BALTIMORE — A neighborhood in East Baltimore announced a huge investment to fix up the community this week.
Friday, community leaders in East Baltimore like Congressman Kweisi Mfume confirmed a multimillion dollar investment will go into an East Baltimore community.
“This money will go for street scaping, it will go for lighting, it will go for upgrading roadways and upgrading the streets in this neighborhood,” Mfume said.
Mfume said a $2.3 million investment will go to improving East Baltimore’s Eager Park neighborhood.
“It will go for water drainage and for whatever else the Eager community feels that they need, and that’s why I said it’s not an end but rather a beginning,” Mfume said.
Congressman Mfume said it’s the start to fixing some decade old issues. The public infrastructure project was funded thanks to the federal government on behalf of East Baltimore’s Development Incorporation.
EBDI has a bigger project revitalizing 88 acres in that community. However, some people like Francine Wilks and Jeannette Kitchen said because they live right on the outskirts, which could be considered Milton or the Middle East, their blocks likely won’t benefit from these positive upgrades.
“The streets have been like this for over 40 years, damn, just trying to fix the streets and sidewalks now is a blessing,” Wilks said.
“Some of us do need help in our neighborhood and they not coming that far, they only down here on Ashland on up. They not coming over to the 700 block, none of us over here in the 700 block of Carlton, Patterson, Chester, Duncan or any of them is not getting any of this 88 acres of this money that they giving today we not getting none of it," Kitchen, President of Community of Communication said.
Jenny Hope who’s the leader of community group Heb CAC said although some concerns are present, this investment is just a start to having a more productive community for everyone.
“I do think that there are very real needs in this Milton-Montford neighborhood and Madison East end which are just on the border of the EBDI district. I’m thrilled that the federal government is investing in this neighborhood. Not only are they going to do street paving but they’re going to work on putting more fiber under the street so that people will have better access to the internet. That’s going to be very helpful to all of the residents in East Baltimore,” Hope said.
“This is the beginning, this is not an end. As long as we can, we’re going to find ways to continue to fund and to uplift and to make sure that this part of town is not forgotten,” Mfume said.
