Part 3: up-FLUMing & The Detroit Hedge Fund that Eat Adams Morgan

Posted on March 25, 2021April 1, 2021 by William Jordan

In 2010 Brian Friedman in asking for $48M in public subsidy for his proposed hotel we today know as The Line Hotel estimated that the hotels bar/restaurants would produce revenue at a rate of $420/sqft on a yearly basis. This analysis was accepted by the OCFO as reasonable and actually conservative for Adams Morgan.

DDOT leases public space to restaurants and bars in the city at a rate $5/sqft for outdoor cafes, $10/sqft if you enclose the space, per year. Typically in Adams Morgan landlords lease commercial space at $40/sqft and Luxury housing at about $50/sqft. The cost of public space for commercial uses is about 8 times cheaper than market rate space. Big developers and their hedge fund partners target this public space for profits and to lower their investment risk. They just need to convince residents to turn against public space as a public amenity and see the space for a monetary perspective.

For big developers and their hedge fund investors, Up-Fluming sets the stage for even greater profits. Up-Fluming setups up additional air rights, setbacks and side yard space via the city’s PUD zoning process. Typically this process gives developers access to additional space at a one time cost of less than $1/sqft. Market rate acquisition of this same space is typically between $500sqft to $700/sqft based on the 20 year financial life of a projects. On a yearly square foot basis this acquisition cost is around $30/sqft at market rate. So the normal opportunity for the developer is the difference between $30/sqft and $50/sqft they can rent for. However, the freed up Up-Flumped space the opportunity developers/hedge funds is the difference between $1/sqft and $50/sqft, a 150% percent improvement in profit potential.

The above are rough numbers; however, they illustrate why Friedman and the hedge fund crew and Hoffman at the Suntrust plaza are so hungry for Adams Morgan via the conversion of public space and up-Fluming. And are willing to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic for their near free Adams Morgan meal. As Friedman explains in the article below, he has been working to acquire cheap public space for awhile and COVID-19 gave cover for this financial move.

To recap the numbers, for Friedman or Hoffman to acquire land in Adams Morgan at market rate they would pay between $500/sqft and $700/sqft. If they acquire that same land via UpFluming and then zoning relief or other public processes the cost for that land is $1/sqft. If they desire to lease land in public space (sidewalks and streets) the cost is about $5/sqft per year from DDOT.

On the revenue side for luxury apartments they collect $50/sqft and commercial use $40/sqft. from renters. Shifting internal building space from commercial to luxury residential improves profits. Shifting commercial space onto the public space makes this possible. Plus the commercial use a bar/restaurant is a key amenity in collecting the $50/sqft luxury rents, so the conversion of public space into bar space impacts their bottomline twice.

On the other hand, public space in use by the general public and in particular by those who don’t meet the luxury image works against this method of profit. The goal of their hedge fund investors is to maximize rents per building square foot. However, its hard to come to the larger community and government agencies and say, hey I need to maximize profits for my hedge fund investors so change or ignore the law. Instead it wrapped in protecting the small businesses (ironically they are pricing out), pedestrian safety/mobility, climate change, other forms of flat white urbanism, and most comical affordable housing.

The careless Up-Fluming as requested by OP sets up the transfer of the wealth and soul of neighborhoods like Adams Morgan to hedge funds and these funds just eat it up. You can IZ+ the up-Flum all day long, the funds don’t pay we pay by giving up more public space via the shift/conversion described above or tax abatements.

We need city officials to stop investing in hedge funds and back into the people and their communities.

William

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Reimagining Adams Morgan: Q&A With Adams Morgan Coalition’s Brian Friedman

BY KEITH LORIA JUNE 23, 2020 10:42 AM

REPRINTS

BRIAN FRIEDMAN. PHOTO: BY AMCDC

The Adams Morgan Commercial Development Coalition (AMCDC) is a newly formed organization focused on rebuilding and reimagining the neighborhood of Adams Morgan, post-COVID-19, in Washington D.C.

Brian Friedman, founding partner of Foxhall Partners, started the coalition along with some prominent names in the region. His experience in D.C. includes serving as the developer of the Line Hotel and AdMo Apartments and as a board member of the Adams Morgan, or AdMo, business improvement district.

The board – which also includes execs like Foxhall’s Matt Wexler, the Reed-Cooke Neighborhood Association’s Nick Roland, and retail leasing expert Stephan Rodiger – intends to transform the neighborhood of Adams Morgan to make things easier for businesses post-COVID-19.

