What Really is the "Emergency"?

I, like many neighbors, find myself deeply troubled and alarmed by the President's declaring a 30-day "crime emergency", deploying National Guard troops for non-crisis purposes, and federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department. I am grateful that Commission 4D passed a resolution, which I co-introduced, condemning this inappropriate federal intervention in DC (link is to draft resolution, final is not posted yet). 4D was in fact one of the very first Commissions around the city to pass this resolution, which was offered as model language by the ANC Home Rule Caucus.

We all know that DC has crime, and we want to address it. But years of experience has taught us that policing by pretextual stops is often associated with racial profiling; that hasty police work leads to unsustainable charges while still disrupting lives caught up in the criminal justice system; and overpolicing reduces trust in law enforcement. Our homeless neighbors are not getting their needs addressed when their tent encampments are dismantled or they are arrested for vagrancy; instead, they are often just getting bounced around from one short-term stay to another and losing their possessions, medication, and relationships in the process. 

Just before the federal takeover, ANC 4D passed (and I was pleased to vote for) a resolution calling for the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE), the DC Council, and the Mayor to Implement and Fund a Comprehensive, Community-Centric Strategy to Prevent Gun Violence in Ward 4 and the District. While I'm not a criminal justice expert, I do know that the best solutions come from communities, not a hastily-planned federal takeover of our law enforcement powers.

Finally, what's been very troubling to me, in our highly-diverse neighborhood home to immigrants from around the world, is the surge in immigration enforcement, by federal agents, MPD, and masked law enforcement officers who won't identify themselves. Nearly 1,000 DC residents have been arrested for immigration violations. The vast majority of these people seem to have no other criminal record of any kind - they are law-abiding, hard-working, residents who support their families, send their children to school, and participate in the life of our neighborhoods. As a parent, this has become very personal to me. I've seen my children's friends come crying to school, traumatized after just having witnessed their fathers or uncles be detained in front of them; or terrified that when they get home, their parents might not be there any more to care for them. A compassionate society does not treat children and families this way.

A bright spot in these times has been seeing those who, like Mr. Rogers encouraged us to, are "helpers." Whether it's walking children to school; getting groceries for a neighbor; supporting Ward 4 Mutual Aid; working with a support committee at your church, synagogue, or mosque; I see you and appreciate you and thank you. If you want to get involved in any of these efforts and you're not sure where to start, reach out to me and I'll connect you to groups that can plug you in.

Petworth Peanuts Spooktacular & Grants

At our August 21 special public meeting, we approved the $3,500 grant request for Petworth Peanuts Spooktacular. The decision was a challenging one, as I explained in my August newsletter. In the end, I voted in favor of the grant, even though the amount requested was above the maximum recommended grant size in our ANC grant guidelines. This was because there was precedent set from the prior two years of 4D funding this request at the high level, I (and many others on the Commission and in the neighborhood) want the Spooktacular to continue as a successful event, and it has taken the current Commission some time to begin the process of reforming our grant guidelines.

New grant applications are currently closed while our new Grants Committee reviews and proposes changes to the guidelines and our grants process. We hope that in the future, we have lots of competitive applicants for our grants and are able to support all types of events and programs throughout the neighborhood! Learn more at https://anc4d.org/community-grants/.

9th & Illinois Triangle Park Renovation

Last week, DPR and DGS held a community meeting to launch the renovation for the little triangle park outside the Truesdell Elementary playground and just north of Lorenzo Allen Park. This parklet already hosts a lot of the drop-off and pickup circulation for Truesdell, sits next to a short closed road block, and has a Capital Bikeshare station right next to it. 

For additional information about the project, please visit: https://dgs.dc.gov/node/1738026

To sign up for updates about this project, please visit: http://dpr.dc.gov/stakeholder

Be sure to share your thoughts with DPR and DGS about this project via the following contacts, or let me know and I'll pass them on: christopher.dyer@dc.gov; charlee.bell2@dc.gov.

Thank you,

Commissioner Eliza Cava