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mahatmakanejeeves

(56,897 posts)
Tue Jan 5, 2016, 03:59 PM Jan 2016

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to announce $700M plan to target Baltimore urban decay

Source: Baltimore Sun

By Luke Broadwater
luke.broadwater@baltsun.com
@lukebroadwater

January 5, 2016, 2:00 PM

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake today in West Baltimore are announcing a nearly $700 million plan to tear down thousands of vacant properties in the city and offer large subsidies for development in blighted neighborhoods.

In Sandtown-Winchester, where Freddie Gray grew up, the governor and leader of Maryland's largest city are pledging $94 million toward demolishing vacant properties city-wide over the next four years and replacing them with potential developments spurred by $600 million in state subsidies.
....

The state estimates 20 blocks will be demolished in the first year. In recent years, Baltimore spent a little more than $2 million a year on demolition, but in 2013 Rawlings-Blake, a Democrat, announced she would increase funding to about $10 million a year.
....

Baltimore Sun reporter Michael Dresser contributed to this article.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/west-baltimore/bs-md-ci-hogan-demolition-20160105-story.html



Two years ago, I went to a class in Hunt Valley, Maryland. To show my tree-hugging ways, I relied on public transit all the way from Alexandria, Virginia, to Hunt Valley. I took the Metro from Alexandria to the end of the line at Greenbelt, Maryland. I took the Metrobus from there to BWI Airport. At BWI, I transferred to the light rail, which I took all the way to Hunt Valley.

The light rail line goes due north through downtown Baltimore. Wow, is that section of town desolate.
11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to announce $700M plan to target Baltimore urban decay (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Jan 2016 OP
Sounds good on paper but who will live in the developments? yellowcanine Jan 2016 #1
Yah, sounds like making nice little yuppie conclaves packman Jan 2016 #2
What's your plan to bring people upwards? Matthew28 Jan 2016 #4
Don't have one - above my pay scale packman Jan 2016 #5
So you'll throw rocks at the plans and ideas of others, while offering nothing of your own. philosslayer Jan 2016 #6
Are you trying to describe Larry Hogan? Deny and Shred Jan 2016 #8
Bully - Well said Philosslayer packman Jan 2016 #11
Needs more jobs and stability Matthew28 Jan 2016 #3
Well the first thing my right wing republican Governor should do............................ turbinetree Jan 2016 #7
Blight removal is never a bad thing. romanic Jan 2016 #9
David Simon, creator of The Wire, has several interesting things to say about LuckyLib Jan 2016 #10

yellowcanine

(35,692 posts)
1. Sounds good on paper but who will live in the developments?
Tue Jan 5, 2016, 04:17 PM
Jan 2016

If it ends up just being government subsidized gentrification not sure that is a solution which is going to help many low income people - in fact, it could price them out of the neighborhoods they live in now. Without a firm plan to address substandard housing and lack of jobs this could be just another gentrification project, of which Baltimore has had plenty of already.

 

packman

(16,296 posts)
2. Yah, sounds like making nice little yuppie conclaves
Tue Jan 5, 2016, 04:20 PM
Jan 2016

for the developers to buy up and for the upper middle class to move into. Trees, cute little shops, brick townhouses - been done before in many, many places.

 

packman

(16,296 posts)
5. Don't have one - above my pay scale
Tue Jan 5, 2016, 04:27 PM
Jan 2016

Relax Dude - I am entitle to be sarcastic and be skeptical towards plans that have their own built-in ends which, in this case, is to put new lipstick on an old pig and call it a success .

 

philosslayer

(3,076 posts)
6. So you'll throw rocks at the plans and ideas of others, while offering nothing of your own.
Tue Jan 5, 2016, 05:05 PM
Jan 2016

To quote:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Deny and Shred

(1,061 posts)
8. Are you trying to describe Larry Hogan?
Tue Jan 5, 2016, 09:10 PM
Jan 2016

Honestly, I think he is among the best Republicans one can find these days, but a man "whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, ... who spends himself in a worthy cause, etc ..." He is pushing for fracking in Western MD too, BTW. Is that a worthy cause? I wish he wasn't "daring so greatly" in that regard.

Packman simply pointed out that MANY urban projects to remove the blight don't actually result in uplifting the residents. These projects actually displace the residents and pave the way for developers to yuppify the place. Whether he has a solution or not doesn't nullify his observation.

 

packman

(16,296 posts)
11. Bully - Well said Philosslayer
Wed Jan 6, 2016, 11:05 AM
Jan 2016


My cold and timid soul admires your marred , dusty, sweaty and bloody face beyond belief and the way you strive to do the deeds.

Matthew28

(1,796 posts)
3. Needs more jobs and stability
Tue Jan 5, 2016, 04:21 PM
Jan 2016

The city needs more education for the young, infrastructure jobs and the stability to draw some big companies into the area.

turbinetree

(24,632 posts)
7. Well the first thing my right wing republican Governor should do............................
Tue Jan 5, 2016, 06:31 PM
Jan 2016

is tell everyone that he will not accept the TPP deal and he wants NAFTA repealed----------------but that will not happen, because he is beholden to developers and other money interests........................

Because, Larry if you look at the former Sparrows Point Steel site , and the Western Telephone Plant manufacturing job site which were shuttered because all of the damn jobs were shipped over seas, because of the "trade deals" the city wouldn't have all of these vacant homes and this blight.

So to create jobs you are going to demolish the houses when all the jobs left town for parts unknown and then your going to take bond money to build what, for the corporate developers who gave you money in your last campaign, are you going to pull a republican Giuliani, look at what he did with housing in New York ------------------you should be demanding that manufacturing jobs be brought back into the Charm City, which can put people back to work, so that if you demolish these "homes" and replace them with "homes" that there are jobs to sustain the tax base.

What is your jobs plan--------------------damn near everyone commutes to or near Washington, because there are hardly any middle class jobs in Baltimore

So your going to go into the bond market, borrow money to up grade exactly what, build more sky scrapers-------------oh boy, this is going to bring in more affordable housing with long term jobs ---- yeah right, people that can't afford to live in Washington are going to move to Baltimore

These 'trade deals" created this mess through out the entire country, it's just like a hamsters on the wheel




Honk-------------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016

romanic

(2,841 posts)
9. Blight removal is never a bad thing.
Wed Jan 6, 2016, 01:40 AM
Jan 2016

But leaving the land to greedy developers with no resident input or just leaving barren land for outsiders to dump thier tires certaintly is.

LuckyLib

(6,814 posts)
10. David Simon, creator of The Wire, has several interesting things to say about
Wed Jan 6, 2016, 01:59 AM
Jan 2016

Baltimore and the reality of the struggling African American population, in light of systemic institutional racism:

https://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/simon_4_1_11/

Jobs, education, jobs, education, housing, jobs. That, and decriminalizing drug use/abuse. Otherwise, the biggest economic game in town is the criminal drug enterprise.

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