The caretaker of Ark Church, Milton Hill is gone -- killed two months ago, police say, for his scooter -- but on Tuesday the parishioners joined with the cops who joined with the neighbors to spruce up a park near the church that had become an open-air drug market.
At left, Monica Lopossay captures Carolyn Jasper cleaning up the park.
It's one of those stories we've seen time and time again. Even the residents are a bit skeptical -- Carolyn Pitt told reporter Jessica Anderson, "They are doing a great job, but we don't know how long it's going to last."
Just Monday on East Preston Street, a man and woman were shot, and the Eastern District now leads the city with 32 slayings so far this year. And so the community joined forces as part of "Operation Good Faith" to clean up Aiken Playground.
The question remains, as always, what happens next. Hours later in West and Northeast Baltimore, three more people were shot.
As Jessica wrote:
While a set of rusted monkey bars and two worn wooden jungle gyms remained, a fresh coat of green, yellow and orange paint was left to dry on a playground wall.
Sylvester Toles, a member of the Ark Church, admitted he wasn't excited about the cleanup at first, after a long day at a moving company. But the 54-year-old said "the preacher wanted us to do it for the kids, to make it presentable for the kids. Somebody's got to show that somebody cares," he said.
As he worked up a sweat, he said, "I feel like I've accomplished something." (photo at left by Monica Lopossay).