Federal judge rules HUD, not Baltimore, liable for failure to

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jan 7, 2005 by Lawrence Hurley

Both sides focused on the administration of former Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, who served from 1987-1995, because of the statute of limitations, which was six years for HUD and three years for the city.

Schmoke himself, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, was among the many city and HUD officials who testified for the defendants, while public housing tenants, sociologists, law professors and other experts appeared for the plaintiffs.

The city maintained throughout trial that, while it did pursue segregation before 1954, its current policies are actively addressing the problem, and have done so for decades.

HUD argued its policies did not cause segregation in the first place and claimed in its trial brief the suit was prompted by nothing more than a difference of opinion with regard to the way in which federal housing policy should be administered.

Garbis, to the delight of the city's lawyers, was especially insistent yesterday that Schmoke himself should not be tainted by any suggestion he discriminated against poor black people during his administration.

I think this court has to say it, Garbis said from the bench. Kurt Schmoke is far more worthy of being honored than attacked by the ACLU.

Ryan said he was glad Garbis had reached that conclusion.

Kurt Schmoke is one of the greatest leaders this city ever had, he added. He transcends race.

In response, Freeman defended his team's tactics during the trial, stressing there was never any attempt to paint Schmoke as a racist.

I didn't feel like we were going after Schmoke, he said. What we believe is that his administration failed to take steps to undo past discrimination.

Warsaw to Rosedale

It was events at Hollander Ridge, the former public housing high- rise in the east of the city, during Schmoke's administration that the plaintiffs focused on during the trial.

Located between Interstate 95 and the Baltimore County border, the predominantly black residents of the complex came into conflict with the mostly white residents in neighboring Rosedale.

The high crime rate at Hollander Ridge was a large part of the problem, but there were also allegations of racism directed at the public housing residents, according to the plaintiffs.

The animosity between the two communities eventually led to construction of a controversial fence around the site, an act Garbis criticized yesterday as making Hollander Ridge as much a ghetto as was built in Warsaw, a reference to the Jewish ghettoes created by the Nazis in Poland.

Several prominent Maryland politicians were involved in the decision to build the fence, including current Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who was then a Republican congressman, Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, and Schmoke.

Garbis stressed that none of the politicians involved could be accused of racial bias.

Schmoke's willingness to agree to the fence was based on his plan to demolish Hollander Ridge and replace it with senior housing units, which would benefit from a fence, the judge concluded.

Garbis noted it was an irony that the senior housing has still not been constructed because it would have violated the partial consent decree, despite federal grants being made available.