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That reminds me of a passage in "Homicide: A Year On the Killing Streets". A homicide detective is asking a patrol policeman about the residents of the four houses on the corners of an intersection.
Detective: Who lives in that house over there?
Patrolman: A bunch of winos.
Detective: How about that house?
Patrolman: A bunch of junkies.
Detective: That house?
Patrolman: Winos and junkies.
Detective: That house?
Patrolman: You know, I think some real people live there.
Right thats the problem.. at certain times the "real people" stand out at Lex Market because there are so many of the other "characters" and THAT is part of the problem......
I can't even stand in front of Lexington Market with a nice business suit on anymore.
"Oh, you think you're better than us...yadayada ying yang!"
Or.. you will get pan handled to death.... I have had one pan handler hear me tell another that I didnt have any spare change and yet he came up and asked me anyway... So basically a line formed near my table in the food court of folks asking me for change.. I guess they all live by the mantra.. persistance beats resistance...
I did see a guy one time ask a lady "are going to eat that????" and basically had is crusty finger a half an inch from the remaining portion of her deli sandwich and saliva and crumbs dripped from his beard a good 12 inches above her plate. She pushed the plate away and the guy promptly scarfed it down without so much of a "thank you" and was well on his way to his next stop before he fully finished.
Did I feel sorry for the guy..given the fact he was obviously hungry? Yes.. Do I approve with how he went about getting something to eat by practically strong arming.. or in this case.. strong finger the woman out of her food? No....
I don't get Lexington Market. It's the one place I just don't understand since moving here. It's right there a short walk from downtown in what should be prime real estate - it even has a train stop! - yet the whole area is sketchy as hell. And it's supposed to be some kind of famous landmark tourist destination kind of place? Why was it allowed to become what it is? It's all so weird.
I don't get Lexington Market. It's the one place I just don't understand since moving here. It's right there a short walk from downtown in what should be prime real estate - it even has a train stop! - yet the whole area is sketchy as hell. And it's supposed to be some kind of famous landmark tourist destination kind of place? Why was it allowed to become what it is? It's all so weird.
Keep in mind that because it is on a train line and a major bus transfer point that makes it a destination for all walks of life especially from old West Baltimore.. where it serves as the de facto "downtown" for many low income neighborhoods. Produce, Clothing/Retail Stores, Medical Offices, and the like are all within a quick walk thus attracting a wide range of people. Plus people attract more people likely of the same ilk and reasons for being present.. hence why the pill pushers find a huge market for peddling their wares especially since they can obtain them (often legally) from the medical offices that surround the area. All of those factors push most people not of the same ilk out of the area or since they have other options and likely a car.. they can CHOOSE to go elsewhere. Many of these folks are not so fortunate and thus have to put up with some of the near do wells that hang out there.. even if they are not part of their illicit activities.....
I sat back and asked myself.. 'why would I go to Lexington Market?' I had to force myself to think of reasons to do so.. and I didnt get off of one had and each reason was a stretch.. The market is not historic looking per se, the vendors other than a very few are not the types that would make me wake up on a Saturday morning and jump on the train or drive down there to run through the crowds described above to patronize them.. I still find myself going there occasionally if anything just to be supportive of the notion that I am contributing to a part of the City's History/Heritage... but I and maybe some others on this Board that may feel the same way.... are likely in the minority. Therefore; they not only have to make it SAFER (or feel that way) but they need some vendors that are unique and have a broad customer base that wouldnt mind running the gauntlet to get in there AND new businesses that would attract new Customers.. The more of the Regional draw it has the more likely it is that the drug activity will get 'crowded out' since their customers will move away and most law abiding citizens will call the police and/or harass by their presence many pill pusher who can currently blend into the background of all other street activity going on down there.. The market operators and city folks are keenly aware of this.. lets just see if they can pull it off....
Last edited by Woodlands; 04-02-2014 at 08:44 AM..
I've lived here for 7 months now, 4 blocks away from Lexington Market, and I still haven't been. I routinely use the Lexington Market light rail stop, and shop at the Rite Aid on Howard at Lexington on a pretty regular basis. I just haven't felt the need to walk the extra block to the market. Why? Well, I'm not convinced it has much to offer. If I want fast, cheap food for lunch, I'm going to stop by one of the food trucks on Charles at Baltimore. For fresh food, I'm going to Whole Foods or the JFX farmers' market. They might be more expensive some times (though not always, and not for every product), but I know the quality is also good.
In short, I'm less bothered by the people hanging out in and near Lexington Market, and more turned off by the low quality of the offerings. Granted, this is all perception based on word of mouth. Convince me otherwise, and I'll give it a chance.
Keep in mind that because it is on a train line and a major bus transfer point that makes it a destination for all walks of life especially from old West Baltimore.. where it serves as the de facto "downtown" for many low income neighborhoods. Produce, Clothing/Retail Stores, Medical Offices, and the like are all within a quick walk thus attracting a wide range of people. Plus people attract more people likely of the same ilk and reasons for being present.. hence why the pill pushers find a huge market for peddling their wares especially since they can obtain them (often legally) from the medical offices that surround the area. All of those factors push most people not of the same ilk out of the area or since they have other options and likely a car.. they can CHOOSE to go elsewhere. Many of these folks are not so fortunate and thus have to put up with some of the near do wells that hang out there.. even if they are not part of their illicit activities.....
