Neighbors Claim Former Met Lenny Dykstra Is Turning Their Community Into A Nightmare
LINDEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – He was a star player with Mets, but some people in New Jersey say he's far from a star neighbor.
Neighbors of former major leaguer Lenny Dykstra in Linden claim it's been nothing but a nightmare living next to the 12-year MLB veteran.
Overflowing garbage and a revolving door of tenants. Neighbors say Dykstra's two-story home on Stockton Circle has turned the once quiet community upside down.
"There's banging going on in the middle of the night. There's cars around the circle like it's a drive-through drug dealership… My wife's afraid to come home," a man named Dave told CBS2's Lisa Rozner.
"We've had a scofflaw on the front lawn… We've had two overdoses," Linda Graham said.
"I can't believe that there's so much trouble here. One man, one man. Not even a whole family, one man."
The 55-year-old retired in 1996, but he's been in and out of jail since then.
In Linden last year, he pleaded not guilty to charges of making terroristic threats to an Uber driver and possession of cocaine and meth-amphetamines.
One neighbor - who didn't want to go on camera - says Dykstra threatened her too, allegedly saying "I'll bring hell to your doorstep."
Councilwoman Gretchen Hickey showed CBS2 ads - that Dykstra allegedly posts – advertising $1,000-a-month rent for each room in his home.
She claims there's been up to ten tenants at a time. Some suspect there's also prostitution going on in the home.
CBS2 saw one man pull up who neighbors recognize, but he said had the wrong address.
"Mr. Dykstra's been to court… being told that he needs to evict all his boarders that he advertised for at $1,000 a month, no security deposit required. He continued to advertise even after. He was fined for it," Councilwoman Hickey said.
CBS2 spoke with Dykstra's attorney by phone.
"Lenny has a very active social life. He's got a very active nightlife and it might be a little too active for the quiet cul-de-sac," David Bahuriak said.
"I know that he wants to make amends with the neighbors. I know that he wants to make sure everybody's ok and he wants to be a good neighbor and again this is a civil matter and he'll do what it takes to make it right."
CBS2's Lisa Rozner tried to speak with Dykstra Thursday and even tweeted the former athlete.
His reply?
The former Met sent a link to an article about oil being discovered off the shore of South Africa.
"Guess what Lenny, go home. Take your show down to Philadelphia or somewhere else. We don't need it around here," the former baseball player's neighbor, Dave added.
"I don't care if it's Lenny Dykstra or anybody else, we're not going to tolerate this kind of behavior in our community," Mayor Derek Armstead of Linden said.
City code inspectors visited last month. The councilwoman says Dykstra was fined for having multiple rooms all with locks that Dykstra could not open. He is due in court on Feb. 19.
