City owes a-rabs one last chance - Baltimore Sun

City owes a-rabs one last chance - Baltimore Sun


Dan Rodricks

Too bad Sheila Dixon can't be trusted with other people's money -- or gift cards -- again. She owes the citizens of Baltimore 500 hours of community service, and there's a certain unfinished matter to which she could give her time to fulfill a promise her administration made nearly three years ago.The city promised to see that the tradition of a-rabbing in Baltimore -- selling produce out of horse- or pony-drawn wagons -- survives.It was August 2007. Ms. Dixon had replaced Martin O'Malley in the big chair in City Hall. She was running for election in the September Democratic primary. Reggie Scriber, a deputy commissioner in the housing department, spoke to a group of a-rabs at a meeting in West Baltimore, shortly after the city closed the Retreat Street stable because of the building's decrepit conditions. According to reporter Kelly Brewington's account in The Baltimore Sun, Mr. Scriber became emotional as he spoke of how his father, cousin and brother were all a-rabs. He promised to take personal responsibility for a-rabbing's survival."I am heartbroken over this," he said of the closing of the stable, where 51 horses and ponies had been kept. "I may wear a suit, but I still walk the streets of this community. As long as I have air in my chest, we are going to make sure you have a place to continue this." Deputy Mayor Andrew Frank called the a-rabs integral to the revitalization of the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor. "They are
among the jewels on the charm bracelet of historic attractions along the corridor," he said at the meeting. "Mayor [Sheila] Dixon is committed to finding a solution."

That was then, this is now: Ms. Dixon is on her way out of office, and a-rabbing is on its way out of Baltimore. After the Retreat Street condemnation, the city moved a bunch of the ponies and
horses to a muddy hollow under a bridge in southwest Baltimore for a couple of years, then joined hands with the anti-horses-pulling-anything Humane Society of the United States to confiscate 19 animals on dubious allegations of mistreatment. That was in mid-November.The last of the city's a-rabs, who owned most of the animals that had been kept under the bridge, have been told they'll need to come up with $500 per animal to get them back. For Shawnta Chase and her husband, James, that means $4,000 she can't afford, and for her uncle, Donald Savoy, that means $3,500. They have until Tuesday to file a request for a hearing to contest the city's November seizure of
the animals and ask for their return.It appears that the city wants not only to sever its ties with a-rabbing, which has been around for a couple of centuries, but wants to see the tradition go away for good. Mr. Scriber doesn't have much to say about this anymore. He referred my questions to the city law department.Mr. Frank stated in an e-mail last week: "For two years, the city has subsidized the operation of the a-rabbers in a good faith effort to preserve the tradition. However, with city service cuts resulting from a $50 million budget deficit this fiscal year and a projected $127 million gap next year, we need to balance our priorities carefully." That's all understandable; the city can't afford to subsidize the a-rabs anymore. But, all due respect to Mr. Frank, there's not much "good faith" in stabling 19 horses in a muddy hollow under a bridge for two years, then collaborating with the Humane Society to suggest that a-rabs had mistreated their horses and are to blame for this mess. A veteran horseman who looked at the citations against the Chases and Mr. Savoy concluded that , and the city's grounds for seizing the horses highly contestable.To hold up the Chases and Mr. Savoy for $7,500 between them is just another heavy-handed move to rid the streets of a-rabs for good. It's a shame. This all could have been avoided. Perhaps, had she truly cared about this, or had she not been so busy defending herself against theft charges, Sheila Dixon might have been able to organize a venture to save a-rabbing. She should have called in a favor from some Baltimore business leaders (retired or still active), along with some local economists, preservationists, architects and marketing professionals, and asked them to carry out a feasibility study. Assuming they could come up with a self-sustaining business model, a-rabbing in Baltimore could enjoy a renaissance.The animals could get better stables and turnouts on city land; new a-rabs coming into the business could get training in equine care. City neighborhoods could get
a supply of fresh produce and other items sold off the wagons. Tourists could still get to see this colorful Baltimore tradition. The city could turn the responsibilities of maintaining a-rabbing in Baltimore to a nonprofit. It's not too late. The University of Baltimore chapter of Students in Free
Enterprise has taken up the project. A professional campaign consultant, Linda Brown-Rivelis, is trying to come up with a plan. At some point, someone needs to take charge, and it would be nice if the incoming mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, did what her predecessor failed to do -- appoint someone to coordinate these efforts. The city owes the a-rabs at least that much, at least one more try.
Dan Rodricks' column appears Thursdays and Sundays in print and online, and Tuesdays online-only. He is host of the Midday talk show on WYPR-FM.