(Advisory Neighborhood Commission)
(Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner)

An old adage says that “all politics are local:” well, it doesn’t get any more hyper-local than Washington, DC’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.

Without Statehood, DC residents do not have county councils or town boards. We do have an elected DC government: the Mayor and her extended administration, which functions as our executive branch; and the DC Council, which makes policy and enacts or amends DC laws, which functions as our legislative branch.

At the most local level, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected to two-year terms to advise the DC government, both executive and legislative, on its decisions about their neighborhoods. We consider both the opinions of the residents and the best interests of the District of Columbia as a whole. Since 2023, there have been as many as 345 Commissioners serving in Single-Member-Districts (SMDs) on 46 Commissions across all 8 wards. After the 2020 Census, the ANCs and SMDs were realigned so that each of the 345 Commissioners represents roughly 2,000 residents. All Commissioners must qualify to the Board of Elections to be placed on the November ballot, by meeting residency and eligibility criteria, circulating signature petitions to collect at least 25 signatures from registered voters living in their SMD, and following basic procedures to protect the integrity of the ballot process.

Within Ward 2, ANC Commission 2C is the southeastern corner of Ward 2, and includes Penn Quarter, Chinatown, Downtown such as traditional “K Steet,” and some of the Mall. We meet in hybrid meetings on the 2^nd Tuesday of every month, in-person at the MLK Library within our Commission boundaries, and online via Zoom. 2C is a relatively small Commission comprising only four SMDs, so each 2C Commissioner also holds a Commission officer’s role. For my first term 2025-2026, I have done the additional duties of Secretary of Commission 2C.

Serving in Broader DC Roles

During my first term, I have had the opportunity for service in wider contexts than my own SMD 2C02 and Commission 2C. I appreciate using the privilege of this access to advocate for our 2C02 neighborhood when appropriate, to become known among policymakers as a partner building trust and relationships, and to enhance my own knowledge base in what can be an overwhelming learning curve of DC government processes. I will continue to embrace opportunities as they arise, with my particular commitment to supporting fellow Commissioners and affiliated organizations and movements.

Task Forces

Department of Aging and Community Life (DACL) Ward 2&3 Senior Wellness Center (March – September 2025)

Ward 2 Councilmember Pinto had already secured funding for creating a Senior Wellness Center (SWC) in Ward 2. A SWC will provide senior adult feeding programs to supplement the limited ones available in a few sites in the Ward, as well as robust daytime programming in the arts, wellness, exercise, and respite memory care. The Task Force included Ward 3 representation as well, to also engage in the processes of program scope and priorities, evaluation of potential sites, and public engagement in both Wards 2 and 3, even though funding for a Ward 3 SWC has not yet been secured.

During the course of my Task Force participation, I came to understand that many of our Ward 2 neighborhoods with senior residents in multifamily housing also have Senior Villages organizations: Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, and Georgetown. “Villages” help people age in their own homes and are neighborhood-based, non-profit organizations that offer activities, companionship, practical support from neighbors, and volunteer opportunities.  The Shaw neighborhood has a considerable concentration of senior residents in low-income, non-profit and faith-community based multifamily housing but it is not situated within a “Village” organization. Once I realized this, I advocated strongly for the Task Force to gather more Ward 2 resident input in its survey processes, culminating in the end-of-process addition of a Town Hall event in Shaw. As of September 2026, a year after the Task Force work ended, DACL has still not released the report and its recommendations. As a real-time site selection process will eventually be relaunched, I will continue to advocate that the Ward 2 Senior Wellness Center be situated in Shaw, where the most unmet needs of senior residents are.

DC Neighborhood Parks (January – September 2025)

In early 2025, the DC Neighborhood Parks Task Force was convened with broad public, nonprofit, and private stakeholders, to create recommendations for more effectively deal with the National Park Service (NPS). NPS exerts ownership and jurisdiction over many DC properties that are not federal in scope and utilization, and are either functionally neighborhood parks, or are orphaned tiny ‘parklet’ or ‘remnant’ parcels that city agencies should properly maintain. I was one of a few ANCs from various Wards; the NPS properties in my SMD are Farragut and MacPherson Squares, and my SMD borders Lafayette and Franklin Parks.

