Last November, our incumbent governor was defeated by his rival, Martin O'Malley. As O'Malley was the mayor of Baltimore City, he resigned his post to move to Annapolis, causing a shake up in the remaining city government. The interim mayor, Sheila Dixon, has announced her plans to run for office, and hopeful city council members are plastering their campaign signs all over the city. It's an election year, and everyone knows what that means. If you want something done, this is the time to ask for it, because politicians need votes if they want to stay in office.
Tuesday night, on my way out the door to work, I grabbed a letter out of my mailbox that was from a candidate for city council. Don Dewar is running on a platform that focuses on the crime problem in the city, and the letter was about an upcoming concert at a sporting arena, which is in our neighborhood.
Briefly, the concert will feature rap music by Juelz Santana and Lil' Wayne. Santana, a reputed member of the Bloods gang, has recorded songs with titles like "Murda Murda," "Kill 'Em," "Gangsta Sh*t," and "I Am Crack." Lil' Wayne was arrested in New York last month on a handgun violation. Mr. Dewar feels that a city owned recreation center is not the place for such an event, especially in the light of the recent crime statistics, and he also raises concern for the safety of the neighborhood. "How many police officers will it take," he asks, "to secure our neighborhood at 2AM when the concert lets out?" He urges citizens to contact the mayor's office and the Chairman of the Liquor Board and demand that the concert be cancelled and the liquor license revoked.
My first reaction was one of alarm, but then I thought about it a little more and decided that Mr. Dewar is over reacting. In addition, the office of Jim Kraft, the city council member whose seat Mr. Dewar is campaigning for, released a statement that the safety and security of the neighborhood will be maintained during and after the event. A similar concert was held at the arena within the past few months and most residents were unaware the concert had even taken place.
I thought about it and thought about it, and decided that unless the event poses a significant safety risk to the community, it's not right to cancel an already scheduled concert because some people don't like the lyrics. That sounds like censorship to me, and I don't believe in censorship. Does Mr. Dewar really think that a hoard of angry thugs will burst into the streets in the wee hours of the morning, intent on rape and murder? Dealing with noise and after-hours bar goers in nothing new to city residents; in many neighborhoods, there is a bar on practically every other corner. How much noise this concert will generate will remain to be seen, but I don't anticipate having to bar my doors and huddle inside with a rifle to protect myself.
My biggest concern with this concert, or any other large gathering at the arena is the lack of parking. The lot attached to the arena is small, so cars overflow into the surrounding neighborhood. Since we do not have zoned parking, those cars can legally stay there for hours, leaving residents with no place to park. Just recently, there was a boxing event at the arena, and while I was lucky enough to pull up just as someone on our block left, John had to park ten blocks away. Not being able to park in front of your house is just something that comes with city living, but if the arena will be used frequently for such events, we either needs zoned parking, or the event planners need to designate parking someplace else and bus concert goers to the venue.
As for the type of music being featured at the concert, an attorney for concert promoter IKON said that it is unconstitutional to prohibit one kind of concert based on the content of the music. He also suggests that Mr. Dewar would probably not be complaining if Paris Hilton, who has spent time behind bars, was scheduled to perform at the arena.
While I understand his point concerning First Amendment rights, I do object to the arena being used for any sort of concert, be it Juelz Santana, Paris Hilton, or Shania Twain. It wasn't intended to be used as a concert hall, and the neighborhood can't support the traffic and influx of guests. Mr. Dewar is right to think that the concert should have been held elsewhere.
As for rap, I feel that it is wrong to use music to glorify drugs, violence, prostitution, racism and cop killing, and I think the city of Baltimore talks out both sides of its mouth. Mayor Dixon, former Mayor O'Malley and all the candidates for various offices have made promises about the crime situation in Baltimore, yet permit the use of city buildings for concerts with offensive lyrics because it makes money. Citizens with a purpose can be a powerful force. As long as people continue to buy the albums, artists will continue to rap about crime and drugs, but if we put our collective foot down and tell the rap industry that we won't stand for it, things will change. The message is too poisonous to be sending to our young people. How many times has Snoop Dogg been arrested, and why is he not in jail? What other conclusion can be drawn from that other than drugs and crime pay?
