Since the senior citizens from Bel-Park Tower picketed downtown in front of the Housing Authority of Baltimore City last month – complaining about poor security at their city-run apartment building – not much has changed, they said.

The monitor still huddles inside his glassed-in both and fearful residents still hide inside their apartments, worried about a rough crowd going in and out of the main entrance and side entrances and roaming the 11-story Northwest Baltimore building.

“They go around shaking your doors – they rattle your door at 3 a.m.” said Bernadette White, president of the Residents’ Council, speculating that the rattlers are looking to gain access and rob people.

“One guy on the fourth floor, they beat that man up something bad,” White said, describing an incident last winter in which the victim was robbed of “a few dollars.”

During last month’s action, organized by Perrice Austin of Maryland Communities United, the elderly picketers had stood outside the Housing authority main office on Fayette Street holding signs, before submitting a list recommended actions they believe would make them safer.

Asked yesterday to discuss with The Brew what they have done to respond to the seniors’ concerns, Housing spokeswoman Cheron Porter issued a short statement via email: they “have increased security throughout the property and are enacting long-term security measures aimed at curbing all activity that is illegal and or a violation of lease terms.”

But residents are hoping to get more specific answers and meaningful help at a meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. today at their building organized by Del. Jill P. Carter. and including other state lawmakers from District 41, as well as top city housing and police officials.

“I’m just looking for somebody to give us some insight as to what can be done – what will be done,” White said, by phone today, describing what she said was years of lip service as the situation continued to deteriorate. “We’re not just looking for band-aid solutions.”

Recovering Addicts Housed with Seniors

Carter said by phone that she learned of the Bel-Park issue from The Brew’s story but had been hearing similar horror stories elsewhere in her district since shortly after getting elected in 2003.

“I was repeatedly visiting senior buildings and hearing complaints of how recovering addicts – and sometimes not-recovered addicts – were being housed in the buildings and were causing problems,” Carter said.

Carter said she is hoping that by bringing the parties together (“I don’t want to be divisive but there has been a lot of the blame game!”) she can bring about long-term and short-term solutions.

“At the very least they can get them some better locks on their [apartment] doors,” Carter said. And why, she said, aren’t side doors locked and the whole building better monitored: “I mean lock the damn doors!”

Carter also said she is hoping something can be done to separate the different demographic groups in the 274-unit building at 3800 W. Belvedere Ave. “I understand that these are both vulnerable populations, but I don’t believe that the federal mandate [to house people with disabilities in public housing] means we can’t do anything.”
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“It’s crazy in here!”

White said she was surprised by the level of attention the story has gotten – they’ve been promised that Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano and Maj. Johnny Delgado of the Northwest District, will attend today’s meeting. For that, she said, they have Communities United organizer Perrice Austin to thank.

Austin helped them make signs and suggested not just delivering their letter of concern but picketing.  Austin said that, although his group is mostly focused on minimum wage, voting rights and employment issues, the people he works with tell him about so much more.

“That there are not enough rec centers, that there’s nothing for youth to do, that there’s rats, that there’s tenant issues,” Austin said. “We can’t  turn our heads.”

In the case of the seniors at Bel-Park, he said he was shocked to hear how frightened they were; “here are people who can’t walk out their door – they said ‘Mr. Austin, it’s crazy in here.’”

Austin said he will be with the seniors at today’s meetings helping to represent them as they ask for a security guard, security cameras in hallways and elevators, as wellas the main entrance, doubles-bolts and chain locks on their apartment doors and other measures.

“We all know they can find money for the things they want to find money for,” he said.