PNC, Greater Baltimore Committee join fight to end city's vacant housing problem
Hundreds of community organizers, religious leaders and officials filled West Baltimore's Greater Harvest Baptist Church Sunday afternoon as PNC Bank and the Greater Baltimore Committee pledged to explore a private investment to address Baltimore's vacant housing crisis.
The city and state have committed billions to solve the decades-long vacant housing problem in Baltimore. There are currently 12,603 vacant homes, according to the city's Department of Housing and Community Development's dashboard.
Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development, the community group that organized Sunday's event, said in a news release its new private sector partners plan to 'organize a significant private capital fund that will leverage the public funds already committed. This private investment will be critical to rebuilding housing markets in neighborhoods broken by the legacy of redlining.'
'Baltimore finds itself in a key moment in our history, one that could be transformational for us, our children and their children,' said Laura Gamble, regional president of PNC Bank, at the podium inside Greater Harvest.
'PNC is committed to help organize the fund that will support this crucial work, and we'll do it in line with our accepted community development process and appropriate standards,' she said. PNC will also use the Baltimore Vacant Reinvestment Council's values and guidelines, she said.
PNC, Bank of America and BUILD, are 'committed to exploring a demonstration investment … to show what's possible, even as we work to bring other institutions and investors together to support the broader fund,' Gamble said.
Elizabeth Reichelt, of BUILD, said the organization thinks the fund needs to be at least $100 million. Gamble said that was 'a very reasonable goal.'
'I've never seen such … universal support for an issue of our time that we can all collectively address, and so we're going to do everything we can to not only reach the goal, but exceed it over time,' said Mark Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, when asked if he supported the commitment to raising $100 million for the fund.
As a representative of the private sector, Thomas said he was asking to take the metaphorical collection plate from the community in its efforts to solve the vacant homes issue. He also committed to pass the plate to the Greater Baltimore Committee's corporate leaders.
'Now it's our time as a private market to really use this opportunity so that we can be at the table to help ensure that we rebuild the communities that desperately need investment, that desperately need opportunity,' Thomas said.
The city is 'already building momentum' when it comes to tackling vacant homes, Mayor Brandon Scott said, noting the thousands less vacants there are now compared to when he was first sworn in as mayor in 2020. In December 2020, there were over 15,500 such properties, according to the data dashboard.
But the community feels the momentum is lacking in some areas. Scott committed to addressing 177 issues inside a green folder handed to him by Greater Harvest's the Rev. Brent Brown. Brown said slow permitting is holding up projects across the city, including in Franklin Square.
Scott committed to solving the permit issues inside the green folder within two weeks, the stabilization issues within 60 days and acquisitions within six months.
Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.
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Gizmodo
28 minutes ago
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The following day, Guy seemed compelled to talk about his own experience with immigration, writing on X, 'My family escaped Vietnam after the Tet Offensive and went through an arduous journey that eventually landed them in the Canada. My father worked there for a time as a janitor; my mother, a secretary.' Guy went on to explain that when work fell through in Canada his father went to the U.S. 'as our family needed money' and he ended up 'staying longer than he was supposed to.' Guy writes that he was carried over the U.S.-Canada border by his mother while he was still a baby. 'I'm still unsure whether we technically broke an immigration law,' Guy wrote. 'The border between Canada and the United States was pretty porous (as it is today, for the most part). But either way, since I came here without legal documentation, I eventually fell into the category of being an undocumented immigrant. Yet, I've been in the United States since I was a baby. My identity and roots are very much based in this country, no different from anyone else.' I debated whether to share my story on here, but I guess I will. I think there's an idea out there that millions of violent criminals are pouring across the border, carrying machetes and drugs, looking to harm Americans. Certainly, while some people fall into that category, the… — derek guy (@dieworkwear) June 8, 2025 Guy went on to explain (in a very lengthy post) that most immigrants simply aren't violent criminals and that 'sending us 'back' to our 'home' country would mean sending someone to a foreign land.' But the admission that Guy may be undocumented in the U.S. led to various X accounts calling for him to get kicked out of the country. An account called @growing_daniel wrote, 'JD Vance I know you're reading this and you have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever,' in a quote-tweet about Guy's immigration status. Vance replied with a GIF of actor Jack Nicholson vigorously nodding his head. Guy got a good burn in on the vice president, quote-tweeting Vance with 'i think i can outrun you in these clothes.' Guy frequently critiques the fashion choices of conservative men, something that really seems to irk many of his followers, given the fact that they rely on him for advice on clothes. Guy has previously made fun of Vance's pants for being too short and skinny. i think i can outrun you in these clothes — derek guy (@dieworkwear) June 9, 2025 As if it wasn't bad enough that Vance was suggesting he might try to get Guy deported, the Department of Homeland Security posted a GIF from the movie Spy Kids, quote-tweeting a call for him to be deported. The suggestion being that they had their eyes on him. Far-right influencer Andy Ngo expressed skepticism of Guy's story about his family fleeing Vietnam, claiming he could be lying since he didn't publish his story in 'a publication that goes through some level of independent verification.' The ironic part of that, of course, is that Ngo constantly posts garbage on X without any kind of 'independent verification' as he puts it. Musk and his legion of far-right fans are so fond of saying the traditional media are dead and that you don't hate the mainstream journalists enough. But when someone tells their own story, they're quick to want some kind of verification from the same old-school media they whine about. Guy didn't respond to an email sent Monday afternoon but shared an article from HuffPost on Monday about the attention, writing, 'honestly, didn't expect this is what would happen when i joined a menswear forum 15 years ago.' I shared my story because I think the narrative about undocumented immigrants has become very slanted in order to justify crackdowns. It doesn't help when people think that all undocumented immigrants are criminals who hate the US. The ones I know are good, hardworking people. — derek guy (@dieworkwear) June 9, 2025 The average undocumented immigrant is pretty similar to the average citizen: they dream of getting a better job, they value family, they enjoy social time with friends,' Guy wrote. 'Like most people, they have wishy washy political views and aren't ideologues. They hide from view for obvious reasons. And thus, their part of this story isn't being told.' 'What you see on TV or social media is a slice designed to justify draconian policies,' he concluded.
