As noted in this post, the DC Council is undertaking a redistricting process to adjust the ward boundaries. Find information at https://www.elissasilverman.com/redistricting. The Redistricting Subcommittee consists of At-large Councilmembers Elissa Silverman (chair), Anita Bonds, and Christina Henderson. Today, the subcommittee released three “‘discussion maps,’ to foster a productive dialogue on the choices facing the Subcommittee.” You can read about the discussion maps here. Two of the maps make no adjustment to the northern Ward 5 boundary, while one map, Map 3, does. And not in a way that makes sense.
Redistricting Discussion Map 3
Map 3 shifts the Ward 5 boundary east of South Dakota Avenue NE from Kennedy Street NE to Galloway Street NE. The boundary west of South Dakota Avenue would remain at Riggs Road NE. My first concern about tinkering with the northern boundary in this way is that it is clearly being done as an afterthought without intentionality. This is clear from the fact that a description of this change was not even provided in the discussion points for the map until I reached out CM Silverman’s office earlier today. They then updated the discussion points, but the discussion points stated the change would shift residents from Ward 5 to Ward 1, which is obviously not correct. It is also clear that Map 3 is an update from a map presented during the Ward 5 roundtable that shifted the boundary to Hamilton Street NE, discussed in this post. So now it moves the boundary to Galloway Street after the point was made that the census tract boundary is not at Hamilton Street.
Second, this change still leaves the neighborhood split between Wards 4 and 5, except with this proposal, the split would be even more incongruous than it currently is. For reference, below is a map of Lamond-Riggs.
LRCA Boundaries
So for those who think Map 3 somehow unifies Lamond-Riggs, it does not. And this change would split census tract 95.08. If for some reason, the subcommittee really really feels like it has to adjust the northern boundary, to me it makes a lot more sense to use the park as the boundary, both east and west of South Dakota Avenue, as I noted in this post. That way, everyone north of Galloway both east and west of South Dakota Avenue would shift to Ward 4 and Riggs Park would actually be intact. The one thing I did not fully appreciate when first thinking about the neighborhood split is that while students on the Ward 5 side of Riggs Park (both east and west of South Dakota Avenue) are zoned for Ward 4 schools, these families are still voting for the Ward 5 State Board of Education representative, which probably does not make a ton of sense. That would be the one argument to support shifting the boundary so that these families are in Ward 4. But school boundaries are not aligned with ward boundaries because as we see ward boundaries can shift with some regularity especially around the edges of the ward, so this electoral feature is always a possibility (not to mention we barely have a functioning school boundary system as it is).
This whole exercise though leads me to think that the subcommittee should just leave the northern boundary alone. It is not necessary to adjust it. Changing it in the way being contemplated by this discussion map serves no purpose and seems to be a complete afterthought with no regard to either neighborhood boundaries or census tracts. People are already trying to do too much with this redistricting process as it is. This is one change that does not need to be made in my view.
Next Steps
The citywide hearing is on November 5. Sign up to testify at that hearing by 5:00 pm on November 3.
Written testimony can be submitted by Friday, November 12 at 5 p.m. to redistricting@dccouncil.us. Testimony can also be transcribed by calling (202) 350-1521. Map proposals can also be submitted to the subcommittee through dcredistricting.esriemcs.com.
CM Silverman’s office will be present at tonight’s LRCA meeting to discuss the redistricting process.
Long post warning; updated 10/27/2021 to add information about not diluting minority voting strength
DC is undergoing a redistricting process following the release of the 2020 Census numbers. A subcommittee of the DC Council Committee of the Whole is responsible for making recommendations for redrawing the boundaries. The redistricting subcommittee consists of At-large Councilmembers Elissa Silverman (chair), Anita Bonds, and Christina Henderson. The subcommittee set up a handy website to explain the process and how to participate at https://www.elissasilverman.com/redistricting. One way to participate is to draw your own map boundaries using the DC Office of Planning’s online redistricting tool and submit it to the subcommittee.
The Council will establish the ward boundaries first and deal with the ANC boundaries later. The subcommittee is currently holding ward-focused roundtables to address the ward boundaries. The Ward 5 hearing was on October 20, 2021. You can view the video on CM Silverman’s facebook page at this link. Recordings of other ward redistricting hearings are also available on CM Silverman’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CMElissaSilverman.
The Ward 4 hearing will be on October 28, 2021, starting at 10:00 am. The deadline to sign up to testify for the Ward 4 hearing is Tuesday, October 26, 2021. Follow the instructions in the hearing notice to sign up.
