Officials demolish Rockville Centre home

On June 17, Village officials condemned the house at 83 Clinton Ave., where, on Jan. 12, 19 emaciated, filthy dogs were found along with four dead dogs and a dead cat. After it was condemned, the house was demolished.

The home’s owner, an unidentified 62-year-old woman, was recently released from a local hospital, where she had been treated since the incident. At the time she was described as “disoriented and mentally disturbed,” and she was taken by a Nassau County police ambulance from the scene.

The house had been boarded up and was declared a dangerous building by the Rockville Centre Building Department. But officials said they received a tip that the woman had re-entered the house after getting out of the hospital.

Dan Casella, superintendent of the Building Department, and Fire Chief John Busching declared the ramshackle house to be an immediate hazard to public health and safety last Friday. Before the demolition took place, a county emergency services unit checked the building. Town of Hempstead animal control officers removed a puppy the woman had purchased when she was released from the hospital.

Demolition crews waited until the nearby St. Agnes Cathedral School dismissed its students, who had been taking part in the school’s annual Field Day. A number of spectators gathered to watch as bulldozers razed the house.

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