BALTIMORE — Neighbors in the Coldstream Homestead Montebello neighborhood say trash has gotten so out of control they needed Baltimore City officials to see what they’re dealing with firsthand.
On Thursday, they walked an 1 1/2 hours in the rain highlighting trash prone area.
Councilwoman Odette Ramos, along with Department of Public Works reps and concerned community members took stock of trash prone areas in the northeast Baltimore Neighborhood.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and we need change,” said Angela Kyler. “They don’t live here. They may represent us but they don’t live here so we wanted to show them what we’re dealing with.”
One focus was an area surrounding a nearby train trestle. It’s supposed be maintained by CSX.
“Those private entities make billions of dollars,” Mark Washington said. “They aren’t really being held accountable by anyone. They’re not even cleaning up."
In fact, its community groups like Washington’s that often clean up the mess.
“This is one of our more troubled areas,” Washington said.
Thursday’s walk also highlighted a trash filled alley between Garrett and Robb Streets. Notes were taken for 311follow-ups and potential citations.
“We will be calling it in with 311,” said Councilwoman Ramos. “Then will have a crew out to clean this up but more importantly we’ll get a citation on this property.
The walk was spearheaded by homeowner Angel Amore who said people’s care for proper trash protocol has gone downhill.
“The walk definitely shed a lot of light on the community,” Amore said. “It was a lot of community involvement today so i feel like we got a lot accomplished.”
Neighbors and community groups told WMAR 2 News they want items picked up by crews in a timely manner and for neighbors to do their part.
“If i can keep up my property, dump my trash properly, the residents that live here need to do the same thing,” Angela Kyler said.