Key dates from this point forward:
October 2021: Subcommittee will hold eight hearings on ward redistricting, one specific to each ward November 5, 2021: City-wide hearing. Sign up to testify by November 3. See hearing notice. November 12, 2021: Deadline for submitting written testimony. Submit written testimony to redistricting@dccouncil.us Mid-November 2021: Redistricting Subcommittee markup of ward redistricting bill December 7, 2021: First vote by the full Council on the ward redistricting bill December 21, 2021: Second vote on the ward redistricting bill December 2021: Ward Task Forces (which provide recommendations on ANC redistricting) start meeting February 2022: Ward Task Forces report out recommendations May 2022: Subcommittee mark-up of the ANC redistricting bill June 2022: Full Council votes on the ANC redistricting bill
Principles of Redistricting
The redistricting process happens every 10 years following release of the Census numbers. The subcommittee is guided by a few principles. One is the principle of one person/one vote. That means each ward should have roughly the same number of residents so that no ward is either too big or too small and each resident’s vote has roughly the same amount of power. Following the 2020 Census, the magic number is 86,193 residents. Each ward can be within plus or minus five percent of this number, so each ward can legally have between 81,883 and 90,503 residents. Based on this range, Ward 6 needs to shrink and Wards 7 and 8 need to grow. All of the other wards are within the legal range, but Ward 5 is knocking at the top of the range with 89,425 residents.
Another principle is to not dilute the power of “minority” voters. The DC Council interprets this to mean not diluting the power of Black and Latino residents in DC, according to CM Silverman.
Another principle is keeping what is called “communities of interest” together. This is a nebulous concept not defined in the DC Code. But the idea is to keep communities that have common legislative concerns together. Historically, this has meant keeping neighborhoods together, but over time we have seen that sometimes it is necessary to split up neighborhoods and to cross natural boundaries. CM Silverman has made it a point to note several times that the subcommittee will be looking at factors such as race and income. This has led to some interesting discussions, with people making diametrically opposed points during the hearings I have listened to so far, but I will save that for another post.
The ward lines must also be contiguous, and CM Silverman stated that the subcommittee cannot split census tracts.
The Council is supposed to abide by all of these principles while somehow minimizing disruption. During a previous subcommittee hearing in September, there was some discussion about whether the subcommittee should try to get all of the wards as close to the average as possible. That could mean moving some residents out of Ward 5, for example. Or the committee could just focus on making sure that the wards are within the legal limits. Theoretically, the subcommittee could redraw the boundaries for Wards 6, 7, and 8 so that each is within the permissible range, and leave the rest of the ward boundaries alone. But the subcommittee has stated that just changing Wards 6, 7, and 8 would lead to some funky maps so they are looking at adjustments to other wards as well.
One factor the subcommittee stated they will not address is parking because there is a good argument for decoupling parking zone boundaries from ward boundaries (and in my mind political boundaries altogether).
All of the members of the subcommitee, along with Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, were present for the Ward 5 hearing on October 20. At the top of her remarks, CM Silverman stated that although Ward 5 is within the legal limit, that does not mean that the subcommittee will leave the Ward 5 boundaries as they are. CM Silverman said the subcommittee is specifically looking at both the southeast area of the ward around Carver-Langston and the northern portion of the ward, which includes the Riggs Park and Fort Totten neighborhoods.
(For clarity, to me the boundaries of the Riggs Park neighborhood are New Hampshire Avenue to the north, the DC/MD line to the east, Galloway Street NE to the south, and the Metro red line tracks to the west. The Fort Totten neighborhood is west of the Metro red line tracks.)
A handful of residents testified during the hearing. ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08), who is also chair of the Ward 5 Democrats, testified in support of keeping Fort Lincoln in Ward 5. He also advocated for having two ANC commissioners for that neighborhood. It was not clear to me in what capacity he was testifying. Commissioner Fletcher represents parts of the Riggs Park and North Michigan Park neighborhoods, but his testimony focused solely on the Fort Lincoln neighborhood. No other ANC 5A commissioners testified. A couple of other commissioners and residents near the Fort Lincoln area also testified in support of keeping Fort Lincoln in Ward 5. All of these witnesses and CM McDuffie recommended leaving the Ward 5 boundaries as they are because Ward 5’s population is within the legal limit.
One Ward 5 resident, Geoffrey Hatchard, who CM Silverman noted is a cartographer and geographer, advocated shifting the Ward 5 boundaries. He submitted a map recommendation that adjusted the southern part of the ward (moving part of Ward 6 to Ward 5). His recommendation also included moving the northern border of Ward 5 east of South Dakota Avenue NE from Kennedy Street NE to Hamilton Street NE (moving part of Ward 5 to Ward 4). This northern boundary recommendation does not make sense to me. It sounded like Mr. Hatchard said the census tract boundary is Hamilton Street NE, but as CM McDuffie noted during the hearing, that is not correct. And according to CM Silverman, census tract boundaries are sacrosanct. There are already census tracts across the city that are split between wards, but the one thing this subcommittee will try really really hard not to do is split census tracts.
