Home on Brink of Collapse Torn Down Tuesday

The white, two-family house has long stood out among its well-tended neighbors along Lincoln Avenue near Chester Avenue -- and not in a good way.

Residents of the street said Tuesday that the home, 64-66 Lincoln Ave., has been abandoned for more than six years. For at least the last year, neighbors also said, the structure has been partially collapsed, its roof caved in and the exterior walls bowing under the weight of the debris.

“They boarded it up, but after the rain and the hurricane they kept it like that,” said Gilberto Collazo, who lives nearby. “We called before, and the city said they called the owner, but there was nothing they could do.”

As of Tuesday, however, the neighborhood eyesore will be no more. The house has been deemed to be in an “imminent state of collapse” and will be demolished “by the end of the day,” the city said in a statement. The house has suffered structural failure due to water infiltration, which has rotted beams and roof-supporting members, the city also said, adding that Newark has been unable to reach the owner.

The city did not respond to questions emailed this afternoon.

Staff from the city engineer’s office, police and fire department personnel were at the home today along with workers from PSEG, who were working on the underground utility lines feeding the house. A section of Lincoln Avenue was closed off to motor vehicle traffic. 

City officials have long been aware of problems at the home, according to neighbors. Max Aviles, who owns two homes a few doors down from the residence, and other residents of the street said that North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos and Councilman-at-Large Luis Quintana have both visited the property in years past. Newark police put up police tape around the residence, which is overgrown with weeds and has an abandoned car in the driveway, about a month ago, Aviles said.

“Every couple of weeks they’ve come, take pictures, and then they go away,” Aviles said.

Aviles showed a reporter a weathered notice from the city informing the owner, Ernesto Verdecia of Tampa, Fla., that the home had been placed on the city’s list of abandoned properties, also informing him he had 20 days to appeal. The notice was dated last month.  

Perhaps no one welcomes the demolition of the home more than Aviles’s sister, Maria, whose own home is right next door to 64-66 Lincoln Ave. With its tidy brick exterior and neat front yard, her house stood in stark contrast to the weed-choked husk one door over.

“This is very dangerous for everybody. It could fall,” Aviles said. “For a long time we are waiting for this.”