2321 E Fairmount

2003-05-05T13:11:00.000-04:00

Hmmm. can't say it looks much like there are fewer users or dealers around to me.

Oh, I'm curious to know who keeps submitting things to the Wor of Mouth website? Are you looking for information from me? Since you obviously have my email address, why not just write and ask me what you want to know?

2003-05-05T10:19:00.000-04:00

This morning started with a very common 311 frustration- I had been told, by a sanitation person, that I could call 311 to have my neighbor cited for the stupid tree that I have been complaining to him about for years, so that he could be cited for a sanitation violation. Now, I guess that I assume the sanitation people would know what constitutes a violation and what doesn't? But 311 tells me that it is a civil suit since it is on private property. So, I wonder what I do about the tree in 30 N. Montford that is already taking out the wall to 28? The tree in my neighbor's yard prevents me from seeing much in the alley so if I want to do surveillance back there I'd have to figure out a new place to put the camera.
I finally dicsovered, after walking right up to the back of 2317 E. Fairmount that the house, which appears from the alley to be boarded, is actually open but the opening is below the sidewalk level so it isn't visible from the alley. I called that in and the confirmation number is: 161764. Won't be holding my breath or anything for that to be boarded.

I've been collecting vial caps and it is a pretty even distribution among the colors except for gold which is pretty rare. I had considered posting the counts but I'd hate to give the dealers more advertising than they get already. Along those lines, I have adopted a path in Patterson Park with my neighbor. We selected one that among the highest trafficked by users and started doing edging and weeding there on Saturday. What a treasure trove of vial caps!! Interestingly, only one needle was found all morning and that was on a different path from ours.

2003-04-27T22:03:00.000-04:00

Can someone explain the color code on crack vials to me? I know that the Madison guys hear the call for green tops and blue tops- are the vials actually those colors? I ask because I've started paying more attention to the caps around here and there aren't really very many that are green or blue but lots of yellow, orange, red, and purple. We also have green and blue, white, black, pink, and this weekend I saw two silver and one that was kind of bronze or gold. Oh, and a few clear. So, are those all different, what, grades? amounts? purposes? There seem to be different sizes too.

The block has acquires a clean freak, a gentleman who lives up on Baltimore St. who seems to like to collect everyone's trash into one pile. In theory, this is great, but in practice the guys don't pick it all up because they think it all belongs to one person. But he also sweeps like crazy and the alleylooks great. Rumor has it that he may have been the force behind the clean up if 25 N. Bradford and 2321.But that was a lot more work than he looks capable of.

2003-04-20T08:45:00.000-04:00

Apart from the usual druggies who come back to spend their seven minutes hidden in the corner of 2317, it's been pretty quiet out back. Someone cleaned up the yards of both 25 . Bradford and 2321 E. Fairmount and the alley looks great!! I sort of wish they hadn't done it after trash pickup on Tuesday of week when Fridya is a city holiday but it doesn't seem to have spread or made a mess up there at the end. Most ofthe left over stuff has been stacked neatly up against the back door to 2321. Including some old appliance and a mattress that has been moved from yard to yard.

I hate to sound greedy but I really wish the city would fulfill their promise of doing the yard at 2319 since it is big for stashing. A new twist, a pack of feral dogs was hanging around inside of 2319 the other day. This wouldn't be amazing for a vacant house but the first floor is boarded of that house, they used the trash as a step to the wall, walked along the wall, to the roof of 2321, then up onto the balcony and into the house. I checked to make sure my cat was in but since none of the dogs had bloodies noses I figured they were safe.

With the warm weather, I'm noticing more users in the park again. I find them downright amusing. Well, in that way that I find most people who are trying so hard to act normal that they stick out like a goose in with ducks. Since I am usually in less of a hurry than they are, I often hang around and around and around, watching them get more and more uncomfortable because they have the needle in their hand but they don't want me to "catch" them actually sticking it in their arm (or wherever they have a vein left).

I've heard a rumor that there is money to have the park patrolled for off leash dogs. While I definately think that something needs to be done about the dogs being off leash, I'm not sure that I would make it my absolute top priority. Not when 13 yr old girls are threatening park users with knoves, anyway.

2003-04-14T09:59:00.000-04:00

I guess being around this weekend was a bit off putting, only two people even walked in the alley yesterday between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm. One went into the yard of 2317 for 7minutes to do his thing and one just seemed to be a little lost. I have the camera on today to see if it picks up now that I'm back at work.
We did get to see a bunch of prostitute action this weekend. The woman named Michelle (who just doens't look like a prostitute to me) got into a car on Saturday at 6. Either she is amazing or they didn't make the deal because she was back on the corner in about 5 minutes.
Yesterday, the other brunette- withan eyebrow ring and a very short denim skirt- hopped into a lincoln continental (tag number LGB 733) with an old old guy.

2003-04-12T12:48:00.000-04:00

Heard a great story the other day at the Community association meeting. Apparently, 1 N. Port St has been having the kind of activity in the back that 2321 used to have (now moved to 30 N. Montford). My neighbor was coming home form walking her dogs and saw a lot of activity in the alley so she went back to see what was going on (without the dogs). As she was walking down the alley, there was a buyer in front of her who turned around and said "C'mon, hurry up before he runs out." My neighbor decided to saty on her own property but got a good eye full.

