BALTIMORE, Maryland — They’re boarded up and crumbling down. Blocks of abandoned houses in Baltimore are being demolished as part of city and state’s joint Project C.O.R.E.–Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise. Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh says the buildings being targeted often contribute to the sale and use of drugs and other criminal gang activity. She says that bringing those structures down and rebuilding those neighborhoods and communities will help to push the city forward.