East Baltimore neighborhood holds rally to call out negligent developers

BALTIMORE — Tuesday night a group was out in East Baltimore with a message for negligent developers.

You are out of time to do what you said you were going to do.

For years vacant buildings and lots have plagued the on the 2200 block of North Covington and surrounding areas.

The hands that can fix the problems always seem to be tied so the community is out raising their voice.

Munir Bahar, the owner and founder of COR Health Institute, organized the Rise Up Rally.

“We have a specific demand today that we want Ujima Developers LLC. A developer who owns several properties in the 2200 block of Chase Street we want them out of our neighborhood.”

Kelli Redmond-Bagby is opening a juice bar in this neighborhood.

“I’m looking to open that next year,” Redmond-Bagby said. “With this rally it helps because when you have properties that are falling apart and developers that don’t care it can effect my business.”

Even the developers that are doing it right and fixing these houses up and trying to sell them, are having difficult time.

You’ve got a buyer that comes by and sees a boarded up window and an abandoned building next door.

The first thing they think is that they will have water rats and everything else that comes with having an abandoned building right next door.

“I live directly next door to a vacant home,” said Crystal West. “It’s effecting me, the trees it’s wide open in the back. The trash it’s deplorable. I’ve sent multiple emails to the city this past year. I’ve been getting a response but it hasn’t been the response that I should’ve gotten.”

Morgan Wright is a veteran who says these vacants have a direct correlation to the urban decay and blight that leads to crime and PTSD for young people in the neighborhoods.

“They have veterans courts and things that take into consideration PTSD and the trauma and the stuff we go through,” West said. “The death, the destruction the war, that stuff is going on here.”

For now these homes will stay Eyesores and these people will have to be reminded of that everyday.

Hoping the people who can do something finally do.