BALTIMORE — Neighbors in District 7 are now questioning where the city is spending money to improve parks and recreation centers.
“It's not a question of whether Baltimore has the funds; do we have the intelligent and committed elected officials to address the problems that we have?" said Dr. Marvin Cheatham.
Dr. Cheatham referenced an audit from December 2022 that states the Department of Recreation and Parks is not in full compliance with the city code known as the equity assessment program, which the city council created in 2018 to prevent and reduce disparities based on race, gender, or income.
Sonia Eaddy says she sees those disparities firsthand in her neighborhood since their rec center has been closed for more than 20 years.
“Having this recreational center open giving the kids somewhere to go where you can feel safe. You know, having this pool where you can bring families engage families again this is what has been missing. This is what we see is missing from our neighborhoods," Eaddy said.
“What we are asking for one is that our elected officials have to get more in tune with what’s happening in Baltimore City," Dr. Cheatham said.
They want to see improvements in their neighborhood rec centers, which they say have been neglected for too long.
Eaddy says the people in her community have raised over $1 million to try and reopen the Greater Model Community Center, but it's not enough, and she wishes the city would consider reopening the center, which was once a staple in her community.
“When they bought this park and this pool, it brought the community together, you know the kids had a place to play and be kids. So with that loss and seeing how hard it is to fight for our youth and our neighborhood, I have grandkids now and nowhere for them to go," Eaddy said.
