Dear Mike Bloomberg: The last time I asked you to consider making a $1 billion donation to Baltimore Community Lending for a housing program here, Forbes estimated your net worth at $59 billion. In its most recent estimate, Forbes has you at $96.3 billion. Since you took the pledge to give away most of your fortune, let me try this again: Giving BCL $1 billion for a special housing program would turn thousands of Baltimore’s vacant homes into livable domiciles and allow the construction of even more smaller homes like those in Hope Village, highlighted in my Sun column.
BCL is a federally certified Community Development Financial Institution and has financed housing in underserved areas of the city, helping low- and moderate-income families become homeowners.

Hope Village

If helping people become homeowners is not the best use of a rich man’s enormous wealth, it’s certainly top five. You could put thousands of working people, who cannot afford to buy a house, into one of their own in a matter of a few years. You would put hundreds of people to work for thousands of hours rehabbing vacants and building Hope Village-style small houses. It’s great that you’ve given a few billion to Johns Hopkins University, your alma mater. But you could do Baltimore a greater good with a donation for a major housing program here. Thus endeth my appeal.

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Published by Dan Rodricks

Dan Rodricks is a former long-time columnist for The Baltimore Sun, winner of numerous national and regional journalism awards, a radio and TV personality, podcaster and fly angler. His narrative memoir, "Father's Day Creek," was published in May 2019 by Apprentice House at Loyola University Maryland.

7 thoughts on “Dear Mike Bloomberg: Giving to Johns Hopkins is great, but what about the rest of Baltimore?”

  3. As I wrote to you on Facebook, this was an excellent idea.  Not sure why Bloomberg’s team doesn’t get back to you.    Maybe you can contact the Bloomberg Report radio news station….I listen to it all the time.  Maybe there is a contact who will respect a fellow journalist and present your idea about Mike Bloomberg supporting housing for underprivileged families in Baltimore on their radio station and ask for input from the public.  Just an idea…   Regards, Connie   Constance D. Robinson115 Spring Valley DriveAnnapolis, MD 21403410-990-0118 home410-533-0991 cell “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

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  4. THANK YOU DAN!

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    Edward Paul Haladay AIAEdward Paul Haladay Partners, Ltd.1810 Kenway RoadBaltimore, Md, 21209443-629-0606

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  5. Why hasn’t Bloomberg done this already? It seems a no brainer unless he does not believe it would be a successful investment. Does he believe providing houses for people won’t work out? Or that more money isn’t the answer to Baltimore’s problems?

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