[0:00] Good morning, everybody.

[0:04] Good. [music] I thank y'all for being here. As always, I'll start at

[0:10] Oh, actually, come this way. There you go, superstar.

[0:13] Uh I'll start That's an inside joke.

[0:18] Uh I'll start where we always do with progress in the city. As of today, there

[0:22] are now 11,620 vacant in the city. That's a net

[0:27] decrease of 18 since the last time we were together.

[0:31] And there have been 53 homicides this year compared to 77.

[0:37] That is a decrease of 31%. We have seen

[0:43] 174 non-fatal shootings compared to 172. Something that we are vehemently working

[0:49] on. And uh burglaries are down 17%. Carjackings are down

[0:54] 41%. And as we begin to shape our next 5-year comprehensive

[1:01] violent prevention plan, we will continue to let the data and our

[1:05] residents guide that work. And as a reminder, residents can submit feedback

[1:09] to help shape the next CVIP online or and attend one of the sessions that we

[1:15] are having. And you can find more information on that on Muncie's website

[1:19] or on their social media. With that, we have uh three items at the top. First,

[1:25] for the last 3 months, DOT, wreck and parks, DPW, and our agencies have been

[1:30] out in the communities working to meet the six goals that I laid out during the

[1:35] state of the city. Over this 90-day sprint from April 12th to July 11th, our

[1:40] wonderful workers who you see here today, let's give them all a big round

[1:43] of applause right there.

[1:46] » [applause]

[1:51] » Not only met, but they exceeded every single goal. Wreck and parks maintained

[1:57] 622 tree pits, 122 more than their goal. DPW

[2:04] removed 6,172 graffiti marks, completed nearly 20,000

[2:10] bulk waste pickups, 9,000 more than their goal, and swept

[2:15] more than 38,000 miles of road, 11,000 more than their goal. DOT resurfaced

[2:22] more than 28 lane miles and filled 36,000

[2:27] potholes, 11,000 more than what we challenged them to do. We'll take off

[2:32] 100 cuz I think I did 100 of it. Uh I have to give a huge shout-out again

[2:38] to all of our workers who uh contributed to this effort, including all of the

[2:42] folks that we have in the audience and the people standing here today. Uh they

[2:46] go above and beyond every day, not just during the time of sprints. Uh they do

[2:51] this work on days like today when it is really, really, really hot, and we want

[2:56] to thank them for their service to the city and the residents of Baltimore. Uh

[3:00] from DPW, uh Morton, Leticia, George, and Britney. DOT, Biente, Keena, and KC.

[3:07] Uh these folks who uh do this incredible work and all of their colleagues, we

[3:11] really, really want to thank you very much. But I also encourage our residents

[3:16] to thank our workers. Give them some water. Talk to them when they're picking

[3:20] up your trash or you see them working on the street. You'll learn a lot about

[3:23] what public service and what they do each and every day and really a deep

[3:26] appreciation for folks who serve your community. Which brings me to my second

[3:31] item. Uh last year we launched the first ever Charm City Cleanup, the largest

[3:36] citywide cleanup effort ever, and we're doing it again this year. Uh we are

[3:41] going to, over the next 24 weeks, our workers and residents will be working

[3:45] together to tackle projects across the city of Baltimore, building on the

[3:50] progress that we made during our sprints. Our residents can sign up to

[3:53] visit uh by visiting baltimorecity.gov or scanning that QR code. We'll have

[3:58] that all over social media. And if you need an area have an area that you

[4:02] believe needs service, you can report it through 311 via the app or by the phone.

[4:07] And finally, as we move even deeper into summer, our youth engagement strategy in

[4:12] the mixed 26 is active across our city, bringing together my office and and many

[4:19] partners across the city of Baltimore to balance engagement, outreach, and

[4:24] enforcement when necessary. We've seen the impact of this coordinated approach

[4:29] in our previous years from 2023 to 2025 alone of youth victims of non-fatal

[4:35] shootings fell by 57% and youth victims of aggravated assaults fell by 40% and

[4:41] we're building on that progress this summer. City workers and our community

[4:45] partners have already documented over 950

[4:49] positive interactions and have connect our young people with resources

[4:53] including employment and financial assistance to name a few. This week

[4:58] we're also kicking off a Rock the Block, which of course is our summer block

[5:02] party series that the city has had for quite some time. Last summer 1,700 young

[5:07] people attended these block parties and we want even more folks to come out this

[5:11] year. Moco will be sharing information about the Rock the Blocks in the

[5:16] neighborhoods as they're coming up. Tomorrow the first one is actually in

[5:19] East Baltimore right by Chick Webb Rec Center and you can visit

[5:23] bmorethissummer.org to find out all of this information. And

[5:28] with that, I will open it up for questions.

