Pigtown

Much has been written about William Donald Schaefer's very public achievements. However, there was also a side of Mayor Schaefer many people do not know. He not only filled potholes and orchestrated the building of Harborplace, he also very quietly helped the less fortunate in his beloved Baltimore. Paul's Place Outreach Center was a fledgling soup kitchen in Southwest Baltimore in the early 1990s. We had just been evicted from the church where we had been serving breakfast and lunch when the very generous Middendorf Foundation gave us money to purchase our own property.

City police were investigating a fatal daytime shooting Thursday in Northeast Baltimore's Frankford neighborhood and said a Halethorpe man shot Wednesday afternoon in a Pigtown parking lot had died of his injuries. Police said a 31-year-old man was shot in the face about 2 p.m. Thursday in the 6000 block of Moravia Park Drive in the Frankford neighborhood, near where another man was killed Tuesday in a shopping center parking lot. Thursday's victim was not immediately identified.

A man was fatally stabbed Tuesday afternoon after an argument turned deadly in Pigtown, police said. The man, who was not identified, was found stabbed in the chest and back at about 4:45 p.m. in the 1100 block of W. Cross St., said Anthony Guglielmi, the department's chief spokesman. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Guglielmi said police did not have a suspect. The killing is the sixth in the Southern District this year, which had none at this time last year.

Eight people were taken to area hospitals for evaluation for possible carbon monoxide exposure at a Pigtown rowhome, fire officials said Wednesday. Officials with the Baltimore Firefighters Union Local 734 said the people were evacuated from a three-story house in the 800 block of Washington Blvd. at about 5 p.m. Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright confirmed that the home was evacuated as a precaution for a possible carbon monoxide leak, but he said none of the victims suffered any serious or life-threatening illness.

Baltimore's economic-development arm said Tuesday that it is requesting proposals from firms for a mixed-use redevelopment of five properties in the Pigtown neighborhood. The properties — at 925, 927, 929, 931 and 937 Washington Blvd. — are a mix of commercial and residential space. The Baltimore Development Corp. said it wants developers to propose plans that will anchor the Pigtown/Washington Village Business District. The quasi-public agency wants to see proposals to rehabilitate the buildings "to the largest extent possible.

A 25-year-old man shot last month in Cherry Hill has died from his injuries, and officers were investigating the discovery of a decomposing body in a vacant Pigtown rowhouse. Larry Griffin, 25, was walking in the 2900 block of Spelman Road at about 3 p.m. on May 22 when two unknown men drove up in a newer-model Dodge Magnum with tinted windows, chrome rims and a North Carolina tag, police said. The men chased Griffin and began shooting with a semiautomatic handgun, striking him in both legs and his abdomen.

By day, Washington Boulevard, the main street of Pigtown, has a steady stream of foot traffic, but few places for people to go. The street just off Martin Luther King Boulevard is lined with vacant store fronts, boarded or locked by iron gates. But signs of life remain, such as a coffeehouse, a dance studio, an art gallery and a graphic design office. "It's frustrating not to be able to walk out your front door" and walk to shops and restaurants. "We all live here for the convenience," said Ryan Bruchey, a nine-year Pigtown resident and member of the Barre Circle Home Owners Association.

Homicide detectives were investigating the deaths of two men who were shot in separate incidents over the weekend, Baltimore police said Monday. The first occurred about 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the 4800 block of Liberty Heights Ave., in Northwest Baltimore's Howard Park neighborhood. Police said the victim, 18-year-old Lamont Mays Ramie, of the 3500 block of Milford Mill Road, was shot in the upper torso and initially was responsive. But his condition deteriorated, and he was pronounced dead at Sinai Hospital about 6:45 p.m. Sunday, according to Anthony Guglielmi, the department's chief spokesman.

Baltimore liquor commissioners revoked the license of a Pigtown bar Thursday night, calling the owner's behavior "erratic" after testimony that he threatened neighbors, was uncooperative in a shooting investigation, tried to punch a dog and was videotaped running in traffic after a Ravens game. Sid's Tavern, in the 1100 block of Washington Blvd., will end its 76-year run beginning May 1. Liquor board chairman Stephan Fogleman said several problems involving Tareq Abdul-Ghani, owner of the bar and license for a little more than a year, were the primary reasons Sid's lost its license, including an Oct. 11 incident in which Abdul-Ghani was nearly hit by a car as he dodged traffic after the Ravens' loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, an incident caught on tape by a neighbor.

After plans fell through for new restaurants, shops and apartments along Pigtown's main commercial district, city development officials are seeking new proposals for a dilapidated block of Washington Boulevard. The Baltimore Development Corp. said Monday that it has reissued a request for proposals for five contiguous properties in the neighborhood southwest of downtown, also known as Washington Village. The BDC hopes to attract proposals for the 900 block of Washington Boulevard that could include a restaurant, coffee shop, small grocer, bookstore, bakery, video store, pharmacy, florist, ice cream shop, hardware store or art gallery.