By james art 
Scotlandville – a long -abandoned Curlew Street property finally met its end. For years, the home stood free after a tree fell on it, leaving it uninhabited.
The property of 730 Curlew St. was sentenced in October 2023 and became a neighborhood. On Thursday, the building was demolished-thanks to the efforts of Mayor-President Coach, Sid Edwards.
Mayor Edwards took control of an excavator and began to demolish the house, signaling a new start for the neighborhood.
“You know, this is one of the things we promised when we were running – trying to get rid of all the bumps, trap houses, all places that don’t make our city look good,” said Mayor Edwards.
James Riley, a neighbor who had watched the property worsen over the years, could not hide his joy. “Our community deserves it. The residents of Scotlandville deserve it and we are actually grateful that we had the first opportunity. The mayor removed the first property,” Riley said.
Edwards says a large part of his priorities are hiding in the northern Baton Rouge because he grew up there. Not only is it focused on removing a rich, but it also carries more resources in the area, such as grocery stores and more restaurants, and reduces waste with the newly formed Jaguar Nation Beautiful Group.
Residents of Scotland, like Riley, see the efforts to beautify first -hand on Thursday.
“I hope this is the beginning of something amazing here in Scotland,” Riley said.
It’s not just about physical improvement – it’s about improving the overall quality of life.
“Blight leads to crime and job vacancies also plays a role in the fact that the attempt to eliminate these dangers will drastically improve public safety,” said Rachel Lambert, director of city development.
It is unclear what happened between the condemnation of the home in October 2023 and its destruction today, but Mayor Edwards said he was focused on working with EBR subway members to speed up the process.
“It happens so much in the government of the city. Everyone is busy, they are all working, but I absolutely want to put the pedal on the metal,” said Mayor Edwards. “We give people enough time to remove, to get better, to take care of their own business, and this is a long process.”
Lambert went further to explain the details of the destruction of a convicted home.
“We send several notifications before a property is condemned. They also receive a certified postage notice when it goes to the council to be condemned. We publish many notifications of the structure itself,” Lambert said. “The goal is not our department to go and destroy everything and take all things. We want the property owners to actually return the properties in accordance.”
While the destruction of this property is a promising sign, a lot of work must be done. In fact, there are approximately 5,000 more properties in Baton Rouge in similar conditions of trouble.
“This is too much and our goal is to remove as much as possible, to clean this city, and it goes with the fact that it does it and safely,” said Mayor Edwards.