30 N. Montford has been very busy of late- they aren't going in but the house cuts back so there is an excellent hiding location there. Today I was out back trying to clean up some of the mess my fence builder left last year and decided that I really don't need to do much more than make sure they know I'm around and can see. Not necessarily that I am watching, but I might be aware of things. So I turned on some music and opened the back gate so I could see the alley and just continued with my clean up efforts (luckily, I didn't run into any rats *shudder*). The "new" dealer, a Black man, tall, thin, mid 20's had been selling out of 30 and then was hovering in the alley. Apparently he couldn't stand it so he had to stop, I'm not sure if he was stashing or just checking on his stash in the back of 2317 but he spent a little while looking hard at the trash- something most law abiding citizens don't usually do, and then exited the alley at Bradford. The Fairmount exit is the favorite but there are men working on 34 so it's too inhabited. I decided that I thought I could get a shot of him so I went upstairs- left the music playing and got the camera. So here he is with a couple buyers picking up the 2317 stash. He was nervous about me, it was clear, kept kind of glancing at my house and then took the buyers off to the vacants at Bradford to complete the sale.
One defining feature, he was wearing a stack of shirts- I guess for easy chenge of clothes- white, dark blue, light blue, grey, etc. Faded baggy jeans, pretty clean looking.

2003-04-05T12:10:00.000-05:00

Yes, that stench is me. I just got back from taking part in the Mayor's clean up. The alleys weren't looking all that bad until we got to the hundred block of N. Port St- what a disaster! The bad thing about alley clean ups is that I find myself rehearsing mean and judgemental things to say to the people who live nearby when I know that, really, many of them are in the same boat I'm in when it comes to not being able to control what happens with the trash in the alley. We had lots of help from two great kids- William and Nick who put up with teasing from everyone (William is famous like a movie star in the neighborhood).

Of course, the real point about this is that we are still waiting for the city to make good on the promise they made at the last clean up in- um- October? When they told neighborhoods that they would clean up five problem yards in each neighborhood. We got one yard cleaned- months after the clean up took place. You know, we would have been happy with just that one yard if that's how they presented it, but since they told us they'd do five, I feel like they should follow through and learn their lesson abotu better planning. No, I'm going to resist making one of the obvious cliche's about "Believe" it's too easy.

I did get a good look at two of the users I see frequently on my block going into 114 N. Port St which is one of those vacant-in-a-lived-in-rent-free kind of way. I checked my sources, Apprently they are just users at this point in time. Now that I'm thinking about them, I'll have a picture soon.

Last night was quite exciting, I was watching a movie and heard all kinds of noise out front. Went to check and could still hear yelling but couldnt' see anyone but some onlookers who were kind of laughing at whatever was going on around the corner. Next thing, my neighbor comes aournd the corner in a rage (and yelling things I'd rather not post because I'd rpefer not to have people find this by searching on those terms). Apparently someone kicked his car and dented the door. He was probably angrier than I have ever seen anyone in my life so I took the phone and went outside to make sure he didn't get into any trouble or hurt anyone else.
The cops came about 10 minutes after the incident- two cars, an unmarked car, and the paddy wagon- I think that's all the cars we get for the entire sector? He eventually calmed down but he and my other neighor tell me that the gay men on the block are constantly being harrassed when they walk up and down the street. He claims that he asked them why they harrass him and, this part isn't clear, they either kickedhis door just because of the question or they said it was because he called the cops on them.

The whole thing makes me, again, want to send the people in the drug trade a letter telling them that we don't really care how they live theirs lives or what they do as long as it doesn't interfere with us. I actually think this is what my position is now. I wouldnt' even care abotu seeing them on th ecorner so much if they didn't bring down the block by littering and harrassing people. The problem is that there is no way they can't interfere with us- one of their users is eventually going to rob someone or break into a car or house, one of the kids playing in the alley is eventually going to have a run in with a needle or a vial and test it out, someone is going to think a woman who is just waiting for a bus is a prostitute and will harrass her. The conditions just aren't possible. Even if the dealers could control themselves, they can't control a bunch of unknowns who are high or doped up half the time.

2003-04-02T18:52:00.000-05:00

OK, so I haven't been around to look out the window in a while- yeeks! Driving home today I noticed a largish crowd in the alley (6-7 people) so I popped out of the car and let the dog out back to do his thing. ThHere was a whole tour group hanging around the back of number 30. Mostly White guys buying and two Black guys who appeared to be selling. it's interesting, the White guys were only focused on the Black guys and the Black guys appeared to be on the look out, looking around to see if anyone was watching. Um- except that they were completely ignoring me even though I was standing up on my raised garden bed and facing (but not looking really) in their direction. How sad that I'm not a threat?
One of the white guys must be a runner although he's in no shape to be. He appeared a bit later, late 30's? Bald with what hair he has shaved a while ago, glasses and a limp. He was carrying an aluminum crutch as he limped down the alley towards Baltimore St. Based on the way the dogs barked I'd say he's been around a bit.
I sat out front for a while, reading a magazine and watching the comings and goings of various people. A yellow Suzuki motorbike, with red flame decorations, made and appearance twice, stopped an dchatted with the corner dealers the first time. It was driven by a man and also had a blonde woman passenger. Both wore yellow helmets. The tag was a temporary and had a bunch of 3's in it (but maybe they all do?).
Then a sad looking guy sat on the steps across the street (number 33?) where he just kind of hung around until a tall, good looking, curly haired strawberry blonde- looked awfully clean cut to be wandering around on my block- wandered by and kindly rolled him a joint. Here they are finishing the transaction- wish I had a better picture of the blonde, but his extreme preppiness makes him quite memorable.

I'll be moving all surveillance to the front soon since my neighbor's stupid and annoying weed tree will be in leaf in a matter of weeks and I'll lose my view of the alley. Apparently, I can call 311 and have him cited and fined for it though.....

2003-03-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

on hiatus as I am away on vacation.

2003-03-13T13:34:00.000-05:00

Sorry- no updates- too sick to look out the window. Although, on Sunday I did see one of the first ever buyers I photographed hopped out of his very loud white sporty car and run up to the corner. Will have to watch for him. I'll be reinstalling the camera now that the snow has melted and the activity down our way has picked up again.

2003-03-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

hmmm I'm only sort of half impressed by what this group has done so far. I wish they would finish the things they have started rather than take on something new and big.

