Cleveland program calls for demolition of abandoned homes near schools

Mayor Frank Jackson of Cleveland recently unveiled a new program calling for the demolition of all abandoned homes within 500 feet of a grade school, a report by Cleveland.com says. On May 25, an excavator tore down a blighted home in the Union Miles neighborhood, kicking off the campaign.

The program is part of the mayor’s Healthy Neighborhoods initiative, which is designed to improve the quality of life in the city’s neighborhoods through commercial and residential investment, and aims to demolish 500 homes near grade schools by the end of the year.

Jackson said in the report that the foreclosure and financial crisis resulted in an influx of abandoned properties throughout the city that usually became scenes for crime.

The program will be funded by a recent tax increase approved by voters that took effect in 2017. The increase added 0.5 percent to taxes and is expected to raise an additional $83.5 million for the city in 2017. The 2017 budget includes $5 million for the demolitions.

The demolition program works in conjunction with a safe route to school effort that involves several volunteers that make sure children get to and from school safely.