Monthly Publicationof the Fell’s PointCitizens on Patrol12 January 2008

Volume 10 Number 1

HappeningsRec Pier Breakthrough

D e ve lope r J .J . C la rke a n -nounced tha t city H ousing C om-missioner P aul G raz iano “signedour Land D isposition Agreem entfor the R ecrea tion P ie r redeve lop-ment. T his marks the end of morethan a year of negotia ting te rmsand price for this property.” T heaccord now awaits acceptance bythe Boa rd of E stim a te s. C la rkesa id the agreed appra isa l for thepie r, once re pa ire d, wa s $ 8 .9 2 5m illion a nd the e stim a te d costsare $8 million. T he next steps: anagreement to re locate M oran Tow-ing during construction and a firesa fe ty plan which the F ire D epart-ment will accept.

Trash Catchers, News StandsTw o of the sola r-pow e re d,

trash-com pacting bins tha t havehe lped police the Inner H arbor arenow doing the same for the footof Broadway— one on the S quareand the other hard by the W aterTaxi stand.

Taxi P resident C ammie Kanewelcomed the conta iners and con-trasted them with the 11 newspa-pe r dispe nse rs curre ntly la she dgarishly to the stand’s watersidefence , mostly empty or dispersingdated ad sheets. T he only news-papers represented were C ity P a -pe r a nd T he Ba ltim ore T im e s—T he S un having pulled back to acluster of dispensers crowding theside wa lk a cross T ha m e s St. onBroadway. Indeed, the mini-kiosksare prolife ra ting on severa l stree tcorners. Kane sa id she has com-pla ined for months to the C ity, dis-covering tha t most of the standswere gypsy, not paying the requi-site fee . Kane suggested tha t thecom m unity conside r a te a pa rtycounte ra tta ck, cutting the ca bletha t ho lds the d ispe nse rs a ndhauling them off to a landfill.

T he sola r compactors appar-ently a re a beneficence of the newP romenade P artnership, focusedmostly on keeping the Inner H ar-bor clean, as is a newly planteddisplay on the S quare describingthe impact of H urricane Isabe l onthe H arbor in ’03 . C redits for thela tte r include the sta te D e pt. ofN a tura l R esources and N a tiona lO ceanic and Atmospheric Admin-istra tion.

Newsletter Completes a DecadeThe Fell’s Pointer began publication in 1997,

initially with no name or fixed publication date.But by August of that year it became the Fell’s PointCitizens on Patrol monthly newsletter, taking itscurrent name in 2004. For an account of its begin-nings we turned to the source:By Nancy ConradCofounder, Fell’s Point Citizens on Patrol

A little over ten years ago Myrna Poirierand I, lamenting that we’d both had our housesburglarized and our cars broken into, noticedshards from another auto break-in at our feet.Myrna’s immediate reaction was, “We shoulddo something about this. If we were able tostop a federal highway, we should be able tostop a few petty thieves.”

A flyer to our neighbors along and Annand Lancaster Sts. and a call to Southeast Po-lice resulted in a lively meeting with OfficerMelvin Penn and about 30 neighbors, many ofwhom had also been victimized. We soon re-alized that while we needed help from thepolice, we really had to reenergize ourselvesas a community. Many ideas generated: sign-ups to be block representatives, start of Citi-zens on Patrol, attention to who comes andgoes on our blocks. Obvious precautions, toooften neglected, were reiterated: turn on out-side lights, lock doors and windows, pick upflyers, and don’t leave valuables in full view.Penn left with a roster of trainees for patrols.

Immediately, a newsletter began to evolve.Several people suggested that ideas from thefirst meeting should be printed and distributedto neighbors unable to attend. That led to moreideas. Almost weekly for the first two months,various people took responsibility for writing,printing, distributing one-page fliers to com-municate what was happening. By August ’97,Christy Wolfe and Jim Maslousky created aFPCOP masthead and graphics. LisaKolodney-Hirsh developed a distributionteam—some of whom still serve the routesassigned 10 years ago.

The newsletter became a monthly commu-nity communication, relying on donations forpaper and printing. Soon, Lew Diuguid, a re-tired newspaperman, became editor, changingthe name in 2004 to The Fell’s Pointer. It con-tinues to exhibit the unique vibrancy of thisvillage by sharing news, ideas, information—freely—through dedicated volunteers. And itis still available to help contain “a few pettythieves.”See Editorial, ’97 issue, on Page 2.

Valentine From MTA: #11 BusWill Run to Town on Fleet St.

Starting Feb. 17, Fell’s Pointers on themove will double their opportunities to travelby Maryland Transit Administration bus, asthe long-running No. 11 Charles St. line willswing east from downtown along Fleet St. toterminate at Canton Crossing. Until now, rid-ers were largely dependent on the No. 10 alongEastern Ave., which could take them down-town and then up the west side to State Cen-ter. The 11 will carry riders not only down-town but north on Charles through Mt.Vernon, by Penn Station, the Cathedral,Greater Baltimore Medical Center and on toTowson.