I was talking to my coworker about how the 2400 Block of E. Fayatee was being torn down and she said "well, they ar emaking progress." I agreed, but I'm really wondering whether we can count destruction of a whole row of what might have been perfectly good houses as progress?

I realized that I have become sort of community paranoid- I assume that everyone is doing something bad. So yestserday, when Iw as home waiting for the insurance guy I heard noises in the alley, I went to check and saw people putting garbage bags through an opening in the wall at the far end of the alley so I grabbed my camera "Aha! illegal dumping," I thought. But when I really looked they were actually workers putting trash into a truck to take it away. What a concept!

2003-03-04T12:23:00.000-05:00

Apparently, the very burned out block of 2400 E. Fayette St. is being torn down today. I expect we'll see a little extra action our way as a result. I'm not saying tearing that block down is bad- it's very good. The block has been a mess for years.
I guess the owner of 2321 has been around, when I got home yesterday I noticed that the favorite enty/exit window was boarded and a window has been reinstalled upstairs.
Ooh, here's a nice bit of irony, when I went to check the front page of this blog, I noticed that up there, where the Blogspot adds are, there were two ads for murder defense lawyers. Nice.

2003-03-02T16:41:00.000-05:00

I guess it's time to move surveillance back to the alley. Since the snow has been slowly (way too slowly) disappearing, I'm noticing more activity back there. I'm not sure what they are going to do about 30 though, the yard used to be very neat and tidy (thanks to a cleaning post-fire) ut now it's full of trash again.

2003-03-01T21:02:00.000-05:00

*Sniff* On Friday we said good-bye to Alyson Harkins who was our paralegal at the Community Law Center. She was a lovely person to work with, always very upbeat and positive and had a great sense of humor. Sometimes I think that people interepret my casual attitude and flip remarks as showing that I don't really care about problems, when it's just an attempt at keeping them in perspective. Alyson seemed to understand that and worked well with it. She's off to unionize the world and we'll miss her but I'm sure we'll all get together for drinks soon!

Meanwhile *shoves Alyson gently out the door* Welcome Kristin!!

2003-02-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

I doubt it's really been quiet this week, I just haven't been paying as much attention, I guess. Last night I did notice some activity on the first floor of 2321. The alley is always the first place to be trampled after a snow. Still haven't seen Green Coat but I've heard rumor that he is hanging out on Patterson Park Ave. Apart from the usual traffic stopping to make their pick ups, not much else going on.

2003-02-22T13:16:00.000-05:00

Well, the webcam is quite operational but it's a wee bit rainiy out at the moment to see anything through the window. I've moved surveillance to the front for the time being since not much is goin on out back at the moment. By next week I'm sure they will be bakc in business. Don't know really where Green Coat is working at the moment.
I have a few pictures and license plate numbers of the cars stopping by for a quick pick up in front of my house. Um- more accurately, stopping in front of my house for a quick pick up on the corner. Or sometimes the items are hidden in a snow pile. Honestly, I could probably cover all my renovation costs by selling the drigs I see hanging around waiting to be picked up.
I haven't had the umph to go out and see if the store on the corner is open or whether the shaved headed dealer is back. But there is definately big business going on out there.

2003-02-20T21:28:00.000-05:00

I was trying to figure out a way to get a picture of the dealer atthe corner, he's a White guy with a shaved head, looks sort of neo-nazi-like. But the Police just took him awy in the paddy wagon with one of his associates so I guess they will have all the pictures they need of him. I'd like to think that the snow helps in catching these guys since there really isn't anyway to get away fast down the alleys. Wonder how soon we'll see him out there again.

The second floor window of 2321 has now been entirely removed. I'm curious to know is this is a signal of somesort? I ask because there is a house immediately behind me which has been empty for years and was a problem house for years before that. A couple of years ago a second floor window was removed and since then no one has made any attempt to go into thehouse at all. Some broken windows, yes, but that's just been kids throwing rocks. Occasionally you see kids playign in the back yard. But overall, it's stayed pretty much untouched. I have been leeping the potential buyers of 2321 up to date on the goings on there in the hopes that it will be boarded soon.

OK, so my complaint for the day- why don't the people in the "rich" and "gentrified" neighborhoods" shovel their sidewalks? And also, why don't the developement corporations who are supposed to be helping the community (PPCDC, NHS, Harbor House) help the community by making sure that the properties they own and rent or are working on are also shoveled? Gosh, there ar eenough users out there looking to make a few bucks, someone could come and get them to shovel a path at least.

2003-02-18T10:55:00.000-05:00

I haven't had many pictures to show recently, shooting without flash has varying results. Today, though, I did catch this guy:

having a chat with the dealers on the corner. He arrived in this nice blue jeep with licensen plate M873711. There was a woman inside, I couldn't see her well, dark wazy hair maybe? They pulled up in front of my house, he got out and went to chat with the guys on the corner (pictures are useless, they look like everyone else, puffy dark jackets with hoods up) then came back, opened the back of the jeep and backed up to the corner where the guys put a trash bag into the back- not full, about as much as if you put a couple shirts into a trash bag, I'd guess, and off they went.

2003-02-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

From the Sun: Recordings, court documents show Dawson family's battles. I'm curious to know the significance of the middle section "Troubles of their own"- is it an attempt at discrediting the Dawson's generally? an explanation for why they didn't receive more police protection? Proof that they probably starte dthe incidents themselves? a justification that they were the kind of violent people that live on those corners so let's just all shrug it off?
I just don't understand how it is relevant to a case about a man who allegedly fire bombed a house and killed 7 people. I dont' thinkit would be relevant if everyone on teh house had been a convicted muderer.

It appears that someone may have broken into number 17 (on the other side). Rumor had it the current owners got into some "trouble" and have abandoned the house to let it go to foreclosure. The upstairs window seems to be open.

back alley is a bit too drifted in to be convenient for Green Coat and his crew. I'm sure the suburbanites find trekking through 2 feet of snow too be a bit too rustic even for them. Not to say there isn't dealing still going on. It's just changed location.

