ASHTABULA —
When it rains, it pours, and just like the Monday early afternoon’s rain showers, the dilapidated East Sixth Street Cafe came down.
Adams Services of Austinburg brought in heavy equipment and started the long-awaited demolition around noon to cheers from the community.
City Manager James Timonere posted a photo of the demolition on Facebook and immediately received dozens of favorable responses from the community, he said.
“Yeah! No more blue tarp building,” said the Rev. Joe Ruggieri of Mount Carmel Catholic Church.
Tommy Timonere suggested placing a monument to all the immigrants who passed through the neighborhood at the site before “everyone who can remember them is gone.”
The building, across from Columbus Avenue, has been a blight on the neighborhood for a long time, City Solicitor Michael Franklin said.
Franklin and former city manager Anthony Cantagallo worked for more than a year to gain possession of the building and then have the power to evict the occupant and to demolish it.
The wheels of progress finally started moving in February when the city purchased the building at a sheriff’s sale for court costs.
A month ago, City Council approved Timonere’s request to enter into a agreement with Adams Services to demolish it. Adams came in with the best and most responsible bid — no more than $13,800 to do the job, Timonere said.
The city had enough money in its Neighborhood Stabilization Fund for demolishing the eyesore. Timonere said he planned on spending it to tear down the East Sixth Street Cafe.
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