The neighborhood, located in Northwest D.C. is centered on the happening nightlife scene around 18th Street. It includes a diverse mix of bars, music venues and international restaurants, while brick row houses are home to businesses such as independent bookstores, artisan cafes and vintage clothing shops, many painted with quirky murals.

Commercial Observer caught up with Friedman to discuss efforts to close 18th Street to vehicles, working with district leaders and plans to keep Adams Morgan thriving.

Commercial Observer: What is the importance of the new coalition?

Brian Friedman: The Adams Morgan Commercial Development Coalition is focused on the re-imagination and the livability of the Adams Morgan commercial core as the town comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A main initiative for the AMCDC is the closure of 18th street for vehicles (outside of emergency vehicles) and the creation of a pedestrian street used for additional outdoor spaces for consumer activity, neighborhood retailers and food and beverage establishments. I have been pushing the creation of these pedestrian streets since early 2005, but it took the devastation of COVID-19 to bring together all the parties in agreement on this movement including the AdMo BID, neighbors, local associations, civic groups and more.

With what’s happening due to the pandemic, what is the need for this now?

Now there is an absolute need for this initiative because Washington D.C. has been slow to reopen. And even now with the reopening at its beginning phases, there is no plan for those without outdoor seating. Currently, if a retailer or restaurant does not have outdoor space, they do not get revenue, they cannot pay taxes, they cannot create jobs or opportunity, and they risk the chance of permanent closure. We decided to coordinate this effort in an integrated way for the sake of our small businesses and our community.

What are the chief goals of the coalition?

Our chief goals are simple: Save the businesses; bring back jobs to the community; create a responsible way for people to work socially; save the tax base and economy of the neighborhood; save the charm of Adams Morgan; and make Adams Morgan a destination for locals and tourism.

How have you been working with district leaders on this?

We have been diligently working with Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau and her staff, including David Meni, and the mayor’s office. It is key for us to get their support and have them understand what we can do as entrepreneurs, businessmen/women and community leaders.

We have been frustrated with the ineffective movement from other district leaders. Our businesses and our towns need innovative thinking and decisive action in order to survive. Since leadership was unable to take responsibility for the spiraling economic and social effects of three months of business closure, we took it upon ourselves to effectuate change.

Can you provide some advice on what small businesses can be doing to better survive these challenging times?

Businesses need to innovate. No one could have predicted how long the “stay at home” orders were going to last—but those who were quick to realize the situation are those who are doing better today. Businesses need to broaden their services and simplify their offerings. They need to have a strong digital presence, especially on social media, and they need to update their website often. Customers crave communication in these confusing times and will go to business pages that are most effectively connecting with them.

And of course, they need to be able to provide a safe, clean, and healthy environment for their employees and their customers. If employees feel safe, that extends to the customer base, who will have confidence to come back to these businesses.

What bold ideas do you have to infuse revenue back into these small businesses in D.C.?

Businesses need to create revenue outside of their four walls. It is their job to create new daily offerings to their consumers. They need to innovate and be creative.

I understand you used some of your own money to fund these businesses because the government was unable to do enough. Tell me about your efforts there.

My partner at Foxhall Partners, Matt Wexler, and myself preceded the Coalition with initial capital, as have several other Adams Morgan business and property owners, who are also AMCDC founders. I then took it a step further and offered to personally match new funds raised by Coalition supporters.

I know personally the challenges that come with being an entrepreneur and a business owner. I want our community to flourish and I want to help by infusing finance into these businesses and create more jobs and more opportunity.

What is unique and special about The Adams Morgan neighborhood?

Adams Morgan is one of the few 24/7 neighborhoods with activity all day long. Besides tons of bars, restaurants, and businesses there is a lot of new residential development and beautiful parks. The community is eclectic, charming, and perfectly situated in the middle of the city.

https://commercialobserver.com/2020/06/reimagining-adams-morgan-qa-with-adams-morgan-coalitions-brian-friedman/