2003-02-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

Being trapped inside by VAST quantities of snow with nothing to do but cleaning, I decided it would be more fun to install a webcam. At the moment it's just showing snow out front while I tweak the settings and stuff. It refreshes about every 10 seconds or so. The current cam is a regular webcam, later I'll try to install the surveillance cam so I can use it for out back.
Only a couple sets of footprints going to 30 so far. You sort of have to feel for anyone that desperate, hey? Since they are out there anyway, I wish someone would take the dog to the park, he is dying to frolic but it may already be over his head!

2003-02-15T12:13:00.000-05:00

Ahhh- I finally saw the guy who keeps running past my wondow- he's a whote guy mid to late 20's (but I"m really bad at that) light brown hair and a small beard and moustache. Black and blue checked flannel shirt, grey sweatshirt, blue knit cap with an M on it. baggy jeans (goes without saying) currently has drugs in his underwear. He's been to 30 twice today that I've seen. Sadly, the digital camera is downstairs. I'm sure I'll get him soon enough.

2003-02-14T09:12:00.000-05:00

Brief update- I went through the tape from yesterday and found Green Coat at about 12:45 with a whole flock of buyers in the back yard of 30 N. Montford. I am talking about probably 10 buyers, Green Coat and the escort guy (he's the skinny white guy with dark hair, clean shaven). I'm not sure whether the police were around or what happened but at the end of the sale they all headed off towards Fairmount but then turned and hustled off towards N. Bradford. I think it's very interesting that they stay together in a groups the whole time, they arrive together and leave together.

2003-02-13T22:05:00.000-05:00

I've had time to think about what I was feeling last night and I have calmed down a bit. The problem for me, of course, is that Officer Penn works the same hours I do and so, since I'm not home when he would be likely to responde to a call, he isn't ever going to be very useful for me. I have also decided that he will probably end up being able to effect some change in the areas that he thinks are important but that he may never find my alley or corner at the top of his list.
I guess I fell into the same movie star idolization as many of the neighbors at the meeting. I don't think that I am any kind of expert at understanding what the police are really looking for. It seems odd to me that they appear to car only about the dealers and have no interest at all in the users. I had though that users would be a good source of information. I also harbor a huge dislike of peopl who come in form the suburbs to buy and use, who talk about how bad the city is and act like they are on some kind of safari, and then go home as though they are model citizens. I don't like them whether they are using, or dealing, or here to find a prostitute. I also think that they are more likely to respond to the fear of being caught and punished (as long as punishment is something more than just having one's name published in the Guide). Supply and demand would suggest that scasring away a lot of the customers should slow business down a little.

I still take issue with the way he handled my giving him the vials and I will probably mention it to him. I have a few questions for him as well, that I think will be useful for the community to have clarified- things like what his hours are, when he thinks we shoudl be calling him as opposed to calling 911 or 311, what he thinks will happen to the other blocks in the nieghborhood if he manages to get his target block cleaned up, etc. I am very concerned that, after the moving around last week, my block kind of has an opening for a big dealer and I will be very angry if all he manages to do is to move them down here.

In the more mundane aspects of surveillance (yeah, I'll keep going), I moved the camera to try to catch some of the action in the alley. Although 2321 still looks empty, the windows are in an ever changing state of openness, the lights are still on too. I haven't reviewed today's tape yet, I'm hoping to catch some of the traffic in and out of the yards at 28 and 30 even if I can't see what is actually happening there.

So I'll continue to see what I can find out. I am a big believer in the saying "Data is Power"

2003-02-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

We had our community association meeting this evening. Our Community Relations Officer, Melvin Penn, came by to give the residents some hints on how to provide useful information to the police. He said a lot of good things and has an excellent sounding plan for one of the most problematic blocks in the nieghborhood. I was a bit disappointed though in some of his behavior. First off, I had the 3 vials with me, I had called his number to ask if I could give them to him at the meeting and the Officer (Wright, I think) suggested that I do that but be discreet about it. I had no intention of walking up the street with them in my hand anyway so I put them in an envelope with a card that had the date and location where I found them. During the meeting, Officer Penn yells, "Does someone here have drugs for me or was that just a rumor?" I was taken aback. He didn't know everyone at the meeting and neither did I. I wasn't exctied about being labelled as the person who carries drugs around looking for cops. So I said, as I handed them over "I was told to be a little more subtle about it." I don't think that is the way to win over the trust of the community members at all. Why would anyone feel comfortable calling him now when we don't know whether he might walk up the street and say "Are you the person who called about the crack house?"
He pretty much also told us that he only reads email if he knows who wrote it and complained that someone sent him 17 pages and was all emotional in it and he had to read the whole thing to fidn what he needed to know. Um- well, guess what, honey? we are emotional about it. If we weren't we wouldn't be trying to fix it.
Personally, I also felt like he blew off videotape surveillance. I offered him several hours of footage of one particular dealer and he said "Oh, I already know him." Now, I'm not sure why his polaroids are more powerful than a videotape but who am I to say?

I'm honestly not trying to be down on the police. I just worry when the message is "do it this way or don't bother" that people are not going to bother. I think that the police need to treat anyone giving them any kind of information as a precious commodity, everyone should be encouraged to participate and should be guaranteed that they will be treated with respect and confidentiality. On the flip side, I think we need to stop treating the police like they are doing us a favor when they show up.

2003-02-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

Not much to post really- I guess that's good? Mr Coates, who owns 2321 E. Fairmount claims that he got the squatters out. I 'm not sure I believe him but I'm happy either way. Hopefully now the Patterson Park Community Developement Corporation will be able to buy it and at least secure it, if nothing else.
Other good news, 28 and 30 N. Montford were both boarded today so I guess the outstanding work orders at Housing are down to 6999 (they were both on one).Must be quite a relief to their workers.

