New plan to combat city vacants
Baltimore's mayor has unveiled a new plan to more quickly deal with the thousands of vacant houses that pockmark the city's landscape, such as at left in this picture by The Sun's Jed Kirschbaum shortly after a fire ravaged a string of vacants in West Baltimore. The houses not only spread blight, but attract crime, and as we recently saw in West Baltimore, can feed the flames of fire consuming entire city blocks.
The Sun's Julie Scharper wrote:
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she would accelerate redevelopment of Baltimore's more than 30,000 vacant properties by cutting bureaucracy and speeding the sales of city-owned properties.
"Vacant houses are more than just an eyesore," Rawlings-Blake said at a Wednesday morning news conference. "Just ask someone who lives next door to one."
Vacant properties constitute one of the city's most pernicious problems, depressing home values and blighting the landscape. Officials have counted 16,000 unoccupied buildings, which harbor vagrants, attract vermin and pose fire hazards. The city owns 10,000 of the vacant properties, on 4,000 of which sit empty structures.
Last month, The Sun's Jessica Anderson brought us to Calhoun Street, where two simultaneous four-alarm arson fires on Sept. 8 destroyed two sides of a city block and taxed the Baltimore Fire Department to the point it needed unprecedented help from neighboring counties. Fire trucks from as far away as Washington responded.
The mayor's plan was already in the words when the fires broke out, but they served as yet another reminder of one of Baltimore's most persistent urban ills, and one that stands out to anyone who drives through these areas.
Here are the mayor's prepared remarks on her plan for vacant houses:
Thank you for being here today to discuss one of Baltimore’s most pressing and stubborn challenges.
Vacant houses are more than just an eyesore. They pose a serious public safety and public health threat to our citizens. They depress the value of surrounding homes and they deplete already scarce city resources.
The problem is not new.
In 1950, nearly a million people lived in Baltimore City. According the last full census in 2000, we now have 640,000 residents. This was the among the largest percentage decreases in population among the 50 largest U.S. Cities during that time period. The unprecedented exodus of population and jobs was fueled by a rising crime rate, inferior schools, and other factors, including ugly racial prejudice.
And, the most visible and heartbreaking result of this 50-year period of disinvestment is the roughly 16,000 vacant buildings that we see today.
Baltimore is finally turning the corner on the very sad factors and trends that brought us to this point. Together, over the past decade we have driven violent crime to historic lows and we continue to make progress:
• From 1999 to 2008, Baltimore experienced the third largest reduction in violent crime among the 20 largest U.S. Cities, according to FBI crime statistics.
• Baltimore had the most significant drop in property crime during the same period.
• And, homicides and nonfatal shootings have reached the lowest level since the 1980’s.
Together, we’ve made nation-leading progress reforming our school system to improve academic achievement and accountability:
• African American males are now a driving force of our improving high school graduation rate.
• Elementary and middle school test scores are on the rise.
• Zoned schools have improved while failing schools have been shuttered. Dozens of new charter and transformational schools are up and running.
• Families now have more choices to meet the needs and interests of their children.
• And, for the first time in decades, enrollment in our public school system has increased two years in a row.
Today, racial and cultural diversity are celebrated. Diversity is recognized as a cherished asset that can help make neighborhoods stronger, more vibrant and exciting.
The fundamentals of the healthcare, tourism, financial, energy and small business sectors of Baltimore’s economy remain strong and are poised for growth, even in this tough economy.
Categories: City Hall, Confronting crime, Downtown, East Baltimore, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
Comments
This doesn't look like the complete remarks. She doesn't discuss the plan for vacancies. Please double check.
Posted by: subterran | November 4, 2010 11:40 AM
Uh... is it just me or does she make absolutely no reference to an actual PLAN in her prepared remarks? She talks about crime, schools and diversity, which is wonderful and all, but what is she actually going to DO about them? Tear them down? Sell them (and to whom? And how does she propose to prevent buyers from becoming slumlords?) Convert them to Starbucks? (you can never have too many!) What is the PLAN?
Posted by: Alex | November 4, 2010 11:49 AM
Doesn't say anything about her plan for vacant houses. Am I missing something? Does this transcript continue elsewhere?
Posted by: anonymous | November 4, 2010 2:11 PM