The West Baltimore MARC TOD/Transportation Committee Votes to Incorporate in Order to Move Forward on Revitalization Efforts

“As a group of community leaders, we are committed to making West Baltimore a top priority for city and state funding—which is long over due—for improving our surrounding environment. Transit-oriented development is a vital jump start to revitalize our community to a cleaner and greener place to live, and not to mention the economical impact it could bring by way of jobs for our youth and residents,” says Kurt Taylor, President of Pinehurst Protective Association.

As the committee began to evaluate their plans as a group last winter, it started to become clear that there was a need to establish a more formal structure in order to make their plans a reality. “We needed bylaws to make sure we were being fair and balanced, and that every neighborhood had an equal vote and voice,” says Annie Williams, President of Harlem Park Neighborhood Council. So the group worked for three months on getting their bylaws together — reviewing, editing, and reviewing again — until they felt they had a structure which would give each neighborhood strength and independence, and yet establish an organization that would work together in equal partnership for the better of all neighborhoods in the West Baltimore MARC area.

“We look at the incorporation as a formality that needed to happen,” says John Hailey, President of Midtown Edmonson Avenue Improvement Association and co-chair of the West Baltimore MARC TOD/Transportation, Inc. Hailey continued, “and we plan to continue working with all organizations in the area, but officially we are focused on moving forward transit-oriented development and the benefits it could bring to our area.”

Here is a list of the founding members of the West Baltimore MARC TOD/Transportation, Inc.:

Co-Chairs of the Board of Directors:

• Joyce Smith, Executive Director, Operation ReachOut SouthWest
• John Hailey, President, Midtown Edmondson Avenue Improvement Assn., Inc.

Board of Directors:

• John Carrington, President, Bridgeview/Greenlawn Association, Inc.
• Edith Gilliard, President, Franklin Square Community Association, Inc.
• Robert Hunt, President, Alliance of Rosemont Community Organizations, Inc.
• Edna Manns, President, Fayette Street Outreach
• Bertha Nixon, President, Boyd/Booth Concerned Citizens, Inc.
• Rev. Lovell Parham, President, Edmondson Community Organization, Inc.
• Muriel Praileau, President, Evergreen Protective Association, Inc.
• Kurt Taylor, President, Pinehurst Protective Association
• Annie Williams, President, Harlem Park Neighborhood Council

Board Proxy Members:

• Rose Carter, Representative, Boyd/Booth Concerned Citizens, Inc.
• Kirin Smith, Representative, Evergreen Protective Association, Inc.

If you have any questions about the MARC TOD/Transportation, Inc., please feel free to contact either co-chair of the organization. Joyce Smith can be reached at 410-362-3239 and John Hailey can be reached at 443-447-4233, or contact by email at westbaltimoremarc[at]gmail.com. Please check here for current updates on what the committee is doing.