Doing battle for Hampden home

I wonder if they would let this happen in Roland park. Were si the Mayor and her tough stance on violent youths.
Oh I forgot she doesn't have one. it is probably the residents fault for confronting them. just liek the teachers in school. B-more is a cess pool of thugs and wanta a bees

I live in Brooklyn, and someone would step up and do something about the terrible crack problem we have on 6th street and the area in and surrounding the Brooklyn Homes projects. We moved into a house on my old street (and block!) Doris Ave., and we're subject to teenagers and young adults constantly standing in the streets, trying to wave down potential customers every time we have to drive home from either work or grandma's. And it's so obvious it's sickening that it's happening in broad daylight, directly across the street from what I thought was a mini city police station located in the Brooklyn Apartments. Any time of day, in any kind of weather, they're out there. The city has added those police patrol camera's on so many corners around this area, I'm just wondering why it's taking so long to add one there. I commend this woman for taking things into her own hand and getting something done about the crime. Unfortunately, having a 2 year old doesn't afford me much time to devote to community projects, and we've decided to move back to the county to get away from this mess. Good riddance to Brooklyn.

Elissa Strati needs to get her facts straight. The only "boarded up storefronts" on 36th Street were a few windows that were broken at the old G.C Murphy store. 36th Street may not have had coffee shops, art galleries and antique stores but it was not as bad as her comment makes it seem.
As for the idiots that used to hang on 36th Street all that happened to them was that they moved not just into the park on Elm Ave, but also the park on Keswick Rd and in the park on Beech Ave.

These kids and their families have been in Hampden a lot longer than these yuppies. I don't know what rock Joy was hiding under when she decided to buy her house, but this is Hampden. Get used to it. Or move. There are plenty of West Baltimore families who would give anything to live in a neighborhood where all they have to worry about is someone peeing in a park. She needs some street smarts. Keep your head down, your gaze averted and mind your own business and no one will bother you.

Lisa--it's pretty clear that Joy was living in Hampden before she bought her house. But she was living in a neighborhood where people knew each other and watched out for neighbors.

I just moved to Baltimore from the midwest and have been pleasantly surprised by how friendly folks are here. Improving your neighborhood--not by gentrification but by knowing your neighbors--shouldn't be looked at as a bad thing, should it?

Lisa wrote:

These kids and their families have been in Hampden a lot longer than these yuppies. I don't know what rock Joy was hiding under when she decided to buy her house, but this is Hampden. Get used to it. Or move. There are plenty of West Baltimore families who would give anything to live in a neighborhood where all they have to worry about is someone peeing in a park. She needs some street smarts. Keep your head down, your gaze averted and mind your own business and no one will bother you.

So, by your logic, we should just allow areas such as Hampden to turn into full-fledged ghettoes.

And I love your pacifist version of "street smarts"; let me tell you this - it's those wanna-be thugs that better keep their heads down and gaze averted when I'm walking down the street. They should hang their heads in shame for being the shiftless, ignorant, disrespectful children that they are.

I don't care how long their families have lived there; if the parents can't keep their kids under control, then people like Joy and I will; or, the parents can pack up and move on to the next craphole where people don't care about where they live.

How can BCPD Official's claim it's not a priority? You nip it now or it turns into the Baltimore City Public School System behavior situation. With all of their disciplinary problems and no answer except to ask for help from the community. Well here the community is doing their best, so where's the City? Time for Mayor Dixon to turn the rhetoric into some tangible action.

I meant to mention this before, but I think that perhaps it's time to start a neighborhood watch organization and begin connecting with the neighbors--and not just the folks right next door. The entire Hampden neighborhood should organize park clean up days and neighborhood events in the park, too.

MarkP wrote:

Elissa Strati needs to get her facts straight. The only "boarded up storefronts" on 36th Street were a few windows that were broken at the old G.C Murphy store.

Mark, let me just point out that the old G.C. Murphy store is now Avenue Antiques. Six years ago, when we began renovating, there were a lot of vacant and underutilized areas on The Avenue. Naturally the reporter severely truncated my comments to fit available space. Also not included in the article were mentions of activities of the Hampden Community Council and Hampden Village Merchants Association, which have also pushed for increased police presence.

With regard to your "neighborhood watch" idea, I would strongly recommend you join and participate in the HCC which would most likely back you in organizing.

Lisa,
Those "yuppies" (and most people here work in the city and are professionals so I guess you hate them because they're under 50?) are not only keeping your house's value, but they tend to be good neighbors. And since you live in Timonium I don't see how you're in a position to judge the situation here in Hampden.

I think Lisa needs a quick education in what appropriate behavior in any civilized society entails. I live on Elm and deal with this band of teenagers on a daily basis. They are in my eyes the biggest detriment to this neighborhood. They leave a trail of trash(which I pick up weekly) and having to listen to their verbal noise pollution causes me to keep my front windows shut. I realize the reasons for their behavior run deep and it's a cycle that someday will hopefully be broken but the sight of so many teeneage girls pushing baby carriages around isn't encouraging. I applaud the moxey of Joy. We need more residents in this community similar to her.