I sat back and asked myself.. 'why would I go to Lexington Market?' I had to force myself to think of reasons to do so.. and I didnt get off of one had and each reason was a stretch.. The market is not historic looking per se, the vendors other than a very few are not the types that would make me wake up on a Saturday morning and jump on the train or drive down there to run through the crowds described above to patronize them.. I still find myself going there occasionally if anything just to be support the notion that I am contributing to a part of the City's History/Heritage... but I and maybe some others on this Board that may feel the same way.... are likely in the minority. Therefore; they not only have to make it SAFER (or feel that way) but they need some vendors that are unique and have a broad customer base that wouldnt mind running the gauntlet to get in there AND new businesses that would attract new Customers.. The more of the Regional draw it has the more likely it is that the drug activity will get 'crowded out' since their customers will move away and most law abiding citizens will call the police and/or harass by their presence many pill pusher who can currently blend into the background of all other street activity going on down there.. The market operators and city folks are keenly aware of this.. lets just see if they can pull it off....
Oh, thank you! THAT makes perfect sense to me. I get it now.
BTW, I grew up in a working class section of Brooklyn that had the same kinds of stores (Rainbow, etc) in it's shopping strip and were frequented by the same folks (not particularly well off black folks), so I am not at all scared or put off by who is walking around. That part actually makes me feel at home. Most people are just trying to do some shopping and are not even thinking about bothering anyone.
What took me back was, the first time I even saw the place, I was riding by with my son on the Light Rail. I knew we'd pass there and I was thinking I'd get out and walk around on the way back. When I saw the people standing in front who were CLEARLY selling something... I mean there were groups of people openly doing it... I thought "What the bloddy hell??!!''. Not to mention people nodding off in corners, clearly on heroin or whatever. There was no way I was browsing with my son in an open air drug market, no matter how much I wanted some fish or wanted to run and see if I could find him a cheap pair of long johns across the street. The whole area just has an air of being totally out of control, which is the part I just didn't get. How all that stuff is allowed to happen in an area tourists might visit was beyond me. I've been in many a low end shopping district and I've never seen that level of We-Don't-Give-A-Crap-What-The-Hell-Goes-On-Here before. There wasn't a cop in sight. And the same thing has been true every time I pass there. It's like no one really cares.
Oh, thank you! THAT makes perfect sense to me. I get it now.
BTW, I grew up in a working class section of Brooklyn that had the same kinds of stores (Rainbow, etc) in it's shopping strip and were frequented by the same folks (not particularly well off black folks), so I am not at all scared or put off by who is walking around. That part actually makes me feel at home. Most people are just trying to do some shopping and are not even thinking about bothering anyone.
What took me back was, the first time I even saw the place, I was riding by with my son on the Light Rail. I knew we'd pass there and I was thinking I'd get out and walk around on the way back. When I saw the people stading in front who were CLEARLY selling something... I mean there were groups of people openly doing it... I thought "What the bloddy hell??!!''. Not to mention people nodding off in corners, clearly on heroin or whatever. There was no way I was browsing with my son in an open air drug market, no matter how much I wanted some fish or wanted to run and see if I could find him a cheap pair of long johns across the street. The whole area just has an air of being toally out of control, which is the part I just didn't get. How all that stuff is allowed to happen in an area tourists might visit was beyond me. I've been in many a low end shopping district before and I've never seen that level of We-Don't-Give-A-Crap-What-The-Hell-Goes-On-Here before. There wasn't a cop in sight. And the same thing has been true every time I pass there. It's like no one really cares.
It's truly a shame to me.
What you have stated is exactly the reason why some folk dont go.. it does have that kind of "lawless out of control.. anything can happen" type of feel...The absence of a visible police presence other than the transit cop sitting in their car nearby (where they cant really see anything) doesnt help....It makes law abiding citizens nervous and empowers criminals. I hate to say it (and or use another Wire parallel) but its like the "Hampsterdam" or whatever it was called when the BPD allowed drugs to be sold in a certain section of town in an effort to corral it away from the more law abiding sections. By informally letting the dealers hang out around Lexington Market.. you keep it away from other places like the Charles Center, Camden Yards, the Inner Harbor, and THE BLOCK (which would be the likely destination of many folks and it would be overrun moreso that it is now) and since that is right outside City Hall.. it would be two black eyes for the City instead of one.
I think that will slowly change now that the Westside Initiative is inching forward.. When all those new condos/apartments go up and the renovations of the old office buildings into apartments are completed.. and there are several hundred in the works.. Many middle and upper income yuppies.. may (or may not) find their way over to Lexington Market and make it more like Reading Terminal in Philly. My guess that the owners of the Market see this opportunity to capture this population and make them customers.. but they have got to get it cleaned up before they move into these new developments or risk having them write it off like many other residents have.....
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