Baltimore City Council President clearing trash at the intersection of Sidney Avenue and Manokin Street, Westport. (Courtesy Photo)
By J.K. Schmid
Special to the AFRO
Activists, volunteers and City Council representatives gathered for a Westport community cleanup on Sept. 19.
“It’s a cold Saturday morning,” Keisha Allen, acting president of Westport Community Association, said of the mid-40s temperature in the long, chilly shadow of Westport Academy. “You could have been anywhere, but we really need the help, and I appreciate it on the behalf of the community. So, thank you, very much,” she added.
The work effort comes as Baltimore Department of Public Works (DPW) cuts waste removal services across the City in response to COVID-19 and consequent manpower shortages.
“What you guys are doing today, it really showcases what Baltimore truly is: whenever we’re down; whenever people talk bad about us; whenever there’s anything negative going on, Baltimore comes together to work, to make sure that we get the service that we need, that we’re looking out for our neighbors,” Baltimore City Council President Brandon M. Scott said.
Saturday’s cleanup went into the Westport and Cherry Hill communities as part of a larger push against illegal dumping across Baltimore District 10.
The day’s effort was two-pronged: In addition to trash clearance, volunteers, including Democratic District 10 City Council candidate Phylicia Porter, were going door-to-door to drive up participation in Baltimore’s ongoing census.
The AFRO followed the City Council President to the intersection of Sidney Avenue and Manokin Street to observe the effort, street-level.
Volunteers clearing trash and debris from the intersection of Sidney Avenue and Manokin Street, Westport. (Courtesy Photo )
The work went from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
One volunteer, working side-by-side, shovel and rake, with Mr. Scott was Curtis Bay-resident Meleny Thomas, representing South Baltimore Community Land Trust. Ms. Thomas told the AFRO that she was invited by Mr. Scott and Ms. Allen.
“That’s why I’m here: to show support, to show that I’m not just talking about issues, but we’re really helping here to create solutions to the issues.”
Amongst the boarded up vacants and roofless shells of abandoned homes, while packing paper bags with waste and loading a roll-off dumpster, Ms. Thomas is working this as a first step towards a larger issue.
“It’s ownership, it’s big, and it’s really big because we were part of the team that fought to create the affordable housing trust fund to help support community land trusts, and the influx of community land trusts,” Thomas told the AFRO. “Because we realize there’s a lot of vacant buildings, and there’s a lot of dumping; and where there’s vacant buildings, there’s a lot of dumping.”
The AFRO took Mr. Scott aside after loading a borrowed Ford F-150, on loan from Maryland State Senator Cory V. McCray.
The AFRO asked why Mr. Scott was here, instead of City Hall.
“I see it as my responsibility, not just as an elected official, but as a man and as a part of this community,” Mr. Scott said. “This is the city that I love, the only place that I’ve lived in my life. My purpose is to help Baltimore and serve Baltimore. That comes in many different ways: That comes from legislation and grandiose policy ideas, but it also comes from actually having my hands in the dirt, my feet on the ground, working with communities to solve issues.”
The AFRO asked why Mr. Scott was here and not Baltimore City Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young, current District 10 Councilman Edward Reisinger, and Sen. McCray.
“I would not allow Councilman Reisinger to be out here with us, because he has pre-existing conditions and he’s a senior, we still have COVID-19 concerns,” Mr. Scott said. “The District representation was here,” Mr. Scott said of Ms. Porter’s work Saturday. “We expect that when we go into the other districts, other council members will be there.”
“The Mayor, also, has a pre-existing condition, I would not allow him to come out here, to be here, either. It’s also about being responsible in allowing folks, within COVID-19, to work with and for the City, but not put themselves at risk.”
Mr. Scott says he left Mr. McCray in a community Zoom call, when he left the McCray residence with the truck.
Ms. Porter took a moment from census doorknocking to explain how Westport had gotten into its current state.
“Historically, District 10 has not had the city services that it needed, in order to really thrive. And so, for generations, families have had to exist in this type of trash,” Ms. Porter said. “ With the blight that’s happening in this community, it has not happened overnight. It’s something that, with the current councilman, he has tried to get a wrangle on, it’s gonna be one of my major initiatives as I come into my first year.”
Mr. Scott and Ms. Porter, and their Republican opponents, still have Nov. 3 general elections to win before anyone can attain the Mayor’s office or District 10 City Council seat, respectively. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 20.