So to me, that means if the subcommittee really wants to adjust the northern boundary, they could move everyone in census tract 95.08 (shown in the image above) into Ward 4. That would keep Riggs Park intact, but split the Fort Totten neighborhood. Or if they are fine with breaking their census tract rule, they could split the census tract along the Fort Totten Park boudary to the west and south and move residents east and north of that natural boundary into Ward 4. Doing this would keep both the Riggs Park and Ft. Totten neighborhoods intact. Looking at previous redistricting committee reports, it looks like part or all of census tract 95.08 was part of Ward 4 at one point and was moved to Ward 5 following the 2000 Census. Currently this census tract consists of the entirety of ANC single member district (SMD) 5A01 and parts of SMDs 5A07 and 5A08. Also Fort Circle Park east of South Dakota Avenue NE is technically part of SMD 5A02, even though it is partly in census tract 95.08. While the subcommittee specifically said they want to only focus on the ward boundaries right now and get those solidified before discussing the ANC boundaries, looking at the current ANC boundaries also shows how difficult this task is.
CM Henderson also stated she was looking at the Ward 5 boundary near Fort Totten Metro station. Unfortunately she ran out of time before the witnesses could answer her question about adjusting the northern boundary. CM Silverman asked the panel what part of Ward 5 should shift if the subcommittee decided the boundary had to change if for example, the subcommittee wanted to move part of Ward 6 or Ward 7 to Ward 5. Some suggestions from the panel included the Benning Road area, Bloomingdale area, Bates area, or the McMillan Park area. But most of the witnesses and CM McDuffie reiterated that Ward 5 does not need to change.
My thoughts
I live on the Ward 5 side of Riggs Park, and I really do not have strong feelings about the possibility of being part of Ward 4. Hard to believe I know, because I have lots of opinions about lots of things. But this is just one of those topics that I feel like I have already spent too much time thinking about for something I am not too concerned about. Simply because random suggestions are being made to move the northern boundary of Ward 5 to accommodate random suggestions about moving part of Ward 6 into Ward 5, when Ward 5 can only add another 1,000 residents before exceeding the legal limit.
Moving the Ward 5 side of Riggs Park, which sits at the tip of the ward, to Ward 4 would reunite the neighborhood in one ward. Right now the neighborhood is split between Wards 4 and 5 in kind of a ridiculous way because of the way the census tracts are drawn. The northern boundary of Ward 5 is Kennedy Street NE east of South Dakota Avenue NE and Riggs Road NE west of South Dakota Avenue. Having the neighborhood split between two wards can be a bit of an annoyance when advocating for neighborhood interests because we have to deal with two Council offices, two ANCs, and two sets of mayor’s office/DC agency ward liaisons. But it’s just that, a bit of an annoyance, not the end of the world. School boundaries and police district boundaries are not ward-based. Children in Ward 5 in Riggs Park attend Ward 4 schools. It makes advocating for schools interesting if you live in Ward 5, but again I do not think that it is a super big deal to have to talk to the Ward 4 councilmember when discussing schools (I also do not have children though so maybe parents feel differently).
That said, inertia is real. I really do not mind remaining part of Ward 5, and I cannot say I am yearning to be in ANC 4B (no shade, seriously). I have heard an argument about public safety in certain parts of Ward 4 that currently requires a lot of attention from the Ward 4 councilmember. The idea is that this need leaves less time for addressing issues in other parts of Ward 4, so moving part of Ward 5 into Ward 4 would leave the new Ward 4 areas feeling overshadowed. That may have some merit, but I am not sure. I realize I can afford to be sort of unbothered about being in either Ward 4 or Ward 5 because I do not think the councilmember for either ward is terrible. I do realize the Ward 5 councilmember will change with the November 2022 election so maybe I will end up eating my words. As of right now though, my reaction is a bit of a shrug. I would probably feel differently if there were a possibility of moving to a ward with a terrible councilmember who is not up for election until 2024. I just personally care more about the ANC boundaries (I realize the ANC boundaries go hand in hand with the ward boundaries).
