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October 2008
We try to balance our monthly meetings between fun things and informational agendas. I think this month qualifies as Great Fun - it’s our tenth annual Artists Night. We’ll be featuring four area artists and will have a segment about how and where you may collect the work of local artists. You can expect another enjoyable evening, courtesy of Terri and Howie Ehrenfeld. Thank You! Jack Davis for putting together the list of empty tree pits. Thanks to his persistence, the City Forestry Department has promised us 21 new trees this fall. Of course, neither Jack nor I can promise the City will come through, but we are both very optimistic. And if that were not enough, Jack has also volunteered to get the necessary permission forms signed. Thank You! To the 30 people helping out at the September Flea Market, the 24 people out on the streets with their clipboards doing the parking petition surveys and Rob Steinberg, brand new to the neighborhood, who has volunteered to chair the Streetscape Committee, replacing Connie Brines who sadly is moving away, and who has done a wonderful job in her years of service for Butchers Hill. Speaking of volunteering.... please see the House Tour article for volunteer opportunities. In addition to making a valuable contribution to one of our most important events, you’ll get to attend one of Butchers Hill biggest parties afterwards. The Homeless Shelter is still scheduled to close by October 31st, although they now expect it to close even earlier as the new shelter construction is ahead of schedule. I wish I could give an update on our parking petitions, but I haven’t gotten all the petitions back at this writing. I can tell you that Fells Prospect to the South have voted for reverse angle parking from Pratt to Fleet on Chester and Collington, as well as from Broadway to Patterson Park, on Gough Street. You should have received your packet from CHAP asking you to vote yes or no on giving all of Butchers Hill a Local Historic District Designation. Please read through the literature carefully and make an informed choice. Regardless of your feelings, it is extremely important that you respond. We must speak loudly as a neighborhood that cares. See the article on p.3 by Virgil Bartram, Chairman of the BH Land Use committee. You may have heard that the city owned empty lots at 2101/3 E Fairmount Ave were recently cleared of weeds and the fence torn down. I notified the City that we would like some disposition as soon as possible on the lots so they don’t sit empty as a magnet for trash and nefarious activities. A builder had already sent in an unsolicited request and the City opened the process for disposal of the property. Although the Butchers Hill Association will not be able to select the winning bidder, I have been assured that anybody bidding will require a letter of support from us. All requests will be reviewed by the Executive Committee and Land Use Committee as to appropriateness for our community. If you, or anybody you know is interested in bidding on and developing the property, please contact me at bglassma@verizon.net and I will send out the appropriate forms and contact information. THIS JUST IN! The Johns Hopkins "Live Near Your Work" program is expanding its boundaries and its budget and we are told it now includes Butchers Hill. Hopkins employees could be eligible for as much as $17,000 toward the purchase of a home in Baltimore City. For more information, call the Office of WorkLife and Engagement, 443-997-7000.
-Barry Glassman
BUTCHERS HILL 2008 Here’s your chance to see what’s behind that beautiful door across the street and maybe get some new decorating ideas, or thoughts on how to make row house spaces work. There will be large and small homes, elegant and cozy places, from South Patterson Park Ave. to North Washington St. Tickets, Posters, Cards and house sitting opportunities all at the October 1st meeting! Tickets are $12 before October 12th and can be bought at either the BHA General Meeting or at our neighborhood bed & breakfast, The Blue Door, 2023 E. Baltimore St. You can help promote the house tour to friends, and/or at your workplace, with posters and cards available at the BHA meeting too. On the day of the tour tickets are $15 and will only be available at the White House in Patterson Park, from noon-5. We still have openings for house sitters. Please sign up at the meeting, or contact Sue Noonan (410-522-6773) Tbolita@erols.com There are 2 shifts to choose from and you will still have time to go on the house tour FREE.
