High-density public housing was a failure
The Sun's article "Housing plan found to do more harm than good" (June 28) distorted both the purpose of the HOPE VI program and its results in Baltimore.
The article would lead a reader to believe that the failure to rebuild all the more than 3,000 units that formerly housed very-low-income people in high-density neighborhoods was a bad thing.
In fact, a prime purpose of our efforts was to reduce density and to produce mixed-income communities on the sites where the high-rise developments once stood. This strategy was supported by a 1991 City Council study and overwhelmingly backed by residents and community groups during several years of site-by-site discussions on the disposition of each site.
This was also the plan agreed to in a 1995 consent decree with the American Civil Liberties Union and by the state legislature in 1993, when it granted the city $65 million to rebuild units lost by demolition.
The great majority of the residents received relocation counseling, and all of them were offered support services to assist them to become more economically self-sufficient.
And Baltimore successfully took its worst neighborhoods and turned them into some of its best in a relatively short time. Part of that strategy called for the acquisition by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) of hundreds of homes in mixed-income communities in southwest and northwest Baltimore.
Today, people paying public housing rents are living next door to people paying market-rate rents, and I have not heard a single complaint about the former public housing residents who now live in those communities. It would be difficult to support an argument that these families are not better off than they were living in the decrepit family high-rise communities.
The argument that every one of the units demolished when the high rises came down should have been replaced on site overlooks the almost 60-year history of Baltimore's attempt to cluster its poorest citizens in one place. It was a failed concept when it was hatched in 1945 (as "Baltimore's Plan for Negro Housing"), and it would have been even more egregious to repeat the mistake again.
While I support efforts to build HABC's housing stock back to its 1993 level of approximately 18,000 units, care must be taken not to re-create the pockets of poverty that existed prior to the demolition of the family high-rises.
Daniel P. Henson III
Baltimore
The writer is president the Henson Development Company Inc. and a former director of the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.
Smart Growth in Locust Point
As a new resident, I bought a home in Locust Point to share in the neighborhood's tradition and history ("Uncomfortably on the beaten path," July 9).
Locust Point is one of the oldest pieces of land in the city -- it's where the city was born, where freedom was defended and where many immigrants came to America to build a new life.
I'm here for more than just the great location and increasing property values -- for the sense of history, shared tradition, values and community, too.
And I am very disappointed that the community association's opposition to the proposed 150-townhouse development at the former Chesapeake Paperboard factory has at least temporarily halted this proposal.
While the neighborhood's concerns about traffic congestion, property values and other issues are legitimate, they are certainly not beyond mitigation. And the city's proposed extension of Key Highway to Tide Point would alleviate a significant portion of the traffic currently on Fort Avenue and Hull Street.
While increasing property taxes can be a burden for many retired residents on fixed incomes, they are minimal in comparison to the increased value of people's homes -- some of whose values have tripled and quadrupled over the past decade.
I believe the kind of development that is coming to Locust Point is positive for the city, and is the definition of Smart Growth in Maryland.
If people want to live in the city -- own homes, pay taxes and enjoy the benefits of city living -- why should a developer not be allowed to convert unused and underutilized land and build modern, new housing?
This is the future of Baltimore. We should be proud of our tradition, and welcome new residents with open arms.
Paul Silberman
Baltimore
A stranglehold on District 41?
I was dismayed to read the July 6 article about state Sen. Clarence W. Blount's retirement and the related article about the upcoming state Senate race in the 41st District ("Blount declares end to a 32-year political career," July 6, and "Gladden joins Senate run in 41st District," July 6).
The articles gave candidates Del. Lisa A. Gladden and state Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman a great deal of attention while making only passing reference in the last sentence to Frank D. Boston Jr., a delegate with 12 years of experience who was once chairman of the Baltimore City delegation, who was Mr. Blount's challenger in the last Senate race and who was the first candidate to file in this race.
It is sad that our local paper is the instrument of the Annapolis old-boys network, which wants an inexperienced candidate elected in the 41st District to maintain its stranglehold of manipulation.
Given that the 41st District is 70 percent African-American, it is all the more vital that the rich, white old boys don't continue to run things there.
Philip S. Roberts
White Hall
Racism isn't what hurt Randallstown ...
I want to question some of reporter Andrew A. Green's assumptions about Randallstown and its lack of amenities ("Suburb feels shortchanged on amenities," June 30).
Mr. Green suggested that Randallstown residents feel shortchanged when it comes to nice restaurants and other amenities found in neighborhoods with lesser incomes. His article makes it sound as if this is a new problem that has developed because of what he calls the "X factor." The "X factor" is shorthand for race.
But to assume that the reason Randallstown doesn't have fine restaurants is that 72.1 percent of its population is black is ridiculous. That situation was set into motion many years ago, and race played no part in it.
