Clarion Newsletter July 2014

Announcing MVBA’s Chesapeake Bay Trust Green Streets Grant Award

MVBA is pleased to announce our receipt of a $10,000 award from the Green Streets, Green Towns, Green Jobs Initiative funded by the Chesapeake Bay Program Office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the Chesapeake Bay Trust.  This award will be used to expand 40 existing tree pits and create 45 new tree pits in the neighborhood over the next year.

Tree Supply Donations

As we continue to step up our tree effort, we are constantly seeking funding to purchase needed soil amendment ($5 per bag), mulch ($3 per bag), and tree gator bags ($20 per bag) to help our trees survive. If you are interested in contributing to the effort, please visit www.mvba.org  and click on tree donations.

Liquor Happenings

July 10 Liquor Board hearings were busier than ever for Mount Vernon Belvedere neighborhood.

Ryleigh’s Oysters comes to Mount Vernon.

They will be moving in to the former location of Maria Luna Mexican Restaurant, located 1225 Cathedral Street.  Ryleigh’s has two successful locations, the original in Federal Hill and the recent addition in Timonium.  Focusing on oysters,  in partnership with the Shooting Point Oyster Company, Ryleigh’s grows its own farm-raised oysters called Avery’s Pearls on Virginia’s Eastern shore.  They plan to open sometime in October and will be providing light live entertainment.  They are a unique and welcomed addition to the Mount Vernon area list of restaurants.

Brew House 16

An exciting adaptive re-use of the old firehouse at 831 N. Calvert Street will bring a current vacant building alive with great food and a small micro-brewery.  The interior with its high ceilings combined with a modern décor, along with the showcased micro brewery in the back, will provide a unique atmosphere for food and drink.  Outdoor table service until 10pm daily will be provided in front of the building whose exterior will be carefully preserved or restored as needed. No live entertainment is planned.  The son of the family owned operation is a recent graduate with a brew master degree that will operate the micro-brewery.  Opening date is not set, but is said to be in late fall.

Eden’s Lounge

There was a request for a hardship extension for the presently closedEden’s Lounge.  However, the owners were not present at the hearing so the Class B license will most likely become invalid. However, the building was recently purchased and at some point, the new owner plans to locate a suitable tenant for the restaurant operation and will then apply for a new Class B restaurant liquor license.

Five Seasons, located in the Guilford Avenue Shopping Center, had applied to remain open after 2am until 6am to serve food.  MVBA requested and was granted a postponement of the hearing as there has been no communication with the owner of the venue.

Trivia

Known as the ‘most beautiful woman in 1812 America,’ Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte grew up in town and caught the eye of Napoleon’s brother, Jerome, launching an international drama.

Elizabeth lived well into her nineties and could be seen walking around Mount Vernon, collecting rents on the many properties she owned in the area. She died in a boarding house that today is one of the neighborhood’s most favorite coffee houses: Milk & Honey.

Safety Alert, Imposters

BALTIMORE. MD (July 11, 2014) – Baltimore City Department of Public Works  Director, Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., today advised citizens to beware of possible Public Works impostors. The impostors pose as city water workers and seek to gain illegal admittance into your property.

On July 10, at about 8:30pm, two people entered a downtown fast food establishment and told the manager they were from the City and needed to check the sump pump. They may have been wearing uniform-like clothing. Additionally they told the manager that the water in the bathrooms was running, apparently causing the sump pumps to run. The manager asked them for ID which they did not have, and they left the business.

Citizens should remember the following:

Department of Public Works (DPW) employees are not authorized to enter your home or private sections of your business without your permission.

Our employees wear uniforms and have photo ID. Always ask to see a Baltimore City employee identification card which includes a photograph.  If you doubt the authenticity of either do not let them in and contact DPW for verification.

Baltimore City residents may call 311. In the Baltimore County service area, please call 410-396-5352.  Report any and all suspicious activity to the Police by dialing 911 immediately.

BGE Imposter

A man tried to gain access to a home on the 1800 block of Eutaw recently.  He claimed to be a BGE technician and informed the person home that the power was supposed to be out, and he needed to investigate why it wasn’t.  He had a BGE hat and badge.  Fortunately, the resident refused to allow him into the home as they were not aware of a planned visit.  He imposter left.  BGE was notified and they said there was no one scheduled to come to the home.  BGE noted that an actual BGE employee would have waited while we verified the visit with BGE.  BGE will not normally send employees to visit homes without prior arrangements.  Always check with BGE if anyone arrives unexpectedly.

At Spirits of Mount Vernon

Heather Miles is a Singer and Guitarist living here in Mt. Vernon. Her sultry voice is similar to Annie Lennox with a touch of Natalie Merchant. Her Music style is Modern Folk with an eclectic repertoire of cover tunes ranging from Joni Mitchell to the singer Pink. Heather performs regularly on Thursdays and Fridays at Spirts of Mt. Vernon at 7:00 pm. Heather has also started branching out to other potential Venues in the area.

The 520 Park Ave. Apartments

520 Park welcomed its first new tenants in late June, with its official grand opening set for October, 2014. For more information about the 520 Park Ave. Apartments, click here.

The building, managed by WPM Real Estate, once served as the main warehouse for the Hochschild Kohn department store chain. Founded in 1897 and known simply as Hochschild’s, it was Baltimore’s largest department store for most of the 20th century. The warehouse building on Park Avenue also housed the company’s furniture department.

The building’s 200+ new residents will have easy access to area universities such as University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, University of Baltimore, and the Peabody Institute. Students already comprise the bulk of the building’s leases.

MVBA Annual Elections

This year, two directors terms expire.  MVBA is in the process of establishing a nominating committee to seek qualified candidates to serve on the board and as such, MVBA is looking for two members who would like to serve on the committee.  If you are interested, please send your contact information to membership@mvba.org.

Membership

Most of you reading this newsletter have probably renewed your membership.  Have you visited MVBA’s new website at www.mvba.org?  There is a wealth of information available on the site, including upcoming events and donation options (currently accepting donations for our tree well maintenance program).

You can also manage your membership information by logging into the site with your email address and password. If you don’t know your password, click on lost password option and a temporary password will be emailed to you. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to join.  It is easy and you can use Master Card, Visa, and Discover.  A valid email address is required.

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