Don’t just complain about squeegee kids, businesses

Our city’s largest firms and banks must look at financially putting their money in the very city that they do business in — Baltimore. The concerns from these businesses are real, but so are the concerns that many of us residents have when we daily see thousands of drivers coming from outside of the city to work only to turn around and complain about our city (“Baltimore needs a holistic approach toward squeegee boys,” Sept. 17).

I strongly suggest the BMORE Beautiful Project as a place where these businesses can offer their support and financial assistance. BMORE Beautiful is a city-led, peer-to-peer beautification program. The goal of the program is to not only change behaviors and attitudes toward the beautification of the city, but to also encourage residents, businesses and organizations to become directly involved in activities and projects that will keep their neighborhoods clean.

To meet this goal, the city works closely with neighborhoods, such as our Matthew Henson Community Development Corp., on our unique and varied beatification projects and cleanliness challenges, and provides educational literature, outreach materials and other resources that residents can use to keep BMORE Beautiful.

Rather than complaining about our city and running back into their other counties and states (“With Baltimore’s business leaders growing impatient, mayor reveals ‘Squeegee Alternative Plan,’” Sept. 16), why don’t some of the “… city’s largest firms and banks including T. Rowe Price, Morgan Stanley, M&T Bank, PNC Bank, Transamerica, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Miles & Stockbridge, Tydings & Rosenberg, Gordon Feinblatt and Cashman & Wakefield as well as hotels and property owners downtown” do something to help?

Marvin L. “Doc” Cheatham Sr., Baltimore The writer is a civil rights and election law consultant, president of the Matthew A. Henson Neighborhood Association and CEO of the Matthew Henson Community Development Corp.