Posts Tagged ‘Pigtown’
I have read some insane conspiracy theories about Baltimore State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein. I will not dignify them by even mentioning them here. There clearly are some people who dislike the guy and what he said he stood for.
Gregg Bernstein is not perfect though. He told us he would run things differently than Patricia Jessamy. These days in Pigtown there are many people who do not see a big difference between Jessamy and Bernstein.
Page Croyder sums up the controversy here. It is a great article so please read it.
Prosecutors cannot quit on carjacking cases! The voters expected more than this. Bernstein needs to deliver and differentiate himself from his predecessor.
I was included in an email thread about the Baltimore nuisance abatement program not working in Pigtown.
Some people in Pigtown are tired of running around in bureaucratic circles. It was not a shock to read typical pro-bureaucratic run-around type comments from 10th district councilman Edward Reisinger. Here is what the Pete Welch supporting councilman had to say:
“You are on track. We can’t change the PAST. We need to move FORWARD. There are some Core people, that want to make a difference. We all want a CLEAN and SAFE neighborhood. That is our OBJECTIVE. Stop BICKERING and work TOGETHER.
Councilman ED. Reisinger
10th District”
Reisinger does not want the people of Pigtown to remember the past since in the past his friend Agnes Welch did absolutely nothing to improve the chaotic drug situation in Pigtown. He does not want you to remember how he blindly endorsed her son to take her place to reward her decades of incompetency. Reisinger does not want you to remember how Terry Hickey was gerrymandered out of the 10th district.
Reisinger thinks it is easy not to bicker and to work together. This is not a shock since he is a member of a one party good old boy (and girl) city council that blindly supports their own. The same city council that refuses to talk about the numerous council-people who do not live in the district (and in some cases CITY) they are supposed to live in. Everyday people can not stifle debate like our leaders can! We can not gerrymander our way out of our challenges.
Reisinger, the good old boy establishment leaders, and the people who work for the oragnizations that are supposed to solve the problems the city created in the first place all want the citizens of Pigtown to continue to run in bureaucratic circles moving from station to station hoping things will be different this time. Everyone loves a little lamb right?
Some people (and I am one of them) think being a sheep solves nothing. In order to get things done in this city you have to call people out by their names and embarrass the establishment. People who do not think outside of the box will condemn you, but in the end of the day you will make a difference while the people who condemn you will continue to run around in circles and get nothing accomplished.
The WVDA sent me the following video yesterday:
This is the most compelling and bold video that the WVDA has ever put together. We need more videos like this one.
Baltimore has a nuisance abatement program that is supposed to shut down nuisance properties. Property owners can be fined and problem residents can be removed by various means. Since this is a legal process it is not a quick process. The bigger question is what is wrong with the Baltimore judicial system? Why are criminals only given slaps on the wrists and what the heck are probation officers doing in Baltimore?
Four years of lawlessness from one house is totally unacceptable and until Baltimore can figure out a way to fix situations like this one, the city is going to have a reputation for putting up with anarchy. This is a great election year video! Hopefully one of the politicians running for something will use this video as away to generate new solutions and make Baltimore a better place to live.
Baltimore City has set up a program called Baltimarket which allows low-income residents who do not live near legitimate food stores to order their food from designated libraries and pick up their food from the same locations the next day.
The program was originally paid for by a $60,000 grant from the 2009 federal stimulus package. I wonder how it will be funded in the future? I am sure the local corner stores in these areas are annoyed that the demand for their overpriced junk food will go down because of this program. Santoni’s (the food provider) is probably loving the publicity and business that is coming their way because of Baltimarket.
Should the government interfere in the free market like this? Food is an essential part of life, but there are legitimate reasons why large food stores will not locate in the city. In theory the city could use the existing Charm City Circulator and encourage people in Washington Village to ride it to the Superfresh downtown. Public transportation is not the best way to transport groceries, but it should be looked into. Maybe the city could talk to a transportation company about starting a reasonably priced shuttle between poor areas and legitimate food stores? They could lower regulation costs for these providers to make such trips financially worthwhile. Many people already pay unregulated “hacks” to drive them back and forth to food stores.
I think the Baltimarket program will help people, but I do not think it is sustainable and it does not solve the deeper problems that create the “food deserts” in the first place.
Problem clubs have been in the news lately. Some people in Pigtown are worried about what a proposed club may bring to their part of town:
” A woman named, Tiffany Felder, applied to have a liquor license transferred from East Baltimore into Pigtown at 756 Washington Blvd. However, some feel her dealings with the community have not been transparent and at times misleading. Furthermore, they’ve hired a liquor board inspector, as a “security consultant” while the transfer of the liquor license is under consideration by the Liquor Board. In addition, the property is under renovations, which far surpass the current paint/tile permit (COM2010-21725) obtained for the property. These renovations have also taken place before the City’s Zoning Board has been given a chance to consider changes to the buildings usage. The Zoning Board is scheduled to consider a usage change on Tuesday, 1/18/2011.