[5:33] After I take a seat.

[5:38] » Okay, any questions? We're not coming up.

[5:40] First questions up here. Up. Chris. Chris.

[5:44] » Go ahead, Chris. You're fine. >> Good morning, Mayor Scott. Good morning.

[5:46] » Good morning. >> How many officers is it was last night?

[5:49] A lot of them >> around football here because the

[5:51] All-Star Game hasn't been in Baltimore since 1993.

[5:54] » I remember. >> Have you had any conversations about the

[5:58] bringing that perhaps back to Baltimore? >> I think everyone knows that

[6:02] this is that Oriole Park is my favorite place in Baltimore City. It's literally

[6:07] why my daughter was in my office right now. Her name is Camden because of

[6:11] Camden Yards. I want nothing better. Camden Yards literally is the ballpark

[6:16] that every ballpark today is built on its foundation. It deserves the All-Star

[6:21] Game and we're going to be working with anybody that wants to make that happen.

[6:25] » Okay. Next question.

[6:30] » Yep. I know you're going to ask me about two big changes in Lake Clifton Park.

[6:33] Can you talk about what's going on over there?

[6:36] » Yeah, so we we broke ground on a new stadium, a Senator Robert Dalton,

[6:40] a stadium for Lake Clifton Reach Partnership Academy

[6:44] High School. They're also have a track and football field, soccer field.

[6:49] It's really about improving the area. The school deserves it, but I think

[6:52] what's very unique about this is this is the first time to our knowledge that

[6:57] Recreation and Parks and City Schools partner on construction of a facility

[7:02] like that. We know Clifton Park is a very well-used facility. And it's

[7:07] something that I've been personally involved in and Senator McCray has been

[7:10] personally involved in because we know the history of Lake Clifton. We know the

[7:14] history of the people, Coach Tree and others that have put so many young

[7:18] Baltimoreans on the right path and into greatness in their own life and we want

[7:22] to make sure that this new school, 21st Century School and their their student

[7:28] athletes have the same opportunity as well as the residents in Chum. I know

[7:33] Mark Washington, community leader, is very excited about it. He tells me every

[7:36] time I talk to him about how excited they are to see that investment coming

[7:41] to their park that quite frankly had not had a lot of investment in many many

[7:45] years. >> Okay.

[7:46] Come on. >> Sorry. Uh cuz that's a huge property.

[7:49] There's the section that was sold to >> Morgan State, yeah.

[7:52] » Uh I assume that's separate from the stadium you're talking about.

[7:54] » Yes. The stadium's on the other side.

[7:58] » Well, on the west side. >> Yeah, the stadium's No, the stadium's

[8:01] what we call that the the southern side of the park, right? And and we're very

[8:05] excited about Morgan State and their development, too, right? Morgan is a

[8:09] fast-growing a university. We know that they are having a record classes of

[8:14] incoming freshmen every year. We know that they're going to soon be another

[8:19] top-tier research institution, even more of a top-tier research institution for

[8:23] us. And to have them in Clifton Park is a big thing. I know that again, the

[8:28] community supports it. People are excited about excited about it. While

[8:32] many of us who who grew up going to see plays and things at the old Lake Clifton

[8:37] High School, we also understand, you know,

[8:40] uh that things have to change. We have a brand

[8:43] new school that they're in. Uh we're going to see what Morgan State

[8:46] does, and we're excited. >> We're going to stay

[8:48] » last one. >> Last one? Okay.

[8:50] » A huge feature in the park, and part of the agreement of the sale was the valve

[8:55] house. >> Valve house, uh-huh.

