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June 2008
Parking in Butchers Hill is sort of like the weather - everybody talks about it but nobody does anything about it. Hopefully 2008 will be the year that changes that. All of us know that it keeps getting more difficult to find a parking place these days and there are many theories as to the causes. At our monthly June meeting we’ll have an open discussion about causes and solutions and give you as many facts as possible about Angle Parking and Residential Permit Parking (“RPP”). The underlying purpose of all this is to give everybody in Butchers Hill enough information to enable you to “vote” for angle parking and/or RPP by signing a petition for or against by declining to sign. Bring your questions, express your opinions, and most important, be there to learn the facts. We’ll also have Dave Holmes stop by with an update on plans for the empty lots west of Washington St just below Hopkins. He recently signed an agreement with a new partner and hopes to begin work by next Spring. I’m actually writing this month’s letter from Oslo and Prague where Dee and I are visiting. One can not help but make comparisons between these two very old European cities and Baltimore. The thing that has struck us the most are the differences in the public transporta-tion systems. In both European cities one can get just about anywhere by using the underground, trams, and buses. You buy a relatively inexpensive all inclusive pass and you’re on your way. There is no part of either city that is inaccessible. Best of all, people use public transportation, own fewer cars (therefore requiring fewer parking places), and pollute a lot less. When I compare Baltimore’s version of public transportation, it’s so obvious we’ll never be a truly first class city until the citizens of Baltimore can easily, comfortably, and affordably travel about without cars. -Barry Glassman
GROWING & GLOWING SUNDAY, JUNE 8TH NOON TO 5 If you haven’t done so already, be sure to save Sunday, June 8th for the annual Butchers Hill Garden Tour, again featuring local artists in many of the usually “hidden” gardens of our neighborhood. Joe Rehak has assembled 14 interest-ing gardens, Kini Collins has collected artists from the area to make this Tour a treat for all. The Tour will begin at noon from the White House in Pat-terson Park and will run throughout the afternoon until 5:00 pm. Ticket prices remain $8 in advance of tour day and $10 on the day of the event. Advance tickets will be available at the Butchers Hill monthly meeting and later at The Friends of Patterson Park, Coldwell Banker and Long & Foster in Fells Point, and AKA Studio at 2823 O’Donnell St. near Canton Square. 2008 SAVE THE DATES!
SPRING FLEA MARKET St. Andrew's Orthodox Church, corner of Chester and Lombard, will be having their annual Spring Flea Market on Friday, May 30th, and Saturday, May 31st, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Clothing, white elephant items, kitchen appliances, jew-elry, books, toys, furniture, and other items will be avail-able for purchase. A bake sale will also be held where refreshments such as pieroghi, stuffed cabbages and hot dogs will be available for a nominal charge. All neighbors are welcome! BHA COMMITTEES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS
BUTCHERS HILL GENERAL MEETING, WEDNESDAY JUNE 4TH REDEDICATION OF HALCOTT SQUARE, SATURDAY, JUNE 28TH, 1-5 P.M. Butchers Hillers! Please join us on Saturday, June 28th, from 1 to 5, for a rededication of Charles M. Halcott Square (100 block S. Duncan Street), 31 years to the day after the park was first dedicated. The park has been spruced up in the past two years with new benches, repaired brickwork, and other improvements, thanks to grants from the Parks & People Foundation with matching funds from the Butchers Hill Association, and to the volunteer work of neighbors who scraped, primed, and repainted all the fencing. Refreshments will be provided. Come and celebrate our beautiful community asset! 
