PALMYRYA BOROUGH, LEBANON COUNTY -- Monday was demolition day for three Lebanon County homes.
Those homes were condemned three years ago after a sinkhole made living there unsafe.
It was a day of mixed emotions for the people who live in the neighborhood, seeing a home flattened and reduced to a pile of rubble brought out feelings of anger, joy, and for many relief.
One house which stood for decades was knocked down in a matter of minutes.
Bystander Owen Bidding said "it's crazy to watch it all fall to pieces like that. It's like a bunch of toothpicks."
Onlooker Linda Bidding said "it's just so sad to see the whole structure just be torn apart, and it looks like they had to leave and leave so much behind."
Jael Wolf lives right across the street, and worried her house might one day suffer the same fate.
"After the whole ordeal started we started moving stuff out of our house like photos, stuff that we knew couldn't be replaced, in the event something happened to our house," Wolf said.
The demolition is a moment neighbors waited three years to see, it brings relief for some, anger for others.
Onlooker Beverly Overa said "the way this was handled at the state and local level was abominable. They shouldn't be worrying about these homes, they should be worried about the homes that are still here."
While the houses were abandoned, they didn't stay empty for long once a feral family of cats moved in. PAWS, a local pet adoption agency helped move those cats just in time.
"The kittens are wild because they were born out here, but definitely playful, easily tamable. It feels good to have them out," Wolf said."