More than 20 years ago, the county government decided that Owings Mills would be the growth area west of the city.
One can only guess why Owings Mills was chosen for growth, and not Randallstown. But from that time Randallstown's fate was sealed. I watched as Owings Mills got the mall, the Metro, the good restaurants, the corporate headquarters, the chain department stores, the hotels, the offices and the attention.
During this time Randallstown also grew. But we got the cheaper townhouses, the myriad auto-related stores, the fast food stores and the flow-through traffic. The strip malls that were here lost business after business and became graffiti-covered, filthy shells.
It has only been in very recent years that the county has intervened in the downward spiral its actions set in motion some 20 years ago by stepping in and lending a hand in the revitalization program along Liberty Road.
Randallstown is not a victim of its racial composition, but of a drawing-board decision made long before many of its present residents even thought of moving here.
Jo Ann Fasnacht
Randallstown
... but it needs help from the county
As discouraging as it was to read Andrew A. Green's article "Suburb feels shortchanged on amenities" (June 30), what he wrote was unfortunately true.
Randallstown has much to be proud of and much more to look forward to. But first we have to begin to demand more for our tax dollars and from those who we elect to manage those dollars.
To Andrea J. Van Arsdale of the Baltimore County Economic Development Department, I say, don't insult the people who, in part, pay your salary. We do "revel in what we have," but we want and demand more. If not in business and economic development, then in recreation and other public services.
We need to be serviced by a local police station or substation, not one in Woodlawn that is miles away. We need improvements to our overcrowded schools.
We need more park and recreational facilities that are centrally located and accessible to all local residents.
I say Baltimore County should revel in what it has: a racially and ethnically diverse community that is supplying hard-earned tax dollars for the betterment of the community.
And I agree with Henry Weisenberg's comment that Randallstown needs a concerted effort from the top of the county government.
The best way to make that happen is for the citizens to get involved, get registered and vote for the candidate or candidates who can and will work for them.
Mark S. Croyle
Randallstown
Help is on its way to Afghanistan
A citizen's group in Baltimore is already bringing into reality what The Sun suggested in the editorial "Getting smart in Afghanistan" (July 14), which advocates "tangible benefits of American involvement -- better schooling and better health care" for Oruzgan province in Afghanistan.
As The Sun has reported, Afghans for Civil Society, a private, nonprofit group based in Baltimore, is designing, planning and securing support to build a skills center for young men and women in Tarin Kot, the capital of Oruzgan ("Baltimoreans asked to help Afghan city," May 3).
This vocational training center will provide basic literacy and schooling for "at risk" young men and women who missed the chance to go to school in recent years and train them in practical, job-oriented skills such as carpentry, construction, agriculture and health care.
Several shipments of donated school supplies have already gone from the Baltimore region to Tarin Kot's children, and more are on the way.
And Afghans for Civil Society is also committed to helping rebuild, resupply, re-equip and retrain the staff of a badly battered but operating hospital in Tarin Kot.
These projects and others being planned are the result of requests from Oruzgan's governor, Jan Mohammed, who, like the overwhelming majority of Afghan people, prudently supports the American-led antiterrorism campaign for permanent peace and stability in Afghanistan.
They see these projects as a practical sign of new hope, and as a part of a comprehensive and necessary strategy to end terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan permanently.
Baltimore
The writer is owner of the Helmand and Tapas Teatro restaurants and the brother of Afghanistan's president.
Sleeping together can cause SIDS
Jonathan Bor should be commended for his excellent article "Study links bed-sharing to sudden infant death" (July 2). Praise also should go to Dr. Charles Shubin and the Baltimore group that has uncovered this association between bed-sharing and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in otherwise healthy infants.
Our team, centered in the Anne Arundel County Department of Health, meets regularly to determine the reasons for the deaths of individuals in the county under the age of 18.
We have learned that certain situations may predispose children to SIDS, such as another person sleeping with an infant or a young child. In such situation an infant can be inadvertently trapped and suffocated.
Our team has shared this concern with the Center for Infant and Child Loss and the State Child Fatality Review Team.
We feel that the appropriate agencies should provide the public with updated information regarding positional asphyxia in infants and young children and its association with co-sleeping with older children and adults.
Dr. C. Earl Hill
Annapolis
The writer is team leader of the Anne Arundel County Child Fatality Review Team.
Use common sense to keep babies safe
The article "Babies' deaths spur city warning" (July 2) stated that "bed-sharing was a factor in about half of the 99 sudden infant deaths during the past 4 1/2 years." Was not sleeping with their parents a factor in the other 50 infant deaths?
Co-sleeping has actually been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS. Research shows that babies who sleep with parents spend less time in Level 3 sleep, a state of deep sleep in which the risk of sleep apnea and SIDS increases.