I learned so much from this experience at various levels about city wide dynamics, and how so many of the pieces fit together in DC political life between public and private and community stakeholders. I learned about parks, certainly, but also about how different personalities and perspectives manifest in such a setting. I developed networking relationships and developed confidence in being known and trusted to collaborate effectively and appropriately for my role.

Collaborations with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)

I have been a very active collaborator with both Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) that serve 2C02: the Downtown BID east of 16^th Street, and the Golden Triangle BID west of 16^th Street. I have conducted stroll-along tours of 2C02 for BID staff.

• I am in active communication with BID staff to share and receive information about the most hyper-local situations, particularly in coordinating outreach for my unhoused constituents between the BID Ambassadors and the case workers of our local homelessness services providers, Pathways to Housing.
• I attend annual and other meetings of both BIDs, and many of their events and activations in Farragut Square, Franklin Park, and Anthem Row; and the Chinatown Lunar New Year and Mardi Gras Parades.
• I have collaborated with the Downtown Day Services Center, supported in part by the Downtown BID, which provides a wide variety of services and programs to the unhoused constituents of not only my SMD and Commission, but also residents experiencing homelessness from across DC.
• I have participated and will continue to participate in selection panels for public art sculptures with both BIDs.
• During the aftermath of the “snowcrete” storm, the path to the CVS across the uncleared median of 14^th Street, just south of Thomas Circle, was impassible to the 150 senior and disabled residents, their home-health aides, and the staff of The Residences at Thomas Circle—a vital part of their infrastructure for medications and supplies. With a few days of gentle persistence, I was able to get the Downtown BID Ambassadors to make all the difference:

Before

During

After

I Swore an Oath.

I, Nancy Groth, having been duly elected as an ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONER IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, representing Single Member District 2C02, do solemnly swear or affirm that I will faithfully execute the laws of the United States and of the District of Columbia, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, and will faithfully discharge the duties of the office I am about to enter.

“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Letter from the Birmingham Jail

Am I willing to live my oath, or will I strategize myself into obeying in advance?

To say the least, this has been a challenging and toxic national political climate in which to enter DC public service. In 2023, I had already been advocating for common sense accountability by DHS for the Green Court Shelter[NG1]  and was discerning whether to seek election for the 2C02 Commissioner role to play a more active role. In 2024, during the June-July timeframe when I had to commit to declaring candidacy, I was disheartened by the Presidential candidates and national-level discourse. I decided to focus my efforts on my hyperlocal neighborhood where I thought I could have more impact and make more of a difference.

I had already experienced the hyperlocal effects of the toxic national political climate in my own neighborhood in the aftermath of the 2020 election, even before January 6, 2021. On November 14, 2020, following initial post-election rallies, Proud Boys then-national leader Enrique Tarrio led members through D.C. streets during the “Million MAGA March.” On December 12, 2020, there were large pro-Trump and Jericho March events and skirmishes and stabbings broke out between the Proud Boys and counter-protesters during evening hours. Proud Boy members tore down and burned a Black Lives Matter banner belonging to the historic Asbury United Methodist Church in Commission 2C, and targeted the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in SMD 2C02. In the aftermath of January 6 and its actual violence and lawlessness, 2C02 experienced weeks of roadblocks and heavy presence of National Guard troops, for which my neighbors were grateful at the time.

• Testifying at Department of Human Services (DHS) oversight and budget hearings and passing two supportive ANC 2C Resolutions to get the Aston Bridge Housing funded for full capacity, as part of my commitment to homelessness facilities that people are more likely to accept;

2C-25-007 Full Use of Aston Bridge Housing

2C-26-001 Reaffirm Full Use of Aston Bridge Housing

• Joining another ANC’s protest of an ABCA license, contiguous to my SMD and a block from a 2C02 residential office conversion in process, and testifying at the protest hearings;
• Testifying at the request of a Commissioner from another ANC on legislation to modernize liquor license regulations

Although I was mainstreamed in fourth grade and I have never formally participated in the disability rights movement, I also realize my privilege, and thus responsibility, of access as one of only two wheelchair-using Commissioners. I have encountered many ableist attitudes, situations, and inaccessible venues and experiences in my new ‘public’ life, and worked diligently to educate, inform, advocate, and document in the quiet and unglamorous ways that are effective.

