907 Washington Boulevard

Poor blighted SW Baltimore.  You never seem to catch a break, and how can you with drek like this at your gateway?

Property address:  907 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230

Property owner:  DP South 25, LLC, 1118 Leadenhall Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Registered agent for DP South 25, LLC:  Dangela Little, 1118 Leadenhall Street, Baltimore, MD 21230.  Corporation is not in good standing, charter has been forfeited.

Baltimore City Council district and contact:  District 11, William Cole

City Housing Code Enforcement Attorney and contact:  Seth Greer, seth.greer AT baltimorecity.gov

Tired of Your Neighborhood Looking Trashy?

In a small way, Baltimore Housing has redeemed itself.

Today we happened to receive an email from a reader that included a link to the new citation search on Baltimore Housing’s website.  It would seem that our erstwhile Housing Department has “borrowed” our method of shaming people into compliance, and you can now see firsthand the evidence of your neighbor’s negligence.  Trash tickets?  Yes, they’re on the website — full color photos of not only your garbage, along with your identifying information (note to the guy who left his intact Bank of America statement in the trash:  BAD IDEA.)  Trash laying around the yard?  Yes, that’s here too — along with your address and a sharp photo!

You can search citations by address or by neighborhood.  Go ahead, give it a try!

Remember Donna Hanks from our post about her ill-fated media stunt sponsored by ACORN?  She apparently doesn’t own a trash can — someone loan her one, please, before we have another poorly planned media event featuring Ms. Hanks and her weekly trash woes.  I’m sure Santoni’s Market would be forever grateful.

2929 E. Madison Street

Property address:  2929 E. Madison Street, Baltimore, MD 21205

Property owner:  Jerome McNeill, 33 Shady Tree Court, York, PA 17493 and  Scarlett McNeill, 2869 Forest Glen Road, Baltimore, MD 21216

City Council District and Contact: District 13, Warren Branch

This property is a complete mess — boarded up windows, broken steps and crumbling porch, and the rear yard is full of trash — it’s clear that nobody has been checking on this property or taking care of it for quite some time

2929 E. Madison Street

2929 E. Madison Street, rear

Closeup of trash at the rear of 2929 E. Madison

This is one of five homes on a sad little block in East Baltimore.  One by one, four families have been driven away by crime and drugs, and the one remaining family is planning to leave as soon as possible.  It’s a tragic tale — one that’s repeated over and over, in so many neighborhoods in Baltimore.  One bad house really can bring down an entire neighborhood, like a cancer left unchecked.  Luckily, the house has been recently placed into receivership — we hope the house finds a new owner soon, and the block can begin to recover

1006 W. Cross Street

Property address:  1006 W. Cross Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Property owner:  Joan M. Hashagen-Snyder, 5 Offutt Court, Granite, MD 21163

City Council District and contact:  11th District, William Cole

Yet another Washington Village property that seems to have been abandoned by its non-resident owner.  Note the pile of rubble left in the rear yard.

Front of 1006 W. Cross

Rear of 1006 W. Cross

1310 Sargeant Street

Property address:  1310 Sargeant Street, Baltimore, MD 21223

Property owner:  1310 Sargeant, LLC, 2511 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230 [Corporate charter forfeited for failure to file tax returns in 2003]

Registered agent for 1310 Sargeant LLC:  Muhammed S. Aurangzeb

City Council District and Contact: 9th District, Agnes Welch

This property has been under its current ownership since 2002, according to SDAT data, and has added to the current blight of this street.

1310 Sargeant Street

rear of 1310 Sargeant Street

Closeup of trash and broken fence in the rear of 1310 Sargeant Street

1337 W. Pratt Street

Property address:  1337 W. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21223

Property owner:  James J. Flamish, 11421 High Hay Drive, Columbia, MD 21044

City Council District and Contact: 9th District, Agnes Welch

We wonder if people in Columbia would tolerate this in their neighborhoods:

1337 w. pratt street

open basement entrance in the front of 1337 w. pratt

garbage and other debris in the rear of 1337 w. pratt

Dr. Anwar Mumtaz Responds

If you live in Washington Village, then you know Dr. Mumtaz, at least indirectly.  He is the registered agent for Raj LLC, the company that owns 701 Washington Boulevard (aka “The Sav-A-Lot Property”).  After reading about himself and the property on this blog, he responded to our post:

this property was under contract up until 2 weeks ago and the buyers backed out after 3 months holding the contract. WE have contacted police and city 100’s of time to kick out the homeless and loiterers. community people and graffity hoodlums try to trash the property as soon as we clean it up. This reflects on the community also. If you see anyone dumping trash there we are willing to go after them. we have tried to get the community invloved and if the neibourhood association is willing we can prevent city drug dealers and homeless people from dumping the place. We have tried with police and city. this place is under negotiation again and will be fixed or rented again. It was because one of the previous buyers and developers who happened to be from this community who wasted our 3 precios months to delay for further development.