The one thing I would strongly advocate for is not splitting up the neighborhood in a way that is more ridiculous than it is now, so to me that would mean not following that Hamilton Street NE boundary recommendation. I watched a recording of the Ward 3 hearing. During that hearing, CM Silverman stated she thought there was one good map that was presented during the Ward 5 hearing that generally abided by the redistricting principles. I do not know which map she was referring to, but I hope the subcommittee is not seriously considering shifting part of the northern boundary to Hamilton Street NE east of South Dakota Avenue. I happen to live on the south side of Hamilton Street, so I would still remain in Ward 5, but it still does not make sense to me. Also, during the Ward 3 hearing, there was some discussion about moving a few of the split neighborhoods in the northwest part of Ward 4 (Chevy Chase, Barnaby Woods, Hawthorne) back into Ward 3. Doing so could free up some space to move all of of Riggs Park into Ward 4, but then Ward 3 would be over the legal limit and adjustments would have to be made elsewhere to make Ward 3’s population size legal.
I do not know how serious the discussion about adjusting the northern Ward 5 boundary is. Neither CM McDuffie nor any of the ANC 5A commissioners have discussed the issue with residents or the leadership of the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA). Compare that silence to plenty of discussion taking place with residents of and near the Ft. Lincoln and Carver-Langston neighborhoods. CM McDuffie dropped in on the Ward 7 hearing that took place on October 23 to recommend not extending Ward 7 into the Ft. Lincoln neighborhood (apparently more than one person in Ward 7 thinks making Ft. Lincoln part of Ward 7 is a good idea and makes sense).
If you care about this issue, consider signing up to testify at the upcoming Ward 4 hearing or submitting written testimony. Be sure to send a copy of your testimony to your councilmember.
A representative of CM Silverman’s office is on the agenda to discuss redistricting at ANC 4B’s meeting tonight.
The topic is not on ANC 5A’s agenda for the meeting on October 27, but the ANC tends to add items to the agenda during the meeting, so it very well could end up being discussed at the meeting.
A representative from CM Silverman’s office is scheduled to appear at the LRCA meeting on November 1, 2021.
If you are interested in serving on the ANC redistricting taskforce, contact your councilmember.
Kyla Woods is a new Ward 5 DC mayor’s office community liaison (otherwise known as MOCR for the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations & Services), serving alongside Nokomis Hunter. Brittany Butler is no longer one of the Ward 5 MOCRS. Ms. Woods can be reached by email at kyla.woods1@dc.gov or by phone at (202) 394-4399.
Mayor Muriel Bowser is holding four budget engagement forums this month, including one specifically for seniors. For more information, visit budget.dc.gov.
I attended one of these exercises several years ago. I think it was informative insofar as providing a snapshot of how resources are allocated in the budget and how budget decisions get made. The pandemic presents a huge challenge, so it will be interesting to see what the mayor’s budget ends up looking like.
In addition, remember to fill out Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s Ward 5 budget survey by February 19 to provide input on his budget requests to the mayor.
On January 22, 2021, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie released a survey to solicit resident input on budget priorities for the ward. Please complete the SURVEY so that neighborhood needs can be reflected in Councilmember McDuffie’s budget requests to the mayor.
It is sort of a weird time to be doing a budget exercise given the obvious needs and budget challenges created by the coronavirus public health emergency. That said, we can also ask for support for neighborhood-specific items in the budget, such as support for programming Fort Circle Park or the green space in front of Food & Friends. I have previously noted that this neighborhood is fortunate to have an area development plan (sometimes referred to as a small area plan) in place that we can use as a tool to advocate for neighborhood needs. Noting that our requests are anticipated by the area development plan makes it that much easier to advocate for them (see the most recent implementation report from 2016 here). We might not get all or any of what we request, but consistent asks each year are what yields results. So please take some time to complete the survey this week.
January 22nd message from Councilmember McDuffie’s Office:
Neighbor,
Today our office released the Ward 5 FY 2022 budget priorities survey. This survey lets us know your priorities and concerns for the FY 2022 budget and guides our funding requests. Your input will focus my work over the coming months, so please take a few minutes to fill out our quick survey.
Hard copies of this survey will also be distributed to the Woodridge library, senior centers, and residential buildings in the coming weeks.
I hope you will make your voice heard in the budget process by filling out our survey.
We have a new team of mayor office liaisons (known as MOCRS) for Ward 4 and Ward 5. MOCRS are community outreach specialists typically seen at community meetings. They are helpful when residents need assistance with receiving services from District agencies. Some issues can be resolved through submission of 311 service requests, so it is helpful to go that route first and then follow up with the MOCRs if the issue has not been satisfactorily resolved. MOCRS can work long hours–late night shootings they’re there, late night fires they’re there, the dozens of community meetings they’re there –and in my experience they are quite patient and pleasant to work with. On that note, I have to give a shout out to the previous Ward 4 MOCR KeShawn Harris because he was just fantastic. Below is contact information for the new MOCRS.
