Eliminating drug houses helps eliminate lead hazards. People are more willing to move in to the neighborhood when the threat of drugs is gone, and if they feel the street is on an upswing they are more likely to fix up apartments and houses. Homeownership in general is growing on Parsells, and many of the houses are looking better. Carolyn Argust, adminstrator of the Neighborhood Empowerment Team office for the area, says that 30 out of 151 properties have had exterior improvements recently. The new vinyl siding on some of the houses works to cover old lead paint.
New windows eliminate another source of lead.
Parsells may be inching back toward the way it looked in the first half of the century, when it was noted for its large single-family homes. Working with the NET office, NEAD is part of a plan to demolish 10 structures on Parsells, properties considered too blighted to save. Seven structures are already down. In addition, NEAD is ''deconverting'' at least six properties, renovating them to become the single-family homes they were. Each home will then be sold at a subsidized price to an owner-occupant.