Occasionally there are situations where I am the visible demonstration of being a disabled public official. In July, 2026, a ‘snatch robbery,’ of a person using a wheelchair, occurred within ANC 2C, so I took the public opportunity to formally ask the Office of the US Attorney to charge the suspect with the additional penalty under DC Law § 22–931 for a crime against a vulnerable adult. This advocacy took the ANC-specific form of passing by Commission 2C my Resolution, which gives the opinion of a Commission ‘great weight’ with DC government entities, and was also taken seriously by the prosecuting Assistant US Attorney in the case.

2C-26-002 Crime Against a Vulnerable Adult

The quality of life in 2C02 is supported by BALANCE between the interests of residential and commercial stakeholders in our shared neighborhood. We, residents and businesses, all need to thrive together to have the vibrant diversity of services and opportunities that our business stakeholders provide. Vibrant urban life is what draws residents!

Resident needs are the ultimate foundation for the rebuilding and success of Downtown. Almost half of our roughly 2,000 residents live in the same apartment building at Scott Circle. Most of the other current residents live on one other block among six condo, apartment, and senior buildings between Thomas Circle and 13^th Street, with the remainder living in smaller buildings on 16^th Street, at MacPherson Square, and on 20^th Street. Our resident population is growing to include the SEVEN residential office conversions in 2C02, currently underway or already completed since 2023, with more anticipated.

2C02 has a wide diversity of business stakeholders: commercial office buildings, hotels, embassies, medical and dental care facilities and office buildings, cultural sites and museums, properties of universities that house their DC-based programs, restaurants, and retail outlets of both local small businesses and national chains. I hear from business stakeholders about zoning and liquor licenses, about help with specific situations involving unhoused residents, and about their new initiatives that I am pleased to help promote.

I have excellent relationships with both Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) that serve 2C02: the Downtown BID east of 16^th Street, and the Golden Triangle BID west of 16^th Street. In addition to direct services to their businesses and commercial property owners, and public programming and activations in Farragut Square and Franklin Park, both BIDS employ street-level Ambassadors who pick up trash from sidewalk cans, remove graffiti and stickers and chewing gum, check in with local businesses, and engage unhoused residents to offer connections to case workers and resources. I am looking for ways to amplify and appreciate the Ambassadors’ work in direct service to our quality of life—hoping for a kickball game or picnic for both Downtown (red shirts!) and Golden Triangle (yellow shirts!) Ambassadors.

Serving a downtown SMD, I often “hear from” construction managers and permit expediters who need the Commissioner’s permission for after-hours construction permits. In DC, legal construction hours without a special permit are Monday through Saturday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Work outside these hours or on restricted days requires an After-Hours Permit from the Department of Buildings (DOB), which requires a support letter from the applicable Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. Moving a crane overnight, starting early to avoid summer heat, working weekends to make a deadline – in each of these situations I check Google Maps to determine nearby residences and hotels that could bear the impact, make sure the parties have coordinated with each other, and gather all reference details in my permission letter. From January 2025 to August 2026, I have done NINETY construction permission letters.

When elected, I will continue to work as a listener, connector, collaborator, and convenor. I have proven my responsiveness and effective coordination with many interested parties in our shared neighborhood.

There are TEN post-pandemic office conversions in SMD 2C02: three hotel projects and seven residential (rental) properties. From 2024 to 2030, there are already planned to be 1,466 new residential units created in 2C02. More conversions are being considered, and I expect the list to grow during the 2027-2028 ANC term.

I have “One Big Idea” for SMD 2C02. I want to add a distinctly new kind of conversion of a former downtown office or commercial building to use as Workforce Housing for Downtown Service Workers. I am committed to the work of the learning curve and coalition building necessary to execute the One Big Idea.

