Lenny Dykstra is ready to put New Jersey in his rearview mirror.
That’s what the former MLB great told NJ Advance Media during an exclusive tour Wednesday of his Linden home, where city housing inspectors doled out three summonses last year after neighbors accused Dykstra of running an illegal rooming house plagued by huge mounds of trash, rampant noise and as many as 10 guests at once.
“The house is going up for sale in two weeks,” Dykstra, 56, told the website. “Just needs a final paint. We’re now going to put the makeup on it. Linden’s a nice place, don’t get wrong, [but] my goal in life was not to wake up in Linden, New Jersey, every day.”
Dykstra, who bought the two-story home in 2017 for $353,000, dismissed allegations by neighbors and council members who claimed he rented out rooms in the Stockton Circle home for $1,000 apiece monthly, saying the bulk of his troubles have been caused by two specific neighbors, including one he has nicknamed “Silence of the Lambs.”
Dykstra did acknowledge, however, that police once responded to the home — an “ugly bitch” that he transformed into a rock star, according to an interview with The Post earlier this month — after receiving a report of a woman screaming. But that was just his overly vocal girlfriend and Dykstra having sex, he said.
“She’s a screamer,” Dykstra told NJ Advance Media.
Dykstra is now suing the home’s seller and broker after he claims he was misled about its condition. After being told it only needed “some paint and TLC,” Dykstra said he poured more than $200,000 into renovations to make it suitable for living, including new plumbing, electrical wiring and other needed upgrades.
“You couldn’t use the bathrooms in this house before,” Dykstra said. “There were no toilets.”
The eclectic items inside Dykstra’s home included a poster of actor James Dean and an image of guitarist Keith Richards. There’s also an autographed photo of Dwight “Doc” Gooden, Dykstra’s former Mets teammate on the 1986 World Series team.
“He could pitch, bro, he could pitch,” Dykstra said of the former fireballer.
Dykstra’s municipal court hearing on Wednesday in connection with the illegal rooming house allegations was ultimately postponed — and he’s wasting no time thinking about his next move: sunny California.
“I improved their property values,” Dykstra said of his neighbors. “I’m not here to cause problems. I don’t want any trouble.”
Once back in California, where he has previously lived, Dykstra said, he’ll take up awaiting opportunities he has in television and real estate. And he’s not expecting to have any trouble finding someone to buy his current home, either.
“Someone’s going to get a great house,” he told NJ Advance Media. “This is a family house on the end of a cul-de-sac. You hear no noise and it’s a great place to live.”