A piece from the News American for Wednesday, June 29, 1977 details the original dedication: "A Dream Park Rises From Rubble— East Baltimore's newest park has risen from the rubble of six rowhouses to become a focal point for children and senior citizens. At a dedication ceremony Tuesday [June 28, 1977] the Charles M. Halcott Square was called a memorial to the neighborhood activist who led a fight to improve community conditions. Halcott, who died in May 1974 led a one-man campaign to have unsightly and arson-prone buildings torn down. After his death, his wife Mary kept up the battle until the government heard and responded to the Halcott family pleas. His grandson, Charles M. Halcott 3d, cut a ribbon to open the brick-paved and landscape-filled plaza in the 100 block S. Duncan St. . . ." According to a June 1977 SECO news item, "Over one hundred neighbors and friends attended the festivities which marked the change of an area from a row of vacant, oft-burned buildings to an intimate, "passive park" designed primarily for seniors or parents with babes in arms. [. . . ] Mary Halcott summed up the event this way. We worked and fought hard to create this park. It now belongs to the neighborhood." The SECO News ran this photo of Mary Halcott at a Brick Breaking Ceremony held on January 22, 1976. Mary, armed with a sledge hammer, broke the first brick of the buildings to be leveled. —Steve Young. BHA SPRING FLEA MARKET A HUGE SUCCESS! Celebrating the wins is something that is done far too rarely. The Butchers Hill Flea Market on May 17th in Patterson Park was an event to celebrate: close to 150 vendors; a beautiful day; great music, food, and grill; and bargains making happy buyers and sellers; plus 161 folks visited the Pagoda in 2 hours. Volunteers make all our events, like the Flea Market, possi-ble. For only the second time, we postponed the event to the rain date and still the volunteers responded. SPECIAL THANKS TO: the Friends of Patterson Park (Tim Almaguer and staff), the Park Rangers, Ronnie Daniels and his Park maintenance crew, Santoni’s grocery store, Paul Snyder Jazz Trio, Leslie for the creative flair behind the posters and postcards, Lynn on mass emails and communication, and Rick on print ads round out our publicity, Bev handled money and kept vendors straight through all of the questions and demands for the “perfect” spot, Goodwill hauled a semi trailer and Clint, Mike, Sandy and Ray disposed of left items. The Butchers Hill Booth (funds go to our local schools) raised $500 ($200 better than in prior years) thanks to Carolyn, Ann, Jo, Susan, Liz, Liz, Ann, Martha, Carolyn, Willard and Tish – and to those of you who donated goods. The Food Booth workers opened early and sold more thanks to: Beth, Lynn, Bill, Larry Bond of BOND-doggies Caterers, Kathy, Cheryl & Tom, Ray, Tammy, Shlomi & Kaya, Craig, Emily, Ed, Larry and Kate. The Set Up crew: Ray, Butch, Tom, John and Les managed getting vendors in place. The tear down crew who miraculously showed up at the end of the day were truly appreciated by those of us who were into our 8th, 9th or 10th hours. Virgil and Kathleen helped with vendor surveys and cleanup. Russel, Tavon, Joseph and Jordan helped all day, as did the Flea Market Committee: Rick (created the map, walked and marked the spaces and talked to all the vendors), Beth & Lynn the organizational wizards, Sue, Ray, Bill and Sandy who did whatever they were called upon to do. And to anyone I’ve missed – THANKS. Tori, Flea Market Committee Chair COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE: Streetscape Committee seeking:
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: GET READY TO PARTY! Executive Committee seeking volunteers to help with the Potluck Picnic Wednesday, July 9th in Holcott Square (formerly Duncan St. Park). Help needed with planning, setup, grilling, beverages, and cleanup. All help appreciated. Contact Barry Glassman. SCHOOL 27 UPDATE: Last day of school for Baltimore City School students is Thursday, June 12th. Summer school will be held at our school for 27's students as well as students from William Paca as their building undergoes renovation. Summer school will be in session for half days from June 26th to July 25th. Butchers Hill Association General Meeting Notes
ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT St. Andrew’s Orthodox Church is having their 5th annual Golf Tournament on Friday, June 20th at The Wetlands Golf Club in Aberdeen, MD. Registration deadline is June 13th, fee of $95 includes 18 holes of golf, with cart, bag lunch, bucket of balls to practice on driving range, hotdogs & kielbasa at the turn, all day drinks: water, soda and beer, banquet dinner during awards ceremony. If you would like to bring a foursome please let us know as soon as you can. For further information, registration or sponsorship please contact Yuriy Dzambosow at yuriyd@comcast.net. ESTATE SALE I have sold my house at 2109 E. Baltimore Street and have household items for sale as well as a few pieces of victorian furniture. Sale hours are from 9am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, June 7th and 8th. > Reasonable offers welcome. COMMUNITY DUMPSTER, SATURDAY, June 7th, Unit Block N. Collington Ave.. 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 generally arrives around 10 AM and leaves around 2 PM. Please use the open end of the dumpster to walk your items inside. Do NOT throw over the side. There will generally be people inside the dumpster. Butchers Hill needs and wants YOU! Membership counts. In a Democracy many voices count. Add your voice, be heard, be represented! It’s June! 6 months into 2008! Do it NOW!!!
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