My premise is that if you work Downtown and make Downtown possible for all of us, you should have a chance of living downtown. If you are a housekeeper in a hotel, a service worker back-of-house in a restaurant, a worker for a custodial, concierge, or security company serving a downtown building, a retail clerk, an entry-level medical, geriatric, or home-health aide, a gig worker making deliveries, you should not have to face a lengthy, expensive commute to affordable entry-level housing.

I want to provide adult co-housing with adult amenities. ‘Co-housing’ means a private room and bathroom with utilities included, with shared facilities for cooking, eating, gathering, remote working, video gaming, rooftop outdoor space, and other amenities. ‘Co-housing’ is not necessarily a forever home, not family housing, not permanent supportive housing. I want the One Big Idea to serve residents at 30% AMI, costing no more than 30% of their income for rent and utilities.

I want to explore alternative funding models and sources without the automatic assumption of reliance on DC budget funding. Federal tax credits, investment by corporate, philanthropic, and corporate sources for the conversion construction costs. Ongoing support by the spectrum of private, not-for-profit, and other Downtown stakeholders should be the foundation for total costs not covered by residents’ monthly rents.

In early March, 2025, Mayor Bowser announced the imminent removal of the street mural and identifying street signs at Black Lives Matter Plaza, in SMD 2C02. On March 9, 2025, the afternoon before the arrival of the bulldozers, I conducted Constituent Service Open Hours in the Plaza, and we experienced the witness of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

A year later, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) made a presentation before Commission 2C for a “16^th Street Beautification Project.” I made the following presentation:

March 10, 2026: ANC 2C DDOT “16^th Street Beautification” Project

Ironically, today is an anniversary: one year ago today, the jackhammers and bulldozers arrived at Black Lives Matter Plaza. Six days earlier, Mayor Bowser had released a Statement that read in part:

We have long considered Black Lives Matter Plaza’s evolution and the plaza will be part of DC’s America 250 mural project, where we will invite students and artists to create new murals across all eight Wards.

A year ago yesterday, I held constituent service open-air-office hours in the pedestrian median area of the Plaza, and we witnessed members of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity pray, sing and honor the significance of the mural. I am also reminded of the presentation I heard by DC enslavement historian CR Gibbs at a 2025 Emancipation Day event, elaborating his research into the history of enslaved residents in Lafayette Square and Decatur House, and that enslaved residents’ remains could very well be present under our modern Square and neighborhood.

Since DDOT was gracious in giving me an individual briefing on this Project a few weeks ago, I have been soliciting constituent input focused mostly in my own Single Member District 2C02, as well as other contacts throughout Ward 2, as we are the residents, organizations, and businesses who directly witness and bear the hosting nature of what the 800 and 900 blocks of 16^th Street has become. One 2C02 constituent captured many of the comments in one email:

Regarding the plan to fill the median with plants, I have several thoughts. With the East Wing construction possibly ongoing for many years, the White House has basically removed all public access to Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park serves both as a nice green space in the city and as a historical location for protesting. There are endless examples, including the one that led to the creation of Black Lives Matter Plaza. One prominent example of long-term protest in Lafayette Park was the White House Peace Vigil that ran from 1981 when William Thomas started it until it was unceremoniously removed on September 7th this past year. Making it harder to stand in or march through Black Lives Matter Plaza is a further insult after the removal of the letters last year by the Mayor. Our obeying the federal government in advance has only resulted in our city being occupied by troops, and I think we need to stand by the First Amendment for once instead of capitulating and allowing another public space to not be available for First Amendment activity.

I have attempted polling of my constituents, and out of about 25 responses to the following choices, the results were roughly:

1. A new street mural, with public input and diverse submissions 16%
2. Leave the median blank and open until such time as DC has autonomy over our public art 80%
3. Install landscaping in the median as proposed by the “16^th Street Beautification” Project 4% (one response which suggested that if we must endure landscaping, that the color palette reflect the red-and-white colors of DC, such  as the DC State Tree Scarlet Oak https://os.dc.gov/page/dc-symbols and white-blooming magnolias)
4. Other, please specify 0% (only one response suggesting specific public art that I counted as consistent with Choice A)

Another comment came from a 2C02 community leader, after I flippantly referred to this Project as ‘lipstick on a pig:’

It’s more than lipstick on a pig, it is “beauty” as a tool of silence.

