BALTIMORE — A South Baltimore body shop is being forced to shutter after repeated complaints from the community.
Baltimore Body & Collision Center is located at 1845 S. Hanover Street.
For months residents have raised concerns about the shop, resulting in calls to 311 and District 10 Councilwoman Phylicia Porter's office.
A South Baltimore body shop is being forced to shutter after repeated complaints from the community.
Problems like illegal parking, obstruction of public rights-of-way, and unsafe conditions have reportedly disrupted daily life and accessibility throughout the neighborhood.
“On top of that they’ve left a mess in the alley way for months, they’ve stolen our trash cans, they’ve put things in our trash cans that the trash company will not take and then we’ve gotten fined for it," said neighbor Madison Rogers. "They’ve been leaving their cars all over the place out here and they’ve been verbally rude to me and my roommates multiples times. We’re so happy about it [them closing] but you wouldn’t know, they’re still out there being loud as ever.”
The shop's owners were forewarned, according to the Baltimore City Sheriff's Office.
"Deputies documented repeated violations, including multiple unregistered and inoperable vehicles stored on public streets, sidewalks, and access points, often blocking pedestrian pathways and restricting neighborhood mobility," the Sheriff's Office said in a press release. "Repeated enforcement measures included citations, towing of abandoned and unregistered vehicles, and ongoing monitoring of the property. Despite these efforts, violations persisted."
Meanwhile, the City's Law Department deemed the shop a public nuisance, citing environmental concerns, and ongoing threats to public health and safety.
After doing nothing about it, the owners were issued a formal cease-and-desist followed by an order to vacate.
Yet, not all neighbors are happy to see the shop go.
“It’s so sad it’s really heartbreaking. This is probably the best shop in all of Baltimore city," said Joshua Foster, who regularly takes his cars to the shop, “They do high end work you can’t even really get work like this done even at a dealership. If you go to a dealership even then you’re gonna get charged five times what they charge here and you’re not going to get the same amount of work.”
Foster says he doesn't doubt claims that the business illegally parks cars, but said it's not their fault.
“They get so overwhelmed with so much work they have nowhere to put the vehicles so it’s really the city’s fault that they don’t have…if this is a commercial area there should be open parking to this facility,” said Foster.
Sheriff Sam Cogen, however, said he intends to conduct follow-up initiatives like this throughout the City.
“This outcome shows what’s possible when residents speak up and government listens and acts,” said Porter. “This closure reflects the power of collaboration, accountability, and persistence in protecting our neighborhoods.”
The shop is scheduled to officially close on April 30.
