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June 2006
Well, June is upon us and we are growing in so many ways, from flowers for the Garden Tour this month, potholes in our streets, fundraising for the Mural project, to the website and to the growth of ideas that came from the Southeast Congress last month. Everywhere we look things are moving forward. I want to remind you to get your tickets for the Garden Tour, which is coming up on the 25th. This event, which is not to be missed, features some of our greatest gardens and the work of local artists. If you see a pothole or street-repair issue, please call 311 and report it. They will give you a case number that you need to write down. I have been told by Jim Kraft's office that they have no method of following through on these requests. I will follow up for you if you have the case number. I will contact the mayor's office to make sure that these street repairs are taken care of. Apparently Butchers Hill as whole does not report enough of these problems and we are not getting our share of attention. I want to recognize the incredible job that Remington Nevin has done to get the Betsy Patterson Mural Project off to a great start, and we look forward to the community's continued support. I am sure Napoleon himself would be impressed with the military precision with which this effort is being carried out. If you have not visited the website lately you may be missing something new. We are in the process of making some changes over the next couple of months that will update and create new functionality for the website; stay tuned. One of my tasks for updating the website is to collect recent neighborhood photographs that we can use for the website. So email me your photos. Last month I had the privilege (along with Carolyn Boitnott) of attending the Southeast Congress. This event, facilitated by SECO, was both informative and helpful in sharing ideas and taking action. I attended discussion groups on safer streets and on development. Each community representative took an action plan from the event and mine will be to share successful police actions with the community groups so they can publish this information in their newsletters. So stay tuned. This month's meeting will have a presentation from our membership committee titled "Do you know the history of your house?". I have seen previews and it looks great. Also, we will have an update on the Chapel NDP development. Lastly, we will have Cynthia Fickes, the director of the Hispanic Apostolate Immigration Legal Services, who will speak to us about an idea she and I have for assisting our Hispanic neighbors with job training. I look forward to seeing you all there. -Richard Hackett.
ADVANCE TICKETS: Friends of Patterson Park (White House); Long & Foster Realtors (701 S. Broadway); Coldwell Banker (808 S. Broadway); or at the June 7th BHA Meeting. TOUR STARTS: White House, Patterson Park (E. Lombard St. & S. Patterson Park Ave.) Butchers Hill merchandise will be on sale at the White House from noon to 3. More information: 410-327-1553, 410-522-6773, http://butchershill.org. FALL FLEA MARKET, PATTERSON PARK Volunteers needed to make this event another success; the Flea Market benefits Education Committee work and Community Outreach programs. We need people to work the food booth, direct sellers, clean-up and everything else. Contact Ray or Tori at 410-675-4948. CHAP DISTRICT COMMITTEE We are once again starting to collect signatures for getting all of Butchers Hill recognized as a CHAP District. Volunteers are need to discuss the CHAP program with their neighbors. Please call Ray Hofmann at 410-675-4948 for organizing efforts to begin. Butchers Hill Association Events
BHA COMMITTEES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS
JUNE BUTCHERS HILL GENERAL MEETING AGENDA: Membership Committee Presentation; Chapel NDP Update; Hispanic Apostolate Immigration Legal Services BE INFORMED ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD! For the minutes of the May 3rd BHA General Meeting, prepared by BHA recording secretary Beth Needham, please go to: http://www.butchershill.org/association/minutes.shtml.
SALT BRINGS BOLD, CLEAN FLAVORS TO BUTCHERS HILL 
SALT is one of the newest gems of Butchers Hill. After about 17 months of construction and preparation, Salt opened its doors in mid April. Jason Ambrose (photo, right), owner, chef and Butchers Hill resident, brings his experience and flair to this restaurant that is much more than a neighborhood bar and grille. The name of the restaurant comes from a childhood memory of the first time Jason tasted salt on melon, and how the flavor was affected. The restaurant is full of light from its many windows, where it is easy to spot neighbors passing by. The modern, circular light fixtures in the bar add a fun twist. Exposed brick walls and steel beams contrast the bright blue and green decor. Jason has been in Baltimore for about 8 years and shared his talents with Soigné in Federal Hill South, Henninger's in Fells Point and Simon's of Butchers Hill. Jason opened Salt with the vision of creating a new establishment with a traditional feel. He enjoys being able to create his own menu and come up with unique options. One of the most popular choices so far is the foie gras and sirloin slider burger, an appetizer. As summer's produce ripens, Salt will feature more local, seasonal items. Salt offers an eclectic variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts. Give the duck fat French fries a try for a tasty change on an American staple. In keeping with Baltimore tradition, I suggest the crab and avocado napoleon appetizer with its spicy-sweet notes. Entrees include salmon filet with lump crab, pepper-crusted tuna with seaweed salad, braised lamb stroganoff and more. The duck confit ravioli in mushroom sauce is becoming a neighborhood favorite. Salt offers about a dozen beers and 35-40 wine selections. I recommend the pear cider on tap for a sweet, refreshing summer drink. The bartenders are working on a drink menu, due out soon, just in time for summer happy hours! Many patrons walk to Salt from Fells Point, Canton and Butchers Hill. The restaurant