“Beauty” is in the eye of the beholder. The 16^th Street median appears to some of us as a scar or open wound since March 10, 2025, and leaving it blank and open seems authentic to our times. Autonomy is Safe and Beautiful. Self-Determination is Safe and Beautiful. Democracy is Safe and Beautiful.

Indeed, I believe that we in DC have a stewardship responsibility for the 800 and 900 blocks of 16^th Street as the physical, visual, and symbolic path of 1^st Amendment expression of ‘marching on the White House.’ Leaving the median open and accessible to pedestrians, very large numbers of them at times, is consistent with our Oath to preserve, protect, and defend not only the Constitution, including the 1^st Amendment, but also the DC Home Rule Act.

Questions if not answered by DDOT presentation:

1. Is there an NOI for this Project that will be open for public comment?

Answer: Yes, and I entered this presentation into the public record.

• Can you confirm that there is no DC America 250 mural project?

Answer: DDOT can neither confirm nor deny such a project.

• Will your landscape design take into account the 1^st Amendment uses of this space, both to accommodate very large numbers of pedestrians, and to have a sturdy installation?

Answer: Noncommittal by DDOT.

Motion: That ANC 2C is on record as in favor of DDOT accomplishing only the traffic safety and pedestrian safety portions of the “16^th Street Beautification” Project, such as improved signage and measures to prevent illegal U-turns, without installing raised curbs or new landscaping. At a duly noticed, public, regular meeting of ANC 2C, with a quorum and 4 of 4 Commissioners present, the Motion passed by a vote of 2 Yay, 1 Nay, 1 Abstention.

Black Lives Matter Plaza is still legally designated as such under D.C. Law 23-240; 67 DCR 13911. Only DC Council has the statutory authority to ceremonially name, rename, or remove the name of DC streets, removal of murals and signage notwithstanding.

August 11, 2025 the DC Metropolitan Police Department was temporarily put under federal control, and the National Guard deployed, which has now been extended to January, 2029. These actions were taken under the flimsiest of pretexts, after DC crime rates had been falling consistently since pandemic-level highs. To say that my 2C02 constituents’ opinions and experiences of the 2025 National Guard deployment was overwhelmingly different than during the 2021 National Guard deployment is an extreme understatement.

I spent the afternoon of August 11, 2025, in Black Lives Matter Plaza welcoming into SMD 2C02 the FreeDC live press conference that counter-programmed the simultaneous White House press conference:

Inspired by having been in Barcelona in 2018 after their failed independence movement, when Catalan flags covered every conceivable surface, I organized my neighbors to display DC flags on the balcony railings of our building. I am very moved by my senior and disabled neighbors in my building, each one of those DC flags is a resident who said YES to a positive affirmation of DC identity and pride, starting a year ago after the National Guard deployment. I did the organizing of neighbors, and recruitment of volunteers to install flags and regularly replace them as they fade. We have garnered lots of positive social media attention, starting immediately with OG DC reporter Tom Sherwood, and being featured in Mayor Bowser’s 2025 end-of-year recap video.

In August, 2026, a few of my neighbors were featured in local traditional media for their participation:

TV Channel 9

WTOP

• No Right on Red protects vulnerable pedestrians

Among the dozens of bills introduced in 2025 by Republican Members of Congress that would erode or dismantle elements of DC Home Rule, I am particularly incensed by Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA-10)’s Stop DC CAMERA Act (H.R. 5525). This bill targets the District’s automated traffic enforcement framework and would force DC to legalize right turns on red at all intersections, overriding local traffic safety laws. Not only is this bill astonishingly petty, and hypocritical (Harrisburg and York Pennsylvania, in the PA-10 District, has traffic cameras and no-right-on-red), but it dangerous in downtown DC where diagonal streets and traffic circles create sharp-angle intersections and blind pedestrian crosswalks. SMD 2C02 has several of these, most notably on my own building’s corner at Thomas Circle. 150 senior and disabled residents, the most vulnerable pedestrians, should be protected by our No Turn on RED Arrow signs. Unfortunately, many drivers ignore the sign, and there should be consequences for dangerous driving behavior, so as a Commissioner I want to have it camera-enforced, but H.R. 5525 would give us neither the sign nor the enforcement.

