Derelict Greensburg Homes Set For Demolition, Neighbors Relieved

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GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- Some people living in Greensburg are not happy about the vacant homes they say are ruining their neighborhoods, but now, a sigh of relief.

Call them the "Nasty Nine" -- nine abandoned and derelict Greensburg homes destined for a date with demolition.

"No one has ever lived there," resident Diane Hunker said. "I've had to call the cops a couple times because of people going inside."

Hunker lives directly across 207 Winding Way. The X on the front of the building is for firefighters, warning them the structure is too compromised to enter in the event of a fire. The home is on the list to be leveled.

"This is great," Hunker said. "I hope I get to see it when it goes down, though."

A home on Harrison Street is also doomed. Frances and Deno Pizza live across the street from the overgrown and falling-apart building. Vacant for some time, the home has, however, had some visitors.

"People we'd rather not have in the neighborhood," Frances Pizza said.

Just because a home has a red letter X on it doesn't mean it's on the demolition list, but if you ask people who live near these homes, they'll tell you they'd love to see them taken down.

"This house has been such a problem for us," homeowner Carrie Hamley said.

"It looks terrible," homeowner Jeff Heater said. "It makes the whole neighborhood look terrible."

Hamley and Heater both live on Harrison Avenue. Both have homes next door or across the street that they wish were not there, or at least in better shape.

"The vermin that comes from this house is just incredible," Hamley said. "The rats, the groundhogs, the raccoons."

"It's a wonder someone hasn't lit it on fire yet," Heater said.

Paying for demolition with community development block grant funds, the City of Greensburg planning director Barbara Ciampini tells KDKA those nine homes set for demolition are just the beginning. When new grant funds show up, more eyesores will come down.