We responded as follows:

Mr. Mumtaz,

This situation didn’t come about in two weeks, three months, or even a year. This situation has been an ongoing problem in this neighborhood, and we have a hard time believing that you’ve done much to alleviate the problem. How exactly have you tried to get the community involved? Most of the people in that community had no idea you existed until this blog started, just a few weeks ago. The problems with this property didn’t begin “because one of the previous buyers and developers who happened to be from this community who wasted our 3 precios months to delay for further development”. It began when you purchased the property and refused to fix it up or sell it for a reasonable amount of money. You’ve owned it since 2005, and it’s been nothing short of a disgrace and an eyesore. YOU own the property, so therefore YOU are responsible for its upkeep and appearance. YOU are also responsible for the tenants, their trash, and the type of customers they attract. Shoving that responsibility onto a previous buyer or developer isn’t going to cut it. Until that property is sold, YOU are the one who is held accountable.

You can revisit the original post here and scroll down to the end for the comments.  Do we know if the comment really came from Dr. Mumtaz?  No, there’s really no way to verify it.  After careful consideration, however, we do believe the comment is from Dr. Mumtaz or at least one of his associates.  Considering the state the property is in and has been for years, it’s not surprising that he’s trying to blame everyone — the community, a developer, previous buyers, etc. — for the issues surrounding the property.  It’s been our experience that slumlords don’t like to accept responsibility for their neglect.

We wish Dr. Mumtaz and his associates luck with selling the property.  Hopefully they will sell to someone who understands that the community will not accept this kind of behavior from the new owners, and will hold the new owners to the same scrutiny.

A Block of Blight: 1448-1458 Wicomico Street

We’re lumping these properties together, since they have the same owner.  This is a truly shameful commentary on our city.

Property Address:  1448, 1450, 1452, 1454, 1456, and 1458 Wicomico Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Property Owner:  Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 10, Baltimore, MD 21202

City Council District and Contact: 9th District, Agnes Welch

We are not including photos of 1456, as it appears that the person (or persons) who inhabit the home have made a decent effort to keep their property tidy.  Kudos to them, because it can’t be easy, considering what they’re up against, as you will see from the photos below.  Pay close attention to 1452 Wicomico Street, as we suspect that property is being used to store stolen goods.

front of 1448 wicomico street

rear of 1448 wicomico street

front of 1450 wicomico street

rear of 1450 wicomico street

front of 1452 wicomico street

rear of 1452 wicomico street

open rear window of 1452 wicomico street

closeup of trash at the rear of 1452 wicomico street - some is recording equipment and a bass amp.

front of 1454 wicomico street

rear of 1454 wicomico street

front of 1458 wicomico street

rear of 1458 wicomico street

1003 S. Carey Street

Property Address:  1003 S. Carey Street, Baltimore, MD 21223

Property Owner:  1003 S Carey St, LLC, P.O. Box 32118, Baltimore, MD 21282

Registered Agent for 1003 S Carey St, LLC:  Jack Novograd, 5616 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215

City Council District and Contact: 9th District, Agnes Welch

This is another example of a property that’s become a dumping ground for trash, when a simple fence in the rear of the property could stop some of that activity.  Also, it’s obvious this property is suffering some structural damage (probably due to amateur demolition) and is a hazard for the adjoining properties.  The rear door is open with just a sheet of plywood covering the opening, but it’s not tightly secured.

front of 1003 s. carey street

trash in the rear of 1003 s. carey

open rear entrance to 1003 s. carey

rear of 1003 s. carey

1110 Carroll Street

Property Address:  1110 Carroll Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Property Owner:  Barry Glazer and Gina Gargeu, P.O. Box 27166, Baltimore, MD 21230

City Council District and Contact: 9th District, Agnes Welch

Purchased in 2004, this property is a haven for trash, as evidenced by the photos below.  Mr. Glazer is a Baltimore resident and lawyer, famous for his TV commercials, and Ms. Gargeu is a Baltimore realtor and owns Century 21 Downtown in Federal Hill. Any building permits for this property have expired, most recently in July of 2008.

Rear view of 1110 Carroll Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Accumulated trash at the rear of 1110 Carroll Street