Baseball legend Lenny Dykstra, who won a World Series with the New York Mets, is certainly no stranger to legal troubles. But those who live near him along Stockton Circle in Linden say he is turning their neighborhood into a den of drugs and prostitution.
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"I'm a second-generation Stockton-er," resident Linda Graham said through tears. "I had the privilege of growing up with original owners of these houses. And this guy comes and ruins their whole entire legacy."
Neighbors say they were starstruck when Dykstra moved to the neighborhood, but they say the superstar hasn't been an all-star neighbor and that his home is now used as a boarding house where as many as 10 people have lived at a time.
"I do know that having a rooming house in Linden is prohibited," Mayor Derek Armstead said. "I'll take care of it."
But 10th Ward City Councilwoman Gretchen Hickey says the home is a revolving door and an unresolved issue.
"After he was told to move everybody out, and he was fined, the next week, he also put again on social media advertising rooms for $1,000 a month," she said.
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Hickey says she's constantly calling the police about the house.
"The traffic here, the overdoses, the cars being towed, someone throwing yellow liquid out the second-floor window, the trash," she said.
Another man complained of transient tenants.
"Knocking on my door at 11 o'clock at night, telling me that it's Domino's but there's no pizza in their hands," he said.
Dykstra recently pleaded not guilty to drug possession and making terroristic threats in Linden after an Uber driver said the former player threatened to shoot him, and police say they found cocaine and meth in his possession.
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Neighbors say they want this resolved once and for all, and Mayor Armstead promised swift action.
"If he's not in compliance with the current ordinances that are on the books, we will take him to task," he said.
Dykstra and his attorney have not responded to requests for comment.
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