—–Original Message—–
From: whj@melanet.com
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2021 12:11pm
To: adamsmorgan@groups.io
Cc: “HearUsNow!” <hearusnow@googlegroups.com>, everett.lott@dc.gov, “Trueblood, Andrew (OP)” <andrew.trueblood@dc.gov>, “Mendelson, Phil (COUNCIL)” <pmendelson@dccouncil.us>, “McDuffie, Kenyan (Council)” <kmcduffie@dccouncil.us>, “White, Sr., Trayon (Council” <twhite@dccouncil.us>, “Pinto, Brooke (Council)” <bpinto@dccouncil.us>, “Bonds, Anita (Council)” <abonds@dccouncil.us>, “esilverman@dccouncil.us” <esilverman@dccouncil.us>, “Cheh, Mary (COUNCIL)” <mcheh@dccouncil.us>, “Gray, Vincent (Council)” <vgray@dccouncil.us>, “rwhite@dccouncil.us” <rwhite@dccouncil.us>, “Allen, Charles (Council)” <callen@dccouncil.us>, chenderson@dccouncil.us, jlewisgeorge@dccouncil.us
Subject: Part 2.5: up-FLUMing & The Detroit Hedge Fund that Eat Adams Morgan

The SunTrust Plaza and Line Hotel deals are symptomatic of the same government backed Big Capital over neighborhoods phenomena which is consuming Adam Morgan and other DC neighborhoods.

Whether the Big Capital are private equity, pension or sovereign wealth funds, neighbors and their values most be consumed and restructured for this capital to flow. Land use up-FLUMed, public space monetized, the low/moderate income displaced/marginalized, values flattened and risks assumed by the public. Big Capital needs $100M deals.

In September of 2015 developer PN Hoffman armed with over $300M in city land and subsidy and a financing team of banks led by SunTrust and including SunTrust merger partner BB&T closes on the $1.2M Wharf Phase I. PN Hoffman is able to close on financing because the city reduced the required number of affordable housing in the project by about a 1/3 and redefined affordable to include individuals making $100K and $120K per year in income for 1/2 the remaining affordable units.

About four months later in February of 2016, PN Hoffman fat with public subsidy and equity partner Potomac Investment Properties announces a deal with the same SunTrust to redevelop an area which includes the SunTrust Plaza with luxury condos. While I can’t draw a 100% direct connection, PN Hoffman is leveraging the affordable housing the city waved for him at the Wharf to build luxury condos in Adams Morgan, while consuming neighborhood public space a SunTrust Plaza.

PN Hoffman’s (now Hoffman & Associates) luxury condo deal at SunTrust Plaza similar to the Line Hotel’s $46M tax abatement boils down to which way government swings, the interest of Big Capital or people and neighbor. If we review DC’s Office of Planning’s (OP) proposed changes to the Comp Plan’s Mid-City section we can get a hint as to our governments leanings. OP changes its description of Adams Morgan from “colorful” to “unique”. Colorful focused on people and diversity of community, unique refers to a flat out Big Capital investment opportunity. I highly doubt there is not connection between Hoffman’s and SunTrust’s Wharf deal and the SunTrust Plaza deal hot on its tail.

Today, SunTrust which was bought by BB&T is now Truist Financial Corp.. Truist is a publicly traded and its top shareholders are The Vanguard Group, Inc., Capital Research & Management, BlackRock Fund Advisors, State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) and JPMorgan Investment. At the Wharf one of Hoffman’s main investors is PSP Investments a Canadian Government entity which manages their pension funds.

So while The SunTrust Plaza doesn’t involve the city effectively making backdoor investments in private equity hedge funds as with The Line deal. Investments of DC funds in hedge funds is against city policy. SunTrust Plaza does continue our city’s partnership with Big Capital to reshape and refine neighborhoods to fit the investment criteria of Big Capital.

I would not necessarily call this shady business practice as much as our public policy. And if the Council passes the Comp Plan in the next month as is, Big Capital and their interest and our government become one and the same, even in Adams Morgan. And the Jack Evans business plan becomes a reality.

