Guest Post: Time for a New Ward 8

By Anonymous

After another weekend of trash cleanup behind my fellow Anacostans, I have to say that some are simply too trashy, have no regard for public appearance, and simply purchase, eat, and dispose on the spot. I have seen everything from tires, to bicycles to items too unsanitary to mention. It's never "everybody," but it is certainly "somebody." After a year on the Historic side, observing, cleaning, contacting authorities, attending meetings, seeing outcomes, etc., it seems the community is on one page, yet elected officials and decision-makers are on another. How are we defining progress? Believe it or not, for some, more social services is progress. For others, it is more of the same.

My issue borders on the behavioral. Dirty is just plain dirty. Foul language is just plain foul language. A negative outlook and blaming society, is simply a negative outlook that continues to blame society. It seems, some prefer to keep it this way. I think we need better council representaiton. I don't hate Barry, but after years and years and years of representing Ward 8, I think we need somebody who can interact with other council members in a more progressive way. We need new blood, new ideas, and simply new waysof doing things. Other wards have issues too, and our council is just plain jacked up. DC politics is a joke in my opinion and elected officials undermine their effectiveness by creating an atmospehere of mistrust over a series of missteps, financial and otherwise. Good luck pushing statehood...

I respect all individuals, but things were moving under Fenty and at least he was decisive. Under Gray, we've had nothing but scandals and issues surrounding his vetting process. With the drama, what is he really accomplishing? Will he take a stand on the11th st bridge project? Can he help produce the 1.5 million to install streetcar tracks so that we avoid a disastrous short-term decision? It's hard to keep any progressive momentum going in DC. 4 years is not enough time to let initiatives play out, when you take transition into account. Throw in a couple of scandals, and we have "Amateur Night at the Apollo". You have to impress quickly....or out comes the sandman.

I think residents personalize things too much in this city, at the expense of looking at things objectively. In Ward 8, the uneducated simply outnumber the educated. Not that education is everything, but politicians play residents. People in a neglected part of town come out against the very transportation initiaitives that are designed to increase access to points west. How smart is that? I don't think anybody will open businesses, thereby increasing jobs in an area inundated with too many social services, resulting in people out on the street. Like I'm really going to take my wife and kids to a sit-down restaurant in that type of environment? Despite being walkable, we NEVER walk to the library. It's not just about the access. It's also about the experience. Walkability is not just about distance. People with families don't want their kids constantly seeing liquor stores and laundromats and people out doing nothing, standing around, wasting time, when we need workers to compete in a global environment. Local security impacts national security....

Lastly, I am all for neighborhood meetings and participation. I consider it a civic duty. However, it seems various "officials" and business leaders show up, produce great looking renderings, listen to the community, and hear great ideas, but to no avail. If the people who care enough to show up, who actually own property, pay taxes, clean up where the city doesn't, etc. are voicing one direction, why does it always seem that decisions are being made against the wishes of those who are actually investing the time, energy and resources? Why are secret deals going down resulting in more social services on Good Hope Road? Why do we get Save-A-Lot, when we clearly said we wanted something of higher quality. We already have Safeway and Giant in ward 8. Why are these decisions kept secret, where we find out about them afterwards. For all the meetings we have, Ward 8 is not a very transparent place....

What this says to me is that people aren't taking us seriously. When I say "us" I mean the people who are trying to make a positive difference in improving our community, regardless of socio-economic or educational status. There should be one Ward 8. In reality, this means doing things differently. I am not a Barry hater, but I am a realist. I just think political officials higher up - and on the council - in that environment, will never really take Ward 8 seriously, until we elect somebody to represent us on the council who brings a more progressive approach. It's a new day in the economy, the country and the city, and it's time for Ward 8 to catch up. Otherwise, we will continue to be the land of the lost in a city where the other wards are embracing progress. We have to move away from this divide and conquer community set-up. For example, I live in historic Anacostia, but most forces against Ward 8 tend to group our neighborhoods together. Therefore, I believe Ward 8 has to take a more collective and unified approach on common initiatives and challenges in order to affect the type of change that is needed.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free..."

This post was originally sent by an Anacostia resident as an email to the Historic Anacostia Google Group mailing list. To request inclusion into the Google Group, follow the instructions on the Google Group page.

"The problem with Anacostia is no metro access"

by IMGoph at The District Curmudgeon

See that quote above? Megan McArdle, who blogs for The Atlantic, wrote that as a comment on an article she wrote titled "Why Are There No Houses for Sale in DC?"

To start with, her premise is false. There are plenty of houses for sale in DC. Without knowing precisely her requirements, it's difficult to tell where she has been looking, but as a homeowner in Trinidad who pays close attention to when houses come on and go off the market, I know that there is a decent inventory of homes available in our neighborhood, and in many other neighborhoods in the city.

David Garber, who writes the blog And Now, Anacostia, commented and asked if she had looked in Historic Anacostia for a home. Her reply, quoted in the title for this article, shows unfamiliarity, if not downright ignorance, when it comes to this city. Look at the map below:


View Historic Anacostia in a larger map

The Anacostia metro station is highlighted in red, and the [Historic] Anacostia neighborhood is highlighted in yellow. The green line along Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue is approximately 1000 feet long. That's how far it is from the edge of the neighborhood to the Metro station.

If Ms. McArdle honestly believes that Anacostia has no Metro access, I'll gladly take her on a tour of the city to help familiarize her with its neighborhoods. Perhaps then she'll see there are homes for sale, and that maybe she needs a new real-estate agent who knows the city better than the one that hasn't been able to find her a home so far.

Cross-posted from The District Curmudgeon