September 8, 2025, I joined a FreeDC Lobby Day on Capitol Hill, developed my own “Leave-Behind” flyer[NG1] :

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 [NG1]I tried to put this in a Word ‘table’ box. Please fix with a border?

• National Guard responding to nightclub noise complaint

On a Saturday night in July, 2026, a hotel-based nightclub in 2C02 hosted an event that generated amplified music and siren sound effects, generating complaints by neighbors. Hardly an unusual neighborhood event, and the sort of issue often addressed by an ANC Commissioner at the hyper-local level among the neighbors, and ANC Commissions at the ‘great weight’ level for potential Community Settlement Agreements affecting a venue’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) liquor license. Investigators from the ABCA responded onsite to take decibel readings and file a report, and DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded onsite twice that evening. Again, hardly unusual. New to our current level of federal interference, on one of the MPD responses by two MPD officers, several National Guard troops ‘accompanied’ MPD into the hotel lobby. There is no reason to believe their presence was requested by MPD for such a routine call, and certainly there are no National Guard troops billeted in that hotel. There were absolutely no reports of any violence in the nightclub or the hotel.

National Guard troops are trained and missioned for riots and civil disturbances requiring a militarized response—not a neighborhood issue being addressed and solved by neighbors with neighbors.

• Pedestrian fatality as a result of MPD chase, police officers will never be charged by the current US Attorney for DC

In January, 2026, 26-year-old Aaron Marckell Williams was struck and killed in the 2C02 intersection of 16^th and L Streets, NW, by a driver fleeing a traffic stop by MPD officers who, by many witness accounts, conducted a high-speed pursuit in downtown DC traffic. Under D.C. Code § 5-365.02 and local regulations, MPD officers are strictly restricted from engaging in vehicular pursuits unless specific circumstances are exigent, and not for traffic stops. This DC law is also under attack by Republican Members of Congress. I have been advised that even if MPD’s own investigation found the officers culpable, they could only be prosecuted by the US Attorney for DC—under the Home Rule Act, DC’s adult criminal courts are under federal jurisdiction, not local control. Given the hyper-partisan and DC-hostile posturing of our current US Attorney, there will be no accountability, or justice for Aaron Marckell Williams.

• Aligned with FreeDC as the most robust, representative of DC demographics, economically and racially diverse energy in years

• Acting when hyperlocal 2C02 situations arise from current attacks on DC Home Rule

• Ultimate Goal: DC Statehood

1339 Green Court, NW

(originally planned for FY 2027)

2026 Update:

As I end my first ANC term, I would like to post an update on the situation that gave me the call to enter public service. In 2021, DC bought the property at 1339 Green Court, NW for use by the Department of Human Services (DHS) as a 150-bed, low-barrier, men’s shelter. The site itself seemed to me to be wildly unsuitable for the purpose, and I persistently asked functional questions, in the following five pragmatic subjects, framed by the future safety of 150 of our most vulnerable neighbors:

1) contamination of the structure by 70 years as an industrial building;

2) alley-landlocked site with no sidewalks or pedestrian access;

3) limited access to firetrucks and emergency equipment;

4) alley lot zoning restrictions requiring challengeable variances; and

5) construction challenges with no space for a crane or construction material.

In early 2025, my persistence led DHS to task the Department of General Services (DGS) to conduct a feasibility study of the property for use as a men’s shelter. No funding has been allocated for a DGS study in the FY2025, FY2026, or FY2027 Budgets, effectively shelving the project indefinitely. In May 2026, DGS confirmed that 1339 Green Court has been removed from the DHS inventory and returned to DGS.

During the entire process, I pledged to find other sites in my own SMD 2C02 (Yes In My Back Yard) for use to address the needs of our unhoused neighbors. I am thrilled that Metropolitan AME Church at 1518 M Street NW in 2C02, on the exterior surface of their historic church, is undertaking to build 27 units of Permanent Supportive Housing for Black veterans, and I have enthusiastically supported the initial stages of zoning variances which have been approved.