William

—–Original Message—–
From: “margarita uricoechea” <muricoechea@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 9, 2021 2:41pm
To: adamsmorgan@groups.io
Cc: “HearUsNow!” <HearUsNow@googlegroups.com>, everett.lott@dc.gov, “Trueblood, Andrew (OP)” <andrew.trueblood@dc.gov>, “Mendelson, Phil (COUNCIL)” <pmendelson@dccouncil.us>, “McDuffie, Kenyan (Council)” <kmcduffie@dccouncil.us>, “White, Sr., Trayon (Council” <twhite@dccouncil.us>, “Pinto, Brooke (Council)” <bpinto@dccouncil.us>, “Bonds, Anita (Council)” <abonds@dccouncil.us>, “esilverman@dccouncil.us” <esilverman@dccouncil.us>, “Cheh, Mary (COUNCIL)” <mcheh@dccouncil.us>, “Gray, Vincent (Council)” <vgray@dccouncil.us>, “rwhite@dccouncil.us” <rwhite@dccouncil.us>, “Allen, Charles (Council)” <callen@dccouncil.us>, chenderson@dccouncil.us, jlewisgeorge@dccouncil.us
Subject: Re: [adamsmorgan] Part 2: up-FLUMing & The Detroit Hedge Fund that Eat Adams Morgan

I wonder I the SunTrust Bank at 18th/Columbia planned development also has some shady business story.

This is across from The Line

Part 2.5: up-FLUMing & The Detroit Hedge Fund that Eat Adams Morgan

Posted on March 12, 2021March 16, 2021 by William Jordan

The SunTrust Plaza and Line Hotel deals are symptomatic of the same government backed Big Capital over neighborhoods phenomena which is consuming Adam Morgan and other DC neighborhoods.

William

I wonder I the SunTrust Bank at 18th/Columbia planned development also has some shady business story.

This is across from The Line

Part 2: up-FLUMing & The Detroit Hedge Fund that Eat Adams Morgan

Posted on March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 by William Jordan

In June of 2010 Harvard Drug Group located just outside of Detroit Michigan has its license immediately suspended for distributing over 13 million dosage units of oxycodone products to Florida pharmacies between March 2008-2010. The DEA contends Harvard’s system should have flagged that it was supplying Florida opioid mills in Florida. In 2007 the CEO of Harvard Drug Group Rand Friedman brought in private equity partner H.I.G Capital to fund the growth and expansion of Harvard Groups’ generic drug business in time to benefit from the opioid explosion.

In April of 2010 just over two months prior to Harvard Drug’s license suspension for its connections to Florida opioid mills, Friedman and H.I.G Capital orchestrates the sale of Harvard Drug to Court Square Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in New York, NY.. Harvard Drugs’ sales having doubled to over $50 million (EBITDA) since the 2007 acquisition and during the opioid mill investigation period. Shortly after the sale, Friedman Capital also led by Randy Friedman in partnership with Foxhall Partners applies for $27M in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) from D.C. to support building a high end luxury hotel Adams Morgan.

In July 2010 at the urging of the Ward 1 Council Member Jim Graham, the TIF request would be dropped and replaced by a $46M property tax abatement. It is at this point that a series of hedge funds likely fueled by opioid profits and interconnected by their ties to Detroit begin to set their sites on eating Adams Morgan. While the $46M in local tax dollars is great bait for a hedge fund, this is not enough. Hedge funds need their targets to first be up-FLUMed and under go a values change.

By December of 2010, Friedman Capital and its partner out of the Detroit area Beztak Properties had conned the DC government into investing $46M in public dollars into their Edition brand Hotel by Marriott. To urge the public investment along, Friedman argues that the city most hurry and approve the tax abatement else Edition and Marriott will walk and the investment will be lost. However, soon after securing the public investment Friedman with Matt Wexler through their Foxhall partnership begins to shop the deal around and drops Marriott in favor of The Line brand by Sydell owned at the time by Andrew Zobler and Billionaire Ron Burkle. The Foxhall deal with Sydell would close sometime in the Summer of 2012. As I mentioned in Part 1, Foxhall is backed by Charles E Davidson’s Wexford Capital hedge fund. Beztak would as well leave the Edition Hotel deal, but partner with Foxhall to develop a luxury multi-family project across the street from The Line.

So, what does all of this mean when our city effectively transforms a neighborhood such as Adam Morgan into Monopoly Game Board via instruments of public policy? In effect the city invested $27M via a $46M tax abatement into an unregulated private equity fund, Friedman Capital. This problematic on many levels as cities have prohibitions and limitations for investing public dollar in such unregulated funds. Especially given the interlocking nature of these funds with no visibility.

Compounding this public policy crisis, Friedman Capital interlocking partner Matt Wexler as been working to leverage control of the Adams Morgan BID a quasi government instrument which is being given greater control over streets and public spaces under Vision Zero transportation policies and the The Adams Morgan Commercial Development Coalition. This similar to controlling the railroads, public utilities even community chest and get out of jail free cards in the Monopoly Game. Have these private equity funds so consumed Adams Morgan, that we can no long distinguish fund interests from public interests?

