Howard Park – Sandy Rosenberg

“We do have slots money that could be used for that purpose, and I’m going to begin working on that tomorrow morning,” Del. Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg said in response.

https://baltimorebrew.com/2016/05/06/amid-a-rash-of-shootings-howard-park-sends-an-sos/

That’s what I said at a community meeting prompted by four shootings in less than a week in Howard Park. That’s what I did the next morning.

Last Wednesday’s meeting, called by the Concerned Citizens of Howard Park, filled the cafeteria at Calvin Rodwell Elementary School. The school’s renovation plan will be presented to the School Board for approval in July.

Next door is a Shop Rite, which opened in 2014 and did away with the area’s designation as a food desert.

One block north is a street corner notorious for loitering and drug activity. That’s where the shootings occurred.

In Annapolis, I make public policy. Back home, my colleagues and I are the advocates for our constituents.

They don’t hire a lawyer. They elect us to represent them.

The morning after the meeting, I wrote two e-mails and made a phone call.

One was to the Mayor’s Office, urging urge expedited consideration of funding to resolve the status of the decaying Ambassador Theatre, trim trees on the Liberty Heights corridor to improve visibility, and provide brighter lighting on the corridor.

There is a liquor store on the corner where the shootings occurred. At the community meeting, both residents and the police were concerned about the adequacy of the City ordinance that authorizes the closing of a business that has become a nuisance to the community.

My second email asked the City Police to consider what changes are needed in this law.

Lastly, the liquor store has an LBD7 license that is highly valued. I spoke with an official at the City Liquor Board who sent me the relevant statutes and regulations.

People like to be asked and people like to be thanked, Tip O’Neill said.

They also like to have problems solved so that they can live in a safe community.

It’s been a while since people walked to a house of worship in the Howard Park community at sunset on a Friday evening.

Last night, the purpose was a community meeting about the grocery store for the vacant lot at Liberty Heights and Hillsdale Avenues. The place was All Saints Roman Catholic church.

For more than a decade, the lot has been empty – an eyesore with no end in sight.

But now a deal is imminent. The principals are Jeff Brown, whose store we visited in West Philadelphia two years ago, and the Klein family, who own several Shop Rites in Baltimore and Harford counties. This would be their first store in Baltimore City.

When I was called upon to speak, I said, “In the Jewish community, we welcome the Sabbath on Friday nights with a family meal. My mother said it was OK to be with the Howard Park family tonight.”

“My district office is two blocks north of the grocery store site,” I continued. “I look forward to walking to lunch there in the near future.”

What role do state legislators play on a project like this? We met with the community and then shared their concerns with the Mayor, since the City owns the land, and with state officials, who can fund job training for some of the 250+ people who will be employed.

We’ve also been hearing from residents about a vacant property across the street – the Ambassador Theatre. The 12-year old Barry Levinson and his friends walked to the movies there every Saturday afternoon.

“Once the grocery store is up and running,” I’ve told people, “the Ambassador will be a more valuable property to develop.”