitment to this important program to keep communities safe," Fryland said. “This is a top priority for our department and we will continue to expedite the demolition of these dangerous and hazardous buildings and remove from our neighborhoods as quickly as possible.”

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