--- description: Those in residential neighborhoods won't be able to get city funding to rebuild. title: Some Liquor Stores Damaged in Baltimore Riots Denied Recovery Aid image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35b4a652fabfac32/698854a53c16396ff445861b/baltimore-mayor.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [cities](/tag/cities/) ## cities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Some Liquor Stores Damaged in Baltimore Riots Denied Recovery Aid by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 16, 2015 12:23 AM CUT  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake speaks during a news conference in front of the burned CVS in the Sandtown neighborhood May 7, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake speaks during a news conference in front of the burned CVS in the Sandtown neighborhood May 7, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 16, 2015 12:23 AM CUT Almost two dozen liquor stores that sustained damage in the Baltimore riots following the late-April funeral of Freddie Gray will not receive city recovery aid, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake [said](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-non-conforming-liquor-stores-20150615-story.html "undefined") Monday, unless they pick up and move or start selling healthier items. Acknowledging that the city’s decision involving 23 liquor stores was based on their noncompliance with a zoning ban on alcohol sales, the Baltimore _Sun_ reports, she used the time to urge the impacted stores to rethink their sales identity. “I have a great amount of sympathy for those stores that have been damaged, and we want them to rebuild,” she said. “We want them to reopen. But with all the grants and the loan programs that we have available we have a unique opportunity for these nonconforming liquor stores to convert into uses that can uplift our community.” Out of 40 liquor stores damaged in the rioting—of 400 businesses overall—these 23 are in residential neighborhoods where the sale of alcohol is banned, having been grandfathered in under an older system. Those in commercial areas will receive city aid, but ones that aren’t will not. (The state does not have a similar restriction and is offering interest-free loans up to $35,000.) The city’s health commissioner joined Rawlings-Blake for the remarks in Park Heights, a neighborhood heavy with liquor stores, as did Sharon Green Middleton, the City Councilwoman who represents that area. “Crime and grime is around liquor stores,” Middleton said. “So if they’re not going to work with the community, and change, they need to go.” [Read more at _The Baltimore Sun_](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-non-conforming-liquor-stores-20150615-story.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3922153/baltimore-mayor-riot-aid-liquor-stores/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3922153/baltimore-mayor-riot-aid-liquor-stores/"},"headline":"Some Liquor Stores Damaged in Baltimore Riots Denied Recovery Aid","datePublished":"2015-06-16T00:23:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:13:59.572Z","description":"They've been told to relocate or sell healthier items","url":"https://time.com/3922153/baltimore-mayor-riot-aid-liquor-stores/","keywords":["cities","baltimore","freddie gray"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35b4a652fabfac32/698854a53c16396ff445861b/baltimore-mayor.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35b4a652fabfac32/698854a53c16396ff445861b/baltimore-mayor.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"<> on May 7, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.","caption":"Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake speaks during a news conference in front of the burned CVS in the Sandtown neighborhood May 7, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cities/","name":"cities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3922153/baltimore-mayor-riot-aid-liquor-stores/","name":"Some Liquor Stores Damaged in Baltimore Riots Denied Recovery Aid"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Grand Jury Indicts 6 Police Officers In Freddie Gray's Death","description":"Baltimore's chief prosecutor announced Thursday that a grand jury has indicted all six police officers allegedly involved in Freddie Gray's death.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7UiEzSnm/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-22T14:23:17.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7UiEzSnm.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3922153/baltimore-mayor-riot-aid-liquor-stores/","duration":"PT58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3922153/baltimore-mayor-riot-aid-liquor-stores/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```