Message from Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s office:
—
Budget season at the Council is ramping up, and Councilmember McDuffie wants to hear your budget priorities for Ward 5 and the District of Columbia. At the link directly below, you will have the opportunity to give your feedback and priorities for the upcoming budget. Councilmember McDuffie and staff will also be bringing this to ANC and civic association meetings for the rest of January and early February.
In addition to sharing your priorities with Councilmember McDuffie, residents are also encouraged to share them with the entire Council by testifying at a performance oversight or budget oversight hearing. Performance oversight hearings review the performance of District agencies over the past year and run through March 6, 2020. Budget oversight hearings look at each agency’s budget for the upcoming year and are held March 23 through April 9, 2020. For the schedule of hearings, check the links below and/or the website of the Council Budget Office.
We have a new team of mayor office liaisons (also known as MOCRS) for Ward 4 and Ward 5. MOCRS are community outreach specialists typically seen at community meetings. They are helpful when residents need assistance with receiving services from District agencies. Some issues can be resolved through submission of 311 service requests, so it is helpful to go that route first and then follow up with the MOCRs if the issue has not been satisfactorily resolved. MOCRS can work long hours–late night shootings they’re there, late night fires they’re there, the dozens of community meetings they’re there –and in my experience they are quite patient and pleasant to work with. On that note, I have to give a shout out to the previous Ward 4 MOCR KeShawn Harris because he was just fantastic. Below is contact information for the new MOCRS.
Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie has set up a satellite office at Luke C. Moore High School, located at 1001 Monroe Street NE. Office hours are Tuesday and Thursday each week from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. This week the office will be open on Friday July 5 instead of Thursday July 4. Staff will be available by appointment only. Book online at https://calendly.com/ward5.
If you are a data junkie like me and find yourself boring your friends and family over Thanksgiving dinner by talking about numbers, then I hope you will find the below information exciting too.
Looks like we had a decent turn-out amongst registered voters in Precincts 66 (a.k.a. Wild Ward High-5) and Precinct 65 (a.k.a. Wizards of Ward 4-bearers). We at least did better than the city writ large.
Precinct 66 (Ward 5)
Precinct 65 (Ward 4)
City-Wide
Registered Voters
5537
3321
500,511
Votes Cast
2949
1710
231,700
Percentage
53.3
51.5
46.3
Spoiler alert. You can stop holding your breath. The Democrats ran the table in city-wide elections. That went for our Precincts of Power too. Arguably, the race for At-Large Member of the Council was probably the one with the most eyes on it. Though Anita Bonds got the most votes in both of our power precincts, we appeared to be split between Elissa Silverman and Dionne Reeder. This could make for some electric chatter at the next LRCA meeting. For reference, (D) is for Democrat, (R) is for Republican, (I) is for Independent, (L) is for Libertarian, and (STG) is for Statehood Green. Also, both undervote and overvote tallies for each race are excluded from these tables for simplicity.
Precinct 66 (Ward5)
Precinct 65 (Ward 4)
Candidate
Votes
Percentage
Votes
Percentage
DELEGATE TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D))
2697
92.6
1569
92.6
John Cheeks (I)
75
2.6
39
2.3
Natale Stracuzzi (STG)
63
2.2
47
2.8
Nelson Rimensnyder ®
38
1.3
17
1.0
Bruce Majors (L)®
29
1.0
16
0.9
Write-In
12
0.4
6
0.4
Mayor
Muriel Bowser (D)
2298
80.0
1378
82.2
Ann Wilcox (STG)
208
7.2
118
7.0
Dustin Canter (I)
201
7.0
99
5.9
Martin Moulton (L)
55
1.9
25
1.5
Write-In
110
3.8
56
3.3
DC Council Chair
Phil Mendelson (D)
2633
91.8
1535
92.2
Ethan Bishop-Henchman (L)
192
6.7
107
6.4
Write-In
44
1.5
22
1.3
At-Large Member, DC Council
Anita Bonds (D)
2322
53.0
1385
56.0
Elissa Silverman (I)
806
18.4
389
15.7
Dionne Reeder (I)
737
16.8
435
17.6
David Schwartzmann (STG)
253
5.8
151
6.1
Rustin Lewis (I)
159
3.6
25
1.0
Ralph Chittams (R)®
76
1.7
71
2.9
Write-In
32
0.7
17
0.7
Attorney General for DC
Karl Racine (D)
2739
95.5
1573
95.7
Joe Henchman (L)
123
4.3
66
4.0
Write-In
7
0.2
5
0.3
U.S. Senator
Michael Brown (D)
2451
86.9
1467
88.9
Eleanor Ory (STG)
345
12.2
174
10.5
Write-In
25
0.9
10
0.6
U.S. Representative
Franklin Garcia (D)
2648
98.5
1522
98.1
Write-In
40
1.5
29
1.9
Now, let’s focus our attention on the Ward 5 specific elections – what up Precinct 66! Kenyan McDuffie won the Ward 5 seat. The Ward 5 member for the State Board of Education was likely the more interesting competition across the Ward. Zachary Parker came out on top. And, for you Ward 4 wizards, don’t forget to vote in your State Board of Education election on December 4, 2018.
