BALTIMORE — We're talkin' trash at Betty Hyatt Park in hopes of getting the green space cleaned up.
Community members tell WMAR-2 News the property at 1710 E. Baltimore Street, which is overseen by Baltimore Recs & Parks, has serious safety and garbage concerns.
"Betty Hyatt would be rolling over in her grave," said Dawn Uncles. "She'd be very disappointed."
The park was dedicated to Hyatt in 1995. However, residents said as of late there have been a lot of problems.
"I’ve been walking through to go around the corner to the office and I’ve seen hypodermic needles," said Uncles. "Who wants their child to play on that? You can see them because they've recently been used."
There's also the problem of overflowing trash, dangerous railings near steps and more.
Denise Bell highlighted the problems when she emailed WMAR.
"We have homeless people stashing bulk trash, play pens, mattresses, stolen supermarket carts and more," Bell wrote. "There are naked people taking bathes in buckets. Now there's cars tearing up the railings as they drive down the stairs! How much do we have to take? There must be a solution to this problem. I don’t see any tents in front of City Hall."
WMAR took those safety concerns to DPW and Recs & Parks. The departments said the city is working to address the issues.
In a statement to WMAR, a spokesperson said, "Baltimore City Recreation and Parks cleans Betty Hyatt Park on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week. The Department of Public Works (DPW) supports this effort by collecting trash in Betty Hyatt as well as other BCRP managed parks. With this past Monday being a holiday, the scheduled cleaning resumed today. DPW crews will be on-site to clean and collect trash as well."
"We just have to work on beautifying our city," said community member Ralph Johnson. "It's not just City Hall but the citizens as well but when you start to see the homeless settle in, obviously it has to be addressed."
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