It has been an eyesore and a blight on one Atlanta neighborhood for years.

Now the LaBarcelona Apartments are coming down.

Construction crews took a back hoe to the first of the buildings shortly before 11 o'clock, sending the brick facade crashing to the ground. 

"We are here today to talk about LaBarcelona," says Atlanta City Councilman Ivory Lee Young.  "And we're here to say goodbye and good riddance."

The apartments have been a haven for vagrancy and drug dealing for nearly a decade, as residents in the community near Anderson Park have been logging complaints about the building since 2006.

Little was done prior to 2012.

But, last year, Mayor Kasim Reed placed building code enforcement responsibilities under the guise of the police department, and things changed.

Beginning in June of last year, police began enforcing the city code, and began closing buildings that were either dangerous to residents, or contributed to neighborhood crime and decay.

Since the new regulations, 43 buildings, like LaBarcelona, have been torn down citywide, with another 78 closed.  171 other buildings are under consideration for demolition.

As for LaBarcelona, plans for the future of the site are still unclear.  Options include single family homes on the property, using for multiple family homes, or making it part of Anderson Park to increase the green space in the neighborhood.