Votes
Percentage
Ward 5 Councilmember
Kenyan McDuffie (D)
2449
84.7
Kathy Henderson (I)
197
6.8
Joyce (Chestnut) Robinson-Paul (STG)
136
4.7
Amone Banks (I)
84
2.9
Write-In
24
0.8
Ward 5 Member of the State Board of Education
Zachary Parker
1425
51.8
Adrian Jordan
1026
37.3
William “Bill” Lewis
279
10.1
Write-In
23
0.8
The ANC Single Member District races were notable as well. A couple of the races had some more unpredictable outcomes. Some familiar faces will return, while some new faces are ready to serve. These folks are some of your best guides when figuring out how to navigate through the maze of D.C. city government agencies. So, take the time and get to know them too. They are here to serve all of us in the community after all.
On Tuesday, August 8, Ward 5 residents are invited to visit the National Building Museum’s summer exhibit, Hive, with complimentary admisstion from 9-11am. Story time and mobile library book check-out will be provided by D.C. Public Library. Visit go.ngm.org/hive for more information.
Over the summer, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie will be holding office hours at various locations around Ward 5. His office will be at Fort Totten metro on July 26 from 7:30 am to 9:30 am. Get a break from the heat and meet up with his office at several indoor locations elsewhere in Ward 5. Check the link for dates and locations.
DATE
TIME
LOCATION
ADDRESS
Wed, July 19
7:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Starbucks – Dakota Crossing
2430 Market Street NE
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Edgewood Community Town Hall
Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church
Family Life Center
605 Rhode Island Ave NE
On July 13 come out and express your concerns with traffic, sidewalk repairs, overgrown trees, pedestrian safety, and other issues at the Ward 5 DDOT Roundtable. If you are interested in testifying or have concerns that you would like addressed, let us know in the comments.
Public Oversight Roundtable on The District Department of Transportation’s Responsiveness to Council and Resident Inquiries
DATE: July 13, 2017
TIME: 6:30 P.M
LOCATION: Edward J. Pryzbyla Center, Great Room A
620 Michigan Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20064
The public is invited to testify and can sign up to do so by contacting Ms. Aukima Benjamin, Staff Assistant to the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, at (202) 724-8062 or via e-mail at abenjamin@dccouncil.us. Persons representing organizations will have five minutes to present their testimony. Individuals will have three minutes to present their testimony. Witnesses should bring eight copies of their written testimony and should submit a copy of their testimony electronically to abenjamin@dccouncil.us.
If you are unable to testify in person, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted to Ms. Benjamin at the following address: Committee on Transportation and the Environment, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 108, Washington, D.C. 20004. Statements may also be e-mailed to abenjamin@dccouncil.us or faxed to (202) 724-8118. The record will close at the end of the business day on July 27, 2017.
Ward 5 Community Happy Hour
Meet your neighbors — Support local — Share some laughs, Why not?
Join your fellow Ward 5 residents for Happy Hour at one of Brookland’s tried and true hot spots!
Thursday, November 3, 2015 6:00pm – 8:00pm Smith Public Trust 3514 12th Street, NE Washington, DC 20017
Right next to Brookland Metro, Capital Bike share and bus lines! Plenty of street parking, too.
On November 1, 2016, Congresswoman Eleanore Holmes Norton hosted a town hall with the National Park Service (NPS) on improving and maintaining NPS land in the District. Nine-year old Riggs Park resident Lucas Uriartecuellar testified at the town hall to support constructing a trail and building a playground at Fort Circle Park, located on South Dakota Avenue between Gallatin and Galloway Street NE.
Back in March 2016, Lucas met then Council candidate Robert White and told him about his desire for a playground. Councilmember White put Lucas in touch with Congresswoman Norton’s office. Lucas and his family walked the neighborhood with a petition* and collected approximately 230 signatures from residents close to Fort Circle Park to support his effort. At the town hall, Lucas presented to NPS and Congresswoman Norton the petition as well as a blueprint of some his ideas for transforming the park. For his efforts, Lucas received a big round of applause from those in attendance. We applaud him too.