Today I called 911 on two users behind 28, the distinctive smell of lighter fluid is not very comforting when two houses on your block have already been burned. I also dicovered three orange topped vials in my backyard. Full. Don't get excited, they've been delivered safely to the police. I think they've been there a while, appeared to have been under the snow.

I'm still very frustrated at not being able to get video of those properties though and trying to figure out a way to do it. If I weren't nervous about putting the cam outside it would be a piece of cake but I'm still laying low for a while until I get a feel for what the new regime is about.

If anyone os trying to email me, it will be touch and go- I'm also fighting spammers so my mailbox tends to fill up....

2003-02-09T20:51:00.000-05:00

*sigh* I guess surveillance starts up again tomorrow. I haven't been doing much since the group moved out but, while delivering newsletters, Carol overheard a buyer being directed to the back of 2321 again so there you go. She also overheard comments about a blue cavalier on Patterson Park Ave- not sure if it's the big boss of just a special customer (or maybe an undercover cop?). The windows are now closed in 2321 so someone's been back in.
My neighbor made an interesting comment, he says that this isn't an open air drug market, just kids taking advantage of an opportunity. I guess that the fact that they have the "decency" to go into the alley to do the deals disqualifies it as an open air market? uh huh. Granted, It's not as bad as many places, I have no problem admitting to that. But I think it's like any kind of infection that is only half treated, the tough bugs live through and develop resistence. Right now our corner may indeed not be really hardcore open air trafficking, but how long will it take until suddenly, one day, we wake up and it IS exactly the kind of open air market we are all dreading? Many of the neighbors up a block or two can't see passed their own corners to see how it has spread through our whole little 6 square block neighborhood. This isn't a big area to try to keep clean.
I realized the other day that as much as I'd like to see the users in treatment and on the road to a productive life and the dealers in jail (and somehow made to payback time to the nieghborhoods they've taken advantage of), I think I'd settle for a clear two block radius all around my corner. it's selfish, maybe greedy, and certainly shortsighted. But think of how wonderful it would be if everyone worked just towards a clear two block radius around their own corner. It seems almost like a bite small enough to chew.

2003-02-08T16:40:00.000-05:00

So Carol, around the corner, has been watching the runners/look outs whatevers who hang around on the steps up to the park. There is one, wearing yet another New York Yankee hat (knit cap, not baseball cap), tall, skinny, dark hair with one of those really thing beard things that just kind of outlines the face? He is up there quite a bit, I guess. I noticed him today gazing, dare I say wistfully? at 2321. Then he went around the corner into the yard at 30 N. Montford. *sigh* I just can't get a good angle on that yard, unfortunately. Since that has been a nasty problem property here is the ownership information on it. Just something useful to have around. Also quite interesting if you notice that on 11/10/97 the house was purchased by one buyer for $9200 and on that same day by another buyer for $48,500. Extra credit for anyone who looks up the term flipping.

2003-02-07T10:10:00.000-05:00

Having 5 inches of snow on the ground in't such a bad thing- first, I can see that there are very few footprints going to 2321, last time aorund the alley was better trafficked than the sidewalks. Having the day off from work is another added bonus, but it also brings out my neighbors so I stopped to chat with one who tends to be pretty well, if questionably, informed. He told me that Ernestine has moved and that the big dealer, Jay, was recently released from prison and is trying to take the neighborhood back from the guys that came in while he was away. Including Green Coat. I asked him about the wall scorching, he hadn't seen it but figured it may have been Jay's way of making sure they all knew what was what.

Oh and last time we had piles of snow the runners used them to drop vials for customer pick up. I have two nice piles (well, a dog peed in one) so I'll keep my eyes open.

2003-02-06T22:40:00.000-05:00

Apparently, Green Coat has moved over a block and was seen in the alley between the unit block of Montford and Port St. I didn't think he'd move far especially since some of his customers don't seem to have gotten the message yet that the whole crew has moved on. Nice to know where he's lurking.
Earlier today, I heard a woman yell "What the Hell did you do to our house?" so I'm guessing that the ransacking wasn't really planned. I couldn't see her or the person she was talking too.

I also spent time on the phone with the city today *rolls eyes* I really wonder how much of the problem with services is lack of money and how much is poor management. I called housing to see why the two burned out houses haven't been boarded yet and was told that there are over 7000 work order outstanding and those have been pending for a while. Sanitation seems to do better, they gave me a pick up date of 21 days. I guess I will start working on figuring out a way to get 28 and 30 boarded securely sometime before I die.

2003-02-06T08:36:00.000-05:00

Good Morning, last night at around 8:45 or 9:00 I was very certain I saw another person (or one of the same people) climb back into 2321. I went to the bedroom to watch but couldn't see any evidence that tehre was anyone inside. Later, when I went to bed, I noticed that the window covering on teh first floor back (by the door) was gone. It has not, as of this morning, been replaced, neither have the coverings on the upstairs windows which were taken down during the original break in.
If I had to guess, I'd say that the people who have been squatting there may have moved out. The amount of traffic lately has decreased and it now looks very empty although lights still come on at on the first floor front.

I plan to continue watching because I'm sure this is not the last we have seen of the goings on there. Unfortunately, even if this house is emptied, there is still a tremendous amount of street traffic here and a block up and I don't have a a good angle to view that activity.

I am quite sure someone else will move in soon anyway, if last night's tactics were to frighten the current residents away, I'm sure the plan is to move someone else in. It would be great if we could get the owner to come and post no trespassing signs or board the house or something, now while it's quiet.

