And if so can I do it myself...?

I've posted several times about this new house I'm prepping to live in.
The work is going great and I've got about 5 different quote from 5
different HVAC contractors. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a 92+
furnace and a high efficiency water heater. The chimney, once used to
burn coal, and then more recently, oil, thus no longer serves any
purpose.

The chimney is cracking but does not appear horribly dangerous, and
there are 8 other houses on the street with the exact same setup. I'm
wondering if it would be a real hassle to get up there with a chisel
and break it down? I guess there's no harm in keeping it, but I'm
trying to compare costs of removing the thing, and just letting it
stay.

Here's a picture where you can somewhat see the chimney:

http://flickr.com/photos/talllguy/11...7594057780280/

Basically:
* How much would it cost to have taken down by someone else?
* How hard would it be for me and some friends?
* Why not just leave it?

Thanks!