Many in Pigtown believe Ms. Felder (and her behind the scenes partners) are attempting to open a hip-hop-drug-dealer-shot em’ up club with no concern for the community. She has twice presented her proposal for a “lounge” at community meetings. However, she and her partners are extremely evasive when confronted with questions and concerns from community leaders. For example, they’ve claimed to have a parking agreement with the owner of the shopping center across the street. There is in fact no agreement, as of today, with the shopping center.
Thanks,
Dan Cosgrove, President
Washington Village Development Association (WVDA)”
Most of you are familiar with my numerous articles about the problems in the Pigtown neighborhood of Baltimore. Pigtown deserves the spotlight, but we can not forget about the other side of MLK boulevard. Ridgely’s Delight is the well kept neighborhood next to Pigtown that surrounds Camden Yards. University of Maryland controls various schools and buildings to the north of the neighborhood. I received an email that details a problem the neighborhood is having with one of the state owned buildings at the physical entrance to Ridgely’s Delight:
“Hi All,
I am writing to request a small favor from you to sign a petition if you are in agreement with my position. I have helped to establish a committee to remove the deteriorating, state-owned (UMMS and UMB) buildings at the north end of Ridgely’s Delight (715-729 West Pratt St.). The committee’s concerns are primarily issues of safety, environmental impact, and fiscal responsibility.
As tax payers, home owners, neighbors, and visitors to the Ridgley’s Delight community, I would like to make as many people as possible aware of the overall concerns of the 723 Pratt Street building and the others adjacent to it.
The committee has established a website http://home.comcast.net/~ptwilder/site/ where you may find the details about
- safety concerns due to the structural deterioration,
- concerns due to the severe flooding on Dover St.,
- fiscal feasibility for the renovation,
- questionable historical merits of 723 Pratt St.,
- and pictures of the buildings.
Please take a moment and sign the petition for the removal of these buildings at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/demolition-of-723-west-pratt-street/
Your personal information will not be seen and you email address will not be sold.
There is also a link to this petition on the website.
Please pass the word about this petition to anyone and everyone, even to others that may not live in Ridgley’s, but who may visit or pass the buildings frequently. The more signatures we accumulate, the more seriously Councilman Bill Cole, UMMS, UMB, and the city of Baltimore will take us.”
I have written about the illegal dirt bike problem in Baltimore on quite a few occasions in the past. Thanks to the WVDA we now have the opportunity to study a real life illegal dirt bike story before it has been concluded. The video that acompanies this story shows an illegal dirt bike being stored in a backyard. Leaders from numerous agencies and branches of government have said that if residents report an illegal dirt bike in the state that this one is in,then the problem will be addressed. We have the opportunity to see if this is all talk that is only intended to calm down a frustrated city or if it is a real promise. 
I received the following email last week:
“B&O Museum supports prostitution in Pigtown
Between 2007 through 2009, WVDA worked to clear out the area along the B&O railroad tracks between W.Ostend St and S.Carey St. We did so to discourage drug and prostitution activity in that area. We’ve also been in constant conversation with the B&O about the illegal activity on their property and asked them to clean, clear and maintain their property. Our request have fallen of deaf ears.
Here’s a video with further information:
”
The guy in the video makes a great point about what would happen to a homeowner if he or she kept their backyard in that condition.
Properly prosecute and detain the criminals of Pigtown so a Charles Village situation can be avoided
Investigative Voice posted a new article about the Pigtown beating that recently transpired.
One complaint that many Pigtown residents have is that drug dealers and “thugs” commit crimes and either get slaps on the wrists or receive no punishments. The trouble makers are well known and they do not hide their illegal activities. The authorities need to make it a priority to shut down the most obvious law breakers before they take their activities to the next level. A few weeks ago in Charles Village a man who should have been in jail killed an innocent man when walking home. It is just a matter of time before one of “Pigtown’s Most Wanted” commits a horrible crime against an innocent person.
A repeat of the Charles Village murder can easily be avoided in Pigtown. Arrest the obvious law breakers when they are breaking the law and do not let them out of jail the next day. Proactively target the most obvious perpetrators. These people are pretty obvious. On a related note check out the following youtube video that some Pigtown residents made. In the video a male pulls a gun from his waist at 19 seconds and several more times throughout the video. At 1:08, the rapper states “He’ll shoot some holes in your head, Sebastian.” At least one of the individuals in this video has notoriously terrorized Pigtown with his illegal actions.
They are talking about Sebastian Sassi who is a very well known activist in the Pigtown area who is trying to make the area a safer place to live. He is very outspoken and has appeared in quite a few news article like this one and this one.
We do not want another scene like this one in any neighborhood in Baltimore.
Adam is the most recognizable face of the recent resurgence in Reservoir Hill. He has appeared on many national and local radio shows, in several news publications, and at numerous events discussing his innovative urban redevelopment ideas and his unique lifestyle. Adam is a successful entrepreneur, community activist, and a local political guru who ran for city council in 2007. He is the founder and director of the TechBalt.com Buy a Block Project and BaltimoreHourly.com. His fearless local political commentary has rocked the local blog scene for most of this decade and he plans to take it to the next level in the next decade here on Charm City Current.