We received answer to the private equity interests vs. public interests this past November, when our city Attorney General (AG) ruled that The Line was compliance with the law for the $46M tax abatement, even though the hotel was not.

“[Racine] concluded that all apprenticeships were reserved for District residents because no District resident who requested an apprenticeship was turned away”

According to the Morris-Hughes, Director DC Employment Services.

In part 3, we will continue to grabble with the Adams Morgan example of private equity funds such as edge funds (Commercial & Housing) and venture capital funds (MaaS/publicspace) consuming a neighborhood. What it means when our Comp Plan is being rewritten to facilitate private equity. And private equity is able to bind our laws at will. And what does this mean for Racial Equity in Adams Morgan, the Ward and city?

William

—–Original Message—–
From: whj@melanet.com
Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2021 4:55pm
To: “adamsmorgan@groups.io” <adamsmorgan@groups.io>, “HearUsNow!” <hearusnow@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Part 1: up-FLUMing & The Detroit Hedge Fund that Eat Adams Morgan

On October 27th of 2020 the Mayor with the acquiescence of the City Council(with the seeming exception of CM Silverman), and the DC’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) effectively ceded the planning and development the future of Adams Morgan to two Hedge Funds Friedman Capital (Detroit) and Wexford Capital via commercial real estate firm Foxhall Partners when they failed to enforce the terms of the $46M Adam Morgan Hotel Tax Abatement. It’s frightening enough to see a historic neighbor such as Adams Morgan effectively sold-off to hedge funds, but also how impotent our government was when it came to enforcing our laws and protecting our most venerable.

Hedge Fund – a limited partnership of investors that uses high risk methods, such as investing with borrowed money, in hopes of realizing large capital gains.

In 2019, The Atlantic did an article on some of the possible dynamics when a hedge fund buys your neighborhood, “When Wall Street Is Your Landlord”.

Next month our city will again address this matter of effectively selling off larger portions of our city neighborhoods to hedge funds when it takes up the Mayor’s (OPs) proposed amendments to our Comprehensive Plan. The active ingredient of the Mayor’s amendments to the Comp Plan is something called mass up-FLUMing. In the context of our Comp Plan mass up-FLUMing effectively turns large areas of our city over to hedge funds to plan and development, as they are the only ones have the capacity to benefit from mass upFLUMing. And as we learned from the case of Adams Morgan Hotel once up-FLUMing occurs our city’s political and legal infrastructure WILL NOT be able to project existing residents and provide effective legal oversight, basically ending self-government in these areas. This is especially true in DC predominantly Black neighborhoods the primary targets of up-FLUMing.

up-FLUMing – in DC this is the process of modifying the city’s Comp Plan in order to radically change our city’s Future Land Use Map (FLLUM) to increase development density in city neighborhoods. Typically, allowing the development of large/tall mix use luxury projects in formally low and moderate density residential neighbors while minimizing or eliminating current resident’s say in the development process.

The Mayor, Council Members such as Cheh, Nadeau and others, developers and many members in the so-called Smart Growth movement argue that these Comp Plan amendments which turn large portions of our city to hedge funds will result in greater numbers of affordable housing and a more racially equitable city. And will make our city more financially sound as revenues from hedge fund controlled development trickles down residents. We know from the former Donatelli Project at Hill East neither affordable housing or trickle down results, in fact the opposite.

For persons such as myself, the above Smart Growth profeers are ridiculous on their face. As the intent of hedge funds is to capture all the trickle have as much public investment (tax abatements, TIFs, public land dispositions) as possible funned through the coffers.

In fact, I believe CFO Dewitts’ suddenly announced resignation affirms my view that up-FLUMing large portions of the city for hedge funds via Comp Plan amendments WILL NOT trickle down nor produce affordable housing as the smart growth crew proffers. So, he is getting out of dodge before the chickens come home to roost. In short, Dewitt believes the Council will raid the city’s reserves in the coming budget season to force a trickle down that the city’s edge fund focused development policies do not produce. This raiding will cause the city’s bond rating on Wall street to drop down from AAA-ish ratings. And he does not want that on his record and his watch, so he’s getting out of dodge.

