"Bad stuff" still happens in Reservoir Hill

Reservoir Hill, still a wild neighborhood   Despite the positive changes in our neighborhood, the underlying problems remain intractable. If it is any comfort, this incident happened at the fringe of Reservoir Hill on a corner that most residents would not consider Reservoir Hill but rather to be along the North Avenue corridor where much of the action happens. It is about 4 o4 5 blocks from RHHP.

The incident tied up traffic in the area for a couple of hours. I happened to on the way home on the #5 and it had to take a detour. Jeff, our house mate was stuck for an hour and a half just blocks from our house.

Two shot at Reservoir Hill intersection

City police investigating afternoon violence

April 06, 2012|By Peter Hermann, The Baltimore Sun

A city police officer who heard gunshots Friday afternoon quickly responded and saw a man shooting a handgun, and the officer fired at least one round himself before the gunmen escaped, according to a department spokesman.

Police said the armed man jumped into the passenger seat of a silver-colored car that sped away from West North Avenue and McCulloh Street about 3:15 p.m., leaving behind two victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were taken to area hospitals for treatment.

The intersection of McCulloh and North Avenue as seen from the #5 bus that takes me to work each morning.

A couple of months ago, some men in a car who were pursued by cops in a high speed chase on Whitelock, (right in front of our house). The fleeing car lost control and hit a couple of women waiting for a bus. Residents in our house went to the assistance of the victims while the ambulance was on its way. We later heard that one of the victims died.

Here are the markings denoting where the victims of the accident when they were struck  as a result of a high speed chase.

At the same time, good things continue to happen in Reservoir Hill. While I was working out in the garden last Saturday, a gentleman stopped by to ask for directions to an address on Madison Street one block west of RHHP. He is a personal chef and caterer specializing in Italian cuisine and was looking to lease a place to start a cafe. About a year ago, I had met a young couple who hoped to open a cafe on Madison Street and had been renovating the ground floor of their house. In the meantime, they had a child and must have decided that they could not raise a family and run a restaurant. I took the gentleman over to the address to look at it. He will try to locate the owner and try to negotiate a reasonable lease. I also took him to visit the Whitelock Community Farm and suggested that he contact the Reservoir Hill Improvement Council to ask for advice. I wish him the best in his pursuit. We need more entrepreneural spirit of the constructive kind in Reservoir Hill. Here is his website: http://www.chefrhue.net/

In the meantime, the Whitelock Community Farm is gearing up for another season. http://whitelockfarm.org/.