'Graffiti-Ridden Eyesore' In Little Havana Demolished Friday

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Dubbed a "graffiti-ridden eyesore", a vacant, unsafe structure in Little Havana was demolished Friday morning.

The building, located at 1651 NW 3 Street, was leveled as part of the Clean Sweep Program.

The Clean Sweep Program aims to proactively address issues that negatively impact the quality of life of Miami residents, said a City of Miami news release dated June 14.

"This is part of a gradual and steady effort to make our neighborhoods safe and eliminate criminal activities inside abandoned and blighted unsafe structures," City of Miami Commissioner Frank Carollo said in a Thursday news release.

Referring to the NW 3 Street demolition, Carollo told CBS4 Friday morning: "All these complexes, little by little, will start coming down. So it's part of the revitalization of Little Havana."

The effort by the city aims to clean a neighborhood that now sits in the shadow of the new $515 million Marlins stadium.

"(The stadium) is just a block away and (the demolished building) is an eye sore on one of the major thoroughfares to the stadium," added Carollo.

City officials say homes like this are unsafe and become a magnet for crime.

In many cases, the homeowners just don't care to clean up the mess.

"Our notices say 'repair or demolish' on them. They need to repair the structure back to living condition or demolish them, and they don't do either..." said City of Miami Code Compliance Officer Ray Benitez.