Your Bolton Hill Bulletin volunteer staff took a breather after the June issue. Great to be back. Here are some things that occurred in our absence.
Road work to begin on McMechen Street
After lots of neighborhood pressure and input from City Councilman Eric Costello, the city transportation department announced that it is installing ADA compliant sidewalk ramps and repairs and a new asphalt overlay on the roadway from Bolton Street to Mt. Royal Avenue. The road work, which is long overdue, will take about 90 days when it begins and will restrict parking in the area.
Mercury in the streets
On July 26, a mercury spill closed upper Park Avenue at Laurens Street and brought fire department and environmental crews to the area for a day-long decontamination. The source of the small spill was not explained.
Two well-known Bolton Hill neighbors succumb
Dr. Joseph J. Costa, who led the critical care unit at Mercy Hospital died there of COVID-19 complications on July 25. He had worked at Mercy since 1997. He was 56.
Lloyd Bowers, an entertainer and harpsichordist who lived in Bolton Hill for many years, died of dementia complications at a facility in Silver Spring. He was 80.
Crime spree affects Bolton Hill
Although Bolton Hill is one of the safer neighborhoods in the city, a group of two or more young men carried off several robbery attempts and an assault and carjacking on West Lafayette Avenue, Bolton Street and a few blocks away in Reservoir Hill. It all took place over a 36-hour period on Aug. 24-26. Police say they have a suspect in at least one of the incidents.
In a chart distributed by the BPD Central District for the first 28 days of August, the neighborhood reported three violent acts and 11 property crimes, compared to two violent crimes and 29 property crimes in the same period in 2019. Police data show that both categories of crime overall are down substantially for 2020 against last year, although as any news reader knows, the city continues to have one of he highest homicide rates in the nation.
The Bolton Hill Bulletin appears 10 times a year and is edited by Bill Hamilton, Kylie Perrotti and Marci Yankelov. Your participation and ideas or contributions are invited, as is feedback on this issue. To submit material or become a sponsor of The Bulletin, which reaches nearly 800 families in the neighborhood, contact us at bulletin@boltonhillmd.org.
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