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Juanita McKenzie displays photos of her old home being torn down while revisiting the overgrown, vacant lot on Frederick Street in Whitney Pier in 2014. The home was demolished in 2000, following a mass government relocation/home buyout program in the late 1990s for Frederick Street residents. The move came under mounting pressure over health concerns associated with contamination on the bordering Sydney steel plant's coke ovens site. Eventually, every house on the street was torn down.
According to McKenzie, she and her two daughters, Michelle and Tonya, all developed numerous, chronic illnesses they believe were caused by living on Frederick Street.
Tonya died of cancer at age 33. In her final days, she asked her mother: “mom, did Frederick Street do this to me?" © Steve Wadden