MARCH 1999

President's Message:
BUTCHERS HILL IS HOT!
Talk to any Realtor who knows this area, and you'll hear that available rental units and homes for sale are at all-time lows. The reasons are simple: convenient location, value, friendly neighbors, and an active community association. On this, our twentieth anniversary, we are maintaining the momentum with a number of programs that I hope will generate lots of participation and make Butchers Hill an even more desirable place to live.

In this Newsletter, you'll see a note about our March membership drive-one the top priorities for this year's Executive Committee. If you've never participated in the Butchers Hill Association and its activities, you really have nothing to lose and lots to gain.

At the March General Meeting you'll have a chance to express your views on the existing corner street planters and offer suggestions for beautifying our neighborhood. Our Streetscape Committee has an ambitious agenda for 1999 and would appreciate your input.

Also on the agenda is a presentation on buying and improving property. We'll tell you about some special mortgage programs available just in this area, how to refinance to make home improvements, low cost closing loans, tax incentives, and lots more (all within 30 minutes!). Why not take advantage of these great deals?

As always, there will be an open forum to raise any issue that affects the neighborhood.

--Barry Glassman

It was a different kind of neighborhood . . . back before it was Butchers Hill. More long-term residents, more multi-generational families, more racial and ethnic diversity-and a greater feeling of stability. That's the way long-time residents remember our neighborhood before it had a name or a community association, when it was just a part of East Baltimore near Patterson Park. It made for an interesting mix, a place where neighbor knew neighbor and "everybody minded everybody else's business."

Not that there weren't problems. There was noticeable crime, including gangs, but it somehow seemed less threatening and less random before the current wave of drug-driven criminality. There was also auto racing in the street, an occasional (or not so occasional) escapade by a well-known neighborhood drunk, and mischief by exuberant kids and teenagers. In fact, there was a year or two when a would-be teenage rock group in the neighborhood gave impromptu weekend street concerts on South Collington street, continuing "until they got tired or the police came."

Although many single-family homes were being maintained, a lot of the large houses along the East-West thoroughfares had been broken up into apartments where maintenance was minimal. "Rehabbing" typically meant making a separate unit for another generation of the same family. The large-scale rehabilitation efforts didn't start until the grown children of long-time residents began moving their families out to the suburbs and the "rehabbers" began moving in.

When did the community "officially" change? One neighbor remembers a street party sometime in the late '70s or early '80s when they closed off Baltimore Street to celebrate a Butchers Hill event. "That was some party"-and perhaps the most obvious sign of a new style of neighborhood.

--Rick Gilmour

If you have memories to share of the first 20 years in Butchers Hill - or even before then, contact Rick Gilmour at 410-342-7061.

BHA Committee Chairs, Committee Reports, and March Meetings

EDUCATION:
Co-chairs Carolyn Boitnott (410-522-4991) and George Larsen (410-327-6817).

LAND USE:
Virgil Bartram (410-327-4964).

LEGISLATIVE ISSUES:
Jerry Roberson. (410-563-4736)

MARKETING:
Next Meeting: Tues., March 9th, 7:00 p.m. 2223 E. Pratt St.
Contact: Rick Gilmour (410-342-7061) gilmour@mdo.net.
The Marketing and Membership Committees met jointly to plan the 1999 membership renewal drive and an outreach campaign for new members. Look for announcements soon on how you can help!

MEMBERSHIP:
Jennine Auerbach 410-675-7976 JAuerbach@UBMail.UBalt.edu, Heather Smith 410-675-3939 Heather_Smith@URSCORP.com.
The committee needs volunteers for our NEW MEMBER CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF. On Saturday, March 20, we will meet at 9:30 a.m. at 126 S Chester St. for coffee and bagels. Then we will pair off in teams to knock on doors, distribute information about the Association and solicit new members. We will gather at John Stevens Ltd at 1:00 to review, socialize, and eat. Subsequent door-knocking sessions will take place the third Saturday of every month. Call Jennine or Heather to volunteer or for more information.

STREETSCAPE
Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 9th, 8 p.m., 2128 E. Baltimore Street.
Carol Richman (410-327-0261 mmmount@charm.net) and Steve Young (410-342-3842, young@umbc2.umbc.edu).
We need adoptive parents for the pyracantha shrubs in the street corner planters; see back page. Please keep the gutters on your block swept. You can get brown bags for this from Carol (410-327-0261) or Diane (410-522-9539).

NEWSLETTER:
The deadline for the April Newsletter is Friday, March 26th. Drop off written items at 103 S. Chester St. Contact Steve (410-342-3842, young@umbc2.umbc.edu) (send text only, no formatting).