The Council unlike the CFO is more vulnerable to citizen up roar given the city had nearly a $600M budget surplus this past year, our Apartheid-like racial, economic, and social system that COVID-19 exposed and the coming eviction crisis which will occur as edge fund backed projects will need to horde vacant units to maintain prices. And while our Mayor fiddles with a solution that depends on keeping everyone drunk and high while we can make it through recovery in 2022/3.

To better understand the potential impact of mass up-FLUMing, we can study how a Detroit began consuming Adams Morton in 2010.

William

My DDOT Testimony Committee on Transportation & the Environment

Posted on March 2, 2021March 2, 2021 by William Jordan

Testimony
William H Jordan, whj@melanet.com
Performance Oversight Hearing: Committee on Transportation & the Environment
Friday, February 26, 2021 12:00 pm

DDOT is fast becoming a creature and instrument of two highly pernicious forces and phenomena “flat white” urbanism and “Big Capital Mobility or Uber/Lyft-ing”. Under the influence of these forces, DDOT is systematically privatizing our city’s public spaces and transportation systems in a manner which perpetuates our city’s historic racial inequities. DDOT by Uber/Lify-ing through a “flat white” lens is placing the interests of private investors over those of residents, especially Black and Brown residents already reeling from the pressures of city sponsor gentrification. Even more disturbing, we see DDOT willingness to execute on behalf of these phenomena under the cover of the COVID-19 pandemic with few checks and balances.

There is probably no greater manifestation of these phenomena and the racial inequities left in their wake than DDOT’s “14th Street Bus-Bike Lane Demonstration Project”. This project in context with other projects targeting Ward 1 neighborhoods, illustrates DDOT’s willingness to use bully tactics by targeting areas with high Black and Brown populations with projects which favor “flat white” urbanism and Big Capital Mobility Uber/Lyft-ing.

In fact, the 14^th Street Project is so steeped in racial bias, poor design, haphazard implementation and rationalized pseudo-science that it is the historic equivalent the Federal Highway building of the 1950s – 1970s which crippled and destroyed Black neighborhoods. So much so, I believe those decision makers at DDOT responsible for this 14^th Street project should be removed from their positions.

To illustrate how poorly the 14^Th St Project was conceived and is being managed, on 2/10/21 DDOT announced it is conducting a study of the 14^th Street Bus-Bike lanes from 2/16 thru 4/15 to determine the effectiveness of the project by installing cameras on Circulator Buses which are to use the project’s car free Bus-Bike lanes. The problem with this study is, because of poor design the Circulator buses don’t/can’t use these lanes Bike-Bus lanes. Southbound Circulators turning from Irving St. can’t make the tight right turn need to use Bus-Bike lanes, therefore must share the car lane. Northbound Circulators which most turn left at Columbia Road don’t use the bus-bike lanes which are in the far right lane instead us the car lane which now moves slower. This poor design defeats the supposed purpose of the project increasing bus times. Further given the change in traffic patterns due to the pandemic, what use is the study and method? This is a useless study of a poor design, which DDOT has already concluded is a success.

Photo 1: Southbound Circulator turning from Irving St. can’t enter Bus-Bike Lane.

And worst, the 14^th St project was implemented by DDOT in a careless and unsafe manner. DDOT was obviously more concerned with getting the project done quickly than the impact on Black and Brown residents who would be most impacted by the project. DDOT provided little if any outreach, support signage or traffic control personnel during implementation or coordination with WMATA. As a result, the Senior Citizen in the photo below was severely injured after tripping over one of the Bus-Bike lane protection barriers. He was trying to reach a Metro Bus which could not dock at the curb bus stop because of DDOT lane construction issues. Metro Buses instead of stopping at the curb were stopping a car lane into the street for on and off loading.

Photo 2: Bus-Bike Land Pedestrian Injury. Note the Skip Scooters in the foreground, DDOT’s true constituent.

Photo 3: Poor coordination with WMATA which led to injury shown in photo 2.

Other 14^th Project design and implementation failures which particularly impacted Black and Brown residents included:

– Took away parking for Black and Brown residents, while continuing to allow the Circulator and WMAT Express Bus to by-pass their areas.

– Bus-Bike lanes directed Buses into tree canopy resulting in tree destruction.

– Bus-Bike lane pushes WMATA buses closer to curbs exposing Black and Brown pedestrians to bus mass, increased noise and fumes.

– Eliminates or frustrates curb side services to senior building.

What is “Flat White” Urbanism?