No. 13 continues to run north and southalong Washington and Wolfe Sts. and thencewest on Aliceanna. The 11 heading west onFleet will have stops at Chester, Broadway,and Central, reaching Charles at Redwood.Frequency varies from a bus every 20 minutesat rush hours to one per hour at night.

The ‘Point’s point man on transportation,Robert C. Keith, has long urged transit authori-ties to run buses closer to the water here. Inwelcoming the extension of the 11, he noted

that the new con-figuration candrop riders at thedoor of the trainstation, but lug-ging one’s lug-gage home ismore problem-atic since the busgoing south is along block awayon MarylandAve. at that junc-ture. The light

rail, in the station, tothe 10 would be anoption.

Keith alluded tolarger concerns at theJan. 2 Residents’ As-sociation meeting,saying a draft studyof the proposed RedLine rapid transit in-cludes options ofdedicated lanes forlight rail through the‘Point as well as aloss of 100 currentparking spaces.

A communitymeeting on the topicprobably is needed,said Keith.

P hoto by Le w D iuguid

News vending stands await readers;new compactor waits trash.

The Fell’s Pointer is pub-lished monthly by volunteersof Fell’s Point Citizens on Pa-trol, Inc. Questions, input andparticipation in patrols andthis newsletter are welcome.E-mail fpcop@verizon.net.Online www.fpcop.com.Write P.O. Box 6137, Balti-more, MD 21231.

thanks!P rin tin g e xp e n se s fo r th is

month’s newsle tte r were donatedb y John Steven Ltd. , 1 8 0 0T ha m e s St. , 4 1 0 .3 2 7 .5 5 6 1 a ndHenderson’s Wharf, 1 0 0 0 F e llStree t, 410 .522 .7777 . D esign andlayout contributed by Tina F lemingo f Warren Communications,warrencommunications@ comcast.net.

Only in Fell’s Point-V: The Bar With the Trampoline Floor

Editorial: 10-Yr. Quest ForReliable Informants

As Nancy Conrad recalls on Page 1, thisnewsletter from the start has been a collabora-tion of volunteers. Also from the start, alas, oc-casional contributors of articles and ideas are asshort as oysters off Broadway Pier. The currentstaff stalwarts are Michael Arida, president ofFPCOP, which is dormant but for The ‘Pointer;Jacquie Greff, a photographer/graphic artist whoalso commands a platoon of distributors; car-toonist Maria Cavacos; staff writer Mark Walker;designer Tina Fleming, and me as editor. We at-tempt to engage a readership that also can write,or at least relate, when an occasion—be it onlyan itch—arises so as to inform others along thesebricks and stones that are Fell’s Point. Addressesbelow. —Lew Diuguid

F e ll’s P oint Antique D ea lers’ Asso-cia tion: C a ll 410 .675 .4776 .

F e ll’s P oint C ommunity O rganiza -tion meets a t Lemko H ouse , 603S . Ann St., on second M ondays a t7P M , 443 .791 .1717 .

T h e F e ll’s P o in t D e ve lo p m e n tC o rp: F irs t T u e sd a ys , 8 A M a tKa li’s C ourt, C a ll 410 .675 .8900 .

Fell’s P oint R esidents’ Association:F irst W ednesdays, 7P M , Bertha ’s2nd F loor.

G re e nspa ce Action P a rtne rship:S e cond Tue sda ys, 6 P M , V isitorC enter 410 .732 .8232 .

S ocie ty for the P reserva tion ofF e ll’s P oint and F edera l H ill: C a ll4 1 0 .6 7 5 .6 7 5 0 .

Photo by Jacquie Greff, www.TonalVision.com

By Mark WalkerIn the mid-1980s, as I watched the TV

show “Cheers,” I started thinking it would befun to own a pub. Rick’s American Bar, at 706S. Broadway, was for sale. It’s now La Marsaand is a water-pipe bar, hoping to begrandfathered out of the new ban on barsmoke. It was owned in the 1970s by Fell’sPoint historian Geoffrey M. Footner, and be-fore that was a transvestite haven.

When I showed up, the asking price was$90,000, not including a liquor license. Since Iknew nothing about this type of venture, I tookmy older brother Rick with me. As we walkedin, the floor bounced us—not out the door, butalmost like rubber. Odd. When we climbed tothe third floor, sky showed through the roof.My brother Rick knew I wasn’t a handymanand said, “This is going to require a ton ofwork.” Still, I asked to see the basement, andthis is where my story gets really weird.

