Today's column on adhering to community norms got two responses that were particularly good. One came from a city resident who talks about neighbors who moved in, broke glass on a sidewalk and refused to mow their lawn until people complained and the city starting handing out fines.

Here are parts of the email:
 

Thanks for your recent article on 'Newcomers to the Neighborhood'.  I thought it was very appropriate.  General upkeep of your home isn't a comment on rich or poor but on the image of the neighborhood and is important to everyone.
 
There are things in a single family neighborhood that we don't worry about:  them hanging up laundry outside as long as it's in the backyard (we, in fact, do this too on nice summer days to save energy).
 
People shouldn't hesitate to use '311' - this will prevent them from a direct confrontation with people who many not be receptive to their new neighbors telling them how to keep their property.  But I've often told our neighbors after they mowed how nice their lawn looks (positive reinforcement).  And people should not be afraid to e-mail or call their city counselperson and bug them.  If they are involved, some kind of resolution can be reached even if it's not 100% to your liking.
 
There are things we haven't been able to accomplish that frustrate us but overall things (5-years later) are MUCH better.  So there's hope. 

 

In my column, I used an example of new neighbors checking to make sure it's ok to hang out the laundry. A reader responded with this:

In your column published today, you imply that hanging clothes on the line to dry is behavior that some might judge unacceptable.  I only wish my neighborhood were safe enough for me to hang clothes out without fear that they would disappear. Because it isn't, I have to hang them in the basement in order to reduce my dependence on fossil fuels.

What a wonderful thing it would be if every house in Baltimore City had an outdoor clothes line in regular use.