Annual Beautification Project at Emery Elementary

For about three hours this morning, I took advantage of an opportunity to assist with the annual beautification project for the local elementary school within ANC 5C-02, Emery Elementary School, located at 1720 First Street N.E. Several volunteers sought prepare the school for its opening day on Monday the 28th.

Volunteers planted flowers, hauled trash, and painted new lines in the parking lot. I drew sidewalk-recovery duty, removing weeds that had found their way between crevices in the concrete. Along the way, I met several neighbors. Projects began to wrap up around noon, with the washing of the large mural located near the school entrance.

Ted McGinn organized the event (his daughter Claire is pictured in the photos you see here; click on photos for larger view). Ted is chairperson of Emery's Local School Restructuring Team (LSRT), an advisory group of parents and teachers. LSRT meetings are opening to the public; interested individuals should e-mail Ted at mcginnfamily@aol.com.

A Request for Your Support for My Campaign

If you've been reading this blog, you have an idea of what sort of advisory neighborhood commissioner I would be. If you find my vision for the ANC appealing, I hope that you will consider donating to my campaign. Remember that I am running against an incumbent and she has lots of allies, so I will have to work to get my message out.

The folks in D.C. government have made it easy: The maximum campaign contribution to an ANC campaign is $25. Checks should be written to "Kris Hammond" or "Kris Hammond for ANC" and can be sent to the campaign headquarters at PO BOX 76900, Washington, DC 20013.

(Update 10/28: PayPal payments may be sent to KrisForANC@yahoo.com )

If I hold a fundraiser later, you get in for free. If you feel as though you would rather donate your time, advise or expertise to my campaign, that would be appreciated as well. Just send me an e-mail.

Thank you for your support. I promise that I won't let you down.

The Role of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner

The first question I ask when meeting a neighbor during my petition drive is: "I am running for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner . . . Have you ever heard of that office, do you know what ANCs do?" Half of the time, the answer is "not really." This phenomenon suggests that we are not doing enough to make the ANC accessible to all of the people (although a recent poll found that most Americans don't realize that there are three branches of the federal government!).

The official description of the office of ANC can be found on the official ANC website:

An Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) is a nonpartisan neighborhood organization that serves as the neighborhood's official voice in advising the District government and Federal agencies on matters that affect its service area. Issues include zoning, streets, recreation, education, social services, sanitation, planning, safety, and health. District officials must obtain ANCs' recommendations on these matters but need not follow the recommendations. The ANCs' most important power, therefore, is the power of involved and concerned citizens.

It's really that simple. It doesn't take a Democrat or Republican or Green Party or independent person to do the best job in the position of ANC. Instead, the best person is someone who has the ability to set aside personal bias, listen to concerns, and zealously advocate on behalf of constituents. Are you concerned about gentrification? About crime? You should try to attend every ANC meeting you can.

There have been times in my career as a lawyer that I have had to advocate positions that I didn't personally agree with. The key is: what is in the best interest of the client and how can I zealously advance my client's interests? And so it goes with the ANC.

D.C. Police: Friend or Foe?

Yesterday afternoon, I met a local resident who told me some disturbing allegations concerning members of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Angela, who lives on the unit block of O Street NW, told me that MPD personnel beat her 23-year-old son on July 18, when he ran from police. The police were responding to reports of drug activity, and her son happened to be in the target area (two blocks from his home). For whatever reason, he ran when confronted by the police.

According to Angela, several police officers beat her son and one "stomped" on his head. Her son sustained substantial injuries (concussions) that have sent him to the hospital three times. He possessed no drugs, and it appears he put up no resistance. I did not interview her son, but he came out and stood in the doorway of their home. He did not have a large build, and it appeared that a single officer easily should have been able to restrain him. The look in his eyes suggested bewilderment and fear.

Angela alleges that, since the time of the beating, police officers have mocked her son, calling him names relating to the fact that he ran. In addition, Angela believes that her family is being harassed because she told police that she would file a complaint. Every weekend, a large police vehicle (the size of a motor home) has been stationed just steps from her door. As we spoke, such a vehicle stood idling with the engine running but no officer in sight. (Update 8/25: another neighbor has informed me that the police vehicle was regularly stationed on that street long before the incident in question.)

Allegations of excessive use of force represent the worst possible outcome for any community. In some cases, the true criminals will continue to elude justice in part because the residents are too afraid of or angry at the police to assist them with their duties.

These are serious allegations, but the police department must be given the opportunity to investigate and determine the truth or falsity of the allegations. I will be in touch with MPD and look forward to an eventual response.

Architectual Treasures on P Street

I headed over to the southern part of the ANC district yesterday to meet some folks who live on P Street NW. Along the way, I discovered some neglected buildings with a rich history.

Several school buildings exist in the area, but none of them are currently being used for much of anything, much less education. Believe it or not, at one time, D.C. schools were the envy of the nation and these buildings were designed to reflect this pride in education.

The first building I came to was the Langston School, built in 1902 (click on any of these photos for a larger view). It is a now-blighted and vacant structure, decorated with assorted graffitti. The building was named after John Mercer Langston, who was the first Black applicant to an American law school (he was rejected due to racial discrimination). Langston eventually achieved admission to the bar in 1854, later founded Howard University Law School, and was elected to Congress (from Virginia).

The John Fox Slater School, built in 1891, is located next to the Langston building at 45 P Street NW. It too could use some restoration. A resident walking by suggested that the building is currently be used as a day care center, but this was not evident from the outside. Those metal window grills are unsightly, but they may still be necessary given the level of crime in the area.

So what is being done to refurbish these buildings, store their heritage, and turn them into productive uses? The only thing I could turn up is a June 21, 2005 email from ANC Commissioner Jim Berry, who wrote:

Mr. Thomas Gore, the Executive Director of Associates for Renewal in Education, is making a presentation [at the June 21 ANC meeting] about the above proposal to develop the Slater and Langston School buildings. After he concludes his presentation, he is likely to ask the Commission to support the proposal. I plan to strongly discourage the Commission from taking an action on this proposal at the present time . . . The DC Office of Property Management is currently developing a Request for Proposals to develop the Slater and Langston School buildings. Once that RFP is issued, Mr. Gore and ARE have an equal opportunity to respond to its elements in hopes of gaining the city's final approval for their project.

Berry also noted that he had been "urging the city to develop those two buildings for a long time." Let us renew the urging-- more than a year later, nothing apparently has happened. (It also turns out that, according to the minutes, Gore did not speak at the ANC meeting as planned.)

My favorite educational building on P Street is the Armstrong Manual Training School (located at First and P streets, NW). Finished in 1902, it is named after Civil War regimental commander General Samuel Chapman Armstrong. The building is on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and on the National Register of Historic Places. One notable former student: jazz artist Duke Ellington.

The Armstrong building sits vacant and neglected, a diamond in the rough. A neighbor walking by suggested that this grand building, reconfigured and rennovated, would make an outstanding fine/performing arts center.

More information about all of these buildings can be found at this link.

Finally, speaking of rennovations, a few rowhouses on the street have recently experienced revival. One candidate for renewal recently sold (photo to the right).