It is an election year, and I haven't decided who to vote for yet, but I will be asking for something, specifically for the city council member elected to do something about the lead paint problem in this city. Our pediatrician told us she had a two-year-old patient with a lead level in the brain damage range, and this was before the latest massive recalls of kids toys due to lead paint content. This is not a poverty stricken neighborhood, houses are not falling down all over the place, and the community has been great about keeping empty lots (not that a lot of empty land remains) clean, so where is the lead coming from?
I have personally witnessed and reported contractors demolishing and renovating buildings in direct violation of building code. Half the contractors around here hire illegal aliens who don't speak English and have no idea what the requirements are for removing and disposing of lead paint or possible sources of lead paint. I have seen paint being scraped and flying away in the wind, brick being cut into with a regular saw, and walls being bashed down with sledgehammers. There is no procedure in place to report violations and have them immediately dealt with. I called the city, but they take ten days to come out, at which point the evidence is long gone and any contaminating materials dispersed into the air, water and soil. It's cheaper and easier to ignore regulations, and there is no advantage for builders to demolish and renovate according to code. Apparently, the safety and health of the neighborhood's children isn't a good enough reason. We won't be here for the primary election, but I will certainly be contacting the candidates to express my concerns over the suitability of the concert and the state of construction in this part of the city.
Updated to Add: The concert was on Saturday, and while I didn't feel unsafe, it was entirely too loud. It was way more than the usual bar crowd. The bass was overwhelming, and the streets were filled with noisy concert goers until the wee hours of the morning. Johnny woke up around 1AM and then stayed awake for three hours before things quieted down and he could go back to sleep. The city will be getting an email from me soon.
Tuesday night, on my way out the door to work, I grabbed a letter out of my mailbox that was from a candidate for city council. Don Dewar is running on a platform that focuses on the crime problem in the city, and the letter was about an upcoming concert at a sporting arena, which is in our neighborhood.
Briefly, the concert will feature rap music by Juelz Santana and Lil' Wayne. Santana, a reputed member of the Bloods gang, has recorded songs with titles like "Murda Murda," "Kill 'Em," "Gangsta Sh*t," and "I Am Crack." Lil' Wayne was arrested in New York last month on a handgun violation. Mr. Dewar feels that a city owned recreation center is not the place for such an event, especially in the light of the recent crime statistics, and he also raises concern for the safety of the neighborhood. "How many police officers will it take," he asks, "to secure our neighborhood at 2AM when the concert lets out?" He urges citizens to contact the mayor's office and the Chairman of the Liquor Board and demand that the concert be cancelled and the liquor license revoked.
My first reaction was one of alarm, but then I thought about it a little more and decided that Mr. Dewar is over reacting. In addition, the office of Jim Kraft, the city council member whose seat Mr. Dewar is campaigning for, released a statement that the safety and security of the neighborhood will be maintained during and after the event. A similar concert was held at the arena within the past few months and most residents were unaware the concert had even taken place.
I thought about it and thought about it, and decided that unless the event poses a significant safety risk to the community, it's not right to cancel an already scheduled concert because some people don't like the lyrics. That sounds like censorship to me, and I don't believe in censorship. Does Mr. Dewar really think that a hoard of angry thugs will burst into the streets in the wee hours of the morning, intent on rape and murder? Dealing with noise and after-hours bar goers in nothing new to city residents; in many neighborhoods, there is a bar on practically every other corner. How much noise this concert will generate will remain to be seen, but I don't anticipate having to bar my doors and huddle inside with a rifle to protect myself.
