KCs dangerous building demolition program ramps up, and neighbors cheer

On a chilly morning just days before Christmas, a backhoe prepared to munch into the porch of a dilapidated Brooklyn Avenue home. Next door, a worker prepped the roof and chimney for demolition.

“Get them down before they fall down,” explained Alan Fletcher, supervisor with Industrial Salvage & Wrecking Co.

Within hours, the two eyesore houses at 2837 and 2841 Brooklyn were reduced to rubble, and Kansas City was one step closer to meeting its goal of addressing about 825 vacant and dangerous buildings that are scourges for neighborhoods.

Seven months into Kansas City’s two-year demolition initiative, the city appears to be on schedule to eliminate that backlog by May 2018. It means tearing down or rehabbing more than 400 houses each year, which is a much faster pace than the city has accomplished this decade. A $10 million budget, volunteer help from demolition contractors and more focused attention have kicked the program into high gear.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article122760694.html