DEMOLITION Officer: Kids can get injured

Despite short staffing, the patrol division remains proactive, lieutenant says.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A building in danger of collapse could injure or kill kids in a South Side neighborhood, police said.
In mid-January, Patrolman John Hull II reported to the demolition and housing department that the building at 860 W. Woodland Ave. needed to come down. He said it had apparently been struck by a car and the east wall was crumbling.
He described the wall as held up by only two thin pieces of plywood and buckling under the pressure.
Hull said the vacant building is the former Tulane BBQ and Catering. Records show the property was sold as a tax lien, as were at least three others owned by Inez Jones.
Sunday, Hull drove past the place again on routine patrol and noticed that nothing had been done. He wrote another report and referred it to the police chief, mayor and demolition/housing department.
The building on West Woodland, he said, appears to be "collapsing onto itself." He said the condition has deteriorated to the point that the east wall is almost down and the roof line is sagging.
A danger to children
"With nice weather approaching, there will be many children in this area, as there was last spring and summer, who could be injured or killed when this building falls," Hull wrote in his report. "The hole in the wall is large enough for a curious child to walk right into this dilapidated building."
Mike Damiano, demolition director, said Monday that he will have to do tests for asbestos before tearing the structure down.
Damiano said the property being sold for tax lien won't prevent his department from demolishing the building. He's hoping to have it down within the next two weeks.
"When we have a building like that, in really bad shape, it has to come down," Damiano said. "There's been a rash of fires throughout the city, and I've been trying to concentrate on getting those buildings taken down."
He said in the past three weeks he took down three structures on an emergency basis at the request of the fire department. He said vacant houses are the target of arsonists, an ongoing problem.
Damiano said he "absolutely" understands Hull's concern.
Lt. Robin Lees praised Hull's tenacity in filing a second report on the dilapidated building.
"These guys continue to do their job, despite short staffing," Lees said. "They notice things and they report them. The patrol division continues to be proactive."
meade@vindy.com