It should come as no shock that certain areas of Baltimore City get more of the taxpayers’ construction dollars (“Study finds deep racial disparities in way Baltimore allocates public construction dollars,” Dec. 12). Certain areas are critically important to the city tax base and support the desirability of urban life. There are other areas of the city where many homes on a block are vacant and the taxes generated are lower. There, the sense of neighborhood and civic pride is under duress. It's is a much more difficult decision to decide what construction there will be successful beyond regular maintenance.
I would hate to think that the city's limited resources have been spent in line with the racial makeup of the neighborhoods. That is an unworkable and absurd notion. There are areas in every city where one would not build museums or other civic buildings because you want to facilitate visitation. To imply that decisions about construction projects are made on race is race baiting. You all ought to be ashamed of suggesting it is anything more than smart management of city resources.
What you are suggesting be the yardstick of good expenditures? Racially determined projects should be the least of considerations. It is not a honest message to suggest it is systemic discrimination. Who runs our city?
Bob Rubeor