The bar floor had “extensive termite dam-age” and a former owner “fixed” it by pour-ing on concrete. The weight added to the grav-ity. Replacing the floor would be expensive.So there in the low-ceiling cellar we witnessedthe “solution”—a legion of large black tirejacks set to prevent a cave-in, and to level the

Neighborhood MeetingsD ouglass P lace: Third W ednesdayof every other month a t the P olishN a tiona l A llia nce , 1 6 3 7 E a ste rnAvenue , 410 .563 .1297 .

By Jason SullivanFell’s Point Development Corp.

For the holidays, the business district wasbathed in red ribbons and bows and the square

Development Corp. Makes a Point: Holidays are Local TrashP lace trash, in cans only, forpickup after 6AM on M ondaysand Thursdays.

RecyclingP lace a ll recyclables - bottles,cans, plastic (#1-7), paper andcardboard - in bins or boxes, notbags, on second and fourthFridays only.

twinkled with lighted trees andwreathes. The Fell’s Point OldeTyme Christmas was decidedlylocal even while linked to alarger, citywide effort sponsoredby Baltimore Main Streets: nineneighborhoods encouraging cityresidents to buy from commu-nity merchants.

On Dec. 1, St. Nicholas’ nowtraditional arrival by tugboatwas greeted by over 150 families,who then walked with him to abreakfast at Kooper’sTavern. The demand was sogreat that many had to await sec-

Run drew over 165 entries on Dec. 8 despite acold, driving rain. Runners praised the first-time event, which included two loops throughthe neighborhood, highlighting the Promenade

to the extent possible with de-velopment barriers. Runnerscame from all over Maryland,northern Virginia, and D.C. Thesecond-place female winnerwas from Washington and thiswas her first time in Fell’sPoint. She said she would beback the following weekend toshop. This was one of the goalsof the event, which will returnnext December. It was timedwith help of the Falls Road Run-ning store staff and sponsoredby Johns Hopkins University,Maryland Athletic Club and the

Water Taxi.Our promotions committee, chaired by

Tricia Ellis, is already preparing for 2008events to draw thousands of visitors in a sus-tained effort to strengthen the businessdistrict. To learn more, contact Tricia attriciae@gbc.org.

ond seating. Next, the making of gingerbreadhouses defied the mortgage crisis—carryingover into the next weekend. Just before theparade of lighted boats, Dr. Ben Carson, notedneurosurgeon from Johns Hopkins, assistedwith the lighting of the square.

The Great Fell’s Point Figgy Pudding Fun

Dr. Ben Carson with Claudia Towles,president of Development Corp.

beer in the glasses upstairs. Thus did my fan-tasy of life behind the bar end in the basement.

But what had 20 years wrought? The manbehind the bar at La Marsa has been there twoyears. He knew about Rick’s out of the past,with its allusion to Bogart and “Casablanca,”although Raouf is Tunisian not Moroccan. LaMarsa means “The Harbor,” and is the nameof his home town. [He asked that his last namenot be published. When it was, in City Paper,he received harassing calls.]

His wife is Baltimorean and they startedout with Tunisian cooking before turning tothe hookah. They expect to revive the kitchenthis year and, yes, he would be glad to showthe basement. He mentioned that after mov-ing in he replaced the old bar—”It leaned.”And there was a lot of sand to dig out of thebasement—from an interim when the saloonoffered “beach parties” and swept away theevidence.- - - Into a new year of accounts of telling whatmakes the ‘Point unique, I plan to take on a largerswath soon of the hazy saloon scene in the ’70s.With not just that in mind, our readership partici-pation could be more forthcoming; send your ideasor stories to the addresses herein, or call me at443.287.8572.

Katy’s Greens on the MoveKaty G reene D avis of Bethe l

St. sa id she is moving her greensa n d flo w e rs to th e s tru g g lin gBroadway M arke t from her initia lspa ce provide d by E cle ctic E le -ments. S he sa id she wants to he lpre s ta u ra te u r O n e - E y e d M ik eM araziti’s e ffort to revive the mar-ke t with new stands appea ling toa wider cliente le .

M a ra z iti told the R e side nts’Associa tion tha t he has ye t to findthe formula but is in for the longhaul. H e cam e be fore the groupto announce e fforts to open a newrestaurant a t 840 S . Bond St., ablock from his current one . H e sa idhe wa s “re inve nting” the m a rke tspace . Katy sa id she was consid-e ring a Va le ntine pa rty the re todraw a crowd.

First newsletter August 25, 1997

FromSept. 8, 1997FPCOP, andstill timely:

“If you callthe Police, afterthey haveshown up, besure to get theofficer’s nameand complaintnumber. Thatway, if you needto refer to the in-cident later, youwill be sure tohave this infor-mation.”

Schedules

Commemoration and Rededication After 10 Years on Street