On Wednesday, in an event hosted by the College Democrats, Peter Engel of the Housing Authority of Baltimore spoke to Hopkins students about the unique set of challenges he faces as Deputy Commissioner of Project Finance and Development. Our historic city is now home to over 16,000 vacant and unlivable homes. To make matters worse, most of these squatters’ havens are both privately owned and located deep in the heart of distressed neighborhoods. Engel suggests that these properties are beyond repair and that the only solution to this problem is a cohesive approach of acquiring, demolishing and repurposing these residences one by one.
The Editorial Board supports the Housing Authority’s diligent approach to solving this overwhelming problem. Furthermore, we commend Hopkins for all of the development initiatives it has taken to improve Charles Village over the years. President Daniels’ Homewood Community Partners Initiative has markedly improved public safety, sanitation, education development and retail development in many of the ten neighborhoods surrounding Homewood. However, we would like to see the University make additional contributions to the development of the neighborhoods that lie outside the range of campus police patrol cars.
For many of us, the occasional panhandler on St. Paul Street is our only reminder of the staggering levels of poverty the rest of Baltimore faces. The housing blight Engel described is rooted in Charm City’s endemic poverty: 9.4 percent of Maryland is impoverished while a staggering 23.4 percent of Baltimoreans live below the poverty line. It is too easy for Homewood students to remain in the comfort and warm familiarity of the campus bubble, and we support any attempts to educate and inform the student body about the city we call home. The Board is pleased with the College Democrats for encouraging the discussion at Hopkins and with the Housing Authority for giving such a presentation in the first place.
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