Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was joined by Baltimore Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano, residents, and community partners to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Vacants to Value initiative and to announce Baltimore’s participation in the Clinton Global Initiative by committing to eliminate 3,000 vacant properties over three years.

Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake named Ms. Brenda McKenzie as President and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC), effective December 17, 2012. McKenzie comes to Baltimore from the Boston Redevelopment Authority with nineteen years of community and economic development experience.

 This morning, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts delivered the first of 80 newly purchased 2013 police cruisers to officers of the Northeast District. The vehicles, which were purchased out of the Department’s existing vehicle fleet budget, will significantly enhance the BPD’s ability to patrol neighborhoods by utilizing state of the art technology.

Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake provided residents with an update on the city’s efforts to recover from Hurricane Sandy. All travel restrictions are lifted at noon today. City streets are open to all motorists.