What I wrote in 2024:

As ANC for 2C02, I will be a Pragmatic YIMBY for the Green Court Men’s Shelter planned for opening possibly in FY 2027. I believe that the time 2024-2027, and the best interests and outcomes for all neighbors, will best be served by facilitating neighborhood input into the planning, development, operator selection, and operation of the Shelter, centering the men’s safety as our first priority.

I have lived in The Residences at Thomas Circle at 1330 Massachusetts Avenue (which abuts 1339 Green Court on 2 sides), where 152 seniors and disabled persons live in Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care, since 2007. I am not completely new to the issues of our unhoused neighbors, having lived through the August 2021 – May 2022 violent encampment at Thomas Circle / Green Court alley, including multiple break-ins to The Residences. The Residences did not learn of the Shelter plan until November 2022, mentioned in passing by DC MPD officers during an early-morning altercation between MPD and trespassers inside 1339 Green Court. I immediately began attending ANC 2C meetings, and in early 2023 my persistence produced the Department of Human Services (DHS) tasking the Department of General Services (DGS) to board up all windows and doors, and to install metal gates and fencing, thus at least securing the premises from future trespass.

Pragmatic? The time to stop this project passed in 2021:

DGS provided written notice, dated October 26, 2021 to ANC 2F and Councilmember Pinto regarding the proposed real estate contract, as required by applicable law. The notice provided the ANC with an opportunity to provide written recommendations regarding the proposed contract within fifty one (51) business days. Pursuant to applicable law, DGS would then give great weight to the issues and concerns raised in any ANC recommendations and provide a written response to the ANC addressing those issues and concerns. DGS did not receive any written recommendations regarding the proposed contract from the ANC.

{Note: In 2021, 1339 Green Court had been assigned to SMD 2F08, within the Logan Circle ANC 2F. Based on redistricting after the 2020 Census, Ward 2’s ANCs were realigned and rebalanced to current population statistics, thus in 2022 the SMD was transferred to the Penn Quarter / Chinatown ANC 2C and became 2C02.}

YIMBY? Yes In My Back Yard: I believe that the city is going to use 1339 Green Court for some housing purpose governed by DHS, pursuant to its purchase legislation (see link, below). Yes, this will be, literally, In My Back Yard. I have been horrified at the tone and nature of the protests in other parts of the city about the establishment of shelters and income-based housing, and want to voice different perspectives:

• Let’s center our newest neighbors’ safety as our first priority. 1339 Green Court has never been a residential property—and is completely landlocked by highly vehicle-trafficked urban alleys. DHS / DGS should be accountable to assess basic safety concerns of using this location as a residence of any kind, including fire department access, and pedestrian safety without sidewalks.
• Let’s ensure that ALL stakeholders on the block collaborate and provide input into the scope, planning, development, operator selection, and operation of the Shelter.

Brief History of 1339 Green Court: (source: Wikimedia Commons)

The building located at 1339 Green Court NW in Washington, D.C., was the home of Balance Gym (formerly Thomas Circle Sports Club) from 1996 until 2021, when it was purchased by the local government to redevelop into low-income housing. Previous occupants include the W. F. Roberts Company (as a printing plant in the late 1930s), longtime owner Mercury Press (known as the Mercury Building), Beacon News from the Quarry Workers’ International Union of North America, DC Engraving Company Inc., The University Hatchet, and the District of Columbia Board of Parole. The site was previously occupied by a building used by the Krazy Kat Klub.

The Legislation regarding the purchase: https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/CA24-0430

According to CoStar Group, a “Washington, DC-based provider of information, analytics, and marketing services to the commercial property industry,”

The city of Washington, D.C., paid $11 million to purchase a former gym with the aim of turning it into housing, potentially for the homeless, public documents show.

Balance has owned the property since 1996, when it bought it for $900,000, according to CoStar data.

The former gym is four stories encompassing 24,600 square feet, in keeping with the city’s search for a space between 20,000 square feet and 40,000 square feet, according to a property acquisition funds request submitted by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Source: https://www.loopnet.com/learn/dc-pays-11-million-to-redevelop-gym-into-housing/1792233732/