GABRIEL ZAKAIB

The D.C. House Shadow Representative speaks at a Ward 8D Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting on February 29 in Washington D.C. Photo by Gabriel Zakaib

Residents of Washington D.C.’s Bellevue neighborhood expressed a need for programs countering crime among a recent area shooting and body found in the neighborhood at February 29’s Ward 8D Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) meeting. 

The decomposing body found behind the Fort Rebel Park recreation center sparked discussion among the 20 attendants on the need for more crime prevention measures. The park lacks lighting, an important crime deterrent, ANC Ward 8D Commissioner Natasha Yates said. The electrical company won’t service the park’s lighting because it says the park is offline, according to Yates. The community still uses the park, including Big Mommas Daycare which takes kids there, 8D Chair and Commissioner Wendy Hamilton said. 

Although the neighborhood does see a Metro Police Department (MPD) presence, residents, including one who identified himself as a retired MPD Detective, suggested the need for at-home solutions to counter crime before it starts. 

Hamilton said the city has youth programs aimed to counter crime, but lacks the coordination for effective community engagement. “D.C. is resource rich and coordination poor,” Hamilton said.

The community needs one central place for everyone to access information, according to Hamilton. “There’s a lot of people in this community that do a lot of good work,” Hamilton said.

D.C.’s Attorney General recently poured a quarter of a million dollars into grants to prevent youth violence and crime, which has been on the uptick across the city. The city also holds Capital Business Seminars that teach Black and Brown business owners how to secure contracts and capital, D.C.’s House Shadow Representative Oye Owolewa said. 

Owolewa, a Ward Eight resident, added it’s critical to get folks who have barriers an immediate step up in public life. “When people have a job, they are less likely to commit crime,” the representative told the ANC meeting audience. 

An upcoming development in the Martin’s View neighborhood has prompted traffic and relocation concerns among residents. The residential project plans to build 800 units in the neighborhood, which currently houses 150 units, according to Hamilton. 

“I ain’t planning to move,” said C. Russell, a 73 year old resident who came to the meeting for an update on Martin’s View. The developer plans to pay for residents to move out and then back into the new units once completed without a change in rent, developer representatives Jesse Kaye and Jason Stern told meeting attendants over Zoom. Kaye said there will be a tentative relocation agreement in writing. 

“So far the community seems incredibly supportive in coming back, (to the new units)” Kaye said at the meeting. The development team is looking for a letter of ANC support for their development application, which includes proposed rezoning, according to Kaye and Stern. The ANC will make a decision at their planning session in two weeks, Hamilton said.

Other issues addressed included opportunities for residents to provide input on Washington D.C.’s upcoming budget. Mayor Bowser’s budget forums allow community members to complete sample-allocations of the budget which are then evaluated by the mayor’s office.

After the budget’s March 20th release, the D.C. Oversight Council will provide residents the ability to testify on the budget as the council evaluates it from March 25 to April 10, according to resident Sheila Bunn. The Mayor’s Office also offers Generation Z engagement forms, which are posted on Facebook and Twitter, according to Mayor’s Office Representative Charlee Bell.

The Ward 8D ANC meets every fourth Thursday of the month, Hamilton said. The commissioner stressed the importance for residents to have their voices heard: “Nobody is coming to save us. We’re going to have to save ourselves.”