New Kensington faces deadline on grant funding for demolitions

New Kensington has a May deadline to get half of the 10 houses on its current demolition list torn down, according to city Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti.

New Kensington’s redevelopment authority is now seeking bids for the demolition of 10 dilapidated residential properties across the city.

The city is using federal grant money to pay for the work. The grants are awarded yearly, and the city has three years to use each year’s allocation, Scarpiniti said.

Because of that condition, at least five of the 10 houses will have to be demolished and the properties restored no later than May 15, he said.

“The other five are being paid from a different year and therefore (there is) no sense of urgency,” Scarpiniti said.

Bids are due by 3 p.m. Feb. 9, when they’ll be opened and read in council chambers at city hall, 301 11th St. The bids are to cover asbestos abatement, demolition of the buildings and the restoration of the properties.

The city’s Board of Health in September declared them all detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of the community and a public nuisance.

All of the houses have long been vacant, and city officials have determined that tearing them down is the best thing to do because of their condition.

Neighbors fed up with the eyesores worry the houses are tempting hazards for children and fire risks. One, at 1153 Forest Ave., was already partially collapsed. Another, at 524 Fourth Ave., is consumed by vegetation.

Copies of bidding forms, specifications and other contract documents are available from Alpha Engineering in Lower Burrell.