I commend this gal, I've tried myself to thwart the efforts of the drug dealing teens in my area of Hampden. I've called the police on numerous occasions, never having an officer show up. On one Occasion the officer on duty told me he was waiting for a slice of pizza down at Angelo's! I was talking to this officer on the phone watching a drug deal go down in a car right in front of my eyes, a bust couldn't have been much easier then that. He never came by. These teens think they're inner city thugs? Let's put them in a paddy wagon and take them down to a real rough neighborhood on the east or west side and see just how tough they are. Why in the world do teens today want to emmulate the worst society has to offer! I don't care that they are third generation Hampdenites. Have we not all seen Aubrey Bodine photo's of Hampden in the past? When did the people of this neighborhood take such a dive? The only way to get rid of this trash is to price them out of the area, and believe me I have no remorse about this. On a side note, has anyone ever taken a look at the Falls Road Laundromat? It looks more like a meth den or a prostitution ring.

Lisa, have you ever met people who have lived in Hampden for generations who take pride in their neighborhood and community? I have met many long time residents who also think that there is a serious problem with the some of the youth and are just as frustrated as “yuppies” like me. I suppose I am a “yuppie” because am new, under 40, work, and don’t want to divert my eyes when I pass thugs on the street…which is crazy to me when I grew up in a neighborhood much like Hampden in a proudly blue collar, Union family. Attitudes like yours sadden me. I applaud Joy for having the courage to stare these kids and the city straight in their eyes.

Great article about Hampden, I applaud Joy for her continuous work in Hampden. I know that i've been confronted by these white trash kids many times, they bring down the neighborhood. It seems like the teenage girls are the worst of the group, very aggressive. I've stood my ground when they approached and they quickly realized I wasn't one to be messed w/....Just keep fighting the fight Joy.
And Lisa, your comments were just silly. Avert your eyes? Yeah, that's the key.

thanks for you comments positive and negative!

glad that so many can see past the "yuppie and gentrification classification" and see the problem and potential for progress.

cheers!

I have heard from many old time Hampdenites that lower Elm has ALWAYS had a "problem".
They don't like it any more than the people who have moved here recently. Old timers in Hampden don't like graffiti and "potty mouth", drug dealing and lawlessness that these teens (and preteens) have done.
Certain members of the Neighborhood Community Association have made it a political "wedge issue" between new residents and old residents, but if you ask the vast majority of the old residents, they think these kids are a major problem.

'The term yuppie (short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile professional") refers to a market segment whose consumers are characterized as self-reliant, financially secure individualists.'
When did self reliance and financial security become a bad thing? If it's an option between this and wearing jean short down to my ankles, white T-shirt that looks much like a womans nightgown, some kind of horendous looking nikes, tatoos, bad teeth, poor english, drug & alcohol addicted, scratch off playing,disrespectful thug ..... um, well, I choose YUPPIE! Enjoy Honfest tomorrow Joy, hopefully you'll get a day of peace while these punks make their way up to the avenue to drink, swear, yell, fight and steel. I feel your pain and wish there were more I could do about it. It's like Death Wish 3 w/ Charles Bronson, only there is no Bronson to clean up the trash!

I applaud Ms. Shushinsky for working to take back her block. Mayor Dixon has long been saying that it is up to all of us as residents to make our streets safer and our blocks places where we feel safe to live and play.

However, one of the things that has to happen to make our streets safer is programming that targets at risk children who can turn into menacing teenagers. Lack of "something to do" and positive reinforcement, as well as lack of parental involvement and poverty all lend to young people terrorizing neighborhood residents--and it isn't a "hip-hop" thing.

As an urban planner, I'm often upset by the fact that gentrification, the term at least, pits old neighbors against new. But the truth is, to revitalize a neighborhood a community needs reinvigorated interest. In one way, it raises property taxes, in another it raises value, makes your community safer, and brings in new services.

The problem, oft times, in other cities is that new residents treat old residents like "its time for you to get your crap and go." And from my little bit of time here in Baltimore, it seems like new residents are interested in not only protecting their investment but being a good neighbor.

Clearly, Joy is a good neighbor.

Stating that "gentrification...has had beneficial effects" such as "an eclectic mix of stores on West 36th Street." is a dubious point at best and shows some of the disconect of the new residents with the neighborhood they are moving in to.

Yes, now in hampden I can walk to several stores to purchase scented lotions, crab magnets and ceramic gegaws of all sorts, but I have to get the bus to buy socks and underwear.

There are two sides to this gentrification issue. It aint all wonderful. What some new 28 year old resident who can shell out $200,000 to fill a house with marble bars considers "Nicing" up the place may not be the same ideas put forward by others.