Nine-year-old Lucas ready to testify
Lucas holding his blueprint, joined by Councilmember Robert White and family and friends
Photo of petition circulated by Lucas
Two other residents testified about the need for trails in Fort Totten Park. NPS stated that design of a trail to connect Gallatin to Galloway Street NE near Fort Totten metro station will be completed in 2017 and the agency is seeking funding sources to actually construct the trail.
Generally, the tone of the town hall meeting was positive. The leadership of NPS is very open to partnering with communities to make NPS parkland flexible, sustainable, and active. For example, in recent months, NPS has partnered with the Golden Triangle business improvement district (BID) and the Capitol Hill BID so that those BIDs can fund the upkeep of NPS parks in the downtown and Capitol Hill areas. However, in neighborhoods like this one, where there is not a BID or a significant number of businesses willing or able to take on activating and maintaining the parks, funding for park amenities and activities remain a challenge. NPS Superintendent of the Fort Circle Parks Tara Morrison noted that there is certainly work to be done with these parks. They hold great historical significance and they should be places of interest and use for the community and the greater public. In August 2016, NPS completed a Paved Trail Study. The agency expects to complete its Small Parks Master Planning effort in the near future. Any change to NPS parks in the neighborhood will have to start with a planning effort with NPS. It may take some time, but at least we know NPS is amenable to working with residents to make the parks fun, interesting places.
*The petition reads:
Dear Council at Large Robert White
I’m writing to Request that the Fort Circle Park be redeveloped and improved to include a paved trail. This park is located on South Dakota Ave NE, across from the future Children’s Museum. An enhanced trail would complement the Children’s Museum.
A safe, well-maintained trail away from the street and traffic would allow the children and adults a safe place to walk, jog, or bike ride. My family has lived in this area since I have memories (seven years) and have seen the neighborhood grow with many new young families. At this time, the parents find it difficult, walking with strollers and tricycles. The elderly are at risk of falling due to the poor condition of the sidewalks.
I know that you have been responsive to resident issues in the past and I hope that you will support this request. With your leadership and support for a park with a trail, our neighborhood will have the appropriate place to get together, exercise, and for us to play and ride. Thank you for your help and we hope that the effort, yours and ours, to have a park in the neighborhood will have effective action to become reality. Signatures of neighbors supporting the improvement of Fort Circle Park are list[ed] below.
For those of you sticking around DC for the holiday weekend, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie is hosting a meeting on the council’s proposed locations for the Ward 5 homeless shelter.
From the Councilmember:
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May 25, 2016
Dear residents,
We all know that the conditions at D.C. General are simply not acceptable for the families and children that are currently housed at the site. On Tuesday, May 17, the Council voted to approve and fund a new plan for closing DC General with two new proposed sites in Ward 5. Some of you have contacted my office to voice your concerns regarding the new plan. Our office is committed to working with you to answer your questions and to discuss how we can move forward together with compassion for our most vulnerable population. I will hold a town hall meeting on Friday, May 27, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Israel Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Morris L. Shearin, Sr. Community Life Center, Capital City Hall of Distinction (CCHOD) located at 1251 Saratoga Avenue, NE. I hope that you will be able to attend.
In February, Mayor Bowser proposed a plan to close D.C. General. As initially proposed the plan called for locating the Ward 5 temporary shelter at 2266 25th Place, NE. The 25th Place site presented serious challenges including its proximity to a trash transfer station, bus lots, a strip club, a night club, and freight rail tracks. Additionally, its distance from public transportation and grocery stores presented more problems. In fact, the Mayor’s proposed Ward 5 location was almost universally opposed by residents, advocates, and health professionals.
Under the new plan, the Council’s proposal provides the Mayor with two alternate locations in Ward 5: the former Metropolitan Police Department Youth Division Building located on 17th and Rhode Island Avenue, NE, and the Penn Center, located at 326 R Street, NE. Additionally, the Council’s revised proposal would save District taxpayers at least $165 million when compared to the leases initially proposed in the Mayor’s plan.
Importantly, it should be noted that I prefer the Youth Division building, especially given that it is one of the sites that was developed as a recommendation by Ward 5 residents as a result of one of the several community meetings that were held after the Mayor’s initial proposal. Our office will continue to work with the Mayor to push for the preferred location on Rhode Island Avenue to be selected and to address any concerns that might arise from the community.
