YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Crews with the city Wednesday demolished a Duncan Lane home on the East Side that had been flooding the neighborhood with roaches and rodents.
One neighbor was literally rejoicing, screaming, “Yes, God,” while a woman who had lived there showed up and was crying in the street because she said all her possessions were in the home and she wasn’t able to get them out before it was demolished.
A representative from the city Health Department told the woman that anything that was inside the home was infested with filth and roaches but that did not dissuade the woman, who stood crying in the middle of the street with her head in her hands before she drove away.
Meanwhile, Sabrina Fisher, who lives next door, continued to rejoice.
“God is good,” she said. “We can live now.”
The city kicked the people out of the home earlier this summer because of the conditions inside and had exterminators descend on the neighborhood to try and eliminate the roaches and rats. Neighbors complained the roaches especially were getting into their homes and in some cases their appliances.
“No sleep, out every day fighting the roaches inside and outside. It’s been rough. Now, I can breathe. It’s going to be a long recovery, but we’re gonna get there. We’re gonna get there,” Fisher said.
Fisher says she didn’t notice the mice and roach problem next door until the residents of the now-demolished home were evicted. She says that is when the roaches began creeping into her home for the first time.
Some neighbors said they plan to continue legal action against the landlord.
