Instead of 'quick' fixes, let's try any that make Baltimore a better place

Well, I finally agree with something E.R. Shipp wrote, and that is truly a first for me (“No quick fixes for Baltimore,” May 15). The real question is, are there any fixes for Baltimore that will work? I left Baltimore in 1966 when I was drafted for Vietnam after college and returned 42 years later to a much different city. I really don’t remember there being a crime problem like there is today and I could walk the streets of East Baltimore without worry of being assaulted.

But back to Baltimore today. Ms. Shipp makes the statement that the new mayor “inherits from a string of mayors a legacy of racist policies that still manifest themselves in everything from housing to transportation to parks and recreation.” Further, she states that “Honest conversations about that might help all of us understand what lies before us if we are truly to make this the city of our aspirations.” I believe that may be what former WJZ anchorwoman Mary Bubala was trying to do and got her fired for mentioning the “African-American” word. For the last 13 years, we have had African-American mayors so if we had “racist polices,” shouldn’t they have been able to change things? Or is she stating that African-American mayors were racist, not to mention 48 years of Democratic administrations? Maybe the Democrats are not the answer.

We have the same transportation system in East Baltimore that they have in West Baltimore. Guess what? It sucks here, too. I honestly don’t know how much money goes into parks and recreation in West Baltimore. But in East Baltimore, at least at night, it is just place to get robbed or assaulted. I really don’t see how difficult it can be to raze a couple of blocks of vacant buildings and make a park.

Finally, Ms. Shipp states the continued well-worn response when it comes to Baltimore when she states, “No, there are no quick fixes. But with eyes wide open and deep reserves of determination, Baltimore will make it through with Jack Young and whomever follows him.” I’m glad she added, “whomever follows him.” There are some quick fixes to the crime problem like calling in the National Guard and getting the criminal elements off the streets but that would be seen as being racist and part of the infamous “legacy.” The rest of the infamous legacy deals with the allocation of funds.

Stas Chrzanowski, Baltimore