My biggest concern with this concert, or any other large gathering at the arena is the lack of parking. The lot attached to the arena is small, so cars overflow into the surrounding neighborhood. Since we do not have zoned parking, those cars can legally stay there for hours, leaving residents with no place to park. Just recently, there was a boxing event at the arena, and while I was lucky enough to pull up just as someone on our block left, John had to park ten blocks away. Not being able to park in front of your house is just something that comes with city living, but if the arena will be used frequently for such events, we either needs zoned parking, or the event planners need to designate parking someplace else and bus concert goers to the venue.
As for the type of music being featured at the concert, an attorney for concert promoter IKON said that it is unconstitutional to prohibit one kind of concert based on the content of the music. He also suggests that Mr. Dewar would probably not be complaining if Paris Hilton, who has spent time behind bars, was scheduled to perform at the arena.
While I understand his point concerning First Amendment rights, I do object to the arena being used for any sort of concert, be it Juelz Santana, Paris Hilton, or Shania Twain. It wasn't intended to be used as a concert hall, and the neighborhood can't support the traffic and influx of guests. Mr. Dewar is right to think that the concert should have been held elsewhere.
As for rap, I feel that it is wrong to use music to glorify drugs, violence, prostitution, racism and cop killing, and I think the city of Baltimore talks out both sides of its mouth. Mayor Dixon, former Mayor O'Malley and all the candidates for various offices have made promises about the crime situation in Baltimore, yet permit the use of city buildings for concerts with offensive lyrics because it makes money. Citizens with a purpose can be a powerful force. As long as people continue to buy the albums, artists will continue to rap about crime and drugs, but if we put our collective foot down and tell the rap industry that we won't stand for it, things will change. The message is too poisonous to be sending to our young people. How many times has Snoop Dogg been arrested, and why is he not in jail? What other conclusion can be drawn from that other than drugs and crime pay?
It is an election year, and I haven't decided who to vote for yet, but I will be asking for something, specifically for the city council member elected to do something about the lead paint problem in this city. Our pediatrician told us she had a two-year-old patient with a lead level in the brain damage range, and this was before the latest massive recalls of kids toys due to lead paint content. This is not a poverty stricken neighborhood, houses are not falling down all over the place, and the community has been great about keeping empty lots (not that a lot of empty land remains) clean, so where is the lead coming from?
I have personally witnessed and reported contractors demolishing and renovating buildings in direct violation of building code. Half the contractors around here hire illegal aliens who don't speak English and have no idea what the requirements are for removing and disposing of lead paint or possible sources of lead paint. I have seen paint being scraped and flying away in the wind, brick being cut into with a regular saw, and walls being bashed down with sledgehammers. There is no procedure in place to report violations and have them immediately dealt with. I called the city, but they take ten days to come out, at which point the evidence is long gone and any contaminating materials dispersed into the air, water and soil. It's cheaper and easier to ignore regulations, and there is no advantage for builders to demolish and renovate according to code. Apparently, the safety and health of the neighborhood's children isn't a good enough reason. We won't be here for the primary election, but I will certainly be contacting the candidates to express my concerns over the suitability of the concert and the state of construction in this part of the city.
Updated to Add: The concert was on Saturday, and while I didn't feel unsafe, it was entirely too loud. It was way more than the usual bar crowd. The bass was overwhelming, and the streets were filled with noisy concert goers until the wee hours of the morning. Johnny woke up around 1AM and then stayed awake for three hours before things quieted down and he could go back to sleep. The city will be getting an email from me soon.
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1 comment:
I think what upsets me most about crime in Baltimore is that the politicians say it's an issue and do nothing about it. They want to blame everything from outsiders to words in an albeit offensive song. The truth is- the crime has a direct correlation to the culture of deception and corruption that the Baltimore City government has historically fostered. It's really upsetting because Baltimore is a beautiful city and you should be able to enjoy it at any time of day or night without fearing for your life. My grandfather, who was a Balt City police officer, would be devastated if he saw what happened to his favorite city.
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