[8:57] » Valve house, yeah. Can you tell me about what was in the agreement?

[9:00] » Uh I can't. We can follow up on that. I do not have the details. I can I cannot

[9:03] remember. >> Okay. We're going to keep it back. Uh

[9:06] welcome to Bmore. >> Good morning, Minister

[9:08] » Hey, man. How are you? >> Uh this is a question about the curfew

[9:10] enforcement. >> Yeah.

[9:11] » BPT referred us to Morgan State because BPT is not enforcing curfew. How is a

[9:16] rule with no consequences a solution to an ongoing issue surrounding juveniles?

[9:21] Is it time for BPT to start enforcing a city mandate?

[9:24] » Well, I don't know who BTP is, but uh I'll start here. First of all,

[9:29] everybody's in part of of doing it, right? BPD has a role, Morgan State has

[9:33] a role. And when we talk about curfew enforcement, uh curfew enforcement isn't

[9:37] just about the police department. It's about our youth engagement folks through

[9:41] Munsey. It's about BPD. It's about other police agencies like school police. This

[9:46] is something that Baltimore has done for quite some time. This is not anything

[9:50] new. And we have to make sure that that accountability is is not just with those

[9:55] young people, with their parents, right? There was a time

[9:58] uh that people if a young person was out on the streets of Baltimore that we

[10:03] would go and arrest the parents, right? Well, if you arrest the parents, where

[10:06] you think the kids are going to be the next night? We are smarter and now

[10:09] that's what we're going to be doing is making sure there is accountability uh

[10:12] for for everyone involved, but also uh creating opportunity because uh while

[10:18] while most of the focus is always on like teenagers, 13, 14, 15, 16, uh if

[10:24] you work the curfew center like I have, you would know that sometimes they're

[10:28] like four, five, six-year-olds wandering miles away from home at night. And

[10:33] that's not about holding just simply that young person accountable.

[10:37] Something's broken there with their family and we have to make sure that we

[10:40] help them so that that young person does not uh grow into uh having something

[10:46] very bad happen to them. >> Okay. And we're going to kick it

[10:49] » Excuse me, uh go ahead, sir. Yeah, you're fine.

[10:51] » Okay. >> Mayor?

[10:52] Mayor, if you could just talk um I again we we've got a serious heat and

[10:58] uh code red. If you could talk about that and an extension of anything that's

[11:01] going on. >> Yeah, it's going to be very hot, right?

[11:04] So, we extended all public pools to 8:30 today. Uh we want people to stay

[11:09] hydrated, uh stay inside if you can, use our cooling centers. Please check on

[11:14] elderly and vulnerable neighbors uh because this is going to be a very hot

[11:19] day as is tomorrow, right? We just went through a wave of this a few weeks ago.

[11:23] We have to take the heat very seriously because it can kill you. Uh uh don't do

[11:28] things that push yourself too hard. Make sure that if you have to work outside,

[11:32] that you're taking appropriate breaks and things like that.

[11:36] » Here. >> Well, um and this this deals with um

[11:39] Lake Montebello and the dredging. >> Yeah.

[11:41] » Um it's a project of uh $23 million.

[11:46] And just just checking on that in terms of the cost of that, um the issues that

[11:51] that that are that led to that, and and uh

[11:55] why it's taking so long. >> Matt.

[11:57] » Mhm.

[12:02] » Uh yes, hey Barry, good to see you. Um yeah, so this project is actually was

[12:06] awarded today about $23 million. It's actually been bid three times. Uh part

[12:11] of what we are seeing that project really encompasses the issues we're

[12:15] seeing with supply chain disruption, issues around the world, which have

[12:19] increased the pricing. Um we have now gotten to a point where the

[12:23] estimate that we have uh meets that uh pricing that we actually got, so we were

[12:27] able to award the bid. So, it was something that's been a couple years in

[12:31] the making, but if anyone's been out at Lake Montebello, you know that it needs

[12:35] to be dredged. And this is going to start this fall, and it should be about

[12:38] a 2-year project. >> Okay.

[12:41] Emily. >> Oh.