2003-02-05T20:05:00.000-05:00

Well, as quiet as yesterday was, today was rather exciting. Didn't tape much during the day but did have it running just in time to catch two guys climbing up and into the second floor window. I also happened to be in the bedroom at the time and saw this piece of action live. I debated calling 911, enjoying the irony of calling to report people breaking into a house that, as far as I know, is full of squatters. But I decided to watch for a while. Plus, since starting surveillance, I have decided not to call 911 unless there was a threat of bodily harm to someone or something like that since I'm trying not to call any more attention to myself. The two guys were both young Black men, wearing the standard dark puffy jacket and knit hats. It was dark and so, although I tried taking digital pics, they came out mostly as blobs. (see below)
I watched for a while but decided, since there were lights on downstairs, that they probably were just new tenants who didn't have a key? Anyway, I wandered back to watch the news and wasn't really paying them much attention but, while flipping channels, I happened to go by the channel that is the camera and saw a fire on the second floor. I think my first reaction isn't really printable, but it was an odd mixture of many emotions, I will say that. I grabbed a bunch of electronic devices, the phone, the digital camera, the remote (don't know why I needed that) and ran down the hall tos ee what was happening. I decided not to call 911 until I knew for sure what was going on. The two guys were still inside, they had clearly ransacked the room and were lighting fires. But they weren't burning down the house, from what I could see, they were scorching the wall to leave marks. I watched for a while longer until both guys climbed out. The second guy took a large soft drink cup with him (he did not have it going in) and they left in different directions up the alley. I continued watching to make sure that the house was not, in fact, on fire. It hasn't burned yet.

the regular occupants haven't returned yet so I don't know what their reaction will be. I'm not at all interested in getting in the middle of some kind of turf battle and my photos anyway can't be used to id the two guys unless someone is really clever with photo manipulation. but I'm keeping my eyes open out of curiousity.

2003-02-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was very quiet, it was windy and the camera blew off the window sill so I only had 3.5 hours of footage and in the whole time I saw the garbage men come by (still amazes me that they get that truck up the alley), one guy looked for the stash in the trash behind 2321 and green coat walked by around noon. *shrug* not sure whether it was just a regular slow day, had something to do with it being trash pick up day, or if there was some other thing that kept them away.
I have move the camera inside, didn't think I'd get any kind of video from inside but it seems to be ok, I don't think anyone has notice the cam at all but this is just a little more secure. Plus, it is more flexible in some ways, I have better control over the ont he house and alley. When I decide to go after the illegal dumpers (and that $100 reward- woohoo) this may be a better option.

I was up at about 3am, the pets were being wretched all night, andhad to turn on the light. I noticed s man coem out of 2321 and run up the alley carrying something long, in a box or wrapped? I didn't have my glasses on and wasn't particularly even looking out the window so I don't know if he was running because of me or because ti was cold or whatever. But I was completely innocent at the time (and couldn't see anyway). Couldn't tellyou anything about him except that he had on a dark runnign suit with stripes and he looked like all the other pasty face white boys that hang around there. I wish they'd take some vitamins or something!

2003-02-04T09:33:00.000-05:00

*falls off chair in hysterics* OK, I wish I were smart enough to get the video to here for. I was literally laughing out loud last night as I watched the tape made between 10 a.m. and about noon. I usually scan the tape on high speed FF and stop it when I want to take notes on something. For that first 1.5 hours I kept in on high speed and watched about 5 groups of people come up to the house and buy and then leave. Easily 20 people bought in that time period. Green cat left after 11 so the later groups were either buying from someone else or left disappointed.
No, it's not funny that that many people can be lurking around the neighborhood and buying in a short period of time. But I am easily amused by things like watching people in high speed. It looked like a frickin' soup kitchen or something.

The activity in the other yards on that block has definately also increased. I think they are stashing there in between sales. When GC left, the first thing he did was go to the yard at 2317. Unfortunately, my video is too cheap to get much detail on that .

2003-02-03T09:46:00.000-05:00

One other piece of information, apparently, the electric at 2321 is listed in someone's name, BGE can't tell me whose, though, unfortunately. I was very surprised to hear this but happy that it wasn't being sucked out of one of our houses.

Kudos to the police for providing me with some excellent entertainment watching 6 customers try to run back up the alley that is very full of bulk trash left by the other users and dealers (loading pallet, trash cans, bike parts, mattress). it looked like some kind of weird urban football practice.

The House was quiet this weekend, only one sighting of Green Coat yesterday at about three, he just left and walked up the alley towards Bradford.
Did see two odd things, one was a man in his twenties, White, shoulder length light brown hair, glasses with dark frames, wearing a tan jacket and brown corduroy pants- he went into the yard at 2317 and was in the corner, out of sight for about 5 minutes then left, looked perfectly calm the whole time. Didn't look at all like the usual alley user, more like someone buying for a party or something, kind of artsy.

The other was on video and poor quality but someone in a bright red sweatshirt walked and gazed at 2321 for a moment then went into the yard of 2317, looked around, climbed over the wall into 2319, looked around, went back to 2317 and dug through the trash for a while climbed back into 2319 and then left towards Bradford. I think he needs to think twice about wakling with someone else's stash.

2003-02-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

Green Coat arrived today just before ten. hung around the back yard and then went and got an umbrella from someplace. Makes me think he parked his car nearby. He went in at one point for just a minute or two and then left. I thought it was all very very quiet but when I looked out the front window I discovered 1-2 cop cars on the corner. So there you go. The funny thing is that my first reaction was "shoot, how can I get any good info with the cops there?" silly me!

At 10:05 I noticed that the first floor window is slightly ajar. Since they have no heat, I doubt that they are trying to cool it down in there.

The person in the red jacket with blue sleeves drove away in a small blue car (I am hopeless at car identification) at about 9:45. The tag was something like RPP 452.

OK, some new stuff:
this is one of the guys who hangs around the house. it's hard to say whether he lives there or just visits. He was in and out a lot on Thursday. THis isn't a great shot but he's a tall Black guy with a mustache.

this is one of the suburban boys I caught on Thursday. He just looked goofy back there, didn't know which house or what to do.

and this guy acts as the escort for the nice suburbans.

but he sometimes also carries stuff, apparently, since here he is picking up the stash behind 2317 E. Fairmount

Now here we have a peculiar guy.

