I work on Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach. The city likes to promote it as "Beautiful Baltimore Avenue."
Let's take a walk down Baltimore Avenue starting at the west end.
You'll notice a closed restaurant on your right. What a mess, with weeds running amuck, vines taking over and where general filth abounds. Next, you'll come across a shop "For Lease." The outside is used as a smoking area and gathering spot for all sorts which results in a cigarette butt and garbage dumping site. Across the street is an empty space, which until last fall was an art gallery. As far as I know, no attempt has been made to clean the place up. As a matter of fact, I've made two attempts to do just that.
Continuing down the block, running parallel to the sidewalk, are bricks that are so loose and in such disarray, that people constantly trip on them. An accident is ready to happen.
Now, cross over to the south side, and you'll see a building that has been vacant for a couple of years. Apparently, the building is to become a restaurant, but no attempt has been made to indicate this fact, or to improve the façade and to eliminate such an eyesore. And finally, there is a building at the end of the block that has been under renovation for years, and it looks it.
Mind you, all this is on only one block of "Beautiful Baltimore Avenue," and it has become unattractive enough that customers are asking questions...
"What's happening to Baltimore Avenue, what's going on?"
Up to now, I've just been speaking about the exterior of the buildings; however, I know for a fact that some of the interiors are not that much better. And this brings me up to the point of this letter. How can the owners of these buildings, with the high fees they are asking, expect to rent them when they project such neglect and shabbiness, and don't the owners of these building have any sense of pride for Baltimore Avenue and for Rehoboth Beach?
And what about the city? Isn't there some sort of ordinance about property upkeep? They certainly have a rule for everything else.
On a positive note, most of the owners and occupants on Baltimore Avenue take very good care of their property, which makes these other properties look even worse, and reflects poorly on all of us.
Let's make Baltimore Avenue beautiful again.
Peter L. Antolini
Rehoboth Beach
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