[12:43] » For Madison Town, I was just wondering if you could explain how the walking

[12:45] path situation is going to be and if it's going to stay open or how that

[12:49] » Yes, so what's going to happen is there is going to be um

[12:53] basically a bypass that's going to go up and around so that we can take stuff out

[12:57] of the lake without impacting the walking path. There's going to be some

[13:00] periods where we have to move equipment that's going to require the walking path

[13:04] to be closed, but we heard from uh the council member there as well as the

[13:08] communities that they really want this to stay open, so we made that uh

[13:11] contingent part of the design. >> And how how long will it from the

[13:15] dredging you're talking about starting in the fall, how long will it take?

[13:18] » About 2 years. >> Okay.

[13:20] » Emily, you know there's a a certain high school with a great track team across

[13:24] the street that they they did not want to hear from

[13:26] me about that. >> Emily.

[13:29] » I just one more question about the Mechanic Theater. I recently the city

[13:32] cited the owners of that property for the first time, you know, even though

[13:35] it's sat vacant here for a long while. So, I guess I'm wondering if they can

[13:39] expect more citations and if this is a part of a kind of coordinated squeeze on

[13:42] the city's part to try to push development on that site.

[13:45] » They should develop on the site and keep the site up to code. If not, they will

[13:49] get citations. That simple. >> Have you seen any response to this?

[13:53] There's a new program that could eventually help them.

[13:55] » I have not heard Yeah, I have not heard yet, but we're hoping so. As you like uh

[14:01] that site has been vacant Emily looking like that longer than I've been in City

[14:06] Hall and I've been here 19 years. So, we we know that people want to

[14:10] uh uh see a development and so do we. We think it can be a crucial part of I

[14:14] think about the investment that went into the arena, some of the other things

[14:17] going on around the area. It can be a crucial part of of downtown having its

[14:21] rebirth. >> Okay.

[14:23] Uh Chris >> Mayor Scott, uh police reported eight

[14:27] arrests this past weekend in Fells Point, uh seven involving youths.

[14:30] » Yep. >> And some one of the

[14:33] TV colleagues reported that she spoke to somebody who this has been kind of going

[14:37] on a number of people descending upon Fells Point since 2020.

[14:41] » I think they've been descending on Fells Point a longer than 2020, but yes, sir.

[14:45] » Yeah, I guess that's kind of uh answered my question. That is it kind of the

[14:49] norm, I guess, that in the summertime large groups are going to gather there

[14:54] and you know, that's just kind of the reality.

[14:56] » Listen, I think that that I think what has happened Chris to your point uh

[15:01] post 2020, post pandemic, it's not just in Baltimore, this is this

[15:05] around the country. Uh um

[15:08] people are going to places where folks were already gathering and now they're

[15:12] gathering outside instead of going everyone going inside. Well, I grew up

[15:16] at a time where we went into the club. You didn't stand outside of the club or

[15:20] parking lot pimp unless you couldn't get in as they used to say, right? But, it's

[15:25] a cultural thing, right now that folks are doing this. People have always

[15:28] descended on Fells Point and at the entertainment areas where the bars are,

[15:33] where their bars are, young people are going to go to to hang out. People want

[15:36] to meet guys, they want to meet girls, they want to have a good time with their

[15:39] friends. Uh we understand that. We know that since the pandemic, it has grown in

[15:44] a different way because folks, like I said, don't do clubs and to the level

[15:48] and other things that they used to do. But, that's also why we have increased

[15:53] our resources there. That's why you see not just all the police presence there,

[15:57] but city agency presence there, uh Muncie and the other folks there uh

[16:01] trying to deal with the issues there because uh while it's okay for adults to

[16:06] to be there and in bars, it's not okay for people to be selling alcohol to

[16:11] kids. It's not okay for parents to know that their 14-year-old daughter is at

[16:15] Fells Point at 1:00 in the morning. That's not okay. And that's why we're

[16:18] working with the community and working through with law enforcement, our

[16:21] partners to address the issue. If I had my way, people would go back into

[16:25] hanging in clubs cuz I'm not standing outside in the heat, but I'm not them,

[16:29] right? >> Okay, last call for questions.

[16:33] All right, thank you very much. >> Thank you, everybody.

[16:35] » [music]

[16:41] [music]

Mayor's Press Availability; July 15, 2026

Transcript