The Columbus City Attorney said it's going after abandoned and vacant houses with an iron fist because the buildings are more than an eyesore.
Prosecutors say boarded up homes can serve as a haven for criminals, including drug dealers and prostitutes.
Assistant Columbus City Attorney Shayla Favor in 2012 the city was blighted by 6,284 abandoned houses. Columbus has since whittled that number down to about 4,500.
Currently, the north and south Linden neighborhoods are dealing with 1,134 vacant properties. Southeast Columbus follows at 835, and on the west side, the Hilltop is dotted with 705 boarded up homes.
In 2016, the city received $12 million through the Neighborhood Initiative Program. The goal by 2019 is to tear down an estimated 700 nuisance properties.
Favor hopes the wrecking ball sends a loud message to neighborhoods.
"The city is here and the city cares about our community and they're going to take care of it," Favor said.
Crime Tracker 10 was there when a construction crew bulldozed a burned out, boarded up home in the 1100 block of Ann Street in south Columbus. Fire gutted the house in 2014 ever since and neighbors said it was like a black eye on the neighborhood.
"It's just a huge eyesore," said neighbor Elaine Mylius.