“Flat White” urbanism as discussed by planners Amin Yasin and Daniella Fergusson in their article, “Pandemic patios and “flat white” urbanism”, in Plan Canada, Winter 2020,

“is a “flat white” power and legal structure implemented through restrictive covenants, redlining, planning euphemisms, land theft, architecture, bylaws and their enforcement, and choices that smooth over structural issues in favor of aesthetic improvements to the status quo.”

“is an unfettered, “flat white” neoliberal utopia where the imaginary White and able-bodied subjects are prioritized in perpetuity – a mark of a “successful city.””

“in centering Whiteness within planning, Whiteness names a “legacy of injustice” for social dysfunction, while normalizing and idealizing places of white affluence that resulted from the same injustices.”

Yasin and Fergusson’s article speaks of the contradictions and biases “pandemic patios” which closely mirrors the streatery privatization policies embedded in The Vision Zero Enhancement Omnibus Amendment Act of 2020. DDOT’s knee-jerk implementation of these policies as with the 18th Street NW Streatery compounded the confusion and biases inherent in the privatization found in Vision Zero.

Under DDOT’s leadership and our Vision Zero policies the photo on the left represents the acceptable and the right is unacceptable. Why?

“Big Capital Mobility or Uber/Lyft-ing”

In short, DDOT under the disguise of improving bike and pedestrian safety via projected bike lanes and such is through the back door making a major public policy shift toward privatizing public space and transportation, transit by and adopting a business model called “Mobility as a Services” (MaaS) without full public transparency, vetting and assessment of MaaS’ potential impact on racial equity. MaaS is heavily backed by Big Capital: Silicon Valley venture capital, technology and real estate focused hedge funds and Wall Street capital markets via firms such as Uber and Lyft. These entities seek big profits in privatizing public space and transportation as urban areas of optimized for gentrification and what our city calls the “creative class”.

DDOT via its MaaS policies is systematically handing over their responsibilities as a public agency to companies such as Uber and Lyft. This is dangerous because as publicly traded companies Uber and Lyft are beholding to their shareholders and quarterly stock values. Companies who currently not profitable, Uber losses in 2020 was $6.77B. How do they plan to become profitable, becoming a private DDOT/WMATA. Surely, not by ensuring DC’s systems meet a high standard when it comes to racial equity.

The 14th Street project is an example of what happens when DDOT officials prioritize MaaS development over the lives of its residents, especially Black and Brown residents. Community oversight of DDOT is difficult enough imagine when DDOT is completely Uber/Lyft-ed.

DDOT MaaS Privatization Alarms
DDOT pays Lyft approximately $9.6M/year to run our Bikeshare system.

DDOT as a awarded a so-called pilot to CurbFlow to privatize management of DC curb space. A VC ventured backed by former Mayor Fenty, likely skirting procurement rules.

DDOT pays RATP Dev North America (RATP) a company owned by the French government over $40M/yr to run the DC Circulator and Streetcar.

Lyft once owned by venture capital firms, now publicly traded controls and runs DC’s Bikeshare program under contracts worth 10s of millions of dollars.

DDOT Dockless Bike & Scooter MaaS Companies

• HelBiz – An Italian Venture back by VC’s TriPoint Global Equities, LLC, Zhonglu Group

• Jump – A DDOT bike and scooter company was initially back by Silicon Valley Venture Capital firms such as Menlo Ventures, SineWave, Alumni Ventures, SOSV to the tune of over $100M. Today Jump is owned by Uber which acquired for around $200M.

• Lime – now owned by Uber ($170M), Alphabet (Google), Bain Capital, GV. Lime absorbed Jump as part of the deal $510M

• Lyft – Sean Aggarwal (ebay),Floodgate Ventures, Mayfield Fund, IPO General Motors and Fidelity

• Skip – Alexis Ohanian, A Capital, SV Angel
• Spin – Grishin Robotics and CRCM Ventures, Ford($100M)

In conclusion, 2020 has been DDOT’s year of “flat white” urbanism and “Big Capital Mobility Uber/Lyft-ing” using our COVID-19 crisis as a cover for the privatization of our public spaces and transportation systems without honest public debate around the consequences of this MaaS policy shift for racial equity. The 14th Street Project highlights the problems the agency has with the concept of equity, and the bias inherent in DDOT’s approaches. Pushing what happened on 14th Street under the cover of the pandemic to all 8 Wards is not equity.