is appealing to people in and out of the city as the word spreads about all that it has to offer. Valet parking may be an option in the future. If you see Jason in the park with his yellow Labradors, be sure to stop and say hi! Salt is located at the corner of 200 S. Collington Street and 2200 E. Pratt Street (at 2127 E. Pratt). It is open Monday 5 - 11 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 5 p.m. - 12, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. - 1 a.m. and closed Sunday. Appetizers and salads range in price from $5 - 14, and entrees range from $16-27. For more information, please call 410-276-5480. -Karen Tong. HOW OBSERVANT ARE YOU? If you notice that trash which has lingered days or weeks past normal collection has disappeared the day the dumpster was scheduled, you are an observant person. It was not magic or the City finally doing its job. Thank the Butchers Hill Association, which is to say your neighbors: Steve, Carolyn, Sandy, and a number of others who pitch in literally and figuratively each month to keep our community clean. The box spring and mattress on Castle, the scattered garbage and dog-poop baggies on Collington, the bag on Collington that was too heavy for regular collection and the 20 banana boxes containing garbage and plastic piled on Fairmount were all "dealt with" this past dumpster day. The Butchers Hill Association schedules the dumpsters so that some time during the year one will be in a block near you. It also mans an observer, so we don't lose the privilege of having a dumpster if illegal items are placed in it, and it sees that the area around it is cleaned, so those who live nearby are not sorry it came. There is a correlation between grime and crime, and the Butchers Hill Association works hard to keep our neighborhood clean-thank it and the volunteers by joining: your $10 goes a long way. -Sandy Sales. COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD BHA STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE REPORT: The Streetscape Committee is hosting a party Saturday, June 10th, from noon to 2 PM in Halcott Square (Duncan Street Park: Duncan Street between Lombard and Pratt) to assemble our neighborhood's newly arrived "Butchers Hill" street signs into their brackets. Come out to help us with this fun work. Drinks, food, and supplies will be provided courtesy of a grant from Banner Neighborhoods. This season's new trees have been planted! Thanks to Arco concrete for the concrete cutting, and to Rebecca Gershenson Smith of Fells Prospect for coordinating efforts this year. The next round of funded plantings is scheduled for November. Tree request forms are due no later than July 1st. Contact Remington Nevin (240) 401-3628 for a form or for more information. The Betsy Patterson Mural Project is off to a great start thanks to the generous donations of local friends. Tremendous thanks go out to FiveStone Properties of the Townes of Butchers Hill development and to the Butchers Hill CDC for their $1,000 donations, and to Schultz Development for its very generous $2,000 donation. With a $7,500 grant from the William G. Baker, Jr. fund and a $1,000 grant from Banner Neighborhoods, we are now half-way to meeting our fundraising goal. Work on the mural depicting the tragic love story of Betsy Patterson (the "Belle of Baltimore") and Jerome Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, will begin in July at our S. Chester Street site following the Garden Tour, while fundraising efforts to complete the project continue through the summer. Be on the lookout for a fundraising flyer. Please consider contributing to this exciting project which will benefit our community for years to come! -Remington Nevin. BUTCHERS HILL ARCHIVES: Sandy Sales (410-558-0149) and Carolyn Boitnott (410-522-4991) have made headway sorting and filing documents and photographs that go back to the late 70's in our neighborhood's history. If you have materials you would like to donate please call one of us. We are temporarily storing the material at School #27 until they are accepted at University of Baltimore archives. NEW BHA MERCHANDISE FOR SALE Our new merchandise was well received at the General Meeting last month. Our shirts, signs, and caps will all be available for sale before and after our June meeting, and at the White House on Sunday, June 25th (the day of our Garden Tour), from 12 to 3. For more information, or to make special arrangements for purchase, please e-mail bhamember@gmail.com or call 410-327-2447. There will be a 50/50 drawing at the June General Meeting. Each attendee will receive a ticket for each dollar placed in the pot. At the end of the evening we will pick one lucky winner who will receive 50% of the pot. The other 50% will be retained by the Butchers Hill Association. Last month Timothy Morris, one of our new neighbors on Lombard Street, won $29! ~JUNE IN PATTERSON PARK~
The full Comprehensive Master Plan for Baltimore City is available on line at www.liveearnplaylearn.com. Hard copies will be available 5/26/06 at every City library, Community Action Center and every City Senior Center. Several full copies will be available for review at the Department of Planning's offices, Benton Bldg, 417 E. Fayette Street, in their library. There will be a public hearing of the Planning Commission on June 15 at 6:30 PM at War Memorial Plaza. Any necessary corrections, additions, and/or changes will be made at that time. All interested parties can direct comments to the Planning Commission before then: City of Baltimore, Department of Planning, 417 E. Fayette St., 8th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. COMMUNITY DUMPSTER, Thursday, June 22nd, unit block of N. Collington Avenue. For neighborhood residents only. No building materials, refrigerators, water heaters, washers, dryers, stoves, batteries, wet paint, automotive parts (including tires and rims), or hazardous materials. The dumpster arrives around 10 AM and leaves around 2 PM. Please fill from the back. The next dumpster is scheduled for Thursday, July 20, 100 block N. Chester St. 1244 |
BHA PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
BUTCHERS HILL GARDEN TOUR