The disaster on 26th Street

By now you have probably seen and read most of the articles about the collapse on 26th Street between St. Paul and North Charles Street.

Last year a neighbor of mine, Mr. Peter Winch contacted me because he was concerned by the conditions noted and knew that I had been working with CSX on several issues for some time.  We discussed the issue and I suggested that first we had to put the responsible people on notice, which we did:

1.  The City of Baltimore were informed with photographic supports of our concern and a request for a study to be made.

2.  CSX were informed both in Jacksonville and in Baltimore.

3.  The CVCBD, the governmental entity that is supposed to be involved in safety and sanitation for this community.

4.  We even called 311 because we were concerned of the conditions noted.

We received a response from CSX said it was a problem with the road, and therefore DOT was put on notice, and later DOT put DPW on notice and the report from the city was that the condition was not serious enough and would be repaired at some other time.

About two weeks ago a member of Old Goucher Community Association, reported conditions to the CVCBD and nothing happened.  We also learned that the President of Old Goucher Community Association reported the matter to the City just prior to the collapse.

Other residents and neighbors have been reporting this issue to the City as well, but nothing was done and now the city faces millions of dollars of repairs and the residents of the unit block of east 26th Street cannot return to their homes.

The only bright thing about this collapse was the fact that no one was injured.  Thank God.

My question to all of those who were advised is as follows:

WHY WASN'T SOMETHING DONE TO PROTECT THE PROPERTY AND RESIDENTS OF THIS COMMUNITY?