Neighbors press council on long‑vacant Stanton Bowling Lanes and vehicle accumulation
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Summary
Residents told council the former Stanton Bowling Lanes, bought in 2021 by Mount Zion Baptist Church, has become dilapidated and a salvage‑yard‑like storage area; city administrator said letters have been sent and a towing company is moving vehicles.
Linda Joseph told the Wilkes-Barre City Council on Jan. 9 that the former Stanton Bowling Lanes property — she said purchased by Mount Zion Baptist Church in June 2021 for $800,000 — has not been renovated and has deteriorated into what she described as a blighted property.
Joseph told council that the church had said in 2021 it would close on the building and renovate it within three to six months, but as of 2025 no work has occurred and the property has declined. She also said a towing company that owns property at 441 Moyallan Street had stored many vehicles on the bowling‑alley site and that police recently removed children found in a tractor trailer on the property.
City Administrator Charlie McCormick told council staff had sent a “repair or remove” letter to the owner and would send a graffiti enforcement letter; McCormick said the towing company owner has been contacted and was in the process of moving vehicles. No citation, demolition timetable or enforcement hearing was recorded in the meeting minutes.
