Solutions to make Baltimore better? (real estate, transfer, landlords)

[emmiesix]

Originally Posted by jrh0341

This will probably be a controversial statement but, if Baltimore truly wants to clean up its act, The Block, needs to go. Not saying every club needs to go, but they at least need to be broken up and displaced so that there is not one central, seedy, sketchy, crack hookery strip, running right along the street bearing the city's name.

I agree, and I'm pretty sure that barring a major collapose of the US, in 30 years I'll be telling stories to my kids that they won't BELIEVE about that street. Sometimes I want to just film it because I have a hard time believing B'more street is real.

[B.K.]

Originally Posted by choccity

Drive down St. Paul street early morning to go to work there is no discretion with the transvestite prostitutes, very open.

The cops would walk the working ladies across the street or move them along to the other cops 'area'. Downtown DC is divided by the different wards. I remember living downtown and watching the cops walk the girls to the other side and then other cops walking them back. It still was a lot of arrests, I had a great view of all of it.

Believe it or not, things are better there now than they used to be.
For many years I lived right near the corner of St. Paul and Lanvale, and the tranny and pre-(and/or post-) op "male" sex change prostitutes used to cruise St. Paul from Penn Station to North Ave 24/7. A newly arrived Mexican co-worker of mine was crushed when I told him that the object of his desire, "la chica orientala", was not quite what he thought.
When the City's snow emergency vehicle lot on Hargrove St. was closed and moved (I think to Falls Rd or Sisson St?), there were efforts to remove "the girls" so as not to scare away potential buyers/investors from a new condo development going up. (Honestly tho', that eyesore alone should have been enough to scare most away!)The girls moved alright: half a block East to Calvert Street!

[Woodlands]

I was down at the Power Plant to check out the Beer Garden Down there. I parked near City Hall (for free) and walked across the block to get down to the Plant. I havent WALKED through the Block in a while.. though driven through numberous times.. When I first moved here six years ago.. a friend of mine took me down there for kicks.. for what he called.. "to watch women from Dundalk earn their light bill money" ...a statement which may have some unfortunate truth in it as it is shameful.

The block needs to go... By the time I left the Power Plant every dreg, thug, low life and his brother were down there wandering around like zombies.. The Police had the street blocked off and odd looking "doormen" were hawking "free dances" and "come in a minute" to anyone with a pulse.. Some guy with no legs and one hand bummed a dollar off of a guy and rolled immediately into a strip joint clutching it for dear life...teens were running around like they were at six flags.. BPD allowed their horses to **** up the street which did help some with crowd control ... and junkies were shooting up in the War Plaza underneath the dome of the Center of our City's Government .....Its just sad to see people at their worst and so close to some of the center of government and tourism in our city.


My experience at Power Plant was another story.. Overzealous bouncers beat the crap out of every College Kid from Towson that I saw.. One poor guy just stumbled and threw his cup at the trash can and missed.. The bouncer told him to pick it up.. and before the guy could answer.. his arm was twisted behind his back and he was walking on his tip toes towards the exit..BPD opened the gate for them and the guy was tossed onto the street.. He laid out there in the gutter wallowing in his own juices and street filfth for atleast 10 minutes before being shooed away by BDP.. Just seemed a little use of excessive force.... But he was joined throughout the night by others.. The bouncers were actually having fun and looking for people to toss.. anyway.....back to topic...

[Infinite_heights77]

"The block needs to go... By the time I left the Power Plant every dreg, thug, low life and his brother were down there wandering around like zombies.."

***What time did the Power Plant close with their "roped off" cattle and monkey style behavior? 1 am??!! The block is fine!! One of the last red light districts in America. What needs to be duplicated, is a block type environment for live music, jazz, soul, good hip hop, nice bars, cultural outlets, bookstores and live entertainment venues Ever been to Austin, TX? What about some of that 6th Street flavor? Or south street flavor in Philly?

[Infinite_heights77]

That Power Plant is cornier as a bag of stale Utz potato chips!!! Who did they design that for, 8th graders??!

[santafe400]

That Power Plant is cornier as a bag of stale Utz potato chips!!! Who did they design that for, 8th graders

I agree for the most part, but it is still a decent addition to the downtown bar and restaurant scene. Especially since their is a metro stop directly behind it, it is probably the best example of a mixed use transit oriented development in this town, even though it was never designed or intended as such.

[KLynch10]

It's going to be tough for Baltimore to put an end to crime when criminal after criminal is let off with a 'suspended sentence.' Not sure whey these even exist, but they are crippling our city.

[numbers101]

Totally revamp the culture. It's become the poison of the city. New people and new govt will lead to new investment. What's been happening here and living here......obviously is failure.

[numbers101]

Standing over Federal Hill looking at the city, you realize......it is missing about 20 Skyscrapers! What a pathetic view compared to what it could be. It's a city on a Harbor, c'mon guys. You could Hong Kong this mutha f'er! There should be skyscrapers on Orleans and Fayette from Hopkins to 83! There should be blocks of quality residential and corporate building where Perkins Homes sits. There should be like 8-9 more skyscrapers in current Downtown itself! There should be at least 3-5 buildings over 400 feet built on the immediate west side. A skyline is a big marketing scheme for a city. It's like the physical appearance of a woman before you determine if you want to go talk to her or not.

[picardlx]

Originally Posted by B.K.

the tranny and pre-(and/or post-) op "male" sex change prostitutes

Maybe I'm too old fashioned, but I have no idea what was being communicated here (perhaps to my benefit).

EDIT: Nevermind, now I get it.

My solution for Baltimore: Double the police budget, with half the increased cost funded through raising taxes and the other half by cutting city government spending with nothing being too sacred for the chopping block.