He was lurking around behind 30 then went to look around in the yards behind 2321 and 2317. Started back up the alley and saw the white coated guy (above) coming and left quickly the other way. then came wandering back as soon as the white coat left. Apparently, Carol chatted with him later about the Space Shuttle disaster.

And here is one of the countless pseudo blondes hanging around while one of the boys retrieves his stash form the backyard of 2321. He is wearing a Yankee baseball cap. This happened around 5:15 p.m. I wasn't taping at the time but happened to be there with the camera.

The stash in question was in a paperbag right at the edge of the yard. Explains why I've noticed that they seem to lose things in the alley frequently

2003-01-31T21:46:00.000-05:00

Learned about this site from the rat meeting I went to Thursday night. Very interesting.
I didn't put the camera out today, I prefer not to be too predictable. I'm thinking about moving the camera to the frint of the house to try to get clearer shots of the traffic that way. It won't be on 2321 but it will help me to get to know the various people. Plus, last week, Green Coat arrived from that direction. I may be able ti get some car descriptions that way too.

Yesterday's log wasn't nearly as interesting as Wednesday's. Green Coat didn't show at all but there was a lot of in and out traffic and people going up and down the alley. Apparently, someone did notice the flash because they made a point of running the suburbanites up and down the alley when they went past this corner. Not sure they know which house though. The suburban buyers are actually pretty funny they look totallyout of place and can't figure out which house to go to. Um, I'm sorry, but could it be more obvious? There are two guys I got a clear look at- one was a big guy, curly hair and a blue nike jacket, his friend had red hair tucked under a baseball cap. They lurked areound and then were escorted by one of the runners. I'm guessing that the runner guys aren't worried because they don't really carry anything anyway.
I'll put pictures up tomorrow.
The burned houses on this side of the alley haven't been boarded yet although city code is that they must be boarded in 48 hours. I didn't have time to call housing today to ask them what's going on.. Apparently, someone called 311 on 1/28 to report that 28 and 30 are open but the operator couldn't find anything about 30 at all. The work order number is 29934- the 311 operator told me that the ticket had been given directly to housing on 1/28. Someone cleaned up in front of the property, it looks neater, and tehre are two boards in front of 28 but no real progress and the back is a mess and also being used again for dealing. (the video camera may point there soon, I don't think they know about that one anyway).

2003-01-30T10:51:00.000-05:00

Ownership and tax information about the property.

2003-01-30T08:37:00.000-05:00

I have seen this woman twice now, the first time, I admit, she looked too clean cut and suburban, I tried to tell myself that she was some kind of home health worker or something. Uh huh- all my home health worker friends take security with them when they go to iffy neighborhoods. Her coat is dark blue, she wears glasses (wire rim) and has dark wavy hair pulled back in a neat braid. I saw her again this morning at about 1:00 a.m. leaving the house.

Here is the house itself, very lovely, yes?

This is one of the blonde women referred to in the surveillance log. I think she may be the last of the blondish women. I got this picture this morning and will have to review the tape to tell which ine she is.

2003-01-29T22:35:00.000-05:00

Here is the report from yesterday's surveillance tape. it was started at 9:00 a.m. and ended at 3:00p.m. The time points are as close and I can to the actual time but they are more to deomonstrate the frequency of the activity.
9:01 9:02, 9:03, 9:12, 9:16, 9:17, 9:22, 9:43 ,10:04, 10:10, 10:29, 10:44- at these times two people, a blond woman in dark pants with a denim or gray jacket and white t-shirt and a tallish White man with dark hair, dark baseball cap and long dark coat entered and left the house several times. the only other interesting occurence was at 9:17 a Black )I think) male in grey clothes climbed up and into the second story of the house next door (2319, also a problem house, and one that's been boarded). I never saw him leave on the tape.

10:48 is when thisngs begin happening. the Green Coated drug dealer (GC) arrives
11:13 GC leaves up the alley
11:18- 3 people leave the house, 2 men, one woman, all in dark clothes, one man carrying a gym bag
11:28- 10 people walk by the house up the alley in a group
11:29- a white guy in a black hat with on white stripe around it (seen him before) walks by the house with another blond woman
11:33- green coat guy returns and enters the house
11:34- an individual enters the house
11:45- GC leaves
11:46- ind (maybe GC) walks up alley and hangs around in backyard for a few minutes then leaves up the alley again
11:48- 2 people leave the house
11:50- 2 people walk by
11:52- 5 people walk by
11:55- 5 people walk by- one is wearing a dark jacket with a stripe across chest and sleeve.
11:56- GC returns
11:58 GC sells something to the striped jacket person over the back wall
12:01- GC signals up the alley (towards Fairmount)
12:03 GC deals to 3 people
12:07 GC deals to 3 over wall
12:13 two people leave the house
12:15 GC deals in the alley- or hands over the stash? Blonde woman (the second one) and a guy with a cap- they go in the house
12:16 GC returns puts something in the yard and then walks up the alley, returns quikly, picks up item in yard and leaves towards Fairmount
12:26 GC returns and talks through the window
12:29 GC leaves

At this point I think there was a signal in the window or somewhere on the house because once he left the next groups of people walk up the alley, looked at the house and then left without going in the yard or knocking. He does not return on the tape.
For the next couple of hours, there is some going in and out of the house of various people, a guy in a blue jacket, another blondish woman.
At around 2:00p.m. people start hovering again, lots of traffic up and down the alley but GC is not present.

12:46,12:49, 12:50, 12:56, 12:59, 1:08, 1:16, 1:20, 1:25, 1:44, 1:51, 2:12, 2:19, 2:22, 2:31, 2:49, 2:56

2003-01-29T19:02:00.000-05:00

I am still going through the tape from today, lots of activity around 10:30, at one point 10 people walked up the alley in a group- weird. I am not even half way through it yet though. It's quite interesting.