2008 SAVE THE DATE! Butchers Hill will hold the Fall Clean Up on Saturday, October 11th. Plan to spend some time between 10 and 12 to greet your neighbors and make sure your block is neat and clean for the House Tour. Don’t forget the alleys! City-sanctioned brown bags will be available by 10:00 am at the major corners. The city will be providing a special pickup for these bags. BHA COMMITTEES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS
BUTCHERS HILL GENERAL MEETING, OCTOBER 1ST
Meeting: 7:00 PM St. Andrew's Church hall, Chester & Lombard. Contact
Barry Glassman. CHAP FORMS ARE ARRIVING IN MAILBOXES Some thoughts to consider: Until 2008, Butchers Hill has been lucky that we have not seen any over-the-top renovations that have occurred in some area neighborhoods. I'm talking about work done by a few out-of-town investors who make major changes to the fronts of row houses without any sensitivity to the design of the original house or the houses around them. You have probably seen renovations where entire new brick fronts are added, and the large first floor window is replaced by a bathroom-sized window set way above the other windows in the block, or a third floor is added, and again small, out of character windows are placed in that addition. Just recently, houses in Butchers Hill have been renovated in this fashion on north Patterson Park Avenue. Seven alley houses on North Duncan Street have been changed by installing cement siding over top of brick front walls. Although Butchers Hill has Neighborhood Development Guidelines, they can only be applied to renovations that require a zoning appeal. The only houses in our neighborhood that are protected from drastic and sometimes irreversible changes are the houses in the three CHAP historic blocks. Last year, at a Butchers Hill meeting, members voted unanimously to ask the City to start a process where letters will be mailed to every home owner in order to vote to expand the current CHAP district. This recent construction is a good example as to why the Butchers Hill Land Use Committee is recommending this CHAP expansion. - Virgil Bartram, Chair of the Butchers Hill Land Use Committee
DON’T INVITE TROUBLE: During September we have had an unusually large number of house break-ins. By the time you get this newsletter the thief or thieves will likely be caught. However it is troubling that a number may have been prevented by being sure you have secure locks on your windows and deadbolt locks on your doors. It is also good to leave a radio on while you are away and be sure to keep an eye on your neighbor’s property and report anything suspicious. See Crime Committee note on p. 2. COMMUNITY ENJOYS FLEA MARKET: “DAY IN THE PARK LIKE NO OTHER” After a rainy Friday, Tori called it perfectly (again) and a “last day of summer” found great food grilled by Bondoggies caterer, mellow jazz by the Paul Snyder Trio and opportunities to “recycle” gently owned items to bargain shoppers. The Butchers Hill Flea Market booth proceeds benefit our two schools, thanks to Carolyn, Jo, Ann, Bob and Liz. The set up crew: Butch, Carol, Ray, James and Tom got everyone in place, and Derek Miller’s volunteers from Gallery Church and Mark and Nancy made break down and cleanup much easier. Volunteers at the food booth: Beth, Lynn, Roman, Dave, Bill, Kathy, Emily, Tammy, Barry, Dee, Cate, Kini, Karen, Don, Tom, Ray, Larry and Craig kept everyone fed and happy. It could not have happened without the support from the Friends of Patterson Park, Ronnie Daniels and his park maintenance crew and Santoni’s delivery service. - Sandy Sales REGISTER TO VOTE HERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD:
Visit our website for complete General Meeting notes,
newsletters, “moving in”
information, BH history,
BH Artists, and so much more at COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD ~ NEIGHBORHOOD HAPPENINGS!~ BALTIMORE DOWNTOWN FAMILY ALLIANCE UPCOMING EVENTS: Children’s Autumn Festival Oct. 4th 10-2pm, School Fair Oct. 18th Federal Hill 9am-noon. Visit local Pre-Schools, Daycares, and Public Schools. For more information see: www.dbfam.org FELLS POINT FUN FESTIVAL: Oct. 4th & 5th, 11am-7pm. For more information: www.fellspoint.us (Expect overflow parking to affect Butchers Hill) ~ OCTOBER IN PATTERSON PARK~ Youth Volunteer Day, Oct. 4th Audubon leading environmental activity, snack. Boat Lake 9-11am FREE Lantern Making Workshop, Oct. 12th & 19th. 3134 Eastern Avenue. FREE Registration 410-276-1651 Advanced Lantern Making, Oct. 12th 2-5pm. $10 Great Halloween Lantern Parade, Oct. 25th, will be held at Pulaski Monument this year to accommodate the growing crowd, 7pm, ghost town, goodies and monster raising party. For more info: Friends@pattersonpark.com ~ MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR BARC'S BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR!~ The 4th Annual BARCStoberfest Fundraiser BARCStoberfest is coming! The 4th annual BARCStoberfest fundraiser will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2008 in Patterson Park (rain date is 10/19/08). This festival is a fun-filled, day-long event for the whole family – and the family pet! BARCStoberfest will feature great activities, pet contests, entertainment, demonstrations and new this year – the Strut Your Mutt Walk. It's a true community event that brings awareness to the causes of animal homelessness, educates the public about animal welfare, and raises money to support BARCS. www.baltimoreanimalshelter.org The City of Baltimore is holding the fall Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Days on Saturday, Oct. 25th 9-3 and Sunday Oct. 26th 11-4 at the Polytechnic Institute, Cold Spring Lane and Falls Road. This gives you an opportunity to rid your homes, basements, garages, and storage sheds of unwanted hazardous materials, including paint, bleach, pesticides, herbicides, car and household batteries, propane tanks, drain cleaner, gasoline, and many other items. Be prepared to show proof of city residency. ST. ANDREW’S FALL FLEA MARKET OCT. 17/18 St. Andrew's Orthodox Church, corner of Chester and Lombard, will be having our annual Fall Flea Market on Friday, October 17th, and Saturday, October 18th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Clothing, white elephant items, kitchen appliances, jewelry, books, toys, furniture, and other items will be available for purchase. A bake sale will also be held, and refreshments such as pieroghi, stuffed cabbages, home made soup and hot dogs will be available for a nominal charge. All of our neighbors are welcome! BEWARE OF MORTGAGE RESCUE STRATEGIES THAT SOUND TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE Consumer Credit Counseling Service of MD & DE, Inc. (CCCS) is an accredited nonprofit agency that is dedicated to helping individuals and families resolve their financial problems and promoting the wise use of credit through education and confidential budget and money management counseling. Maryland State License #4-01. Contact: Nancy Stark, 410-357-0614, nstark@mind2medias.com DUMPSTER NEWS FLASH... Due to cost and lack of filled dumpsters, starting in 2009 neighborhood associations will only be allowed 4 dumpsters per year. MOVING SALE: regular. & sectional sofas, 4 poster bed, chairs, tables, rugs. Great shape & good prices. Can email pictures. Cheryl 410-342-5912 9am-6pm, or cherylatkins7@comcast.net.
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