I heart Patterson Park.

Patterson Park made it into Forbes magazine in the "In Depth: America's Best City Parks"! Oh what a long way Our Patterson Park has come from when we moved here back in 2005 - when people would not venture in due to prostitution and drug use (vials all over the ground when walking your dog/s). Great job to all the community members/activists/volunteers who never gave up, and have taken the park back. Hard work pays off.
:)

Harnik says Baltimore's Patterson Park is a great example of a "more modest neighborhood park" that might not get the attention of some of the metropolitan mega-parks, but which nonetheless achieves a nice balance between beauty and usability. Its landmarks include the Pagoda, a Victorian-era observation tower.

bubye to HMS!

FOCUS DEVELOPMENT WILL BE RENOVATING THE HIGHLAND TOWN MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!

In the last year or so now, Joe has been the lead on the HMS redevelopment. This horribly huge eyesore that sits right on our street adjacent to the small sector of Patterson Park. It was a horrible destructive building 4 years ago when we moved in - it was filled with kids still, who would leave school around 3:30-4pm, and jump on cars when running out of class, and throwing trash (yay to floating utz bags, thrown away quizzes, and hair weaves!) wow. Those were the days. (smile).
After the school shut down, there came a bit of quiet, however, the school began to fall apart, and the boarded up shut down building became a paradise for squatters and drug dealing. Go figure, leave a huge building empty and untouched - what do you expect! ahhh, this school was/is a menace in our poor little Northeast sector!

After months of signatures, and community meetings, and rallying (including a noted walk with Mayor Sheila Dixon to show her the treachery!), it was decided the community would have a say in the process. There was a meeting with one person from each sector surrounding the school, and each person was allowed a vote. Joe (co-Scott) represented Patterson Park, - and after many meetings, so on and so forth - we decided Focus Development (located IN the city) had the best interests and plans for our area. Our vote was casted - with the support of every other neighborhood but one, and we awaited.

Today Jim Kraft, our councilman, called Joe and informed him that success - Focus will be taking the school!!! It is a shining example of how hard work, and community activism, again, can work! It is a very happy day for our neighborhood, and those involved in getting this going. I can't wait to see what that eyesore (pictured above) will become. It will be documented that is for sure!!! For more official details, check out Kimi's blog (aka, information without Jen babblings!). Note: her blog also rocks for all the Patterson Park happenings as she is seriously on top of things, and ahem, knows how to upload photos....! haha!

May-hem and Crabs, yum!

We had a fantastic weekend, showing Frank and Bunny around Charm City! For the first time since moving to Baltimore, we finally were able to check out Obrycki's - which is supposedly the best crab place in Baltimore (and one of the 1,000 places to see before you die!)! It went above and beyond. Crabby (meaty), fresh, delicious crabs, with old bay mixed with something else, but just absolutely amazing. I was told that it'd become an addiction, and that it has!!


After the weekend, there was a little housing situation that had to be taken care of with a neighbor...sadly, a beautifully renovated home, but the owners live in DC and due to some not so fun activity, we decided (with the OK from the owner of course) to board up the home. Again...it is quite a travesty because the home is GLORIOUS. Our back area needs some love, which hopefully will come with the grand scheme of alley gating. We did get some numbers up on the back shed which was exciting (our own little renovations still going on). Baby steps (smile). Grant and Joe spent the afternoon (luckily in the sun) working on this little boarding project. The home is secure now, and we will see what comes next. I am personally tempted to go ahead and knock down our fence and expand the back area for a little summer fiesta'ing! heehee. In regards to alley gating, we are in the process of getting signatures from our block and that behind us, and hopefully this little alley which is not so pretty now...will be an amazing green "lounging" area eventually!!