Further, co-sleeping babies imitate their parents healthy breathing patterns. Babies who survive a near-SIDS episode are often found to have difficulty regulating their own night-time breathing patterns.
Every scientific study of infant sleep confirms that babies benefit from co-sleeping.
The Sun's article also describes babies who died because they were wedged up against the wall or the back of the sofa.
A little common sense here, please. Parents who sleep so deeply that they don't notice they are lying on top of another person should not bring their babies to bed with them.
And babies should not be placed under thick blankets or comforters that could suffocate them. They should not be in bed with someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These are not co-sleeping problems but common-sense issues.
If scientific research consistently demonstrates that co-sleeping offers tremendous benefits for babies, it is time for Americans to join the rest of the world and parent our babies 24 hours a day.
Suzy Provine
Millersville
Residents revitalize city parks
Tom Pelton's article about maintenance in Baltimore's parks may have left readers with the impression that Patterson Park is located in a wealthy neighborhood and has no maintenance problems ("Condition of parks frustrates residents," July 9).
In reality, Patterson Park is the green space for eight economically and ethnically diverse neighborhoods bordering the park.
Improved but by no means perfect, maintenance in Patterson Park is attributable to partnerships between the Department of Recreation and Parks, the Friends of Patterson Park, Banner Neighborhoods Summer Youth Employment Program and many other volunteer efforts that address landscaping and maintenance issues.
However, many areas of the park need more attention. A master plan completed in 1998 identified over $10 million in needed improvements. The easternmost "Olmsted" extension, for example, needs extensive repair to its perimeter walking path, and the former bath house must be completely renovated before it can be returned to productive use.
All parks need budgets for routine maintenance and regular capital improvements. And, while strong community interest in Patterson Park has enhanced the Department of Recreation and Parks' maintenance efforts, the job is never done.
Mary Sloan Roby
Baltimore
The writer is president of Friends of Patterson Park.
Reporter Tom Pelton's observations on conditions at Federal Hill Park are accurate and greatly appreciated. However, Mr. Pelton and those neighborhood "residents praising improvement efforts by the city and neighborhood groups" should realize that neither the city nor the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association (FHNA) has played any active role recently in the cleanup of refuse at Federal Hill Park ("City lagging on promise to clean parks," July 16).
But several neighbors on Warren Avenue, who live adjacent to the park, resolved to take matters into their own hands.
No less than four times a week, a group of four or five of us meets each morning between 5:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., and each of us removes two large trash bags of refuse left behind by visitors and our Federal Hill neighbors. Others in the park who see us frequently say thanks by joining our trash pick-up efforts.
Anthony Flood, the actor and office worker who was quoted in Mr. Pelton's article, hit the nail on the head: Improving the conditions in our city parks is indeed a matter of individual responsibility.
Those of us who take pride in where we live and recognize the value of keeping our parks clean and beautiful for the enjoyment of all hope to set an example for others.
And the fact is that no city agency can realistically be expected (particularly considering the city's ongoing fiscal crisis) to allocate limited resources to cleaning up our messes.
Only a personal commitment by all of us who enjoy our precious public spaces to develop and practice the discipline it takes to hang onto our personal garbage, as opposed to just tossing it on the ground, will result in a successful effort to clean up our parks.
And all of us who decided out of frustration to start our grassroots campaign to improve Federal Hill Park sincerely hope the mayor and everybody who enjoys our park will join our campaign and encourage similar movements throughout this city.
Paul W. Robinson
Baltimore
I have been following The Sun's articles on the city's Recreation and Parks Department and read that Kim Amprey, the department's acting director, has said that one of her top goals is to improve the appearance of the city's 5,700 acres of parkland ("Mayor presses for shakeup in park operation," July 7).
I wholeheartedly support her goal and suggest that a fully funded volunteer program would go far toward accomplishing her vision.
What a wonderful partnership there could be, for instance, between the parks department and city high school students fulfilling community service requirements through well-designed projects.
For example, Federal Hill parks could be matched with nearby Southern High School. Students could be prepared for service and supervised by parks department staff to beautify their local park.
Students could learn about gardening, horticulture and urban design. They could restore neglected parkland to its original beauty. And such a project could engender civic pride and a sense of ownership.
Who knows, it could even jump-start a career with parks and recreation.
I can also see the value in forming teams of intergenerational volunteers -- moms, dads, children and grandparents working together for a shared goal. And even employees of local businesses could be recruited.
There is something deeply rewarding about working the soil, creating beauty and substance. And perhaps even vegetable gardens could be developed, which would nourish body and soul.
Ms. Amprey expects to see a difference in a few weeks.
I suggest that by building a strong volunteer infrastructure, the city's parks could become a sustainable bright spot for generations to come.
Mindy Amor
Owings Mills