MARCH BHA GENERAL MEETING
Wednesday, March 3rd.
St. Andrew's Church Hall, corner of Chester & Lombard Streets (entrance on Lombard).
Coffee & cookies, 6:45 p.m. Meeting 7:00 p.m. Contact: Barry Glassman, 410-558-1080, bha@charm.net.

March General Meeting Agenda:

• The Streetscape Committee will lead a discussion on corner planters and other neighborhood beautification issues;
• Tax credits, below market mortgages, affordable renovations, and other special programs available in Butchers Hill;
• Open Forum.

• There was a call for volunteers to serve on the Education Committee.
• A donation of $600 was made to the Education Fund.
• Grant money will be sought to replace the playground equipment in Castle Street Park, recently removed by the city.
• A motion to move the General Meeting time to 7:15 (coffee at 7:00) was defeated; the General Meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. (coffee at 6:45)
• South East Neighborhood Service Center Director Diann Baker, along with other members of the Center, presented information on the services they provide.
• Community Relations officer Milton Corbett (phone: 545-6513) indicated that callers to the police non-emergency 311 number should include their name and phone number, to help in following up and confirming reports.

• The Committee agreed to continue the Corner Planter project; an adoptee program and guidelines are needed.
• A contribution of $100 to the Waterfront Coalition was agreed.
• A contribution from the Education Fund of $800-900 per year was suggested for the Commodore John Rogers Elementary School; the suggestion was forwarded to the Education Committee for review with the school principal.
• On the issue of vacant houses, the Committee agreed to these general guidelines: the Neighborhood Design Center will work with Butchers Hill in finding creative solutions for vacant houses and an application for the disposition of the HABC houses will be submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• The Committee approved the purchase of refrigerator magnets for the Marketing & Membership Committee neighborhood membership canvas on March 20,
• A petty cash fund was approved for committee use.
• A design was approved for a mural for the east wall of the new park at Duncan and Fairmount Streets.

RALPH YOUNG REC CENTER NEWS: ROLLER SKATING, Friday, March 12th, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Each kid needs to bring one adult and each adult needs to bring 1-3 kids. You can bring a family member of a neighbor. Please bring your own skates if you have them! The Rec Center is located behind school #27. You can enter the main door off the parking lot of the Woodbourne Center or the rear door off the school playground on the 2000 block of Fairmount Avenue. For more information, call Carolyn at 522-4991.

ALSO: Mr. Smallwood, our Rec Center director, has reconvened an advisory council for the Center. If you are interested in serving, call Clint Roby at 563-1442.

GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 2nd, is a city holiday. There is no trash pick-up.
El dia 2 de abril VIERNES SANTO es dia feriado.
Por favor no saquen la basura a la calle ese dia.

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

Claw-foot tub (sans feet), suitable for a backyard fish pond, free for removal from my rear yard. Call 732-6396.

S-O-S! - Save Our Shrubs! The pyracantha shrubs in the street corner planters need adoptive parents to water them and give them a little TLC throughout the coming season. Do you have a hose long enough to stretch to a corner? Or if not a hose, at least a bucket and a spigot? Can you tend one or two or four planters? They look really good when they get a little Tender Loving Care. The Streetscape Committee is looking for volunteers to adopt a corner planter. Please call Carol (327-0261) or Steve (342-3842).

POMAH - ROMAN - PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT Come join us at SIMON's PUB for an exhibition of Roman Hnatyshyn's photography. Visit another world as you look through Roman's eyes at everyday life in the Ukraine. Opening Reception: March 1 from 6 -9 p.m. Show will remain on display until March 31.

Art Jewelry Show and Sale Stop by from 3-6 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, to see the wonderful art jewelry of Cheryl Block and visit with your neighbors. Location: Terri Chastain's home at 2113 E. Baltimore Street.

BIG MOVING HOUSE SIDEWALK SALE Saturday, March 13 (Rain date Sunday, March 14) Baby and toddler stuff, Clothes, bric-a-brac and junk. CDs, tapes, records, art stuff, computer items, and books. 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 2129 East Fairmount Ave.

SE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE CENTER
Director: Diann Baker: 410-545-6510
General Information: 410-545-6518
Police, Milton Corbett: 410-545-6513
Housing Inspection: 410-545-6521
Health Department: 410-545-6532
Sanitation Enforcement: 410-545-6515, -6, -7

A Special Thanks to Diann Baker and the NSC, who have really come through for us on some neighborhood problems recently!

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