2003-01-29T19:00:00.000-05:00

LOL, spoke too soon! It;s been quite a happening place today. When I got home at about 5:00p.m. there were people rushing in and out in groups of 2 and 3. I was taking pictures but my flash went off accidently and scared the poor things away. BooHoo!

The green coated dealer- isn't he the loser I promised he'd be? This picture and the action shot following were taken on 1/25 at about 10:30 a.m.

oh and here are some of the charming people that hang around- the pictures aren't great but I'm still working on the technology here. Rigth now I'm mostly tryting to figure out the traffic patterns. It's not like it's all that difficult to tell who's a user.

In all fairness, this guy (has an bus pass around his neck, BTW) did not enter the house. He kind of walked by shaking his head. I'm not sure whetehr he was just surveying the filth or whether tehre was a signal that he didn't like. The bus pass certainly sets him apart from the usual customers.

2003-01-29T10:36:00.000-05:00

hhmmm, well, 2321 has been pretty quiet since Monday. usually, even if I can't see the house, I can hear when someone knocks or leaves (they are fond of door slamming) and I haven't heard much. So, I set up the camera this morning to tape from 9 am- 3pm to see whether it's just been quiet at night or whether it's an all day thing. It's a bit warmer today (hovering around freezing). I'll be curious to see what's up. On a busy day they have up to 4-5 customers an hour going in and out the back door. Apparently, someone sits on the front step (which I can't see from my house) and helps direct people to the right location.
I remember watching Cops once and being impressed that one person would say "I'm not a whore, I'm just a user!" and the next person would say "I'm no crackhead, I'm just a hooker!". I've heard similar things on my street, "I"m a user but I ain't a crackhead" - um- uh huh that's better. Likewise, if you suggest that someone who is a lookout or a runner is a dealer they get very upset. people are really good at rationalizing things, aren't they?

So, we'll have to see what goes on today.

2003-01-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

Today's update should have been yesterday's but since yesterday's was the first and needed background we are a day behind and at least a dollar or two short.

So yesterday I was waken at about 5:15 a.m. by the sound of fire trucks a little bit closer than I like to hear them. It was hard to tell exactly where they were which is never a good sign. I didn't smell smoke so I wasn pretty sure it wasn't my house but I also suspected that it wasn't 2321 which I expect to be burned sort of any minute. Last year we had a mini-string of fires, first 28 N. Montford was completely burned out, then it was smouldering again, then there was a fire in the alley immediately behind mine. It wasn't fun and it took me months to get the nasty stench of burning rowhouse out of my nose. So I leapt out of bed, left thh dog there ( he was hoping it wasn't true) and went to see what it was. In the front of the house I got a nose full of smoke. I stuck my head out the front door and discovered it was 30 N. Montford. the summer home of the 2321 residence or their business address, however you look at it. I thought several very unkind things, which were interspersed with "well, that's one less house to keep my eye on", fed the cat, and went out to make sure my neighbor Robert was lurking around somewhere safe.

BTW, did you know that it is freezing out these days?

I watched the firemen struggle to get the boards off of the house, strange since everyone else just pops them off or uses the front door. It was a good example of uing the wrong tool, they were using an axe when they needed a crowbar. *shrug* The fire was put out pretty quickly, we gave statements to the fire investigator person that he promised to give to the police and I decided it was too cold to stay out much longer and went back in. My house was pretty smokey in front but not too bad in the back.
the street was pretty empty and even 2321 had the good sense to stay quiet until the firemen were gone but they were back in business by 7:30 a.m.

2003-01-27T22:26:00.000-05:00

This blog is my place to document the happenings at 2321 E. Fairmount Ave, Baltimore, MD USA.
Why document that address? Mostly because in the 9 years that I have lived in East Baltimore, that address has been a problem, it has housed a continuous succession of drug dealers and, to be frank, white trash. *shrug* sorry if that offends you, if you know a better word for people who treat their back yard and alley like a giant public trash can then send it along and I'll consider changing my vocabulary.
The current situation, as I see it is this, the building houses a varying number of people who are clearly not all family. Visitors come to the back door at all hours of day and night and as frequently as every 10-15 minutes. These visitors are both Black and White and range in age from teen to 40's. I'd guess some are relatively new in from the suburbs, a handful are both addicts and prostitutes. My impression is that they have a collective IQ of about 15 given that they seem to lose things frequently in the back yard and alley.
My neighbor, Robert, tells me that the corner dealers have installed a woman named Ernestine as a squatter in the house. She rents rooms to dealers, hookers, users, etc. She also serves to stall the sale of the house to the local community developement corporation which was supposed to close on the property in October. Like many of the absentee owners in the neighborhood, the person that now owns the property is apparently tired of being bothered with it. S/he would probably sell but now that would mean getting Ernestine evicted and that might take some actual effort- you know, a call to the police and *shudder* a visit to the neighborhood.

Now there is also this guy, a white guy, late 40's, balding, wearing glasses and a green down jacket. He deals in the mid morning, mostly out of 2321 but sometimes out of 30 N Montford too. I have pictures of him in action that I"ll post when I make an actual layout for this. Everything about him yells, "LOSER!!!" all over the place. I wonder if he dresses better when he gets wherever he lives because he certainly walks around with enough money in his pocket to dress and look better than he does. The funny thing about him is that I've seen him deal out of the backyard of 2321 but never go inside but he does sometimes go inside 30 N. Montford (harder for me to see because it's on teh same side I am). I see him beginnign md-morning on saturdays, he may be tehre during the week but I'm not *shrug*. theother odd thing about it is that the dealing that goes on inside of 2321 tends to be when it's dark out. but again, that's when I'd be most aware of it. I've set up a cheapy surveillance camera on it during the day, on occaion, and it seems to be pretty quiet during the week.

I'll have to be more consistent with my taping but it's so boring to come home and watch it and I find I get a bit obsessive about the camera and watch it all the time (when I could really just go and look out the window).