Tearing Down Buildings A Step To Revitalizing Tulsa Neighborhood

Tulsa Police said tearing down buildings at 61st and South Peoria will eliminate what has become a safe haven for drug use and criminal activity.

The city just demolished dilapidated housing on East 63rd just west of Peoria Wednesday afternoon. It's part of the city's revitalization effort.

People who live in the area said violence and drug activity are common. They said knocking buildings down is the first sign of progress.

"At night time we will hear gunshots go off,” said homeowner, Barbara Kelley.

Part of Tulsa's trouble is knocked down one building at a time, and it's something Kelley has been waiting for.

“Two years ago today, me and a friend of mine we were the ones, two people who found the 25 year old that was shot in the street,” she said.

It's also the area where a drug deal gone bad at the Fairmont Terrace Apartments ended in the murder of four women last January.

Major Jonathan Brooks said the demolition will make policing easier.

"By eliminating these, it gives the criminals one less place to hide,” Brooks said.

The hope is that people who live in the area will have more pride.

"They're dumping off furniture and leaving it. They're just, like they're trashing the place,” Kelley said.

Councilor Jeannie Cue, who helped spearhead the revitalization effort, said the trash and crime is a symptom of a larger problem. She is convinced bringing down the buildings is a cure for the blight.

"The conditions of the buildings are not safe. They are a health hazard and we want to enhance the neighborhood and make the people that live here in the 61st and Peoria area proud of their neighborhood and happy,” Cue said.

Kelley never thought watching destruction would make her this happy, but she said it's a great start.

“It will make it a lot better easier to live in and it will be cleaner,” she said.

Tulsa Police and city councilors said if owners don't cooperate and make the buildings safe to live in, they will go through the process of bringing the boarded up buildings down, one-by-one until the neighborhood is turned around.