Last month, as part of the Homeward DC plan to end homelessness, Mayor Muriel Bowser released a plan to close the homeless shelter at DC General and open smaller short-term housing facilities in each ward. The mayor stated she wants the council to approve the package in its entirety. Almost immediately after the plan’s release, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie and the Langdon Park and Woodridge communities objected to the proposed location for the Ward 5 facility at 2266 25th Place NE, stating the location is in an industrial area close to nightclubs, a strip club, and bus depot, and far from public transit and basic amenities like a grocery store. Langdon Park residents also appear to object on the basis that their neighborhood (and nearby neighborhoods) already house a number of homeless shelters and supportive services. (There have also been objections to the cost of the plan, lack of transparency, and reports that some of the mayor’s major donors would benefit immensely from this plan). After much pushback, Mayor Bowser released a list of all of the sites that her administration considered and rejected.
What does all of this have to do with this neighborhood? The Woodridge South and Landgon Park Civic Associations hosted an emergency Ward 5 meeting on February 22, 2016, to discuss the plan. (I did not attend the meeting). There, residents tossed around various alternative locations, including locations in Riggs Park, according to this letter the Langdon Park Civic Association sent to the mayor. See Ward5_Letter_Mayor_Bowser (pdf); Ward 5_MeetingNotes_Feb252016_HomewardDCpdf. I heard about the meeting and as noted in this ANC 5A February 24th meeting recap, I asked Councilmember McDuffie’s Chief of Staff Ronan Gulstone about Councilmember McDuffie’s plan for finding an alternative Ward 5 location given the very vocal opposition from Langdon Park residents, opposition which the councilmember appears to support. At that time, Mr. Gulstone hedged a bit stating that the councilmember wants more transparency for selecting an alternative location. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Sandi Washington (5A07), who attended the emergency meeting, stated Councilmember McDuffie said at the emergency meeting that he would follow the direction of the community.
The council held a preliminary hearing on the plan on March 17, 2016. According to reports, City Administrator Rashad Young did not appear to be persuaded about breaking up the package to find a different Ward 5 location, but Mr. Young did send a letter to the Langdon Park Civic Association appearing to suggest that if a consensus alternative Ward 5 location emerged, then it would be considered. See Langdon-Park-Response-Letter_3.17.2016 (pdf). The letter also notes that the administration spoke with Councilmember McDuffie in 2015 about planning to close DC General and asked him to come up with specific sites).)
After the council hearing, I sent an email to Mr. Gulstone again asking about Councilmember McDuffie’s plan for proceeding, especially considering construction is supposed to start in February 2017, if the council approves the plan. I have not received a response yet, but will update this post if I get one. I ask this question because it is clear from the list of alternative locations generated at the emergency meeting that residents are not best positioned to come up with alternative locations. A resident or residents suggested “a site incorporated into developments going up by Fort Totten,” according to the letter from Langdon Park. I am not sure what this means, as there are a couple of developments in progress in the neighborhood. Art Place at Fort Totten is in Ward 5; Fort Totten Square is in Ward 4. Both are being developed by private developers on privately owned land. There is District-owned land in Ward 4 over which District officials have been negotiating purchase by developers for the second phase of Fort Totten Square. There is also District-owned land next to Food & Friends that is not part of any current planned development.
On a personal note, I would not mind having a short-term housing facility for families in the neighborhood. I think apartment-style family housing would be better than dormitory-style. We already have a fair amount of income-restricted housing in the neighborhood. Aventine Fort Totten houses a number of residents who are receiving supportive services. And we have our share of group homes. So it is not as if this neighborhood is a stranger to supportive facilities. But we have a stable neighborhood. We have beautiful parks, relatively low crime, a grocery store (or two depending on how one counts), and discount retail with the Walmart. We have the Backus campus of UDC-CC (the community college), which offers lots of workforce programs, a neighborhood library, and the Backus location of the Department of Employment Services (DOES) in the neighborhood. And of course we are served by terrific public transit. Those services would likely be useful to those in need of emergency housing. Sure, there are lots of amenities we still want and need in the neighborhood, but I do not think having a small homeless shelter would be a detriment to getting those things. I have seen homeless shelters in other cities; they can be attractive facilities. That said, this entire process displays an astounding lack of leadership and thoughtfulness from those who are being paid to be smart, thoughtful leaders. It pits residents and neighborhoods against one another. It reminds me of the city’s failure to implement a plan for housing municipal functions, for which we are quickly running out of space. There, we have seen in the past and will be seeing again in the future, the result of the city officials’ failure to undertake thoughtful decision-making. All of us as residents deserve better.
The Ward 5 Community Happy Hour is at Brookland Pint tonight February 4. Before that, Wardman Wines is hosting a pre-happy hour wine tasting. Wardman Wines recently opened across the street from Monroe Street Market.
This month’s ward 5 community happy is 6:00 to 8:00 pm tonight at Steel Plate in Brookland (3523 12th St. NE). Meet other ward 5 residents and support local business.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 