Contact: William Jordan
Park Morton Equity Team
202 500 0699
Tenant Council Urges DC Council Not Pass Bill on Tues.,
Continues to Fight Displacement from Public Housing & Demand Equity
The Council @ Park Morton, representing residents at the city’s Park Morton public housing complex adjacent to Georgia Ave. in NW, are urging the city Council to remove a housing development bill B23-0884 from the Tuesday, December 1, Council Agenda in the interest of justice and equity in housing.
Bill B23-0884 – the Bruce Monroe Extension of Disposition Authority Act of 2020 – gives another 5 years to developers who have failed to produce a single unit of new housing over the last 6 years with over $15M in public funds. The resident council and allies oppose this extension unless the bill is modified to address the flaws and inequities identified in the Park Morton New Communities Initiative (NCI) and development plans.
“Advancing this Bill sends the wrong message to city developers that FAILURE is an option when it comes to delivering housing and community benefits,” said Shonta High, president of the Park Morton Equity Team.
The development team led by The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) were contracted to develop Build-First housing at the Bruce Monroe site to minimize resident displacement and disruption during the Park Morton redevelopment process. Due to mismanagement, however, over 70 of the 133 resident families have been displaced, most during the current COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Bruce Monroe site is no longer relevant as a Build-First site.
Bill B23-0884 and the underlying Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) effectively reneges on core NCI goals and principles while rewarding the development team which as failed to deliver.
The Council @ Park Morton requests Chair Phil Mendelson return the Bill to the Committee on Business and Economic Development for additional work including adoption of the resident council’s Park Morton Equity Plan (PMEP) with comments from the Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization.